FARMS Leadership Program Field Day and UCCE Centennial

UC ANR South Coast REC - Irvine, CA - May 8, 2014   

Local high schools participated in workshops at the UC ANR South Coast REC to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the UC Cooperative Extension and the 20-year anniversary of FARMS Leadership, two programs that provide agriculture education to an increasingly urban population. The workshops were designed to acquaint the students with ag research techniques, careers in agriculture, and the importance of ag in their daily lives.   

Fifty-five students and teachers rotated between workshops focusing on water conservation, pollinators in the field and in the landscape, locally grown food crops, and propagation techniques in conjunction with the one-day science project celebrating a day of science and service that was overseen by the University of California. Hands-on activities included planting a field of pumpkin seeds and seedlings started by the students, and overview of UCCE and demonstration landscape tours, a basic propagation and hypertufa pot demonstration, followed by planting succulents in hypertufa pots provided by UCCE Water Quality program. Additionally, students made dishes (citrus and avocado salad, guacamole, and lemonade) to supplement their lunch using ingredients from crops grown at South Coast REC. Homemade strawberry ice cream and lemon sorbet were also provided.