MAHS FFA celebrates Ag Literacy Week

Members of the Meyersdale Area High School FFA Chapter marked Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week with a series of visits to classrooms in the elementary school March 17 through 21. During their visits, students presented this year’s book The Soil in Jackie’s Garden, written by Peggy Thomas and illustrated by Neely Daggett.

Pennsylvania Ag Literacy Week focuses on connecting volunteers from the agricultural community to local classrooms to share the story of agriculture. This opportunity allows FFA members to be the face of agriculture in kindergarten through second grade classrooms across the commonwealth.

Members talked about farming and agriculture as they shared this year’s book and shared their own stories about farming, agriculture programs they are involved with or their connections to agriculture. FFA members also led students through activities related to the book that further emphasized the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives. A copy of the book was donated to the classroom teacher along with educational activities and resources to use throughout the school year.

This year’s book, The Soil in Jackie’s Garden, follows the adventures of Jackie and her garden friends as they embark on a journey of gardening, discovering soil secrets and the magic of composting. Jackie and friends embrace the joys of planting a garden, nurturing and harvesting their own food, and recycling scraps to compost, ensuring that the magical cycle of growth and sustainability continues anew.

This annual program is designed for students in kindergarten through second grade. Natalie Trowbridge and Carrie Jo Engle shared the story of Jackie and her garden with students in Mrs. Ashley Forrest’s kindergarten class on March 18th. Following a reading of the book, Carrie Jo and Natalie led the students through activities depicting the differences between composting and recycling and ways to “nourish a garden.”

Both young ladies said this project is a favorite for them as it provides them with the opportunity to share their passion for agriculture with younger students in hopes to inspire future FFA members.

“I love coming down to read to the students. I think it is so important to teach kids at an early age about the importance of agriculture and how it is a part of all of our everyday lives,” added Carrie Jo.

Natalie said this is the fourth year she has participated in Ag Literacy Week and she finds each experience enjoyable. “This is a lot of fun and I hope it encourages the kids to think about agriculture and its impact and hopefully one day encourages them to be members of the FFA.”