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MAITC Grants! Now Online!! |
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Maine Agriculture in the Classroom is transitioning to ONLINE Grant Applications! Please be patient with us as we navigate this new process.
You can access the online grant applications on the grants page on our website.
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MAITC Grants are funded by owners of the Agricultural Specialty License Plate |
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Need some ideas and inspiration? Check out the archived lists of previously funded projects!
Apply for funding to support ideas that teach through the lens of agriculture. Submit your application to support your endeavor using agriculture as a context for learning!
DEADLINES:
Category 1 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $1,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 2 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 3 - School Garden & Greenhouse Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 31, 2023.
Category 4 - Agriculture Leadership Grant - Up to $1,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: August 31, and December 15, 2023.
Category 5 - Statewide Agriculture Education Organization Grant - Up to $2,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: August 31, and December 15, 2023.
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Summer Teacher's Institute |
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REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JULY 15th!
Register Today for the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Summer Teacher's Institute!
Join us this year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle from July 31 - August 4, 2023. 28 Contact Hours or 2.8 CEU’s. Scholarships are available! Learn more on our website!
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School Garden Caretakers Grant Applications |
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The Maine School Garden Network (MSGN) is proud to present a new grant program to provide five $2000 mini grants to pay School Garden Caretakers in Maine, thanks to the generous support of the Sewall Foundation. The funds will be issued to school programs and must be used within 1 year of the award.
APPLICATION DEADLINE – 4pm on AUGUST 31st, 2023.
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NAITC Summer Virtual Conference |
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National Agriculture in the Classroom will offer a free, one-day summer virtual conference sponsored by the CHS Foundation on July 20th, from 10am-5:45pm Eastern Time.
Hear from children's book author Lisl H. Detlefsen, and attend valuable sessions featuring a variety of agricultural subjects and interests for all grade levels.
This professional development event is sure to leave you with valuable agricultural literacy resources and excitement for the new school year.
The conference will be recorded and accessible shortly after it takes place.
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Get Hyped for Kelp Curriculum! |
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Did you brush your teeth with toothpaste today?
Have you eaten ice cream recently?
If so, you have seaweed to thank! Now, you can learn (and teach!) more about the amazing world of seaweed through this collaborative project with the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center (MAIC) and partners!*
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During the summer and fall of 2023, MAIC and partners will distribute copies of the book With a Little Kelp from Our Friends, written by Mathew Bate and illustrated by Liz Rowland, to Maine educators. Along with a copy of the book, the team will provide teacher resources to increase seaweed aquaculture literacy!
Visit the project website to learn more and sign up to receive updates and learning materials!
*This project is a collaboration between the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, the World Wildlife Fund, Maine Sea Grant, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, and the University of Maine.
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More Events & Opportunities! |
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“School Garden Grown” is an opportunity for local schools to promote awareness of their great work and show off their school garden’s bounty. MSGN encourages schools to enter their produce in agricultural fairs, and we work with volunteers and fair personnel to display stickers on their produce once exhibition hall judging takes place.
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Our friends at Green Our Planet are offering two programs to provide schools and students more access to gardens and garden-based learning. Learn more about their GardenConnect and HydroConnect programs!
Applications for each program are open now, and schools must apply by July 21, 2023, to be considered.
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The Maine School Garden Network Summer Garden Tours are a chance to unwind and relax with fellow school garden coordinators, teachers and volunteers. Each location offers a chance to see school gardens in full bloom, learn different growing tips, techniques, and exchange ideas. Most tours conclude with a pot luck meal. The tour schedule:
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July 27th, 3:30-5:30pm - Mt. Ararat High School, Topsham, ME
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August 16th, 3-5pm - Old Town Elementary School, Old Town, ME
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Looking for a classroom pet?
How about adopting a COW?!
The Discover Dairy “Adopt a Cow” program is an exciting, year-long experience for your classroom, and totally free! Registration is open for the 2023-2024 program. You and your students will watch a calf on a New England dairy farm grow, receiving photo updates and stories about her throughout the school year.
