City to Farm teaches urban students about sustainable agriculture through a partnership with the Memorial Nature Fund (MNF) located in Wisconsin and Hubbard Street School (HSS) located in Chicago, IL.
Part One of City to Farm is a 4 week class that meets once a week for 3 hours. This class includes a day trip to Chicago’s Farm in the Zoo which includes a Farmers' Market, a working farm and an edible garden. MNF will meet with select farmers before to prepare them and ask them to provide examples of their stewardship. HSS will help students prepare questions and create goals about what they would like to learn from the farmers.
Farmers at the farmer’s market will educate students about their stewardship of land, water and air and how that stewardship creates a quality product that enriches Chicago and produces a profit to sustain the quality of life these farmers cultivate. Students will be able to taste the richness and quality of these fresh products in a culminating grand picnic in the park with products bought from the Farmers' Market.
Students will also visit the working farm in Lincoln Park and work with the staff there to learn more about farming. Educational exhibits, farm animals and farmers will engage students in hands-on farm work where students will be able to smell, touch and see this living classroom. HSS educators will lead a class connecting the farmers market to the farm discussing how a farmer makes money and different agricultural careers. MNF will lead a class connecting this farm to MNF’s Central Wisconsin farm, which students have virtually learned about, discussing such topics as rotational grazing, soil erosion and quality, nutrient management, water quality and crop/landscape diversity.
Students will then visit the edible garden and do some gardening. Gardeners will teach students how to care for and identify plants and how to know when to harvest. Students will have the chance to taste different vegetables and fruit and feel the soil. MNF and HSS staff will further connect the farmer’s market to the edible garden as well as to the MNF farm in Wisconsin.
After a healthy lunch, students will be free to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo and view wildlife in simulated settings.
Before visiting the Farm in the Zoo, HSS will pre-test students and discuss what they know about farming and what they want to know about farming. Students will be shown the proper clothing to wear for this day trip and what they need to bring. After visiting, students will write, draw, and creatively explain their experiences for a culminating event for their community, parents and the press. Many student projects will be included on HSS and MNF’s social networking and websites. Educators from both MNF and HSS will write articles about their experiences.
City to Farm Class Schedule:
First Class:
City to Farm first class introduces students to general farming concepts and scenes. Students will virtually learn about the Central Wisconsin Farm MNF manages and meet several of the farmers MNF works with. Student pre-test will gather information about student knowledge, interests and career goals.
Second Class
City to Farm second class students visit the Farm in the Zoo and the Farmers' Market in Lincoln Park. Students will have hands on opportunities to work with farm animals and plants and then meet farmers at the market ending in a nutritious lunch for all.
Third Class
City to Farm third class students create lessons, articles and other materials about their visit to the Farm in the Zoo. Students will learn to critique our social media offering suggestions, comments and insight. Students will create materials about their visit to the Farm in the Zoo and Framers' Market and their virtual tour of the farm and farmers MNF works with in Wisconsin for our social media such as classroom lessons/worksheets, blog posts and other materials Students will take a post-test to gather information about what students have learned, how their knowledge of sustainable agriculture has changed and if the experience has helped their career planning.
Fourth Class
City to Farm fourth class students present their Social media creations to an audience of peers, community members, parents and press
Please contact Hubbard Street School for more information about enrollment potential, we begin accepting enrollment in April for a class that suns for four weeks during the month of June.
Tree I.D.ing Project
Tree I.D.ing is a project designed to continue the creation of MNF's Outdoor Classroom Walking Trail which involves students, parents and community members from central Wisconsin and Chicago, IL in the fun and educational program of identifying trees in order to better understand our environment, our trees and ourselves. MNF along with its partner Hubbard Street School (HSS) has been developing an outdoor classroom walking trail on an 80 acre farm in Wisconsin. MNF melds its environmental education focus with partner HSS to bring Chicago youth to Wisconsin and Chicago educators to Wisconsin youth. MNF is dedicated to finding a balance between commercial, recreational with conservation of our natural resources. HSS’s mission is to educate today for tomorrow’s needs through student centered environmental education that encourages creativity, work ethic, global awareness and a balanced life. Together MNF and HSS reach students and community members with a unique education and environmental awareness.
Tree I.D.ing will primarily take place along the walking trail of the Wisconsin farm and the HSS campus where over 50 trees will be identified with signage and mulching from 2013-2014. Tree I.D.ing has two parts: first the selected trees will be prepared for signage through soil preparation and mulch rings that will protect and nourish the trees as well as allow trail walkers to easily see, read and enjoy the educational signs. Photos of the trees will be taken by students and students will research each tree to identify the trees’ names, needs, nutrients, ecosystem role and range so that correct signs will be used and to begin the creation of a trail guide book. This first part of Tree I.D.ing will allow several small groups of students a chance to participate in preparing the trees and researching the trees through reserved library books, Department of Natural Resources talks and visits by an area forester and a University of Wisconsin dendrologist. This process will include many activities from Project Learning Tree as well as curriculum integrated activities aligned to Wisconsin, Illinois and National Learning Standards.
The second part of
Tree I.D.ing is the sign placement which will include ordering the signs,
making the signs then placing the signs in the tree mulch ring. The common name and scientific name of each
tree will be on each sign as well as educational information about the tree.
Each tree will again be photographed by students and the trail guide will be
written, edited, printed and folded into booklets for trail use and to prepare
future student groups for their trail experience. The trail book section on
trees will include information about each tree:
common and scientific name, leaf form, branching form, short narrative
about the tree’s general history, purpose, species, leafing seasons, fruiting
seasons, ecosystem role and more. There
will also be word searches, crossword puzzles, a coloring page and other fun
activities that the students will create.
Each student group will work on certain trees and sections of the trail
guide.