The Farm and Forest Fair educational program was developed to provide an objective view of the importance and impact of natural resource industries and promote an understanding of the issues regarding natural resource use. The targeted audience is fifth grade youth, teachers, and parents. Participants rotate through 10 stations in 9-minute intervals. Stations are staffed by agriculture- or forest-based industry personnel who demonstrate their area of natural resource involvement utilizing visual aids and hands-on learning techniques. Teachers, presenters, and youth are evaluated each year. Student pre- and post-test results indicate knowledge level increases of 21%

Brooks, Randall H

Church, Jim

Hart, Kenneth N.

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 47 Number 3 Article 14 6-2009 Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues Randall H. Brooks University of Minnesota, rbrooks@uidaho.edu Kenneth N. Hart University of Idaho, khart@uidaho.edu Jim Church University of Idaho, jchurch@uidaho.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Brooks, R. H., Hart, K. N., & Church, J. (2009). Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues. The Journal of Extension, 47(3), Article 14. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol47/iss3/14 This Ideas at Work is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. [an error occurred while processing this directive]June 2009Volume 47 Number 3Article Number 3IAW4Return to Current IssueFarm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Gradersabout Natural Resource IssuesRandall H. BrooksExtension Educator - Forestry and 4-H/Youth DevelopmentOrofino, Idahorbrooks@uidaho.eduKenneth N. HartExtension Educator - Crops and 4-H/Youth DevelopmentNezperce, Idahokhart@uidaho.eduJames A. ChurchExtension Educator - Livestock and 4-H/Youth DevelopmentGrangeville, Idahojchurch@uidaho.eduUniversity of Idaho Cooperative Extension SystemAbstract: The Farm and Forest Fair educational program was developed to provide an objective view of theimportance and impact of natural resource industries and promote an understanding of the issues regardingnatural resource use. The targeted audience is fifth grade youth, teachers, and parents. Participants rotatethrough 10 stations in 9-minute intervals. Stations are staffed by agriculture- or forest-based industrypersonnel who demonstrate their area of natural resource involvement utilizing visual aids and hands-onlearning techniques. Teachers, presenters, and youth are evaluated each year. Student pre- and post-testresults indicate knowledge level increases of 21%.Introduction and NeedThe Clearwater River Basin area of north-central Idaho is famous for its mountains, prairies, and rivervalleys. A business base of forest products, agriculture, and tourism is a reflection of the natural resources inthe area. Residents of the region typify a growing diversity of cultural and geographical backgrounds. Manypeople, especially youth, do not have a good understanding of natural resource-based industries and theirimportance and impact.Natural resource education is a vital component of a well rounded education. Young people need to learnhow food and fiber is produced in harmony with nature. The knowledge gained provides them a solidbackground to become adults and participate in decisions regarding natural resource uses. It is important foryouth to make the connection between food and fiber production and their health and quality of life.Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues 06/29/09 08:48:161/4University of Idaho Extension Educators developed the Clearwater Area Farm and Forest Fair (FFF) toprovide youth with a basic understanding of the impacts and significance of natural resource-based industrieson their community and lives. Extension educators plan and implement the FFF, identify presenters, helppresenters prepare presentations, and handle organizational details.The FFF targets fifth-grade students in the five counties of north-central Idaho, an area similar in size to thecombined states of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Rhode Island. The FFF was developed for students,parents, and stakeholders who share concerns about natural resources.Educational ApproachResearch indicates that the level of mastery is dependent on the cognitive ability of individual youth (Kress,2004). Extension educators select age appropriate study materials and develop activities that enhanceparticipants' FFF learning experience. Presenters are provided with developmentally appropriate methodsutilizing practical procedures to provide a supportive learning environment.We also endeavor to transfer knowledge on natural resources to parents and teachers by providing take-homeresource materials to each student. This effective Extension method for dissemination of educationalinformation traces its roots back to corn and canning clubs of the early 1900's (Wessel & Wessel, 1982).The FFF consists of 10 educational stations staffed by natural resource industry professionals andcooperators. Four sessions are held over a 2-day period. Students are divided into groups and assigned to astation where they participate in a 10-minute educational program. Tour guides move the groups to eachstation and help answer questions.All presenters use hands-on activities as part of their teaching methods, reflecting our 4-H preference for the"learning by doing" model (Richardson, 1994). Activities include planting seeds and