Students Harvest Fun on the Farm
Kids love to play in the dirt, so what better way to teach them about agriculture and natural resources than by taking them to a farm for a hands-on experience to remember.
That was the recent lesson plan for more than 175 third grade students from Greensville Elementary School, as they participated in the fifth annual Farm Day. Each year, GP employee Susan Harrell, Wood and Fiber Supply, hosts the event on her farm in Emporia, Va.
Every 15 minutes, the students navigated through a series of stations where they learned about healthy eating, farm safety, wildlife, farm animals, forestry, water quality, soils and beekeeping.
“We try to make each of the stations as interactive as possible to give the students a hands-on approach to learning,” said Stacey Bradshaw, with the Chowan Basin Soil and Water Conservation District.
At the GP station, Susan and GP Forester Chris Harris taught the students that a tree is a valuable and renewable resource and showed them many examples of products that are made from trees such as gum, cookies and hot chocolate. Chris says the most important point he wants the kids to walk away with is the concept that trees are a renewable resource.
Susan and her husband Jesse have hosted the Greensville County School Farm Day event presented by Chowan Basin Soil and Water Conservation District (CBSWCD) in collaboration with the Greensville Farm Bureau Women’s Committee and Virginia Cooperative Extension for the last five years.
“If each and every child remembers just one thing about the importance of agriculture after visiting the farm, then our job was well done and we have accomplished our goal,” added Susan.
