Being a North Carolina Farm Bureau member has a lot of perks – discounts, scholarship opportunities, leadership development programs, and even the occasional educational trip. But there’s one program that you don’t have to be a member to enjoy the benefits, and that’s North Carolina Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program. (We talked about the program in detail last summer, so be sure to check out that post.)
Since the program’s beginning 32 years ago, we have endeavored to provide professional development workshops throughout the state for K-8 teachers. But over the years we’ve tried to shift our workshops away from a lecture format towards more of a hands-on, in-the-field learning experience. After all, if you have to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs), wouldn’t you rather do it live on the farm instead of sitting in a classroom all day listening to hours and hours of lectured material?
Enter our Going Local Workshop series. Every summer, these workshops are held directly on the farm and are a great way for teachers to gather materials, lesson plans, and current teaching methods to help show students where our food and fiber comes from locally.