The Delaware Farm Bureau (DEFB) Foundation was actively involved in the community this past summer visiting schools, camps, churches, and clubs to teach youth about agriculture.
The DEFB Foundation was created to build awareness, understanding and positive public perception about Delaware’s farm operations, promote fresh local food. This summer, the DEFB Foundation interacted with an estimated 6,500 students through engaging and educational visits.
Agricultural education visits occurred as far north as Wilmington, as far south as Laurel, and everywhere in between. “It’s important that youth, regardless of where they are from, come to know and acknowledge the importance of agriculture” said DEFB Ag Literacy Coordinator Noah Dixon. “The future of agriculture depends on the time and effort of the present. We need to continue pouring into others until they love the industry like we do.”
With the start of the school year, the DEFB Foundation is gladly accepting requests for classroom visits. Classroom visits are free of charge, and all materials for the lesson are provided. A representative from the DEFB Foundation will visit your program to lead interactive and educational experiences for students in any programs Pre-K through high school.
“One of my favorite parts of the experience was watching our students begin to understand the connection from farm to table,” said Victoria Sebastian, special education teacher at Cape Henlopen High School. “Although we live in Sussex County, where agriculture is such a big part of our community, many of our students had never had the opportunity to make those connections through hands-on learning. They didn’t just hear about where food comes from, they learned about growing it, prepared it, learned about the animals involved, and then saw those concepts come to life at the fair. Watching them recognize the animals, crops, and exhibits they had already learned about and proudly make those connections was incredibly rewarding.”
If you want to learn more about educational visits or hope to have DEFB Foundation come to your program, please call us at (302) 697-3183 or visit defb.org/foundation/.
