• PPT2425

    Objective: this yearlong elective course introduces students to a variety of subjects that we collectively call “AgriCulture”.  AgriCulture will cover many topics in agriscience including farming, gardening, landscaping, animal husbandry, food safety, nutrition, natural resources, marketing, research, consumer education, and careers in agriculture.  The course will emphasize sustainability, conservation, and the humane treatment of animals.  Our students will hands-on participate in organic vegetable gardening, free-range poultry farming, composting, orchard management, culinary arts, groundskeeping, and construction projects.  Students will:

    • Work toward earning an AEST Agriculture Industry Certification.
    • Develop, implement and maintain an SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience: 7th/8th grade only).
    • Have the opportunity to form an FFA chapter (7th/8th grade only).
    • Learn how to take better care of themselves and the planet.
    • Research what plants and animals need in order to grow and become healthful foods.
    • Plan, design, build, and maintain the class gardens, pathways, and enclosures.
    • Process, preserve, and prepare recipes using garden and orchard harvests.
    • Market their own produce, canned goods, and recipes to teachers and families for fundraising.
    • Keep a ledger of costs and proceeds in order to raise money for additional materials.
    • Utilize local knowledge and the web to learn about ethnobotany, best management practices, and food and product safety in everyday products.
    • Get outside in all kinds of weather to dig, draw, measure, haul stuff around the schoolyard, and build, plant, weed, harvest, and maintain the gardens.
    • Learn to identify native, invasive, and edible wild plants and ID garden pests vs. protectors.
    • Create safe, inviting spaces to welcome pollinators, beneficial insects, and other wild things.
    • Enjoy the fun and empowerment of being both a seeker and a maker!

    Students SHOULD take this class if they:

    • Like collaborating in teams to contribute to a positive, cooperative learning environment.
    • Enjoy getting dirty outdoors and working physically hard.
    • Can be counted on to work safely and independently while waiting their “turn at the wheel”. 

    Students should NOT take this class if they:

    • Can’t stand getting their shoes, hands, or clothes dirty.
    • Hate being around insects, sweat, pollen, and covering a lot of territory on foot.
    • Do not like to clean, organize, carry, take care of equipment, and keep careful inventory.

    Special Safety Concerns: BEES, WASPS, ANTS, POLLEN, MOLD, EGGS, NUTS, GLUTEN, LATEX… please email me directly with health concerns about allergies, so we can plan carefully for the safety of your child in a classroom environment with many of these triggers unavoidably present.

    Required Materials: Monday 26 August, all AG students must provide:

    • A lined composition book (NO SPIRALS!).
      • This “LogBook” will be used to record daily TaskLists, design projects, take and keep notes, and record garden observations.  It is crucial to success in my class.
      • LogBooks remain in our classroom for open note LogBook and pop quizzes that count as assessment grades.  They may be checked out when reviewing for major tests.
    • A pencil, everyday😊
    • A pocket folder or homework folder to put forms for signatures, flyers, etc. (can be shared with another class).