WHO:
Marin Agricultural Land Trust offers the Marin Farm Field Studies Program to Bay Area schools. Our aim is to help broaden students’ understanding of the value of local sustainable agriculture, and the links between the farms, soil, environment, school gardens, nutrition, and health.
WHAT THE FARM FIELD STUDIES PROGRAM DOES:
On farm field trips, students have the opportunity to travel to a local farm or ranch where they engage in hands-on learning about where our food originates. They meet the farmers and ranchers who grow our food, find out about how certain animals are raised, and how crops are grown; they participate in farm activities and gain an appreciation of the skill and hard work that goes into producing food.
We invite your school to participate in the Farm Field Studies Program. Fifty percent of Marin’s land-use base is tied to agriculture, yet many Bay Area children have never set foot on a working farm. Our program offers an opportunity for hands-on learning about the natural world, our food supply, nutrition, the local economy, and our rich California history.
TEACHER REQUIREMENTS:
Teachers easily can connect farm field trips with their classroom curriculum. We offer curriculum aids, including maps of Marin agriculture, science and nature activity kits, and lesson plans which correlate to the California Department of Education Frameworks for math, science, history-social science, and English-language arts. In addition, students who go on farm field trips may submit related art work, photography, or essays to the Marin County Fair held annually during the July 4th holiday period.
The fee is $150 per field trip. The fee goes directly to the host farmer; financial assistance is available by request. Participating schools are selected on a first-come, first-served basis. We also offer agricultural education and visits to farms for teacher in-service training.
INFORMATION:
For more information visit www.malt.org – or contact Constance Washburn, Education Director (cwashburn@malt.org – 415-663-1338) or Sandy Dierks (sdierks@malt.org – 415-868-0205).