The farming life

Sarah Lynch/The Independent

Ashland November 02, 2006 11:04 pm

— Ask elementary students what their favorite food is and shouts of “Pizza!” is probably the answer you’d get.
That’s why Chef Parmesan and Derby the horse use pizza as an example in a traveling hands-on learning program called “Agriculture Adventures: Kentucky,” which is designed to teach students the importance of agriculture in their everyday lives.
Organizers of the program, presented by COSI on Wheels of Columbus, Ohio, recently attended Cannonsburg, Ponderosa and Fairview elementary schools.
With assistance from Derby the Horse, the program mascot, Chef Parmesan taught students about every facet of agriculture that takes place before the students can have a slice of pizza.
Students follow the pizza from the farm to the dinner table and learn about field preparation, photosynthesis, growing and processing wheat and making cheese.
Afterwards, the students rotated through six stations for hands-on activities such as milking a fiberglass cow, grinding wheat into flour, testing soil, sowing seeds and learning where food products fit into the Food Guide Pyramid.
“Not only are the kids having fun but they are learning too,” said Greg Salley, principal of Fairview Elementary.
“It’s important to teach them this because a lot of kids don’t realize they can’t just go to the grocery store and pick up some food; it actually has to come from somewhere. It’s a good thing to teach them that farms are important and all the things they do for us.”
The program is aligned with Kentucky’s Core Content for Science Assessment, which provides administrators, teachers and students with a structure on which to build from year to year.
COSI also works to ensure programs align with National Science Standards.
“A lot of these students would never have gotten a chance to do these things without it being a school activity,” Salley said.
“In this setting like this, they get to have their hands in the soil to test the pH, discover how animals and food products are part of agriculture and they get to imitate milking a cow.”
With only 1 percent of the population employed as farmers, it is also a hope of program organizers that a few of these young boys and girls may consider such an occupation.
“Agriculture Adventures: Kentucky” is reaching more than 25 Kentucky counties during the 2005-06 school year. It is funded by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, West Kentucky Growers Co-op, Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom Inc., Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association and the Kentucky Pork Producers.
“Our young people need to learn about why agriculture is important to all of us,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said.
“The people involved with the Agriculture Adventures: Kentucky program have the skills to provide Kentucky’s children with a valuable learning experience.”
For more information about COSI, go to cosi.org. For more information about “Agriculture Adventures: Kentucky,” go to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Web site, kyagr.com, and click on “Education Resources” in the pull-down menu.
SARAH LYNCH can be reached at slynch@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2650.