WHOLE KIDS FOUNDATION GRANT AWARDED TO BOLIVAR-RICHBURG

BOLIVAR - Teaching at a public high school is challenging, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our local schools' administration, faculty, and staff have spent months adjusting to the "new normal" and navigating obstacles that come with hybrid teaching modules. This may lead one to think: how is Agriculture in the Classroom and other interactive learning going to be impacted by heightened safety regulations? "We have to make sure that our hands-on lessons don't involve students sharing equipment" states Bolivar-Richburg High School Science Teacher, Patricia Eshelman. For courses that emphasize teamwork and collaboration, this simple shift in lesson-planning is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Serendipitously for the Bolivar-Richburg School district, a new grant has made it possible for their "Sustainable Living and Agriculture" class to have one raised garden bed per student to tend for the year. Earlier in 2020, the Whole Kids Foundation announced their latest round of Garden Grant awards and Bolivar-Richburg Middle-High School was one of the recipients of a $3,000 grant. The district has used the funds to purchase and install the additional raised beds in their school farm called the Wolverine Environmental Education Center. They have procured cloth barrier and gravel that will tame the weeds that grow in corridors and make it easier to garden. When Patricia Eshelman and Cassandra Bull (Farm to School Coordinator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Allegany County) sat down to write the grant, they had no idea just how appreciated this project would become. "I am grateful that we have our outdoor classroom to work in this year. For now, the students are still able to enjoy the class as it was intended and learn scientific and business-oriented concepts through agricultural lessons", says Eshelman.

 

Funding from the Whole Kids Foundation has come during a time of financial cutbacks and uncertainty. The Sustainable Living and Agriculture course was designed to introduce BRCS students to a wide survey of topics and opportunities the agricultural industry has to offer. This new addition from the Whole Kids Foundation will enhance the SLA class and WEE Center's mission to create informed consumers and to inspire a new generation of environmental stewards in a safe, socially-distant way. To stay up to date about the WEE Center, like them on Facebook (@BRCS WEE Center). Please contact Allegany Extension Educator, Cassandra Bull, at 585-268-7644 ext. 25 or CB775@cornell.edu for questions or to be involved in any of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s programs.