State Programs
State Summary 2011 — New York
State Contact
Ms. Katie Bigness
New York Agriculture in the Classroom
Cornell University Department of Horticulture
Ithaca, NY 14853
P: 607.255.9253
E: kse45@cornell.edu
Website
Classroom Resources
Agricultural Literacy Week 2012 Educator's Guide Supplement and Activity http://nyaged.org/aitc/programs/pdf/literacy/EdGuideSupplement.pdf
No title yet: In process of developing a resource guide for school gardens on using high tunnels to maximize the growing season (more resources will be online this spring)
I Love NY Agriculture Art and Writing Contest: Revised submission guidelines for the program to be more in line with Common Core standards http://nyaged.org/aitc/programs/contest.htm
Major Program Accomplishments or Outputs
Five new Kids Growing Food (KGF) teacher mini grants were awarded to establish or help sustain school food gardens through our mini-grant program. Two KGF II mini grants were awarded to previous recipients of the KGF I grant to maintain or add to already existing KGF Gardens.
New York State held its 6th annual Agricultural Literacy Week event in 2011. This year's project touched the lives of 36,000 second grade students across New York State with over 500 volunteer readers in 2300 classrooms.
We also conducted the annual I Love NY Agriculture Art & Writing Contest in partnership with New York Farm Bureau, which provided agriculture literacy and awareness to over 750 students within the state.
Workshops for teachers, extension educators, and volunteers were offered at several different venues, including Farm Bureau spring conference and at local Cornell Cooperative Extension offices and schools.
NYAITC was present at many events around the state and northeast region including New York State Agricultural Society Annual Meeting, Farm-Based Education Association"e;"e;s conference, Farm Bureau's spring conference, and the New York State Fair.
Major Program Impacts or Outcomes
392 grants have been awarded since 1998 to start and develop school food gardens through our Kids Growing Food program. 8 grants were awarded in 2011 to schools throughout the state. These 8 grants will impact over 5000 students with direct experience growing food at school.
36000 elementary age students received instruction during our Agricultural Literacy Week Program.
63 educators were trained on the Food, Land and People Curriculum
750 students entered our I Love NY Agriculture Art and Writing Contest
Biosketch
Angela McGregor Hedstrom has been serving as the interim coordinator of New York Agriculture in the Classroom since October 2011. Angela has been learning and teaching on farms, in classrooms, in gardens, and with a variety of community partners for over a decade. She has developed curriculum with Shelburne Farms and the Burlington School Food Project (VT) as well as Cornell Garden-Based Learning. Angela has facilitated educator professional development on a variety of topics including curriculum integration, sustainability and place-based education, garden-based learning, and agricultural literacy. She has a BA in Geography from CSU Stanislaus, a Masters in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College, and is a certified elementary teacher.