Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation

Our final episode of Season 12 focuses on a statewide program for teaching about Oregon agriculture, the environment, and natural resources. Toni’s guest is Jessica Jansen of the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation, dedicated to helping K-12 educators use agriculture to add to their existing curriculum in science, math, history, and nutrition. This nonprofit organization, housed at Oregon State University and funded by Oregon’s agricultural community, offers resources at no cost through its lending library, educator workshops, and virtual field trips.

Jessica suggests that educators visit the foundation’s website to access these resources, noting in particular the kits mailed by the lending library to Oregon schools. Each kit is intentionally user-friendly with materials and clear instructions for a class project. Educators can choose kits in such varied subjects as spinning wool or growing and tasting microgreens. Toni recounts her own success with the foundation’s resources, making mozzarella cheese with her students and taking a virtual field trip to Christmas tree farms. With 220 different agricultural commodities in Oregon, even rural students will be unfamiliar with products from other parts of the state. Oregon educators in both rural and urban areas are encouraged to take advantage of this resource. 

 

Resources:

 

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom 

 

Monthly Subscription Boxes for grades 3-5 (only 20 subscriptions are available each year, so apply as soon as applications are accepted in August) 

“Jessica Jansen: ‘I love agriculture, and I love teaching people about it’” July 6, 2023. Women in Ag 2023, a Capital Press annual special section highlighting the contributions women make in the agricultural sector