Agriculture in ALL Classrooms Grant

Applications will open on December 1, 2024

Agriculture impacts our lives every day in all subject areas – STEM, ELA, Social Studies, Art, Music...the possibilities are endless! Let your creativity be your guide to incorporating agriculture themes into unexpected curriculum and bring relevance and context that enhance student learning in any space. Formal and non-formal (volunteer) educators and/or groups are eligible to apply for Agriculture in ALL Classrooms Grants of up to $500 per grant.

Get inspired by reviewing previously funded projects

Trout in the Classroom

Students raised and released 48 rainbow trout from January-May 2024. Students oversaw daily feeding and water quality monitoring. They also learned about the life cycle, natural habitat, and conservation efforts. Grant money was used to fund equipment necessary for raising trout in a recirculated system and the bus costs for the release field trip.

"This was our most successful year ever! Thank you for your support!"
– Jenna McCann, Merrimac Community School

Drones in Agriculture

The budget money was used to purchase software (Pix4D Fields) to analyze field data from multispectral drone mapping. Over the summer of 2023 students and staff mapped several local fields and forests. Then using the Pix4D and its Artificial Intelligence, we looked at the fields to understand and analyze the data. Identifying areas of draught, low nitrogen levels and weeds were only a small part of the software's capabilities. This was done with all the Remote Pilot classes in the fall of 2023 and spring of 2024.

Hatching Chicks

With our Chick Hatching grant, the kindergarten classes successfully hatched 37 chicks and 2 ducks. We used the grant money to purchase a top of the line Brinsea 56 EX fully automatic incubator. This incubator is typically around $700. I found an amazing sale and offered them for $479. We used the remainder of the grant money to purchase chick food for the classroom. The new incubator replaced our old incubator which made viewing hatching difficult and was starting to have very inconsistent hatches due to being old/worn out. With our new incubator we had a 95% hatch rate and the teacher workload to control humidity/egg turning and monitoring temperatures was minimal.

"We were so excited to have received the grant this year. We are thankful to Ag in the Classroom and WI Farm Bureau for supporting this program!"
– Brooke Behling, Stetsonville Elementary School

Artisan Cheese

Cheese making principles and techniques were implemented into an introductory culinary class. The course began by introducing the history and significance of cheese in various culinary traditions. Next, students explored the cheese making process with hands-on labs that included making mozzarella cheese and preparing a dish, "Three Cheese Gnocchi Bake," that featured four different cheeses. Additionally, to reinforce learning, students engaged in tasting sessions and learned to pair different cheeses with accompaniments. Throughout the unit, emphasis was placed on food safety, sanitation, and sustainable practices, while highlighting potential career paths in the cheese industry.

"This was unit was so much fun and remarkably delicious!"

Enviroscape

Every student and teacher at SAGES participated in one of six interactive workshops facilitated using Enviroscape – a model to demonstrate various types of pollution and the impact to watersheds. The pilot program was tested with students in grades K-6. In addition, a lot of additional "pollutants" and accessories to the teaching model and manual. The Enviroscape model helped students to visualize the flow of water through our community.

"During our test program, the I learned that a parent of a student at SAGES used to be a trainer/educator for the Enviroscape in Georgia! She has a lot of very helpful suggestions and provided a lot of guidance on how to make the presentation even more impactful and interactive. This education tool will be used for community outreach and throughout the district going forward."