How might we prepare students for leadership roles in solving the world’s food system challenges and developing innovative solutions for climate resilience in areas including: agriculture and forestry? This is the question that is driving us forward as the need for cultivating resilience is even more pressing now than ever before. We are building on a strong legacy of agricultural education at Woodstock Union Middle High School and seeking to stitch together the incredible people, resources, and places proximate to our school.
During this fellowship, we will be engaging faculty, students, and community partners in developing a flexible pathway of learning through courses and experiences that focus on building climate resilience by engaging in agricultural, forestry and technological innovation (CRAFT). This pathway will be interdisciplinary with cross curricular connections in health and wellness, the NuVu Innovation lab, the agriculture department, science department and our Center of Community Connections program. We will immerse students in relevant, hands-on learning experiences that allow for their own voice, creative thought, and problem-solving skills to be highlighted through work with teachers and community partners to elevate their engagement in learning and create systemic changes within education.
Ultimately, we hope to create a more resilient school and students who can respond to change, unexpected circumstances, and systemic challenges with grace, critical thinking, kindness, and strength. Students will understand that they each have a role to play in this world and that taking personal responsibility for their own education is the place to begin. We believe students are more likely to take lifelong action, and make personal choices that promote sustainable food, forest, and ecological systems, if they have a degree of ownership over their learning. We will use the vehicle of study of food and forest systems to cultivate transferable skills within our students.
