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International Literacy Day
Maine State Museum
Augusta, ME
September 8, 2018
Bug Maine-ia
Maine State Museum
Augusta, ME
September 11, 2018
Summer Garden Success Tour
September 15-16, 2018
Wolfe's Neck Farm & other locations throughout Southern Maine
Maine Nutrition Council Educational Event
Boothby's Orchard & Farm Winery
Livermore, ME
September 20, 2018
Teacher of the Year Application Deadline
October 5, 2018
Northern Maine Children's Water Festival
University of Maine, Orono
October 9, 2018
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Annual Meeting
October 24, 2018
Let's Go! 5210 School Symposiums
Bangor, ME
October 25, 2018
Portland, ME
October 26, 2018
Maine School Garden Network Annual Meeting
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
October 26, 2018
Maine Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance Conference
The Samoset Resort
Rockland, ME
November 4-6, 2018
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Teach ME about Food & Farms
*Contact us to plan a workshop date for your school for Fall 2018
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Special Programs
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ReTreeUS plants orchards in schools and provides educational programs that empower people to be healthy environmental stewards.
Fuel Up to Play 60 offers educators a wide array of resources they can use to help students make sustainable changes in their school environment.
Agroworld- agricultural science e-zine developed for the secondary educator.
Kids Gardening has ideas about plants and gardens, teacher resources, and grant opportunities.
The Chop Chop magazine and website has easy and healthy recipes.
Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom Ag Mags are 4-page, colorful agricultural magazines for kids.
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| Agriculture License Plate |
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Funding from this plate has impacted over 200,000 students in 2017 with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Annually up to $60K is distributed in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
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| Contact Us |
28 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333
207-287-5522
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September Newsletter
#84
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2018 |
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Annually Maine Agriculture in the Classroom recognizes an outstanding Maine elementary or secondary school teacher who uses agricultural education materials and/or activities in the classroom to teach core subjects. Apply by October 5, 2018.
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Join us to embark on a tour through Southern Maine's most successful school gardens!
This engaging tour begins at 8:00am at Wolfe's Neck Center, Freeport on Saturday, September 15th and concludes at 12:30pm Sunday, September 16th. Stops include schools in Durham, Windham, Westbrook, Portland, and Bath. Participants will receive certificates for 13 contact hours or 1.3 CEUs.
Registration includes travel between stops, meals, and lodging.
Cost is $125. Scholarships are available!!
Email Kelsey for scholarship information.
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How To Access Our Resources
Welcome back to school teachers!! We hope you've had a great summer! Here's a reminder of how to access some of the great curriculum resources we have available! Visit our
Teach ME Food & Farms website for our searchable database of lesson plans. Under the "
Resources" tab you'll find our 5 books that are specific to Maine Agriculture - you can click on these to view the books via your smart board or projector! Each book has lessons and activities to accompany it. Please take advantage of these great resources, we love hearing about how you're incorporating agriculture into your classrooms!
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We will be looking at the history of harvesting foods in Maine throughout the four seasons and how it has changed over the years, featuring Willie Irish from The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center. There will be an educational display of "American History through the Kitchen Door," the evolution of cookbooks over time, with educational materials available to take home. Take in this great educational experience while also enjoying the seven generations of history that Boothby's Orchard and Farm Winery has to offer in their picturesque location in the rolling hills of rural Maine.
Lunch & Board Meeting to follow.
When:
September 20, 2018
Time:
10am - 12pm
Location: Boothby's Orchard & Farm Winery
366 Boothby Road, Livermore, ME
Please
pre-register
by e-mail for the event to Kelsey.
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CHS Foundation Classroom Grants Available!
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MSGN Brings Speakers to the Fair!
 Friday, September 21st:
1:30pm - Martha Poliquin, Falmouth HS, "School Gardens Cook Up Better Student Food Choices"
3:30pm - Richard Hodges, ReTreeUS/MSGN, "Orchards and Gardens in Schools and Institutions"
Saturday, September 22nd:
4:30pm - Neil Lash, Medomak Valley HS, "High Schoolers Save More Than Seed in Their Garden"
Sunday, September 23rd:
12:30pm - Mary Dunn, Albert S. Hall School, "School Gardens in the City; Making Them Work"
2:30pm - David Wessels, Troy Howard MS, "School Gardens: A Bridge to the Wider World"
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Get Creative with this Grant Opportunity! 
Evergreen Packaging
and
KidsGardening
present their fifth annual Carton 2 Garden Contest!
