- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Through the generous donations of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, Imperial County Vegetable Growers Association, Farm Credit West, Imperial Valley Water, and California Women for Agriculture-Imperial Valley there are a limited number of grants available to Imperial County Educators! Educators who attend the 2020 Free Virtual CA Ag in the Classroom Conference on September 25-26 are eligible to apply for the available grants.
These grants are to support the integration of agriculture into regular classroom instruction or after school programs with an academic focus. May be used for initiating new projects or to expand existing projects that promote ag literacy in Imperial County. Grants can be used to fund innovative lessons, activities, classroom resources, guest speakers, outreach programs, field trips, and other projects. For more information and a link to register for the conference, please visit http://drec.ucanr.edu/farm_smart/grant/
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Water has always been a precious commodity in Imperial County. With rainfall averaging less than 3 inches per year, this arid desert region depends on irrigation water from the Colorado River to continue its production of over 100 different commodities on its deep, rich soil. While water flowed has freely since the early 1900's, water transfers and growing metropolitan cities have put increased pressures on Imperial County to conserve and meet the demands of the future. Imperial County is the top producer of Alfalfa in California, and it is one of the top commodities in Imperial County, with over 150,000 acres of alfalfa harvested annually and shipped across the world. Alfalfa has also been Imperial Valley's biggest user of water as well as IV's most valuable field crop, with a gross value of $218 million in 2018 according to the Imperial County Crop Report.
The scientific findings from UCDREC and UCCE will continue to play a critical role in forming successful solutions to Imperial Valleys emerging water issues related to agriculture and alfalfa.
For more information on DREC and its educational program, please contact our Center Director, Jairo Diaz at jdiazr@ucanr.edu or our Farm Smart Program Manager, Stacey Amparano, at scwills@ucanr.edu. You can also reach us at (760)356-3060
Further reading/viewing:
The Early History of Water in Imperial Valley: Video
Early History of Water in Imperial Valley- Presentation and Study Guide
- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
Our inaugural IV Ag Tours for Teachers was a wonderful success. We can't say thank you enough to the Imperial Valley Community Foundation for the major support of this event and our wonderful ag community for opening their doors to the teachers- donations from Vessey & Company, Inc., Imperial Valley Water - IVH2O, Imperial California Olive Mill, One World Meat Company and guest speakers donating their time from Vessey and Company, Inc, Imperial Irrigation District, El Toro Land & Cattle Co., El Toro Export, University of California Cooperative Extension - Imperial County, and Vegcool
We, of course, cannot forget to mention our continued support for the Farm Smart program through the years from IID, Farm Credit West, Imperial County Farm Bureau, Keithly-Williams Seeds, Golden Valley Seed, and the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers. Their donations help us continue teaching kids(and adults) across the valley the importance of agriculture and where our food comes from.
- Author: Mariana Gonzalez Castro
On April 1st, I started my internship with the University of California Desert Research and Extension Center (UC DREC) and the Farm Smart program. When I began this internship, my only experience was working with high school and college students. I wanted to gain experience working with elementary students and creating lesson plans for K-12 schools. When I was notified that the 4-H program's annual Sustainable You summer camp wanted to collaborate with Farm Smart, I immediately offered to help and work with the 4-H program and its youth. I worked closely with faculty from the 4-H program, UC Cooperative Extension Office, and high school students in preparing for the camp's events. My role in this camp was to guide high school students in becoming camp counselors, preparing their lessons, and providing any supplies that they might need for the event.
The camp was divided into five topics, one topic per day. The topics were water, food, land, energy, and air. Each day highlighted the basic concept as well as major environmental issues, shown through group activities
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- Author: Stacey AMPARANO
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
for the
2018 California AG in the Classroom Conference
September 28-29 Palm Springs, CA
Have you been interested in finding new and exciting ways to bring food, fiber, flowers, and fuel into your learning environment? JOIN US for the 2018 California AG in the Classroom Conference. Through the generous donations of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, Imperial County Vegetable Growers Association, and Farm Credit Services Southwest there are a limited number of scholarships available to Imperial County Educators!
Visit the CA Ag In the Classroom website for more information on the Conference
APPLICATIONS DUE: August 30, 2018 by 5:00PM
Conference scholarship is open to Pre-K -12th grade educators in Imperial County who want to find new and exciting ways to bring food, fiber, flowers, and fuel into the classroom.
SCHOLARSHIP WILL INCLUDE:
- The cost of registration for Sept 28-29, which includes meals, tours, and all presentations ($265).
- 1 night at the Renaissance Hotel– Marriot in Palm Springs, CA ($139 plus taxes and fees)
*Attendees are responsible for their own transportation*
Send all applications to scwills@ucanr.edu
or
Eligibility:
- Pre-K -12th grade teachers; all subject areas
- Currently teaching in an Imperial County School in the 2018-19 school year
- Interest in increasing comfort level when teaching about agriculture
- Submit an application of interest by August 30th at 5PM
- Commitment to identifying resources to integrate agriculture into core content and instruction
- Willing to present to fellow educators and sponsoring organization on how you will integrate agriculture into your classroom
Questions?
Contact scwills@ucanr.edu