State Programs
State Summary 2010 — New York
State Contact
Ms. Angela Hedstrom
New York Agriculture in the Classroom
Cornell University Department of Education
Ithaca, NY 14853-4203
P: 607.255.9253
F: 607.255.7905
E: Acm237@cornell.edu
Website
Classroom Resources
Agriculture Literacy Week 2011 Teacher Resource Guide and Activity www.nyaged.org/aitc/literacy.htm
3 Starter lessons for use in the Kids Growing Food program. They explore soil science, the harvest year and germination.
Major Program Accomplishments or Outputs
6 new KGF teacher mini grants were awarded to establish school food gardens through the Kids Growing Food program. One 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 5th annual Ag Literacy Week event in 2010. This year's project touched the lives of over 40,000 second grade students across New York State with over 300 volunteer readers in over 2000 classrooms in over 500 elementary schools. This year we added two new elements, the first being a book written by NYAITC Staff along with a Teacher Resource Guide. We are planning to conduct our sixth annual Ag Literacy Week this year using the book The Chicks and Chickens by Gail Gibbons.
We also conducted the annual Be Aware of Agriculture contest partnered with the New York State Farm Bureau Foundation for Education, which provided agriculture literacy and awareness to over 530 students within the state. Other partnered educational events with NY Farm Bureau Foundation for Education, CCE Educators, Ag Educators, and others to promote and distribute 100 History of American Agriculture CD s.
Workshops for teachers, extension educators, and volunteers were offered at several different venues, including Farm Bureau spring conference, Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Educators professional development conferences and at local CCE offices and schools.
NYAITC was present at many events around the state and our presence at the NYS Fair was dramatically expanded this year due to our management of the MOO Country area in the dairy building. Moo Country is an interactive children's area which includes a petting zoo, birthing video and a large Dairy-rama" which depicts the path milk travels from farm to table.
Major Program Impacts or Outcomes
350+ grants have been awarded since 1998 to start and develop school food gardens through the NY Ag in the Classroom Kids Growing Food program. Survey data indicates that the gardens impacted well over 65,000 students, teachers, and community members in 2007 by: creating opportunities to make links to agriculture, food systems, and good nutrition; increasing student motivation; providing opportunities for peer teaching; teaching life skills; integrating garden-based learning into the core curriculum; and involving the community in the gardens.
40000 elementary age students received instruction during our Ag Literacy Week Program.
150 Educators were trained on the Food, Land and People Curriculum
Over 30,000 passed through our Moo Country area at the NYS Fair.
530 students entered our Be Aware of NYS Agriculture Contest
Biosketch
Heather Davis is originally from Western Massachusetts. Growing up Heather had an interest in Equine and small animal science, but it was not until she attended the University of New Hampshire that she found her true passion for dairy science and agriculture education. Heather graduated with her bachelors in dairy science and then attended Cornell University where she received her masters in teaching (Agriculture and Biology) in the spring of 2008. Heather has a wide range of experience from working as a farm manager at UNH's dairy facility, a daycare attendant/trainer at a doggy day care or both a small and large animal vet tech. Since January of 2008 Heather has served as the interim coordinator for NYAITC and just recently was appointed to the permanent position.