Teacher scholarships available for California Ag in the Classroom Conference

Imperial County K-12 teachers are encouraged to apply for a scholarship to attend the 2019 California Ag in the Classroom Conference from Oct. 17 through 19 in Sonoma.

The scholarship is sponsored by Imperial County Farm Bureau, Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association, Imperial Valley Water, and Farm Credit West.

Teachers will have an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with educators who share a passion for agriculture and learn about the importance of educating youth about food and fiber through all subject areas. The conference will include speakers, workshops, AgVenture field trips and the annual Taste of California dinner.

“Incorporating agriculture into our classrooms is vitally important to the future of our ag industry in the Imperial County,” said Brea Mohamed, executive director of Imperial County Farm Bureau. “By giving our teachers the tools and skills to do this, we are able to not only inspire our local students to consider careers in the agriculture industry but also help create consumers who better understand where their food comes from.”

In 2018, three local teachers received scholarships to attend the conference in Palm Springs.

Looking back on her experience, Natalie Peraza, 2018 scholarship recipient and teacher at Magnolia Elementary School, said, “The Ag in the Classroom Conference kick starts the interest for teachers and gives a wealth of information and support for each. In the next 10 years, they predict that 46 percent of all the careers out there will be ag-related. It is very important to start this interest in the classroom because we need to increase the awareness of its importance as well as create an interest for future careers.”

Farm Smart Manager Stacey Amparano has attended the conference for several years as a participant and also a presenter.

“The conference is the inspiration for many of the hands-on activities students experience at Farm Smart,” she said. “During the Make ’n Take session, teachers will come away with many ideas to make connections to agriculture across their curriculum, including lots of STEM.”

Amparano said another of her favorite parts of the conference is the field trips. “Teachers will get the opportunity to see and experience agriculture production of all kinds: food, forest, flowers, fiber and fuel,” she said.

To learn more about the conference, visit www.learnaboutag.org.

Applications can be found at drec.ucanr.edu/farm_ smart/scholarship.

Applications must be submitted by Sept. 4. For more information, contact scwills@ucanr.edu.