Agriculture comes alive with lambs, worms and cheese

Frontiersman Staff

MAT-SU — There are up to a billion bacteria in a teaspoon of soil; bees have five eyes; 2 acres of fertile American farmland are lost forever every two minutes; chickens with red earlobes lay brown eggs; and marshmallows are made from corn.

At Alaska Agriculture Day celebrations across the Valley last week, students didn’t just learn where their food comes from, they also learned agriculture can be amazing.

On Friday, second-graders at Larson Elementary learned about eggs, bees and planting seeds. They made omelets in a bag from the eggs they studied, and made soup to go with the Alaska Agriculture Day reading book “Who Grew My Soup?”

“It was a fantastic opportunity,” said Larson teacher Dawn Robinson, who coordinated the event. “They are so excited for the hands-on. They are tying in writing, math, science and art, and of course they are using their senses.”

Parent volunteer Tricia Reaves agreed the students enjoyed their unusual lessons.

“The hands-on is what make it more interesting,” Reaves said. She said the students dissected eggs and tested Matanuska Creamery milk and cheeses to compare and contrast.

“They are getting to do it themselves,” Reaves said.

At Butte and Swanson elementary schools, the students were treated to guest readers on May 3, Alaska Ag Day. The Butte students also put on a play in the afternoon and evening, “How Does Your Garden Grow.” First-graders there also planted butterfly bouquets to encourage garden pollinators.

Swanson kindergarten students had guest presentations and readers in the morning, then met lambs and kids. In the afternoon, it was Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss and his chickens, Ambassador Monsieur and Queen Esther, who made the reading rounds.

Colony Middle School’s sixth-graders were immersed in agriculture all morning on Friday, with six guest presenters and Alaska agricultural products — ice cream from Matanuska Creamery and potato chips made from VanderWeele Farms potatoes at the Alaska Chip Co.

Agriculture takes on a whole new dimension when soil biologist Dave Ianson of Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District talks about the giant blue earthworm of Australia.

“A worm that can be 2 meters long and whose slime trail glows in the dark really struck a nerve, not only with the grade-schoolers but the middle-schoolers as well,” Ianson said. “They all want to ‘get one.’”

The worms Ianson brought to share in the classroom were considerably smaller and reddish, but still induced plenty of comment.

Like the efforts at Larson, Butte and Swanson, the CMS event was funded by a mini-grant from Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom, made possible by funding from Palmer SWCD and Country Companies/Mulligan Farms. Activities in other classes around the state were underwritten by Alaska AITC, with funding provided by the Alaska Division of Agriculture.

Sherrod hosted the largest Alaska Ag Day event, with all students rotating through 20 different presentations throughout the day.

“That was an amazing day,” said Sherrod organizer Anne Williams, drama and art teacher.

While teachers said the students enjoyed their varied lessons, some were tough.

Margaret Adsit, director of Alaska Farmland Trust, had a harsh lesson to share with students. Using an exercise that modeled food shortage, the fourth-graders learned “no farms, no food.”

“After each round, when I had taken all the farms away and only one remained, students fought each other or created food lines in order to get the limited food available,” Adsit said. “Most classes had half the class not getting enough food. A few tears ensued, but the lesson rang true: without farms we wouldn’t have enough food to feed everybody.”

In the parking lot, the lesson may not have been as harsh, but equally as real: little lambs defecate, even when you are holding them. Lee Hecimovich’s sheep seemed undaunted by the squeals, and their indiscretions didn’t limit the number of students clamoring for a chance to hold the lambs.

Throughout the day the students learned about farm animals, bees, farm technology, nutrition, forestry, farm products, soil and more.

This was the third year for the Sherrod event; the first all-day event. It was also the third year for Butte’s Ag Day celebration, and the second at Colony Middle School.

Alaska Agriculture in the Classroom (agclassroom.org/ak) is a nonprofit educational outreach of the Alaska Farm Bureau, with support from the Mat-Su Chapter, Palmer SWCD and other donations.