BY CRAIG W. ANDERSON

The semi truck and its colorfully painted trailer pulled into the Rio Calaveras Elementary School’s parking lot and when dozens of fourth-graders began seeing the presentations, agriculture had fully arrived at the Stockton school.

“California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom has partnered with Crop Production Services (part of Agrium, Inc., a major retail supplier of ag products and services throughout the country and globally) to make the Seed Survivor Mobile Trailer unit available to elementary schools throughout the state,” said Judy Culbertson, executive director of the California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom.

California tour touts ag ed

The Seed Survivor Mobile will tour California schools until May 2012, bringing a plant nutrient classroom experience and an interactive learning curriculum that teaches elementary students about growing healthy plants, and where food comes from.

John Erisey, Walnut Grove branch manager of Crop Production Services, said, “Agrium’s President Michael Wilson, is very proactive regarding agricultural education and this mobile program is indicative of that.”
Crop Production Services is a full service distributor of crop inputs throughout the west and the country.

Importance of ag stressed

“It’s important to keep getting information about agriculture out there into our schools so youngsters will have some knowledge about ag,” said Culbertson. “We’re excited to educated elementary students and this experience will help connect them to their food source.”

She said learning about and understanding where their food comes from and the role played by agriculture – California’s No. 1 industry – “is as important as anything else they’re learning in the classroom.”

Fifteen students at a time spend the first half of the presentation on a guided plant nutrient session in the classroom, concluding the second part of the session with a hands-on session in the large Seed Survivor trailer playing multi-media and virtual reality video games.

The assortment of interactive stations give students additional opportunities to learn more about how plants grow and what’s needed for them to do so.


Trailer first time in state

Mindy Burris, communication coordinator for the foundation, said the program for fourth-graders is in California for the first time and that the truck-trailer combination is based out of Canada and, “Judy [Culbertson] really fought to get this program into California. We would love to have our own program in the state.”


Second trailer on way, kids love it
Culbertson said a second trailer, now under construction, will be featured at the AIC national convention in Loveland, Colo., in June.

Sixth-grade teacher Terri Mercer was shepherding students from the classroom sessions conducted by Seed Survivor presenter Renee Dickey, to the big classroom-on-wheels trailer and she was impressed with the program.

“The kids love it and the curriculum lines up with California’s fourth-grade science standards,” Mercer said. “It’s a fun activity learning where food comes from.”


Education needed

She said the urban community is “clueless about food sources and has no connection to the land.” Mercer added that the non-ag portion of the populace is woefully unaware of what agriculture offers in the way of “endless opportunities for work in the industry. These kids and their families are not aware of the ag opportunities out there.”

Ag companies recruit and they’re always looking for good, qualified people, she said, adding, “The urban community doesn’t realize the significant role technology plays in agriculture and the opportunities it creates and will continue to offers their children.”


Trailer on tour

Erisey said, “The current trailer will be in Northern California until May and will move to Southern California for the remainder of the year.”

During this current Northern California portion of the tour the Seed Survivor Mobile has visited 36 elementary schools since Oct. 20 and, said Culbertson, “It will visit hundreds of Northern California schools by May.”


Huge numbers of children participate

“More than 79,000 children in 2010 planted seeds at Seed Survivor,” said Lindsey Metheral, Agrium’s Program coordinator. “We want children to grow up to be healthy eaters, to be interested in agriculture, and to understand where their food comes from.”

Agriculture is a vital industry in California, Culbertson said, and the Seed Survivor Mobile experience “will allow students to learn and appreciate this important industry that is crucial to maintaining a safe, healthy and nutritious food supply.”