The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Foundation’s Ag in the Classroom program has awarded nearly $9,017 to schools and organizations to expand agricultural literacy. Groups, schools and organizations can apply for up to $500 as part of the Ag in the Classroom’s matching grant program to support their project, provided they have a source of matching funds. The 22 matching grant recipients are:
Build a Food Forest – Deep Mulch Gardening – $500, Independence
“Building a Food Forest” is an educational and active learning program for Pre-K-12 and adults. This program will create meaningful experiences to help improve the well-being of individuals by teaching them how to grow their own vegetables and fruits.
Story Gardens – $500, Milton
Story Gardens will serve as an outdoor extension of the Milton Public Library as an all-ages destination combining a love of nature, books and art. When completed, the space will feature raised garden beds for instruction on horticulture, an outdoor performance area and more.
Cows on the Concourse – $500, Madison
Located just off the Capitol Square, this free event is fun for the whole family. The grant will help fund the ‘Ed’Moo’Cation Zone’, the ‘Cow Zones’ where local farmers and ‘Moo Experts’ share information about dairy cows and the ‘My Dairyland Scavenger Hunt’.
FARM Agricultural Career Exploration Program – $500, Madison
Easter Seals Wisconsin’s Agricultural Career Exploration Program educates students with disabilities about the vast agricultural career opportunities. These classes encourage students to see how their own interests could potentially fit into an agricultural career.
Farmers’ Market Play Space at the Library – $350, Edgerton
Children can now play the role of a farmer. They can display play fruits and vegetables in a farm stand, use a toy cash register to sell their produce and pretend to cook and eat their foods. Books on farming and markets are also available.
Farming at Silverwood Summer School – $500, Edgerton
The Friends of Silverwood Park will purchase gardening tools and plants for every student in the Silverwood Summer School Program. Students will plant their own garden space and learn about drip irrigation and the process of caring for their plants through the growing season.
Learning to Grow – $500, Glenwood City
Glenwood City Agriculture Department’s Learning to Grow Project teaches students of all ages food production, harvesting, composting and fruit production. The produce will be student-grown, processed and served in the school lunch program.
Flowers for Mom – $250, Green Bay
The Green Bay East FFA Alumni and Green Bay East FFA members will plant flowers and learn how to transfer and care for the plants. Then they will learn how to prepare the plants for sale.
Agri-Puppets: Where Education Meets Entertainment – $500, Green Lake
The Green Lake County Fair will be hosting the Agri-Puppets: Where Education Meets Entertainment. Agri-Puppets is a one-of-a-kind show specializing in teaching the importance of agriculture, farming and animals.
Farmer in the Classroom – $330, Fort Atkinson
Twenty Jefferson County Ag in the Classroom volunteers will give the classroom presentation, ‘A Day Without Agriculture,’ to more than 31 classes in Jefferson County. The group is part of the annual fourth grade farm tour where students get to visit and learn at a dairy farm.
Laconia FFA Day on the Farm – $250, Rosendale
Every spring, nearly 400 elementary students in second through fourth grades from local districts are invited to visit a farm. This year’s stations include dairy cattle, sheep and goats, farm equipment, wildlife, maple syrup, feeds, horses, dairy products and a hayride.
Let’s Get Hatching – $300, Merrimac
With additional funds from the Merrimac Home and School Club, the Merrimac Community Charter School will use the grant money to purchase a new incubator. Teachers plan to hatch chickens and ducks this spring to add to the school barnyard.
Neal Wilkins School Garden – $500, Platteville
The Neal Wilkins Early Learning Center School Garden will be a collaborative space that offers students opportunities to learn about math, literacy, science and agriculture. Students will not only learn about food sources and production, they will also provide food for consumption.
Food Bank Project Expansion – $250, Randolph
The Randolph Cambria-Friesland FFA will continue enhancing its land lab. This on-going annual project allows high school students to manage both food donations and elementary student education while learning themselves.
Rock County Celebrates National Ag Day 2020 – $500, Janesville
Rock County Ag in the Classroom will bring Rock County native, farmer and author Lisl Detlefsen to their area to celebrate National Ag Day. Detlefsen will help students understand where their food comes from using her latest book, “Right This Very Minute”.
To Market To Market – $363, Wausau
DC Everest 4K students from the St. John Lutheran site in Wausau will use the grant to purchase a farmers’ market stand and play food items. The project includes a book case, sorting set, books, sliceable fruits and vegetables and other supplies.
Ag Education at the Sauk County Fair – $500, Baraboo
The Sauk County Fair will set up an interactive display on Wisconsin agriculture, allowing youth fairgoers to experience agriculture education in an exciting and innovative way. Important agricultural information will be transformed into fun and exciting learning experiences for youth.
Gardening after School – $500, Siren
The Siren School District and the Dragon Learning Center are constructing a raised-bed garden to teach agriculture and gardening to more than 200 students during STEM enrichment activities after school. Students will learn about record keeping, agronomy, soils and plant biology.
Ag Materials in the Classroom – $350, Medford
Taylor County Farm Bureau is working with fourth grade teachers in the county to enhance the Wisconsin unit on agriculture. The funds will be used to purchase books, Ag Mags and other resources. Volunteer farmers will give presentations to students.
Day on the Farm – $334, Verona
The Verona FFA Chapter will be operating an educational field trip to fourth graders within the Verona School District. Students will be able to tour a local dairy farm and participate in small group activities, designed to introduce them to agriculture in Wisconsin.
Learning Coop Presentation Table – $500, Elkhorn
The Barnyard Adventure Learning Coop will add a mirrored presentation table at this year’s fair. The new table will magnify the learning experience by allowing more people to see what the presenters are doing.
Rooting for Agriculture Observation Stations – $240, Elkhorn
The observation tables will demonstrate and enhance learning by sharing underground and above ground views of a variety of diverse plants. There will be twelve stations purchased along with the needed supplies for viewing stands, planting materials and signage.
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