Texas Farm Bureau recently awarded Carla Mata at Alkek Elementary a $500 grant for her School Garden. The Bandera Co. Farm Bureau matched it with a check for $500.
The goal of the “Garden Grant” is to teacher students about farming in a smaller platform.
The “Learning from the Ground Up” garden grant from Texas Farm Bureau will help students by providing additional resources for the project.
“Research shows that students benefit academically and socially when they engage in hands-on learning,” Booker Young, Bandera County Farm Bureau president, said.
Hands-on learning in a garden can help students better understand situations that farmers and ranchers face, Young noted.
“The soil in the garden must be prepared before seeds can be planted. It’s what farmers do, too,” Booker said. “The garden needs water just like crops in a field. And after a full growing season, the students can pick what they planted. It’s the same concept when farmers like me harvest their crops. In agriculture, our equipment is just bigger, because we must cover more ground.”
The Learning from the Ground Up garden grant applications will open again next summer.
BCFB encourages teachers and other program educators to apply for the grant to help build or improve school gardens, greenhouses, raised beds or hydroponic and aquaponic projects that provide students with hands-on, experiential learning about agriculture and food production.
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