Senior Field Studies allows high school students to see what life is like on a farm or ranch. As one of CFB’s most impactful programs, Senior Field Studies is a way to bridge the gap between urban and rural communities. Students visit a farm or ranch family for a week to see what life is like on an agricultural operation. This program has had great success over the years and has proven to build understanding between urban and rural communities while giving each student an invaluable experience that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives.

This year’s event takes place from April 9 – 15 and we need host families to open to their arms and homes to a student.

If you are interested in hosting a student, please contact Becca Edlund (303.667.5075) or Tanner Anderson (575.607.0655); SFS@ColoradoFB.org.

More about Senior Field Studies

 

General Information: Seniors from Bear Creek High School participate in a semester-long course focused on experiential learning. Students visit a variety of communities including spending this week with a rural family.  The CFB Women’s Leadership Committee sponsors the rural segment of Senior Field Studies and is very proud of how successful the program has been over the years.

About the Students: Students are from a wide variety of backgrounds and are of different races and nationalities. They are not necessarily interested in a career in agriculture, but are studying farming, ranching and rural living to add depth of understanding and perspective.

Hosting a Student: Host families are encouraged to include students in the everyday chores and work on the farm or ranch. Students can be kept busy through work activities that may include driving a tractor or truck, calving, fertilizing, fence fixing, bookkeeping, etc. Basically, they pitch in as if they are one of the family!

Preparing for the Week: The schools will assign each student to a family in March, based upon the information provided in your application. Please be specific when filling out your application. Describe your operation in detail and try to describe what an average day on your farm or ranch might be like.

During the Week: Interaction and discussion between the student and the family is extremely important. The experience is much more meaningful to the student if the family explains more than how to do things, but why they do them. Students also need appropriate time to themselves and for homework due after the experience such as essays, notebook and a field journal

If there is time, host families may want to let the student experience some activities in the community such as schools, water meetings, meetings of various organizations, sales, visits to other farms, etc.