CHAMPION, Ohio (WKBN) – Elementary students in one local school district had a different type of learning experience on Friday, one that centered around where their food comes from.
Jared Sutton with Sutton’s Maple Syrup: “What kind of tree do we have to make maple syrup from?”
Kids: “Maple tree.”
Sutton: “Oh, that’s good, a maple tree.”
A first-of-its-kind lesson for students in Champion, one that brought a hands-on learning experience about the agriculture industry to the elementary school.
“It’s very important for students to understand where their food comes from and that it just doesn’t show up at a grocery store, it starts on a farm,” said 4-H educator Ashlee Meardith.
These students were the first to participate in the Ohio State University Extension-Trumbull County Office’s pilot program called Ag-Day.
Each of the eight stations included a different lesson where kids were taught about things like egg production, which products are made from grain and where maple syrup comes from.
“I can see already, you know, some of the students have never been exposed to things such as beekeeping and how you make maple syrup, how eggs incubate. So you never know what interest it can spark in the kiddos,” said Alexandra Nannicola, principal of Champion Central Elementary School.
“We hope to grow our program in future years and focus on urban communities first but eventually reaching all Trumbull County schools,” Meardith said.
