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April 26 - May 4
An Afternoon of Aquaponics
Sanford Junior High School
3:30pm - 5pm
May 7, 2019
Outdoor Career Fair
Kennebec Valley Community College - Harold Alfond Campus
Hinckley, ME
9am - 1pm
May 10, 2019
Maine Nutrition Council Educational Event
Graduate Student Presentations
University of Maine, Orono, ME
10am-12pm
May 10, 2019
NELE Kids Day
Windsor Fairgrounds
Windsor, ME
May 16, 2019
Southern Maine Water Festival
University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME
May 17, 2019
MAITC Grant Reports DUE
June 1, 2019
MAITC Ag Leadership & Statewide Organizations Grants First Deadline
June 7, 2019
Summer Teacher's Institute
"Agriculture for ME
o
n
Land & Sea"
University of New England
Biddeford, ME
July 29 - August 2, 2019
MAITC 2019 Grants Program Submission DEADLINE
August 9, 2019
Maine Farm to School Conference
Kennebec Valley Community College - Harold Alfond Campus
Hinckley, ME
October 4, 2019
Maine Nutrition Council Educational Event
"Life Stages: Oral Health and Nutrition"
University of Maine at Augusta - Bangor Campus
3pm - 5pm
October 30, 2019
___________________________
Teach ME about Food & Farms
*Contact us to plan a workshop date for your school for Fall 2019
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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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The Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Association
The Non-profit, completely volunteer, portion of MAITC.
These funds are used directly to support teacher scholarships and recognition, and support volunteer participation for Ag education programs. Your donation is completely tax deductible and you can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation which will support the mission, "to promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public."
If you have any other questions or would like to join this group please contact the chairman, Maryjane Stafford.
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"Agriculture for ME on Land & Sea"
We will tour the University of New England and aquaculture and marine science facilities with Prof. Carrie Byron.
After dinner, Steve Hedlund and colleagues from the Global Aquaculture Alliance will share videos of aquaculture from Maine and across the World. We will learn about Best Aquaculture Practices, and how they are helping make local and international farmed seafood healthy, and sustainable.
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Read ME Agriculture Online Evaluation
Did you participate in this year's Read ME Agriculture program?
If so, please help us to continue to improve our program and ensure that it returns next year by taking our
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$1K Grant Opportunity
T
he
Look at Agriculture... Organically!
grants are designed to creatively enhance the understanding of organic agriculture for kindergarten through eighth grade students. Grants of up to $1,000 will be provided to educators
nationwide
to support the integration of organic agriculture into regular classroom instruction. The grants are provided through a collaborative effort between the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (CFAITC) and the
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Foundation
.
Learn more and apply today!
Deadline May 6, 2019.
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An Afternoon of Aquaculture and Aquaponics
Join an afternoon of educators to discuss aquaculture in Maine and aquaponics systems in the classroom. This is focused on middle and high school educators but open to all. Teachers are eligible for a $65 stipend for attending. RSVP to
Sarah Sparks or
Diana Allen.
When: May 7th
Time: 3:30pm - 5pm
Where: Sanford Junior High, 708 Main Street, Sanford, ME
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Join Maine School Garden Network and Enter the Raised Bed Garden Giveaway!
 Are you part of the
Maine School Garden Network? MSGN is on a mission to grow their network and update their network directory. Help them out by taking
this survey and you could win a raised bed garden package!!
Giveaway package includes: a 3' x 8' raised bed, soil, seeds, seed starting materials, tools for growing and harvesting, and consultation by MSGN. Take the survey by MAY 15th for a chance to win! Learn more here.
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Farm to School Cook-Off
The final round of the annual farm to school cook-off happened April 23rd at Kennebec Valley Community College. The three finalist teams included RSU 12, Cherryfield, and South Portland. RSU 12 took home the gold!
Read more here.
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Maine Farm to School Conference!
The conference will be held at
Kennebec Valley Community College, Alfond Campus in Hinckley
The Maine Farm to School Network hosts an annual conference to convene farm to school stakeholders from across the state and beyond for a day of learning, best practice sharing, and networking.
The conference is held during Farm to School Month, draws about 150 people, & features local foods for snacks and meals.
For more information.
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USDA Launches Ace the Waste! Food Waste Contest for Students
This is a
student competition for food waste reduction ideas. This first-ever competition calls on students to come up with creative solutions to reduce food loss and waste in the United States. Students age 11 to 18 are encouraged to submit proposals on reducing food loss and waste anywhere along the supply chain, from the farm to the dinner table and beyond. Learn more here.
