Agricultural Educators Cohort
Our Agricultural Educators Cohort is a peer-to-peer learning opportunity designed to support farmers who are interested in hosting field trips, increasing their comfort with hands-on activities, and developing relationships with local classrooms. Each participating farmer will be matched with a coach in their region to address a range of topics from on-farm visit safety and logistics to developing engaging and relevant educational activities.
The Agricultural Educators Cohort was funded by a USDA grant and recently wrapped up in April 2024. If you're a farmer interested in farm to school, please contact Kayla Strom at [email protected] or (802) 434-7176 with any questions.
Program Objectives
- Build a supportive farmer to farmer network
- Equip farmers with resources to further engage with schools
- Connect farmers and schools
- Strengthen and increase farm to school offerings in Vermont
- Help build alternative revenue streams for farmers
2023–24 Participating Farms
- SVTFarm
- Gunterman
- The Wild Farm
- Brook Meadow Farm/Rosie's Farm
- Back Roads Farm
- Blue Goose Farm
- Feliz Corazon Farms
- Hogwash Farm
- Foxglove Farm
- Tail Feather Farm
- Tinkers Green Farm
- Boucher Family Farm
- Fiddleheads Farm and Forest School
- Couching Lion Maple Sugar Farm
- Lavender Essentials of Vermont
2023–24 Program Details
Offerings
The content and learning opportunities offered by this program will be informed by participants’ interests and needs. One-on-one coaching from an established farmer educator will be available throughout the year, accompanied by virtual and on-farm group workshops. Over the course of the year-long program, participants will build the connections, relationships, and skills necessary to provide excellent educational programming for local schools.
Schedule (subject to change)
- March 7, 2023, 7-8:30 pm: Virtual Kick-Off
- April 2023: On-Farm Workshop (date and location TBD)
- May 15, 2023, 7-8:30 pm: Virtual Workshop
- August 21, 2023, 7-8:30 pm: Virtual Workshop
- October 11, 2023, 1-4 pm: Central Vermont On-Farm Workshop
- January, 2024: Virtual Workshop (date TBD)
- March 2024: In-Person Closing & Celebration (date and location TBD)
Cost
Vermont FEED's Agricultural Educators Cohort is FREE to participating farms, thanks to a Farm to School Grant from USDA Food and Nutrition Services. Mileage reimbursement for on-farm workshops is available.
Application Process
Application Timeline: Applications for the 2023 cohort have now closed.
Application Criteria: We anticipate building the cohort based on who is interested in participating. If we have more interest than we have space for, participants will be selected based on:
- Their ability to commit the time;
- Geographic diversity within Vermont;
- Availability of coaches;
- Readiness to build out your farm-to-school offerings;
- Available space in the cohort
Photos courtesy USDA.