Education

We offer educational programming for farmers, community groups, and schools.

Schedule a tour

Special Note on Scheduling

Some of our regular programs are on hold until June 2023 -- please look below for program-specific details.

Tours

Curious about what is going on at the farm? Tours are available for farmers, interested folks, and groups of all ages. Learn more about current research projects and the history of the farm. Reach out to James at dedecke5@msu.edu 

Farm Field Trips

ON HOLD UNTIL FALL 2023 - contact Abbey at palmerab@msu.edu to schedule a future date.

Are your students interested in learning more about food and where it comes from? Farm Field Trips for K-12 audiences are tailored to student grade level, last about three hours, and cost $4 per student. Scholarships for student attendance and transportation are available. On-farm activities include experiential learning stations on topics in agriculture, food, and natural resources aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Here’s an example of a previous field trip. 

Land-based Learning

Land-based Learning is a hands-on, experiential approach that brings students, their teachers, food producers and farmers, and resource professionals together to create innovative solutions to sustainability issues in their communities. 

You can learn more about Land-based Learning research at UPREC -- and contact us if you’d like to start a conversation about a project idea. 

Start Seeds, Save Seeds for School Gardens

Do you have a school garden or hoop house project in the works? In response to an increased number of school gardens in the UP, and teachers looking for activities and support for those gardens, a group of central UP organizations that support agricultural education came together in 2013 to form Start Seeds/Save Seeds. This program provides transplants, seeds, and classroom activities that give teachers access to the tools and expertise needed to try something new in the garden at their school.  Contact us to learn more about this program. 

Teacher Training in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education

ON HOLD UNTIL JUNE 2023

Curriculum training and hands-on activities for K-12 teachers who want to include more food, agriculture, and natural resources education in their classrooms are offered by the UP’s only member of the North American Association for Environmental Education Trainer’s Bureau. Training sessions can range from 20 minutes on tips for engaging youth in food systems activities in outdoor settings to multi-day engagement with teachers on-site at MSU UPREC on sustainable farming systems and methods adapted to the school garden. Contact us to discuss options suited to your professional development goals.

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