Middle School students kicked off their first STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) project of the year at the Shelburne Farms Market Garden. The driving question for this project is, How can we reduce the impact of our food-growing systems on the environment?
We live on a planet with limited resources and a growing population. Growing enough food to feed the global population requires a lot of resources, and meeting global demand and nutritional needs sustainably is a grand challenge that many people are working hard to find solutions for.
In this unit, students will think critically about the ways our agricultural systems are impacting our environment and about what will happen to global food supplies if we continue with business as usual. Together, they will research and explore different sustainable food-growing methods that farmers might be able to use to reduce environmental impacts.
Working in groups, students will then apply their research to design an experiment that tests two approaches to growing vegetables. We will be implementing these experiments in class and students will be responsible for collecting data, analyzing data, and sharing their findings in a lab report. Each group will then produce a photo essay that educates local food-growers about sustainable food production.
