Agroecology, which views agricultural areas as ecosystems and is concerned with the ecological impact of agricultural practices, is the topic of experiential learning by Mount Madonna School sixth grade students as part of their science curriculum.
Students visited a working organic farm, had a personal glimpse into the lives of migrant farmworkers, observed professional research in action on a college farm, viewed artists’ expressions on this topic at a museum exhibition, and prepared a sustainable food potluck.
Their field studies began with a trip to Live Earth Farm in Watsonville, where students were introduced to the practices of organic farming, and had fun harvesting Concord grapes and strawberries and pressing apples into juice.
In their science notebooks, students mapped out the complex farm food web.
Sixth grader Rebecca Piccardo said she went into the trip with a question about how much water the farm used in a year, and came away with an understanding about the ways farmers work to reduce water consumption.
Another classmate, meanwhile, said “decomposers” play an essential role.
“Without decomposers,” commented the student, “our planet would rot.”
Student Giavanna Iacocca learned about the role of different crops, including cover crops, and the effects of disease, pests and growing conditions.
“Once squash gets powdery mildew, it will begin to reproduce slower,” said Iacocca. “Mustard is invasive, and some parasites prefer plants on the ground instead of trees.”
“I learned that scale bugs eat plants, and what broccolini is,” added classmate Leyla Klosinski.
In mid-October, sixth graders — along with several twelfth grade students — had some eye-opening lessons into the harsh subsistence of migrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, who are employed locally as farmworkers, through the Farmworker Reality Tour hosted by Dr. Ann López of the Center for Farmworker Families.
“We heard first-hand stories of farmworkers crossing the border, living in a migrant labor camp, and working in the fields,” she continued. “Students learned about the injustices experienced by farmworkers and I believe they gained gratitude and appreciation for the work they do. In the aftermath of the tour, they are learning to channel any strong emotions they may feel about the subject into doing something constructive, such as learning more, volunteering, donating and buying organic produce.”
“There are a lot of injustices we would never know of without things like the reality tour,” said student Nolan McKibbin.
“I learned about how farmworkers live,” said classmate Pierce Culbertson. “Now that I know, I want to make change.”
The next day, students visited the farm at UC Santa Cruz, to learn from a docent about the professional agroecology research underway.
The docent talked about the importance of polyculture agriculture — planting more than one crop species in one space — to promote biodiversity, soil health, and elimination of fossil-fuel dependent pesticides and fertilizers.
Students also learned about double-digging planting techniques, pioneered at UC Santa Cruz, to loosen soil and increase air and water availability to roots, making it easier for plants to access nutrients deeper in the soil.
Students observed a research plot of blueberries, where researchers were experimenting with levels of vinegar added to the soil to promote acidic growing conditions needed for blueberry production. They also heard about the importance of nitrogen-fixing crops. This lesson was reinforced in the science classroom where students learned how legume crops have evolved a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which provides organisms with nitrogen, an essential nutrient, in a form that is accessible to all living things.
Next, students headed to “The Land of Milk and Honey,” an exhibition at the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz, where they viewed art related to modern agriculture in California and Mexico that grapple with food justice, migration, economics and agri-food politics.
At the Agroecology exhibit, students were drawn to colorful large-scale portraits of farmworker women, and made comments on how the clothing and masks the women wore protected them from dust, irritation from plants, weather, sun, and pesticides while they worked in the fields. Another art piece showed a cob of corn constructed out of human teeth found in Tijuana close to the border of the U.S. and Mexico. Students made connections between the art on exhibit and the testimonials given by farmworkers during the Farmworker Realty Tour, where they learned about the hardships experienced by farmworkers while crossing the border and working in the local agricultural fields.
To conclude, students asked to prepare dishes to share with their classmates and their invited third grade buddies at a “sustainable food potluck.” This meal included a “dash” of learning as each dish had to include at least three ingredients from local sources produced within a 50-mile radius of the student’s home, and students each created a “food map” depicting their home and proximity to the local ingredients.
“Agroecology is simultaneously a scientific discipline, an agricultural practice, and a political or social movement,” said Alvarado, who has a Ph.D. in environmental studies, with a focus in urban agroecosystems and sustainable agriculture. “The hands-on experiences and field trips this year have helped students see the various ways that the concept of agroecology can be applied in the real world. It has long been my intent to expose students to these issues, and this year the opportunities came together to make his an enriching learning experience.”