ANDERSON – Pickens County teachers Christy Galloway and Lorna Williams were among 49 educators from across the state who recently learned how to incorporate agricultural lessons into their classrooms.

The South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation hosted its annual Ag in the Classroom Summer Teacher Institute earlier this year in Anderson, where teachers of grades pre-K through 8 in public and private schools learned how to teach the importance of family farmers and domestically produced food, fiber, forestry products, and fuel to their students.

“It is so important that students learn where their food and resources come from,” said Vonne Knight, SCFB director of Ag Literacy. “Providing teachers with not only the information and lesson plans they need, but also the confidence to teach agriculture makes it easy for them to do just that.”

Institute participants also heard from agriculture and education experts from Clemson University’s College Relations/Ag Careers Department, Department of Animal and Veterinary Science, the SC Ag Statistics Department, Clemson’s apiculture specialist, and the SC Department of Agriculture.

Participants also experienced two days of farm tours in the upstate, including Major Farm, Berry Acres, Greenbrier Farms, Kings Sunset Nursery, Setzler Farms, and Satterwhite Farm.

“The Ag in the Classroom program is so beneficial because we can educate teachers about the importance of agriculture, and those teachers are then going to take that back to their own classrooms of sometimes thirty students. The overall outreach of the program is unmatched,” said Harry Ott, president of the SCFB.

Ag in the Classroom Institute participants received lesson plans aligned to the state curriculum standards to use in their own classroom this fall. They also left with resources they can use to teach students about agriculture and the benefits farmers add to the economy, the environment and the community.

Participants received three hours of graduate credit for recertification from Winthrop University, courtesy of SCFB’s Ag in the Classroom Fund.

Contact Knight at 803-936-4409 or vknight@scfb.org for more information.

Pickens County teachers Christy Galloway, left, and Lorna Williams were among 49 educators from across the state who recently learned how to incorporate agricultural lessons into their classrooms. The SC Farm Bureau Federation’s Ag in the Classroom Summer Teacher Institute allowed educators to tour area farms and learn about agriculture in the state.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_aginclassroom.jpgPickens County teachers Christy Galloway, left, and Lorna Williams were among 49 educators from across the state who recently learned how to incorporate agricultural lessons into their classrooms. The SC Farm Bureau Federation’s Ag in the Classroom Summer Teacher Institute allowed educators to tour area farms and learn about agriculture in the state. Courtesy photo

Staff Report