Farm Director KC Sheperd is talking with Emily Ague about some fun summer events coming up hosted by Oklahoma Ag In The Classroom, including the AITC summer road trip.
Ague said AITC is working on a specialty crop grant through the USDA which will help with specialty crop educator tours across the state.
“We did one in December, and we have one coming up this Saturday, April 27th, and then we will actually do a couple more throughout the summer and then during the fall,” Ague said. “This Saturday, we are going to see strawberries and grapes around Oklahoma.”
Ague said coming up June 4th through June 6th is the bedlam themed AITC summer road trip.
“The Oklahoma Beef Council sponsors so much of that trip, and we are so thankful to them,” Ague said. “We have a group of teachers that have been chosen to attend. We had well over 125 apply for the trip, so we have narrowed that down to the 53 we can fit on the bus, and we are excited to do that.”
Ague said the trip will be similar to last year. After spending one day around the Norman area, the group will head to Stillwater for a couple of days.
“We have several teachers that are familiar with agriculture on some sort of level that do come on the road trip, but we have several teachers that have never been around agriculture before, so there are so many things that are brand new to them,” Ague said. “Of course, it is nice for us to be able to teach certain aspects of agriculture that are so important that they may not otherwise learn and be able to pass on to their students.”
When it comes to implementing the resources offered on the Ag In The Classroom website, Ague recommends that teachers start small. The lessons available on the website cater to agriculture that is relevant at different times of the year.
“Start implementing maybe one thing a month in their classroom,” Ague said.
To learn more about AITC, Ague recommended reaching out to an AITC team leader to schedule a talk about the resources available and signing up for their newsletter.
“Ask to get connected with one of us,” Ague said.
To visit the Ag In The Classroom website and check out resources, lessons, and more, CLICK HERE!
