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View the PDF version of the Food, Land & People Newsletter "A civilization declines when it loses touch with its agrarian roots." - Richard Critchfield Many thanks to Equipment Manufacturers Institute, United Egg Producers and Vino Farms for assisting with this issue of the Food, Land & People newsletter. In this Issue:
Supplement contains 15 new lessons with many targeting middle and high school students
New lessons produced by Project Food, Land & People (FLP) address major issues affecting human survival and quality of life. From managing pests and caring for the environment to hunger, nutrition, land use, and grazing, these lessons help students learn how to make informed choices as consumers and future policy makers. FLP's new supplement to Resources for Learning contains 15 new lessons, many of which target middle school and high school students. A diverse team of educators developed the lessons, and the lessons were pilot tested with students throughout the nation. The lessons focus primarily on the interdependence of the food system, land use and meeting people's needs. Issues that affect this interdependence are necessarily complex. With human populations continuing to grow, the issues will become more challenging. Many students are not aware of or have only heard about these concerns through news shorts or sound bites, which tend to oversimplify the interconnections. By working through FLP activities, students learn to research, evaluate and utilize information to examine issues-critical skills for informed decision-making. FLP's new lessons build upon concepts taught in other FLP lessons, and lay the foundation for future lessons. With a series of lessons available on various topics, teachers can help students build a depth of understanding that will serve them well in their encounters with real-life choices about food production, human needs, and environmental protection. For example, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency studies have found that homeowners apply pesticides and fertilizers at rates two to three times that of licensed professionals. FLP's lesson on managing pests builds upon the lesson "Investigating Insects" from the first edition of Resources for Learning. The new lesson, "Managing Pests," examines the need for pest control and gives a range of options. The students weigh the pros and cons of pest control options, when or if various methods should be used, and the consequences of the decisions. As consumers, gardeners, homeowners and producers, nearly all students will eventually make decisions on managing pests. Their ability to make informed choices can have a significant effect on protecting the land, wildlife, groundwater, surface waters, and other people. Whether exploring the root causes of hunger (in a lesson titled "Feed the Need"), building a food system based on the capability of the land and climate ("Amazing Grazing") or understanding the economics of the food system ("What Piece of the Pie?") these lessons involve students in real-life issues. As with other FLP lessons, teachers have given them high marks. A fourth grade teacher in Arcade, New York, stated, "I thought that this lesson ("Amazing Grazing") was too advanced for my fourth grade students when we started. But now I am amazed at how engaged every student is with this activity. Not one student is uninvolved. They have really enjoyed it!"
Using FLP's "Amazing Grazing" lesson, Jerry Corda (right), Ferris the cow and Charisse Corda (center) explain environmentally-sound grazing options. The lesson is designed for groups of 4th-6th grade students to build food systems based on the capability of land resources, climate, topography and economics. Updates made in FLP Supplement Glossary Web sites Resources to accompany Spanish translations As revisions for the second edition of Resources for Learning proceed, additional Spanish resources have been identified for use with FLP lessons. Some new books translated to Spanish and additional books that are available only in Spanish may be used to complement the Spanish-translated FLP lessons. The resources also can be used to teach the FLP lessons not yet translated into Spanish. Some of the targeted lessons, recommended resources and resource titles in Spanish follow below. For a complete list, please visit www.foodlandpeople.org/resources/spanish.html. FLP establishes Founders Roundtable
FLP leaders are inviting individuals, businesses and foundations to join the newly formed Food, Land & People Founders Roundtable and pledge or contribute $100,000 or more over a five year period. Special thanks go to FLP Advisory Board Co-chair Al Pope for suggesting this concept. The Founders will help expand Project Food, Land & People's educational programs by:
FLP thanks the following Founders Roundtable members who contributed and/or pledged their support as of May 31: Anonymous Individual; The ConAgra Foundation, Inc.; The Olson Foundation; The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; The Regnar and Beverly Paulsen Foundation and United Egg Producers. FLP is at a critical point in time when a few people and organizations can make a huge difference in our organization's success. We welcome your support in this important cause. On a related note, with the launch of the Food, Land & People Foundation, we are excited to offer this convenient and effective way to support the work of Food, Land & People. The Foundation's sole purpose is to enable people and groups to contribute financial resources to endow FLP's educational programs. Endowment funds are set aside as reserve assets. Earnings from the endowment capital will be used to provide a source of stable, long-term funding for FLP programs. Foundation gifts allow FLP to:
The creation of the Foundation also means that you can make gifts of securities, life insurance, cash or other assets, or make a charitable bequest to FLP in your will. Please feel free to contact us about any gift ideas you have and their potential tax benefits for you. Your gift to the FLP Foundation is truly a legacy gift. It will benefit the youth of our nation and the world well into the future. For more information about giving a major gift to the FLP Founders Roundtable or FLP Foundation, please contact FLP President Mark Linder (415) 561-4445. Networking continues at FLP's annual conference
Representatives from throughout the United States participated in FLP's second annual conference held in Raleigh, North Carolina, May 2-5. The conference provides FLP state contacts, potential state contacts and national FLP leaders an opportunity to share information about forming, marketing and expanding local and state FLP programs. Local and state contacts also receive updates from national FLP about additional resources. Topics discussed included the following:
