greenhorns and outreach initiatives to middle + high schoolers

Greenhorns is working in partnership with the Cornell Agricultural Education Department, Cornell Small Farms Program, NOFA NY, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and others in a multifaceted grant project to enhance educational opportunities for youth in agriculture. Our focus in the grant group is public school students in grades 7-12. For the first portion of the project our focus was to change attitudes about food, agriculture and farming as a career among ag-teachers and ag-students in the whole northeast region. Since this is a research grant to see if we actually can change attitudes, our first phase of research targeted eight schools, with eight control schools. Teachers at the set of target schools received professional development training, agricultural posters, a beautiful booklet with teaching resources from the Farm Based Education Association, Farm to School, Shelburne Farm and Grace Foundation (among others), DVD of an educational version of "the Greenhorns" film, and a classroom visit by young farmers. The purpose of an intervention like this is to get kids excited about agriculture, to provide a background to teachers who will be guiding students towards an agricultural career track, to raise general ag-literacy in these schools, and provide real world role models. Our partners are currently analyzing the data collected from this research, and then we will be using feedback to brainstorm even better ways to support teachers and engage students in the future. Additionally, we have helped with the collection of best resources to be shared on the brand new Northeast Beginning Farmers website. We are hoping to expand the "Education Portal" on the site to include more young farmer inspiration, and we are currently in the midst of creating a brand new resource booklet to continue to provide the Greenhorn spunk and spitfire for a future generation of farmers. We're also looking for inspiring young teenage farmers to interview on the Greenhorns Radio show and feature specially on the grant website. If you have recommendations, suggestions, ideas, resources, or case studies of projects, please let us know! Our multi-media approach: video, stickers, speakers, posters, teachers booklet, radio podcasts, and source book is a power-punch of content aimed at engaging more, new and younger farmers to the agricultural sector -- from diverse backgrounds (urban/non-farm/immigrant backgrounds) and to give a fuller, broader picture of what the agricultural sector has to offer. We bring our full experience as community organizers, promoters of agriculture, media-makers, and activist young farmers to this project with the understanding that our country needs many more brains, bodies, and businesses in agriculture, and our public schools must do all they can to support the cultural project of recruitment. To share ideas or get involved, please contact hannah@thegreenhorns.net or post your fun stuff to the Northeast Beginning Farmers facebook page. For more information on the USDA BFRDP grant (#2009-49400-05878) supporting this project, visit the USDA Web site. And if you want more cool projects like this to receive grants from the USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, contact your legislators and tell them to keep BFRDP funded in the next Farm Bill!