PATASKALA, Ohio — It began in a second-floor classroom at Watkins Memorial High School, when instructors Deanna Karpuz and Steve Ratzel engaged 10 high school and four middle school students in a lively conversation about the process involved in obtaining an FFA Charter. Participation in FFA programs and activities is one of the three-component structures required for agricultural education programming in Ohio. 

The initial meeting focused on writing a constitution, a charter requirement, and the activities and benefits an FFA chapter would provide, such as agriculture competitions, leadership skill challenges, networking, and scholarship opportunities. 

The fledgling program, part of a second-year agriculture education pathway in the Southwest Licking Local School District, generated a buzz with students, changed the look of the campus, and created another graduation pathway.

“We are one and a half years into the program and already there are some innovative things happening,” Karpuz said. “We’ve started a food forest, built a greenhouse, partnered with professionals, hatched and raised chickens, built two aquaponics systems, and expanded the program into the high school.”

A middle school course, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR), introduced students to the scope of the agricultural and environmental systems career field and engaged them through hands-on activities. 

“In the first semester of the program, we had three partially filled classes,” Karpuz said. “The students loved the hands-on, project-based nature of the class, and through word of mouth, we quickly saw the second semester fill up with kids excited to get their hands dirty.”

A high school AFNR elective was added this year, and a second high school course, Animal and Plant Science, is scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

“This year we expanded the agriculture program into the high school,” Karpuz said. “A few projects the AFNR class has been working on include; garden spaces and building their aquaponics system.”

Superintendent, Dr. Kasey Perkins envisioned a program that gives students opportunities in agriculture, develops skills, and connects to the community. Perkins stressed the ties to the community such as providing healthy food options for insecure families and partnerships with local organizations. “Our agricultural program is just one of the many ways our students have hands-on opportunities to grow in our schools,” Perkins said.

The Licking County school district, which serves just over 4,900 students and lies between Columbus and Newark, sits at the nexus of Intel’s $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing site.

Intel’s arrival renewed emphasis on STEM graduation pathways among Licking County schools in order to meet expected labor force demands. However, a rural tradition is ingrained in the community and Southwest Licking Schools wanted to maintain that connection.

Agriculture education offers a non-traditional graduation pathway to students who are looking to enroll in college or begin careers in the various Ag sectors. Content is an essential part of the curriculum; however, the communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking skills students acquire provide a foundation for success in all endeavors.

“There are a lot of skills that they are going to learn through this program that they will be able to use in whatever career they choose,” Karpuz said.

“How can we improve our school, our community, and our environment by reimagining our space?” 

Students focused on that question throughout the year by engaging in problem-solving, answering complex questions, and incorporating core content standards from math, science, social studies, and English into the agriculture curriculum. Additionally, the class relied on the experience of professionals for support and feedback.

“We used this question to focus on all of the work we did in class throughout the year,” Karpuz said. “To enhance the learning and feedback process, we invited several professional guest speakers.” Speakers included a chef, Licking County Master Gardeners, a USDA forest specialist, an urban farmer, a homesteader, and the CEO of a family-run maple syrup company.

Designing and developing a food forest was a major project for the first-year students. Intended to use both horizontal and vertical space for the cultivation of edible plants, food forests mimic the natural ecosystem.

Karpuz detailed the student planning process:

• Students made observations about the food forest location, including sunlight and areas that are more wet/dry. 

• Students tested the physical and chemical properties of the soil. 

• Students found the earth was very clay-like but the nutrient levels were adequate. 

• Students began planning the food forest.

• Students researched the seven layers of the food forest and created a design.

• Students presented their designs to the Licking County Master Gardeners. 

• Students made adjustments based on feedback. 

“Over the summer we were able to implement stage one of the food forest,” Karpuz said. This included adding six raised beds, planting fruit trees, and a small pollinator garden to attract pollinators.”

New fencing around the food forest and the addition of a small storage shed and mini greenhouse readied the site for phase two. This includes more raised beds, mulching, additional fruit trees, installing bee hives, planting vegetables, and increasing the size of the pollinator garden. 

Another huge boost for the Ag program was the addition of a greenhouse that was funded by a $25,000 grant awarded through the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program. The greenhouse, built in the middle school courtyard, will host a Greenhouse Plant Sale in May. Students will work on planting and caring for seedlings and all profits will benefit the Ag program.

Karpuz sees the potential of the student’s efforts and how to benefit others.“Looking to the future of the food forest, we hope to continue to add to it and turn it into a community food forest. The goal of the community food forest will be to provide healthy food options to food-insecure families in our community.”

The Ohio Department of Education recognizes six Agricultural and Environmental Systems career field pathways and course structures. Agribusiness and Production Systems, Industrial Power Technology, Animal Science Management, Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Bioscience, Horticulture, and Natural Resource Management each have their own series of courses specific to the area of concentration. 

In addition to acquiring its FFA Charter the Ag program is adapting and searching for the pathway that meets the needs and wants of students and benefits the community.