Open nationwide to public and private schools, grades PreK-12, contest winners will be selected based on their implementation of an innovative garden creation featuring creative and sustainable uses for re-purposed milk and juice cartons. This year, they're awarding fifteen prizes, including a $5,000 grand prize!
Start your school year by collecting at least 100 empty cartons from your home, community, or cafeteria. Then encourage your students to get creative! Entries are due by Monday, March 25, 2019.
Learn more here.
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'Feed a Bee' Offers Funds for Educators
Educators interested in teaching K-12 students about the importance of bees and other pollinators have an opportunity to apply for a 'Feed a Bee' grant. Bayer CropScience is providing $500,000 over the next two years with the goal of funding initiatives in all 50 states to increase food for bees and other pollinators by planting wildflowers and establishing additional forage areas. It's accepting applications until the end of 2018. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, growers, beekeepers, businesses, schools, clubs, gardening groups and governmental agencies. Funding will be distributed in grants of $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000. Proposals submitted by
Sept. 15
, 2018 will be reviewed and announced in the fourth quarter.
Learn more and apply for a 'Feed a Bee' grant.
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School Garden Grown at Agricultural Fairs
 The Maine School Garden Network invites you to promote your school garden and "show off" your
School Garden Grown
! We know how hard you work and we want to see the fruits (and veggies) of your labor. The program will be offered starting at Bangor Fair and many of the other Agricultural Fairs throughout Maine, including Fryeburg and Common Ground Fair later in the fall. We are working to create exhibit opportunities (including prize money to support your school garden program) and to promote educational gardens throughout Maine.
Want to "show off"? Here's how: 
1) Let MSGN know -
Email MSGN
to receive more info
2) Start planning - What fruits or veggies would you like to enter? Now is the time to sow the seeds for success! View fair dates and detailed entry information in fair books
online
.
3) Stay tuned - More information about participating fairs to come!
Got questions? Email
info@msgn.org
anytime
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October is Maine Gleaning Month!
Maine Gleaning Month is, "a
collaborative farm surplus rescue effort gathering crops from Maine's fields, and engaging communities in resourceful and equitable food system activities."
There are opportunities for schools to get involved in gleaning! Connect with your local gleaning group and see how you can get involved! Visit the
Maine Gleaning Network Website
to find your local gleaning organization. Check out the
highlights from 2017
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Lessons:
- The Seed Match. Grades K-2. Students will investigate where food comes from, the parts of plants that we eat, and the difference between fruits and vegetables. Activities include examining food plants and their seeds, reading and discussing the book Tops and Bottoms, and completing activity sheets.
- The Great Garden Detective. Grades 3-4. Discover what fruits and vegetables are sweetest, crunchiest, and juiciest through a series of investigations and fun experiences connecting the school garden to the classroom, school cafeteria, and home. This eleven-lesson curriculum for 3rd and 4th grades includes bulletin board materials, veggie dice, fruit and vegetable flash cards, and ten issues of Garden Detective News for parents/caregivers.
- Dig In! Standards-Based Nutrition Education from the Ground Up. Grades 5-6. Explore a world of possibilities in the garden and on your plate using ten inquiry-based lessons that engage 5th and 6th graders in growing, harvesting, tasting, and learning about fruits and vegetables. More information is also available at Dig In! At Home Parent Booklet and Dig In! Posters.
- What? No Soil? Grades 6-8. After learning the five basic requirements of plant growth, students discuss terms related to hydroponics. Students then build and maintain hydroponic units from soda bottles.
- Agriculture & the Environment. Grades 6-8. This resource was designed to engage middle school students in discovery and exploration of topics related to agriculture and natural resources. Inside you'll find six engaging lessons; each made up of a teacher's guide, background information for the student and student engagement sheets.
- Digging Into Soil. Grades 9-12. Digging into Soil has been written to help educators use a garden program to teach students about soil. The target audience for Digging into Soil is grades 9 -12 and the activities are linked to high school level Next Generation Science Standards. The lessons can be adapted for middle school ages too. The goal of these companion resources is to cultivate a new generation that is inspired to make collective choices that preserve and improve existing soil resources.
Books: 
A Seed is Sleepy
Tops and Bottoms
What's in the Garden?
Hey, Hey, Hay! A Tale of Bales and Machines that Make Them
Video:
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| CAULIFLOWER | How Does it Grow? |
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agriculture-related initiatives that help educators teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies and more.
Fifteen $500 grants will be awarded. The deadline for applications is 
