September 2021
By Brian McNeill, Extension Educator, Center for 4-H Youth Development
I would like to introduce you to some new curriculum written right here in Minnesota. Fields, Food & You: Cultivating Global Agriculture Awareness was written and developed by a small team. Team members include Extension Educators in Youth Development: Brian McNeill, Jessica Russo, Amy Nelson, Kirstin Koch, Becca Turnquest, and Kaitlin Barbossa. This new curriculum was launched to 4-H staff in May and is available online.
This curriculum is designed to expand the world of agriculture for youth in grades 3-8th. Teachers and adults can download this curriculum and embed it into their classrooms or non formal learning such as a 4-H Club. Lessons have been developed, peer reviewed, tested and compiled into one easy to use curriculum. Unique to this package is a focus on Global Citizenship. Our hope is to help young people think globally and act locally.
The curriculum provides background information, suggested outlines for the experience, tested activities, and even suggestions and ideas to take it further. Some of the content areas include: seeds, plants, soil, drainage, erosion, insects, weeds and managing manure.
Gain access to this curriculum, or you can use this link https://z.umn.edu/4HAgronomycurriculum.
Please share this resource with school teachers or anyone who is working with youth. This is adaptable to any setting.