Newly Released: Soil Health & Regenerative Agriculture Curriculum for High Schools
American Farmland Trust is excited to announce the release of Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture for the High School Classroom - FIC, a five-week curriculum designed to introduce students in grades 7-12 to the principles of soil health and regenerative agriculture. The curriculum was made possible through funding from the National Institute of Food & Agriculture’s Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture (SPECA) in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program.
The project brought together educators, farmers, resource professionals, and university extension through partnership with the Kansas Soil Health Alliance, Ohio State University Extension, and Kansas Association of Conservation Districts.
“The partners’ collective expertise helped ensure that this curriculum connects classroom learning with real-world agricultural practices and experience. Some activities in this curriculum are the same activities our farmers use to examine soil in their fields- it does not get more real-world than that!"
Developed for use across a variety of agricultural education courses, such as agriscience and plant science, the curriculum provides students with opportunities to explore the vital role of healthy soil in agriculture. The curriculum can also be used in general science courses and was piloted by rural and urban school districts, making it accessible to a broad range of students. Aligned with both the NexGen Science Standards and the National Agriscience Standards, the curriculum gives educators a flexible resource for helping students understand soil as a living resource and how agricultural management practices can influence soil health and farm productivity.
By bringing soil health and regenerative agriculture into the classroom, this curriculum helps equip the next generation of agriculturalists with the knowledge and tools they need to build a resilient agricultural future.
If you are interested in using the curriculum or would like to share it with a school district near you, visit Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture for the High School Classroom - FIC. For any questions about the project, please contact Kinzie Reiss at [email protected].