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May Educational Event is happening on
Friday, May 10, 2019 from 10am - 12pm
in the Walker Room of the Memorial Union at The University of Maine, Orono.
We will be hearing from graduate students about their research in the field of nutrition.
Presentations include:
Brian Preziosi
- "The effects of sediment acidification and temperature on the immune capacity of the adult stage of the Atlantic Jackknife Cl
am
(Ensis leei)"
Adwoa Dankwa - "Safety Assessment of Closed Hydroponic System"
You can RSVP to the event to
Kelsey.
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New Maine Harvest of the Month Program
 The Maine Harvest of the Month (HOM) is a campaign that helps to promote the use of seasonally available, local products in schools, institutions, and communities. The program, which highlights a different Maine product each month, aims to provide students with local and healthy produce, while supporting Maine's farmers and producers.
For more information, contact the HOM Program Manager, Jenn So.
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Harvest of the Month
May is Maine Wild Blueberries Month!
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NorthEast Livestock Expo Kids Day
 Thursday, May 16, 2019
In 2018, Northeast Livestock Expo (NELE) held its sixth "Kids Day" for over 3000 school children in grades K-6. Students, chaperones and teachers participated in self-guided tours among multiple agricultural stations on the grounds. This annual event is held on Thursday from 9:30am-1:30pm, giving children the opportunity to see and learn about a variety of livestock and agricultural commodities, often with hands-on interaction.
The 2019 Kids Day will feature a similar variety of opportunities.
Find more information and the registration form
HERE
.
A
ny K - 6
th
grade classes or schools that have not registered for 2019 Northeast Livestock Expo Kids Day should contact Cindy Kilgore
as soon as possible
. Funding for busses is still available on a first come, first serve basis!
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Lessons:
May is Maine Wild Blueberry Month!
Check out these great Maine Wild Blueberry lessons from our
Teach ME Food & Farms Site
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Wild Blueberries for ME. Grades PreK-2.
Wild Blueberries
for ME
describes the history, growing and harvesting of this important Maine crop. After reading aloud, students will be involved in English Language Arts and Health Education activities.
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Wild Blueberries for ME. Grades 3-5.
Wild Blueberries for ME
describes the history, growing and harvesting of this important Maine crop. After reading aloud to the class and discussing the content, students will be involved in English Language Arts and Visual Arts activities.
Activities may be written or oral, determined by grade level and skills needed.
- Wild Blueberry. Grades 3-5. Students will be able to identify where blueberries are grown in Maine and describe their growing season. They will be able to list the nutrients in blueberries and enter information into tables. Students will also learn about foods and how foods affect health.
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Producing Wild Blueberries. Grades 3-8.
Students will explore the production of wild blueberries as it relates to their yearly life cycle, technology, and the food system. Students will then utilize methods employing language and visual arts to develop written and oral accounts of the production of Maine's wild blueberries.
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Wild Blueberry Poetry. Grades 3-8.
The students will explore poetry and art using the wild blueberry as the object of their efforts. They will write and illustrate a poem using descriptive language and read their poems to the class.
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Animals and Wild Blueberries. Grades 3-8.
Students will explore the interaction of several animals with the wild blueberry including, but not limited to, honey-bees, bumblebees, black bears and pest insects.
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Advertising Wild Blueberries. Grades 3-8.
Students will explore the role of advertising in influencing consumer choices. Students will then utilize methods employing language and visual arts to develop their own advertisements and/or commercials to promote the sale of Maine's wild blueberries.
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Wild Blueberry Math. Grades 3-8.
The students will examine, interpret and manipulate real-life data about the economics of wild blueberry production.
- Health & Nutrition Wild Blueberry Style. Grades 3-8. The students will learn about nutrition labeling and the nutritional value and other health benefits of wild blueberries, and design their own nutritious, wild blueberry food product with a nutrition label.
- Wild Blueberry History & Geography. Grades 3-8. The students will explore the impact of wild blueberries on the history and culture of several human populations as well as map the geography. An example of civics in action will be addressed in the story of Megan Frank.
Books: 
Read our
Wild Blueberries for ME book online
here!
Check out the many activities that accompany our wild blueberry book such as:
- Wild Blueberry Word Search
- Wild Blueberry Bubble-Gram
- Blueberry Crossword for You
- Wild Blueberry Graphing
- Sally's Blueberries
- Wild Blueberry Muffin Math
- Find your way to the Wild Blueberry Barrens
- Maine Wild Blueberry Game
- Wild Blueberry Dye
- AND MORE!
Video:
Learn more about Maine's Wild Blueberries with this video from The University of Maine
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