seedlings, tree and weedidentification, a working mini-sawmill, natural resource games, a petting zoo, specimen examination, erosionsimulation, and the GrainMax Theater. Students are given a "souvenir" (e.g., pencils, tree seedlings) andresource literature at each station to take home as a reminder of their learning experience.The FFF provides an opportunity for Extension educators to collaborate and partner with natural resourcespecialists from groups such as the Idaho Grain Producers, Idaho Pork Growers, Idaho/Lewis CountyCattlemen's Association, the Nezperce Prairie Grass Growers, PNW Aerial Applicators, Natural ResourcesConservation Service, Clearwater County Soil and Water Conservation District, UI Master Gardeners, USForest Service, Nez Perce Tribe, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Lands, Potlatch ForestIndustries, and Hutchins Sawmill. These partnering agencies and groups are actively engaged in naturalresource industries and are committed to natural resource education. This successful collaboration promotesthe achievement of program goals and program sustainability (Strieter & Blalock, 2006).Accomplishments and ImpactsMore than 4,000 students from 15 schools and over 1,000 adults and teachers have attended the FFF since itsinception in 1997. Home-schooled youth and their parents also attend. Annual attendance averages over 400students.With over 4,000 youth receiving education by attending the FFF, the potential impact to the community is farreaching. One goal of the program is to have students take home the information learned at the fair, usinghandouts and other educational materials provided to the students, and share it with their parents and otherFarm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues 06/29/09 08:48:162/4family members. Given an average household size in Idaho of 2.69 persons (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000), over13,500 people have had the opportunity to learn from the topics and lessons taught at the FFF. The generalpublic also gains an understanding of natural resource uses showcased by the FFF through extensive mediaand press coverage.Presenters at the FFF have the opportunity to tell a natural resource industry story to area youth. The uniquecollaboration between Extension educators and natural resource-based industry partners is vital to the overallprogram success. This collaboration effort brings together partners who rarely have the opportunity to workwith youth or the general public.Evaluations are mailed to teachers and presenters 2 weeks after the FFF. Using a Likert scale of 1 to 4, (4 =very good), all categories evaluated have received a 3.63 or better. Survey respondents have commentedpositively on the quality and educational value of the program. One hundred percent of teachers whocompleted and returned the survey have indicated that the program was educational and valuable. Teachersappreciate that the FFF is held the week before spring break each year, giving them the opportunity to gettheir students out of the classroom into a hands-on learning environment.An evaluation instrument was designed to test for knowledge about the main concepts presented at the FFF.Teachers administer a 20-question test to the students before the FFF and repeat it 2 weeks after the event.Post-test results showed a knowledge increase of 21% after.ConclusionThe FFF highlights the value of educating people about the importance of natural resources. Ultimately, thebest indication of the success of this program is a populace in the Clearwater Basin area that demonstratesincreased understanding of the costs and benefits of natural resource use. Such understanding should lead toa deeper sense of appreciation for management practices that sustain natural resources for generations tocome.ReferencesKress, C. (2004). The essential elements of 4-H youth development: Distillation to four elements.Washington, DC: CSREES/USDA. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from:http://www.4h.wsu.edu/ws4h/elements_distillation.pdfRichardson, J. (1994). Learning best through experience. Journal of Extension [On-line], 32(2) Article2FEA6. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/1994august/a6.phpStrieter, L., & Blalock, L. (2006). Journey to successful collaborations. Journal of Extension [On-line], 44(1)Article 1TOT4. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2006february/tt4.phpUS Census Bureau. (2008). State and County QuickFacts, Idaho. Retrieved January 4, 2008 from:http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16000.htmlWessel, T., & Wessel, M. (1982). 4-H: An American idea, 1900-1980: A history of 4-H. Chevy Chase, MD:National 4-H Council.Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become theproperty of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use inFarm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues 06/29/09 08:48:163/4educational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematiclarge-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal EditorialOffice, joe-ed@joe.org.If you have difficulties viewing or printing this page, please contact JOE Technical Support.Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues 06/29/09 08:48:164/4

Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues

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Farm and Forest Fair Educates Fifth Graders about Natural Resource Issues

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