Agriculture and education grow together
July 2, 2014
Nancy Tarnai
907-474-5042
7-1-2014
Not long after schools were dismissed for the summer in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, more than a dozen teachers went right back to class.
As part of the Agriculture in the Classroom workshop, teachers visited muskoxen, reindeer, goats, sheep, chicken and cattle, and learned about qiviut, pasture grazing techniques, community and school gardens, and practical classroom experiments like making butter.
Taught by Melissa Sikes, of the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District, and Marilyn Krause, a Ryan Middle School teacher, the workshop was held June 3-6. It not only educated teachers about agriculture in Alaska but also gave them ways to incorporate their new knowledge into classrooms.
“It’s really important for kids to know agriculture is a big part of their lives; it’s where food comes from,” Sikes said. “There are a lot of misconceptions about Alaska.”
She hopes the project ultimately leads to more children raising animals and even considering the possibilities of becoming farmers. “We want to inspire kids to see farming as a career,” Sikes said.
As for the teachers, Sikes envisions them adding an agricultural angle to traditional lessons they would teach anyway, whether math, science or art. “The possibilities are endless,” she said. On the final day of lessons, Sikes was tired from the activities but said “it was worth it to see the teachers so excited.”
Mari LaBrosse, a teacher at Ryan Middle and Hunter Elementary schools, will now incorporate planting and fibers into her classrooms. “I want to teach healthy eating with from a garden,” she said. She was inspired to teach nutrition and encourage students to do science fair projects on growing plants.
“This is important because kids may not have access. Kids love anything to do with food,” she said.
In one demonstration, students put a farm fresh egg in one glass of water and a supermarket egg in another. The teachers had to decide which one would float. The fresher egg plummeted to the bottom of the water, while the older egg floated. Sikes explained the science behind the result and gave the teachers sample lesson plans based on the parts of an egg.
Finally, she told the teachers to let the children try a taste test. Sometimes when she visits classrooms, she concludes the lesson by making scrambled eggs. “I love taste testing with the kids,” Sikes said.
Passing around sheep fiber, Krause said, “The kids like to see and feel the different textures.” In her classrooms, students get to dye, spin and felt wool. “A lot of kids have never seen sheep hair, especially city kids,” she said. “They learn how long it takes to make a sweater.”
“Teachers are continual learners,” substitute teacher Jenny Tse said. “I’m excited to share my passion with the kids.”
She enjoyed the Ag in the Classroom seminar so much she wants to take it again next year.
This year, she learned about the peony industry and how to grow this new crop for Alaska, and she learned to card wool.
“You can integrate agriculture into every subject,” Tse said.
Tanana Middle School science teacher Emily Metzgar said the program will help her show students the real-life applications of science. “I’ll be able to share what people are doing in Fairbanks agriculturally,” she said. She also found subjects she wants to explore on her own and ideas for research projects.
“It’s good for kids to get better connected to the local area. This involves chemistry, geology, water and soil. It’s going to make it more interesting for kids,” she said.
The workshop was sponsored by FSWCD, Alaska Farm Bureau and Natural Resources Conservation Service. It was hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Several UAF professors and staff members from the School of Natural Resources and Extension gave lectures, presentations and demonstrations.
For more information, visit http://www.agclassroom.org/state/summaries/alaska.cfm.
This column is provided as a service by the UAF School of Natural Resources and Extension and the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. Nancy Tarnai is the school and station’s public information officer. She can be reached at ntarnai@alaska.edu.