Project: Improving Agriculture Literacy via a School Farm
Resources Needed: Supplies such as scoops, forks, books, medicines, and more to raise livestock animals in our on-campus barn to continue our goal of increasing Agriculture literacy in the district.
School Poverty Level: Moderate
Location: Mt. Everett Regional High School, Sheffield, Massachusetts
Total Cost: $551.75
Still Needed: $136.75 COMPLETED! Please see earlier unfinished project in Housekeeping.
Expires: Jun 06, 2013
Teacher's Comments from Mrs. Melino:
My Students: Today's generation of youth is further removed from the farm than ever before. As a result, most American youth do not understand the crucial role agriculture serves in their lives and may have false notions of 21st century agriculture. Keeping livestock animals on campus provides hands-on learning.
My students attend a small school of around 700 students k-12 surrounded by a scenic network of mountains, streams, lakes and farmland. We're rich with history and surrounded by natural beauty. My students are conscientious and interested in learning about where their food comes from. My students love working outside in our barn with our animals and are excited about expanded opportunities to work with livestock.
My Project: The items that I've requested will help care for our sheep, alpacas, goats and poultry on campus. We are in need of items such as manure forks, scoops, hay racks, buckets, hoof shears, leads, books, basic first aid, and preventative medications. Students will use the supplies and resources to gain hands-on experience caring for the animals. Students in the Ag program are responsible for every aspect of animal care. They feed the animals, clean their stalls, shear, trim hooves, assist with deworming and lambing etc...
The continued use of the permanent on-campus farm fulfills the goal of teaching Agriculture literacy in our district. The outdoor classroom provides innovative and pragmatic opportunities for student to gain both academic and character education, while strengthening the ties between our elementary and high school. Furthermore, community involvement from local farmers and agricultural groups will create positive working relationships between the school and community.
The animals provide a spiraling curriculum for students from pre-K to 12th grade. In the high school and middle school, the animals provide interdisciplinary activities for a wide range of academic and vocational classes. In the elementary, a wide range of activities have been set in accordance with the farm, including agricultural awareness, life cycles, etc. My students LOVE working with the animals! However, keeping them is expensive. These resources would cover needed supplies.
COMPLETED!
Donations of ANY size DID make a BIG difference!