Each spring 30 or so Northern California ranchers, farmers, producers, and educators come together to engage scores of young children in hands-on learning opportunities about the source of some of their food. Welcome to Marin County's annual Farm Day.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the theme for this year's Farm Day is "Marin's Farming Roots: Can You Dig It?" The free event, celebrated in honor of National Agriculture Week, takes place March 19 at the Marin Center Exhibition Hall in San Rafael. A throng of more than 2,000 eager, curious children, along with their parents and teachers, attend the one-day event, moving through an array of exhibits and hands-on activities. Grade-school students from around the county get a chance to see farm animals up close - cows, goats, sheep, poultry and rabbits - and to participate in interactive exhibits on farm animals, gardens, environmental education, and the importance of agriculture and farming in Marin.
Farm Day is "a perfect opportunity for children who have never seen or touched a lamb, rabbit or chicken to experience first-hand the wonder of caring and connection to domestic animals and their food," Ellie Rilla, director of Marin County University of California Cooperative Extension, said.
Marin Master Gardeners play a big part in this event, occupying about a third of the available floor space. Their innovative, educational and explorative activities for kindergarten through third-graders focus on environmental awareness and sustainability and sources of their food. Last year's learning adventures featured the world of earthworms and their benefit to the soil, differences among four trees native to California, and explanations about how ladybugs are good bugs in the garden. It took 92 Marin Master Gardeners volunteering more than 800 hours to develop and present those lessons.
Master Gardeners Betty and Larry Mulryan shared their worms with the kids. "They hold them, watch them move around in our soil, and learn that the worms are our friends - an important part of our composting programs that recycle waste back into the land for productive uses," Larry Mulryan said.
Prior year interactive projects:
Herbs
Marin Master Gardeners Bug Habitats SAMPLE
Tomatoes
