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Maine School Garden Network Opportunities! |
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WEBINAR
"Jumpstart Your School Garden"
When: April 9, 2021
Time: 3-4:30pm
Learn with colleagues about ways to jumpstart your school gardens with an exciting slate of presenters. Featuring seed saving, pollinator gardening, minimal summer maintenance techniques, orchard planning and engaging conversations that will lead to thriving school gardens. Register HERE.
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MSGN is Hiring!
This is a part time contract position to support and coordinate the work of the Maine
School Garden Network. The Network’s mission is “to promote and support educational
gardens for youth, and to encourage school programs which teach healthy eating and
environmental stewardship.”
Interested parties should submit resume, detailed cover letter, list of references, and
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Save the date for a kick off to this year's Maine School Garden Day activities! This year's event will be a little different than usual, but we hope you will still join us to learn about and celebrate school gardening. Instead of one large in person gathering, we'll host several smaller virtual events over the summer. Stay tuned for details.
Virtual Kick Off Event:
May 1st, 9-10:30am
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Have you ever wondered how farmed salmon are grown? The Farm on the Sea takes you on a journey through the full life cycle of a farmed Atlantic salmon.
Read the book online or watch the video and join Sunny, a rare blue salmon, for a guided tour of a salmon farm!
Visit The Farm on the Sea website for teaching and learning activities for grades K-5, and find other fun activities and challenges for students!
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Maine Nutrition Council Virtual Conference |
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The Maine Nutrition Council is having a virtual conference this year
Nutrition During the Pandemic: Trends and Triumphs.
The conference will take place over two days, April 6th and 7th, 2021 from 1pm-4:30pm.
This virtual conference will have a reduced fee of $55 for general participants and $25 for students/retired, and includes 6 professional development contact hours. Please contact Emily if you have any questions.
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National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference
"Field of Dreams"
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Registration for the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference "Fields of Dreams" scheduled for June 28-July 1 in Des Moines, Iowa, is officially open! The conference will be held as a "hybrid" conference at the Iowa Events Center with an in-person option for people who can travel and a live streaming/virtual option for people who cannot travel. Hear from Will Fett, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Literacy Foundation and conference host, as he personally invites you to the great state of Iowa with this brief Message!
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On-site workshops cover topics such as the science behind renewable energy, diversity in accurate agriculture literature and ioponics and hydroponics in classroom gardens, among other workshops. Traveling workshops visit a corn and soybean farm, a raspberry farm, and the Iowa Arboretum, among other stops. Curious what we have planned for pre- and post-tours, keynote speakers, workshops, and what it will look like to participate virtually? More information is available at Conference Website.
To register for the conference, please visit Conference Registration. Early in-person registration is $435, and is available until June 1, after which it will go up to $485. Virtual registation is $50.
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FoodCorps Service Member Applications are Open |
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FoodCorps service members spend a year teaching kids about healthy food. Whether you teach virtually or in person, you’ll earn a stipend, a year’s worth of trainings and professional development resources, and a network of passionate food educators. FoodCorps is especially looking for service members who are committed to equity, inspired by strong local communities, and creative in the face of a challenge—like serving during a pandemic. Learn more and apply here.
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Harvest of the Month - April is Maine Dairy! |
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Check out the great HOM materials:
for lessons, activities, books, and more!
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Teacher Resources Section |
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How Does Your Garden Grow? Grades K-2. Students will understand the needs of a seed to germinate and the needs of a plant to grow while exploring the life stages of a flowering plant.
Backpack Garden. Grades 3-5. Through project-based learning, students use school resources to construct and grow a school garden to supplement the school Backpack Program with fresh fruits and vegetables.
The Soil Chain. Grades 3-5. Students will recognize their relationship to soil and model the connections between common objects and the soil.
Bring Home the Blue, Not the Flu! Grades 3-5. Students investigate how diseases are spread, and discover how to prevent transmission between humans and animals.
Grades 6-8. Grades 9-12. Using the context of a county fair livestock show, students investigate how diseases are spread. With a focus on zoonotic disease, students will complete simulations demonstrating the spread of illness and implementation of biosecurity measures as well as complete an online module to deepen understanding of specific diseases and their prevention.
Plant Propagation. Grades 6-8. Students will learn about two types of plant propagation – seed planting (sexual) and stem cuttings (asexual) and recognize the genetic differences in these processes, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
How Much is Dirt Worth? Grades 9-12. Students will understand that topsoil is a limited resource with economic value. Activities include slicing up an apple to demonstrate the distribution of Earth’s soil resources and exploring scenarios involving the dollar valuation of soil.
Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE
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Don't forget that all SIX of our
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Glo Germ Set. Demonstrate proper handwashing technique, proper surface cleaning and how to prevent the spread of germs. This kit includes a gel, lotion, or a powder which glows when exposed to a long wave UV light. This kit can be purchased from a variety of online retailers, search keyword "Glo Germ."
Animated Life: Seeing the Invisible. This animated feature celebrates 17th-century citizen-scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, whose discoveries of microbes changed our view of the biological world. Also available in Spanish.
Soil Science Videos. To celebrate the International Year of Soils in 2015, the Soil Science Society of America created monthly videos teaching about various soil topics. These videos are a great supplement to soil science lessons.
School Gardens: A Guide for Gardening and Plant Science. This free guide can serve as a tool for teachers who are implementing a school garden program. There are 31 activities that can support and supplement hands-on experience in the school garden. Each activity is aligned to education standards. The guide was compiled for Minnesota, but can be adapted to other areas.
Genetic Science Learning Center. The Genetic Science Learning Center provides many teaching tools to supplement lessons on genetics, heredity, cells, cloning, and more. You will find virtual labs and simulations, graphics, and animations.
Parts of a Flower Poster. Introduce students to the processes of pollination and how traits are inherited from parents to offspring in plants with this interactive poster. The cross-section diagram clearly shows the petals, sepal, anther, pollen grains, filament, stigma, style, and ovary of a flower. Order this poster online from agclassroomstore.com.
Garden Planner. This handy bulletin board planner will help you keep your garden on track all year long. The complete kit contains one full-size bulletin board, 17 crop strips to attach to the bulletin board, 17 corresponding crop cards for planning and classroom activities, and full instructions about how to use the bulletin board. Order this kit online from agclassroomstore.com.
Activity: Show them the Germs! This activity helps students to understand how germs are spread and how they can prevent disease by washing their hands properly.
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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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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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