New school garden website, School to Farm Days, Teacher of the Year application and more

Check out what is going on at NHAITC!

October 2017

New School Garden Website

Check out our new website designed to help with school gardens! The N ew Hampshire School and Youth Garden Network has compiled garden-related lessons, tips from Master Gardeners, grant information, current opportunities and more. Although the website is still being populated, we already have a lot of great resources available. Be sure to check back occasionally to see what has been added! visit www.nhschoolgardens.org

National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference

Coming to Maine in 2018

Th e next National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference will be held in Portla nd, Maine! The dates are June 26-29, 2018. Take advantage of this great opportunity for workshops to spice up your classroom activities, keynote speakers, tours of Maine agriculture and more! Apply now for a CHS Scholarship to cover all of your conference expenses or consider presenting your own workshop to share the creative ways you include agriculture in your curriculum.

apply to present a workshop due 10/6/17

CHS Scholarship application and information due 10/15/17

New Dairy Resources

The New England Dairy Council recently partnered with Young Minds Inspired (YMI) to create printed and electronic resources for grades 5-8. They are designed to help students deve l o p a personal connection to the concept of sustainability through their own eating habits and through the example of New England's Regional dairy farmers. Students watch a video to find out how New England dairy farmers care for their cows and their fa rm land, learn why it is important to have three servings of dairy every day, and create a public awareness campaign to reduce food waste at school. click here for videos and lesson plans

Belknap County School to Farm Day

Almost 200 fourth grade students from around Belknap County joined us at Ramblin' Vewe Farm in Gilford for a day of hands-on agriculture education. Classes took part in demonstrations and activities featuring sheep, oxen, pumpkins, maple, garlic, dairy and more. Teachers appreciated the ties to history, math, science, ecology as an extension of their classroom curriculum.

Watch for information on the 2018 School to Farm events:

Merrimack County May 10th in Concord

Sullivan County May 16th in Unity

Grafton/Coos Counties May 24 in Bethlehem

Rockingham/Strafford Counties early June at UNH

Belknap County September 18 in Gilford

CULTIVATE: An Educator's Guide to Food Systems Series

The Food System program provides a

r igorous and relevant look at how we relate to our food system through authentic science and reflective practice. Educators will learn about topical teaching sequences, gearing lessons towards NGSS standards and planning deeper explorations into food sy stems with your class, and most importantly excite youth about the natural world! The next workshop taking place in Manchester on October 11th features soils and compost.

click here for more information

Free School Garden Soil Testing

The New Hampshire Master Gardener Association is offering 50 free soil tests throughout NH. These tests used only for school gardens are limited to 5 tests per county, first come, first served. If you need a Master Gardener to assist in collecting samples and interpreting the test results, please indicate that on your application.

click here for the application

(application deadline extended to 10/31/17)

NHAITC Teacher of the Year Award

Do you or a coworker integrate agriculture into your classroom? Here is an opportunity to recognize an outstanding New Hampshire elementary or secondary school teacher who uses agricultural education materials and/or activities in the classroom to teach core subjects.

The winner will be recognized in the spring at the Granite State Association of FFA Convention and will be submitted to National Agriculture in the Classroom to be considered for the Excellence in Teaching Award. Winners may also be considered for a registration scholarship at the 2018 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Portland, ME. Applications are due November 6, 2017 .

CLASSROOM CONNECTION NHAITC OUT & ABOUT

NHAITC has free seeds available for classroom projects. They are a year old, but should germinate just fine. Please email requests to [email protected].

Photosynthesis and You grades K-2
Students will learn about the process by which plants make their own food and how photosynthesis provides the food they eat.

Eggs in the World of Food Choices
grades 3-5
Students will learn about geographic, economic, human and cultural influences on food choices around the world and conduct research to learn about the influences behind an international egg recipe.

Food Scientist for a Day grades 6-8

Students focus on the science involved in the production of our food and explore the high-tech aspects of agricultural production as they learn about careers in food science.

NEA-NH Fall Instructional Conference

October 6th

Bow High School

NHAITC will be offering two workshops - one on integrating agriculture into your classroom and the second one on our Tapping Into Maple Tradition program.

NH Science Teachers Fall Conference

October 16th

Church Landing in Meredith

Join us for a workshop on Tapping Into Maple Tradition

NH Farm Bureau Annual Meeting

November 10, 2017

Keene, NH

Plan ahead for the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference to be held in Portland, ME!

June 26-29, 2018