It’s not everyday that a Colorado Farm Bureau county wins a grant from the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), but Larimer County Farm Bureau did. The grant totals $750.00. The program will educate youth about the connections between agriculture and the environment, as well as further the understanding of the relationship between food, fiber and energy.
Larimer County Farm Bureau applied for one of the AFBF White-Reinhardt Mini-Grants after Kendra Jacoby, a teacher at a local Skyview Elementary, reached out looking for help. Skyview is an agriculture based STEM school in Windsor, CO focused on engaging each grade level in different agricultural projects. From preschool to fifth grade, students learn about pollinators, planting seasons, dairy processes, compost, life cycles, social responsibility, soil health and agriculture’s most valuable resource, water.
“Larimer County Farm Bureau supports agriculture education very strongly. Even though Windsor is in Weld County, we participate with the Weld County elementary schools when they do their outdoor AG Day,” says LeeAnn Bee of Larimer County. “We go and present there and spend time with those kids, so this is just one more way to help give to that program in Windsor.”
Through the year, Larimer County engages with kids to further their agricultural education. When the opportunity to apply for the grant came, Larimer County was happy to help.
The grant will support learning in environmental and agricultural education helping to cover expenses for new outdoor learning spaces at Skyview. The money will be used to buy two new grow lights and stands, one coal frame, two cedar beds, and a compost bin for the area. Teachers will take students outside the traditional classroom and into the new space, allowing for increased engagement when tending to the garden.
Bee is excited about the opportunity for the county increase their reach to other schools in Windsor and throughout Larimer county. They plan to apply for more grants in the future and extend agricultural education in their area in the years to come.
To apply for the White-Reinhardt Mini-Grants, the county completed an application form that included a timeline and budget, and identified the program’s target audience.
“In this case, [the target audience is] its students and teachers on a day-to-day basis, and then families and communities as the garden becomes more operational,” said Bee.
Applicants must also show how projects connect to AFBF’s Foundation of Agriculture’s Pillars of Agriculture Literacy. Those pillars are the relationships between;
- agriculture and the environment, food, fiber, and energy,
- agriculture and animals;
- agriculture and lifestyle,
- agriculture and technology, and
- agriculture and economy.
Bee and Skyview are looking forward to the progress of the program. Stay tuned for how this great project turns out.
Click here to learn more about the AFBF’s White-Reinhardt Mini-Grants.
