Melissa Neal, Executive Director, described the goals, accomplishments and needs of her organization: El Dorado County Ag in the Classroom. AITC is a local, grassroots, charitable organization that provides quality agriculture-related educational resources, programs, and training opportunities to cultivate through education an understanding and appreciation of how important and all-encompassing agriculture is in our daily lives. AITC's two major programs are:
1) The Farm Day event: AITC and other volunteers have hosted thousands of our local third graders from Lake Tahoe to El Dorado Hills for a day of hands-on, place-based, agricultural education. Farm Day is a fun, hands-on field trip where students and teachers experience the sights, sounds, smells and feels of agriculture and its role in our everyday lives, our county, and its economy. Throughout the day, students and their teachers rotate to 6-8 different learning stations taught in the context of local farms, ranches, forests, and watersheds to learn about farms, natural resources, food, nutrition, and animals. Learning stations are presented by organizations, businesses, and people who are experts in their field. Over 300 volunteers from farms and Ag related businesses participate in the event held at the County Farigrounds in Placerville. Melissa showed us a fun video of Farm Day. 2) The Fields of Learning Program pairs a school with a local farm to enhance students’ education through hands-on agricultural experiences. This ongoing relationship between the school and local farm includes three farm visits per year and gives children the opportunity to learn about local agriculture and its role in their community. |