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Christina Sue Lilja Resource Grants (formerly known as White-Reinhardt Resource Grants) are made possible by the CSL Foundation. The purpose of these grants is to provide funds to educators to enable them to purchase accurate agricultural literacy materials from the AFBFA store for use in their classrooms. By providing this grant, AFBFA hopes to help students gain access to more accurate information about agriculture. Grantees will be issued a $100 credit to the AFBFA store.
Applications are due July 21, 2023.
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Harvest of the Month - July is Maine Summer Squash! |
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Click here for the great Harvest of the Month (HOM) materials - posters, fact sheets, recipes, social media promo, and more!
All of our HOM Resource Pages can be found on our Teach ME site under "Teaching Units"
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Teacher Resources Section |
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Crookneck Squash Row. Grades PreK-K. This Grow It, Try It, Like It Nutrition Education Kit from USDA Team Nutrition contains hands-on activities, planting activities, and nutrition education activities focused around Crookneck Squash.
Freshest Fruits. Grades K-2. Students determine where fruits grow and their nutritional value by completing an activity to observe the size, shape, texture, and seeds of various fruits.
Right This Very Minute. Grades 3-5. Students read Right This Very Minute—a table-to-farm book about food production and farming—and diagram the path of production for a processed product, study a map to discover where different commodities are grown, and write a thank-you letter to farmers in their local community.
DNA: Expressions in Agriculture. Grades 6-8. This lesson centers around the activity of extracting DNA from a strawberry while highlighting careers in biotechnology and agriculture.
Strawberry Breeding and Genetics. Grades 9-12. Students learn about DNA by extracting it from strawberries. Students also analyze the similarities and differences of their extraction process to those on Genetic Engineering: The Journey of a Gene. Students learn how genetic testing (including DNA extraction) is useful in breeding new varieties of strawberries.
Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE
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Strawberry DNA Necklace. This kit allows students to take home visible proof that plants have DNA. Each kit contains enough supplies for 100 students to make their own DNA necklace. The kit contains cheesecloth, funnels, pipettes, test tubes, flasks, microcentrifuge tubes, and yarn, all in a sturdy plastic storage container. Refill kits are also available. Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Strawberry Ag Mag. The Strawberry Ag Mag was written for elementary and middle school students. In this issue, students learn about the history of the strawberry, hybridization, the life cycle and anatomy of the strawberry plant, careers, and more. The reader can be viewed by students electronically on individual devices, as a class with a projector, or printed.
Garden Genetics: Teaching With Edible Plants. Tired of teaching genetic concepts with the same old pink petunias and Mendel’s peas? With Garden Genetics, you can present core content in ways that are fun for students and fresh for you. This two-part set—a teacher edition and companion student edition—is adaptable to biology students at all levels, including AP. It uses a series of activities and inquiry-based experiments with familiar foods to teach genetics while helping students make connections to ecology, evolution, and plant biology.
Before the Plate Website. The Before the Plate website contains information about the Before the Plate documentary and videos and explanations for each step of the farm-to-fork process for beef, potatoes, honey, milk, and sunflowers.
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More funding opportunities are listed from some of our friends:
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ReTreeUS plants orchards in schools and provides educational programs that empower people to be healthy environmental stewards.
Fuel Up to Play 60 offers educators a wide array of resources they can use to help students make sustainable changes in their school environment.
Agroworld is an agricultural science e-zine developed for the secondary educator.
KidsGardening has ideas about plants and gardens, teacher resources, and grant opportunities.
The Chop Chop magazine and website has easy and healthy recipes.
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This document is a compilation of agriculture related resources to be used in virtual and remote learning.
Pictures, videos, and words are hyperlinked throughout the document.
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Funding from this plate has impacted up to 200,000 students annually with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Annually up to $60K is distributed in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
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Donate today to The Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Association
The Non-profit, completely volunteer, portion of MAITC. These funds are used directly to support teacher scholarships and recognition, and support volunteer participation for Ag education programs. Your donation is completely tax deductible and you can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation which will support the mission, "to promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public." If you have any other questions or would like to join this group please contact the chairman, Maryjane Stafford. Donate Here.
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Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
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28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
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