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Utah High School Expands Its Agriculture Program As Student Interest Increases

Sterling College
/
flickr

With the increased popularity of ready-made meals and cheap fast food, more people seem to be becoming disconnected from farming. But this disconnection may inspire some to wonder where their food comes from and the farm-to-table process. One Utah school district has chosen to educate the consumer through its students.

George Wardell teaches aquaculture, floral design, greenhouse management, and plant & soil science at Orem High School. Over the past four years, he has witnessed the growing interest in agricultural classes with his students.

“Agriculture education in Utah has been around since public schools were invented, and that’s historically why students were off in the summer is because they had to help on their family farms," Wardell said. "That was lost but I think currently, the change or the shift we are seeing is that kids really want to know where their food is coming from so how do I do that at a high school?” 

Wardell has tailored his classes so his students are getting an authentic agricultural education, even in an urban setting. Students have opportunities to go on field trips to different farms in Utah County, work in the school’s greenhouse, and are encouraged to apply for summer internships in the Ag industry.

“Those students who we take out of the classroom this summer, went out, picked peaches, brought them back to the school, processed them, and we can turn that into peach cobbler," he said." So we can value ag products that are grown in Utah into something that they know and understand."

Orem High reports that about a third of their students are enrolled in an agricultural class.