Garces is the first California school to participate in Fun Farmer’s Academy.
Natalie Willis, Reporter, Valley Ag Voice
“Why are farmers important to us?” Ashleigh Rossi, Garces Memorial agriculture education teacher and FFA advisor, asked a room full of students.
“They feed us,” they replied.
From June 19 to June 22, Garces Memorial’s FFA students hosted a week-long summer camp to promote agricultural education and awareness for K-8 students. The program, Fun Farmer’s Academy, was established by Abbey Brown in Atlanta, Georgia to aid FFA chapters across the nation in getting younger generations involved in agriculture. Garces is the first school in California to adopt the summer course.
According to Rossi, Brown’s program gave her a foundation to build on as she adapted the agenda to California’s landscape and resources. The four-day program boasts a variety of activities including obstacle courses, creating seed bombs and a scavenger hunt.
Students also discuss the importance of agriculture in daily life and learn about various agriculture processes such as ear notching. Eighteen kids attended the program this year, with ages ranging from 6 to 13.
After seeing how the younger students at OLPH interacted with the livestock at Garces, Rossi felt a need to connect that generation with agriculture and allow them to experience the connection firsthand. She explained that her primary objective is for the kids to enjoy themselves and learn more about agriculture as well as to allow FFA students to experience leadership.
“Not only are we teaching the little kids about fun facts that they wouldn’t know or wouldn’t realize in their daily life, but it’s coming from our young leaders and it gives them an opportunity to kind of put their skills to work,” Rossi said.
Ten FFA officers helped Rossi lead and modify the program.
While the school is the first in the state to implement Fun Farmer’s Academy, Garces did not hold an FFA chapter until 2018. When Rossi established the program, 27 students joined. Almost five years later, the chapter includes 80 students and held its first showcase in May.
This year, Rossi explained that FFA students will have the opportunity to enter the Career and Leadership Development Events for various competitions and conferences. She pointed proudly to a wall in the far corner, decorated with various ribbons and accolades. The transition to the CDE world will be gradual as Rossi and her students balance additional work and activities.
“More than the competitions or other things that go along with that, I want them to have fun first,” Rossi said. “I want them to laugh; I want them to make memories. It’s about riding in the car. It’s about going to stay in hotel rooms. It’s about silly things like this that I think they look back on and say, ‘I’m glad I did that.’”
