Farm Bureau grants enable AgriLife Extension, South Elementary to create vegetable garden
With grants from the Texas Farm Bureau and the Stephens County Texas Farm Bureau, Breckenridge South Elementary’s third graders and Sumer Russell, the Stephens County AgriLife Extension agent, created a garden that will continue to be used by students in the future.
Stephens County’s Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office was selected to receive the Texas Farm Bureau’s “Learning From the Ground Up” Garden grant of $500. Through the grant, the school also had the opportunity to form a partnership with the local Stephens County Texas Farm Bureau, which matched the grant with an additional $500.
“That is a total of $1,000 for our South Elementary school garden program ‘Learn Grow Eat Go,'” Russell said in a news release.
The students planted onions, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots, spinach and Swiss chard. They will pick the vegetables and create recipes with their harvest, Russell explained.
The goal of a school garden is to provide hands-on group and individual learning experiences that will encourage a love of gardening and the development of an appreciation for agriculture. Through the interdisciplinary program, students can absorb academic achievement, gardening and agriculture awareness, nutrient-dense food experiences, physical activity and school and family engagement, Russell said.
Youth gardening projects have been shown to help increase children’s self-esteem while also helping them develop a stronger sense of ownership and responsibility.
“Overall, from this program we are striving to ‘grow’ good kids that are vegetable loving, agriculture advocates,” Russell said. “Thank you, Texas Farm Bureau and Stephens County Texas Farm Bureau for the support to help make our ‘Learn Grow Eat Go’ garden program a vision into a reality.”
Some of South Elementary’s third graders celebrate their new vegetable garden. The project was funded by grants from the Texas Farm Bureau and the Stephens County Texas Farm Bureau obtained by Texas A&M AgriLife Family and Community Health Extension Agent Sumer Russell. (Photo Courtesy of Sumer Russell/AgriLife Extension)
Cutline, top photo: Third graders at Breckenridge’s South Elementary show their appreciation to the Texas Farm Bureau and the Stephens County Texas Farm Bureau for grants that enabled them, along with AgriLife Extension Agent Sumer Russell, to build vegetable gardens. The gardens will continue to be an educational project for future third graders. (Photo courtesy of Sumer Russell/AgriLife Extension)
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