The next FLP annual conference is tentatively scheduled for February 20-22, 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Roy Campbell (left), director of exhibits for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Mark Linder, FLP President (center) and Lu Calpouzos, FLP World Learning Center Chairperson talk about the new museum's exhibits and ways to market FLP to museums nationwide. During a private museum tour, FLP conference participants learned how to better communicate natural resource issues. Sponsors and Supporters of FLP's Annual Conference and Business Meetings in Raleigh, North Carolina were: Anne Taylor * Austin Quality Foods * Bank of America * Burt's Bees * DuPont Crop Protection * East Carolina Farm Credit * North Carolina Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts * North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources * North Carolina Division of Land Resources * North Carolina Division of Soil & Water Conservation * North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film & Sports Development * North Carolina Food, Land & People State Coalition * North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences * North Carolina Office of Environmental Education * Roy Campbell * The Peanut Roaster (North Carolina Peanuts) * Wake Soil & Water Conservation District * United Egg Producers The following groups serve as lead organizations for the 20 FLP Affiliates
For a complete listing of FLP contacts, please go to www.foodlandpeople.org/resources/affiliates.html. Map and list of state/local FLP contacts Click here to see a map of FLP Affiliates FLP National Office Mark Linder - President FLP Licensed Affiliates Arizona Monica Pastor California Elmer Eckart Colorado Daniel Parker Connecticut Sue Quincy Delaware Judith P. Leith Florida Deena Wright Iowa Duane Toomsen Kentucky Rayetta Boone Maine Donna Caverly New Mexico Debbie Hughes North Carolina Cathy Akroyd North Dakota Jill Vigesaa Ohio John Davis Pennsylvania Patricia Vathis South Dakota Lisa Dorschner Tennessee Charles Curtis Texas Clyde Gottschalk Utah Debra Spielmaker Vermont Kara Cimon Wyoming Shannon Andreen-Shipp FLP Non-Exclusive Licensed Local Affiliate Lincoln Park Zoo Susan Teller-Marshall - Manager, Academic Programs Watkins to expand FLP marketing and partnership activities Joyce Watkins joined the Food, Land & People team to help expand awareness of their educational programs and resource materials. She is a communications/marketing liaison on detail from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In addition to leading South Dakota's communication and Earth Team volunteer program for NRCS in South Dakota, Joyce served in several capacities with their Ag in the Classroom program and is on their FLP advisory board. FLP and Ag in the Classroom complement each other, and young people across the nation are eager to learn more about agriculture - from ag production, to where their food and clothing comes from, the importance of natural resource management, and related career opportunities. "FLP Resources for Learning is a great teaching tool!" said Joyce. "I look forward to working with new and existing state coalitions." She can be reached by email at joyce.watkins@sd.usda.gov or by voice message at 1-800-872-7502, ext. 1207
FLP around the country Maine
New Mexico
"Great networking opportunities. Good activity plans and wide-ranging content. " -- Cliff Sánchez, American Indian Liaison, New Mexico USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Los Lunas, New Mexico "I learned a lot about agricultural issues, especially from talking with other participants." - Cheri Vogel, New Mexico State Engineers Office, Santa Fe, New Mexico From the workshop I learned "coalitions are the way to go - everyone brings something to the table" and "how good and diverse are the (FLP) curriculum materials." -- Darlene Dickson, New Mexico 4-H Cooperative Extension Service, Las Cruces, New Mexico 2001 Symposium to offer advice for improving relations
The World Learning Center will hold its third annual symposium on November 9, 2001, at the Presidio National Park of San Francisco, California. Each year the symposium focuses on topics appropriate to the overall theme of "Building Bridges of Understanding between Agriculture, Education and the Environment." This year's topics and confirmed speakers as of May 31 are: "What advice would environmentalists give to agriculturalists to improve relations?"
"What advice would agriculturalists give to environmentalists to improve relations?"
The 1999 proceedings are available to order by visiting our order form. Please contact FLP if you would like to be placed on the mailing list for further announcements. National conservation organization partners with FLP The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and FLP have agreed on a new partnership to support natural resource education. Rudy Rice (right), (now former) NACD president, and Christopher Williams (left), FLP USA Division chairperson, signed the new memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February. The MOU provides the basis for enhancing networking; training; research, evaluation and publication of educational and reference materials; and recognition of people for their contributions to agricultural and environmental education. FLP and NACD representatives will meet annually to discuss projects of mutual interest and brief their respective advisory groups on plans. "NACD has been a partner with FLP for a long time and this new MOU not only formalizes our commitments to natural resource education, but also endorses continuity for mutual projects," states Williams.
FLP leaders were also involved in promotional activities at the national NACD convention, including sharing information about Resources for Learning and Recursos para Aprender at an exhibit booth (see above) and hosting an information reception attended by more than 200 people. FLP thanks the following reception sponsors for their support: Texas Department of Agriculture and Food, Land & People Educating Texas Youth (Texas FLP Affiliate).
What's New - www.foodlandpeople.org Now you can:
Newsletter Coordinator: Ruth Donovan
Food, Land & People is published by Project Food, Land & People, a nonprofit, interdisciplinary, supplementary educational program emphasizing agriculture and the environment. The mission of Project Food, Land & People is to provide educational resources and promote approaches to learning that help educators and students in grades PreK-12 to better understand the interrelationships among agriculture, the environment and people of the world. Land and people are the heartbeat of America's capacity to feed its citizens and others around the world. To sustain this capacity while maintaining environmental quality is one of the greatest challenges our nation faces. Project Food, Land & People meets this challenge through education. FLP enriches existing school education programs and complements Agriculture in the Classroom, Project WILD, Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and youth development programs such as 4-H and FFA.
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