Santa Rosa County receives education grant
Students around Florida will develop bio fuels, learn about commodities produced in their areas and participate in a statewide Arbor Day program, among other programs, as part of 23 volunteer grant projects Florida Agriculture in the Classroom has selected for funding for 2008.
The Santa Rosa County Extension will teach elementary and middle school students about horticulture production in their area by developing a demonstration garden at the Santa Rosa County Extension Office in the program ‘A Child’s Eye View: Gardening through the Eyes of a Child.’
Another grant, issued to the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA), will teach elementary students statewide about the importance of the Florida horticulture industry by having them participate in an Arbor Day Celebration in which schools receive vouchers for trees for their schoolyards in the program ‘Arbor Day: A Celebration of Florida Trees.’
Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, a non-profit organization, is based in Gainesville and approves grant projects around the state, many of them to be carried out by University of Florida/IFAS Extension and 4-H programs, county Farm Bureaus, local fair organizations, middle school and high school agri-science programs, and other non-profit organizations.
It will spend more than $24,000 and project organizers estimate they will reach more than 63,000 students statewide as part of these projects.
“This hard working group of agriculture industry volunteers helps Florida Ag in the Classroom reach even more students and teachers with the message of the importance of agriculture,” said Cara Martin, chairman of Florida Ag in the Classroom and assistant director of government and community affairs for Florida Farm Bureau.
“By providing them with grant money, these volunteers can tailor agriculture-related educational programs to the needs of their schools and communities,” Martin said.
Florida Ag in the Classroom uses proceeds from the sale of the agriculture specialty license plate, or the Ag Tag, to fund its teacher and volunteer grants programs and other Florida Ag in the Classroom programs.
The organization is now accepting applications for Teacher Grants for the 2008-09 school year, the application and guidelines of which are available on Florida Ag in the Classroom’s website at www.agtag.org and the deadline of which is Oct. 1.
For more information, please contact Lisa Gaskalla by emailing gaskalla@ufl.edu or calling (352) 846-1391.
