{"id":1811,"date":"2013-02-01T10:49:13","date_gmt":"2013-02-01T15:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/piscataquis\/?p=1811"},"modified":"2013-02-01T10:49:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-01T15:49:13","slug":"growme-sprouts-and-spurts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/piscataquis\/2013\/02\/01\/growme-sprouts-and-spurts\/","title":{"rendered":"GrowME Sprouts and Spurts!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local collaboration will provide classroom activities<\/strong>…<\/h3>\n

Dover Foxcroft — While it might be difficult to think about gardening and farming in February, a group of area volunteers are doing just that as they plan this year\u2019s GrowME program being offered to K-3 teachers and schools in the Piscataquis County area. The program is the result of collaboration between Valley Grange, PCSWCD (Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District) and UMaine Piscataquis County Extension.<\/p>\n

The program aims to utilize local volunteers who will work with teachers to schedule an agricultural activity in their classrooms during Maine Agriculture Week (March 18-33). Joanna Tarrazi, Executive Director of PCSWCD is particularly excited over the \u201chands on\u201d aspect of the activities. \u201cThanks to our rural nature in Piscataquis County, we don\u2019t have the \u2018nature deficit\u2019 that some more urban areas experience,\u201d she said. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t be offering our kids an opportunity to involve all their senses and get some hands on learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walter Boomsma, program director for Valley Grange agrees. His favorite part is visiting second graders at PCES to make butter. \u201cWe have fun and the kids almost don\u2019t realize they are learning–some have even asked for instructions and then made butter at home as a family activity.\u201d Volunteers will also offer seed planting activities and create animal graphs. \u201cWe also spend some time just talking with the kids\u2014many have chickens and gardens and it\u2019s fun to share experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boomsma notes that the program is expanding this year to include schools in Dexter, but there should be no shortage of volunteers and resources thanks to the collaboration. \u201cWe\u2019ve got master gardeners and farmers available through Extension Programs and PCSWCD includes partners and resources that are committed to good stewardship. Our goal is to keep this informal, local, and a true partnership between our schools, teachers, and volunteers. It\u2019s not so much that we have a program to offer\u2014it\u2019s more about working together to make good use of our resources. Our volunteers will have the sort of agricultural experience and background to be especially relevant to students while providing insight into the importance of agriculture in our area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those interested in volunteering are invited to a meeting on February 19th<\/sup> at 3 PM at PCSWCD in Dover Foxcroft where guidelines for volunteers and activity materials will be reviewed.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s offer to local schools is for a GrowME volunteer to visit for about 20 minutes and work with students on a simple, grade appropriate activity. Teachers and administrators who are interested need only furnish contact information: teacher\u2019s name-email address and grade. Interested teachers and volunteers may email grange@boomsmaonline.com<\/a> or call Joanna Tarrazi at PCSWCD, 564-2321. Additional information is also available at http:\/\/growmehelp.wordpress.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local collaboration will provide classroom activities… Dover Foxcroft — While it might be difficult to think about gardening and farming in February, a group of area volunteers are doing just that as they plan this year\u2019s GrowME program being offered to K-3 teachers and schools in the Piscataquis County area. The program is the result […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowME Sprouts and Spurts! - Cooperative Extension in Piscataquis County - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/piscataquis\/2013\/02\/01\/growme-sprouts-and-spurts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GrowME Sprouts and Spurts! - Cooperative Extension in Piscataquis County - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Local collaboration will provide classroom activities… Dover Foxcroft — While it might be difficult to think about gardening and farming in February, a group of area volunteers are doing just that as they plan this year\u2019s GrowME program being offered to K-3 teachers and schools in the Piscataquis County area. 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