Farm as a classroom

School farm is a redirect to this article. See also: Pfitzingen school farm .

The farm as a classroom is an initiative of the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection , the Hessian Ministry of Culture and the Hessian Farmers' Association. It was launched in 2000 by the three sponsors. The aim is to bring children and young people closer to the origin of food through visits to farms in Hessen and to impart knowledge about the production method through exploration, observation and cooperation on site. The target groups of the initiative are primarily schools (elementary schools and school classes in secondary levels I and II), kindergartens and day-care centers as well as children's and youth leisure groups.

The “Farm as a Classroom” initiative is a recognized building block for certification in the areas of “Nutrition and Consumer Education” and “Environmental Education / Ecological Education” in the “School & Health” program of the Hessian Ministry of Culture .

procedure

There is the option of half- to full-day excursions or spending a whole week on a learning farm. During this exploration week, the children and young people can get to know all the stages of production and processing, but also the preparation of daily lunch.

During the excursions, the children and young people first receive a theoretical introduction to the interrelationships of agriculture and learn how agricultural production depends on various factors such as the weather, the political framework and the price situation on the agricultural markets. They also talk to the farmers about their job and the importance of the job for society. The children and young people also explore the farm and try the products made on site. For the excursion there is the possibility of defining main topics such as "The milk - from the grass to the glass", "From grain to bread", "Fruit and vegetables - all around healthy", "From apple to cider", "Cattle, pigs, chickens, Sheep and Co. ”.

aims

The goals of the initiative include the presentation of the sustainable production of food and the clarification of the importance of agriculture for society. In addition, insights into the job description of the farmer should be given and the children and young people should be made aware of the responsible handling of animals and plants . In order to further develop the “Farm as a classroom” initiative and to plan joint events and campaigns, there has been an amalgamation of several institutions and associations since 2000. Members of the coordination group are the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection , the Hessian Ministry of Culture , the Hessian Farmers' Association, the State Agriculture Hesse, the State Association for Milk and Milk Products Hesse eV, the Lernort Bauernhof Südhessen eV, the vocational school of Wetteraukreis, the Hochtaunuskreis - Rural Areas Department, the Wetteraukreis - Agricultural Service, the Hessische Landjugend eV, the Regional Farmers' Association Starkenburg eV and the Marburg State Education Authority.

Cooperation partners - the exploratory farms

Around 150 farms in Hesse take part in the farm as classroom initiative. A list of all participating companies, broken down by focus and region, can be found on the initiative's website. There are also 14 school farms in Hessen. School farms are farms that see their main focus in education. They also offer multi-day stays as part of school trips.

Web links

• Website of the initiative farm as a classroom

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "Farm as a classroom"  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ "School & Health"
3. ^ "Report of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 18, 2011"
4. ↑ "Who are the providers of the" Farm as a classroom "initiative?" ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ "List of school farms" ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.