For the past 11 years, New Mexico State University and Research Youth Agricultural Science Center has given middle school students the opportunity to learn about nature firsthand in their self-sustaining greenhouse and garden. Their new Seed-to-Plate project will allow them to expand the program across the district to grades K-12, creating a collaborative space for enhanced education and economic development opportunities.
“We want to expand on the success we have had with our middle school program,” said Peter Skelton, associate professor at NMSU’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and director of the science center. “When we look at data from our research we can tell that the kids were not getting much science before they got to sixth grade.”
The center aims to teach more students about how food grows and to be able to enjoy the fruit of their labor. The vegetables the grow will be served in the school cafeteria and donated to community hunger relief.
“We did this on a small scale at Memorial Middle School. Now we have the opportunity to do this at a larger scale and impact the education of more students,” Skelton said. “We want the kids to learn about growing fresh and nutritious food and the science of it.”
For more details on the program, read more here.
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