Ag in the Classroom

PALMER - What do pizza, footballs, ice cream, clothes and Taco Bell food have in common?

They all come from agricultural products, Future Farmers of America (FFA) state president Amy Kenley told a classroom full of attentive third-graders.

Future Farmers members from Palmer High gathered at Sherrod Elementary School Wednesday to motivate Tom Hermans third-grade class to get involved in learning about the benefits agriculture has to offer.

People dont realize how much it all relates to agriculture, Herman said. Ive been working with Palmer High School FFA students for 5 or 6 years now, and its exciting to see kids teaching kids.

Ag in the Classroom is a program inspired by the Valleys Grange members, Don Brainard and Earl Claybo, along with Herman. In an effort to get young people more involved in an agriculturally based community, the FFA, mentored by the Grange, teamed up to bring agricultural learning into the classrooms of schools all across the valley.

One of our recent projects, we all got together and wrote a grant and presented it to the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, and received a $4,000 grant to revegitate an open pit mine in Sutton, Herman said.

The Grange also finances the ag literacy project by paying teachers stipends and giving awards to FFA students who have done well on projects.

Herman said that with the help of Palmer Highs FFA members, third- and fourth graders participated in cultivating willow, cottonwood, and alder trees in the classroom and continuing the experience outdoors.

We have brought cows out to the school to show kids where milk comes from, Herman said. Youd be surprised at how many kids think milk just comes from a carton.

Anything you can do to get the kids away from the classroom and get hands-on experience, thats when the learning is real, Herman said. Plus it gives the high school students experience in teaching.

Today, they are giving the third-graders a preview to projects the FFA will be working on in the spring, he said.Photo: Amy Kenley, FFA state president, presents her Colony history project to Sherrod Elementary third-grade students.

Photo by Gene Jansen.