BRATTLEBORO-University of Vermont (UVM) Extension 4-H recently launched a new program for special education students at Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS), combining food systems, leadership, and hands-on learning.
The four-year program, conducted in partnership with the Windham Southeast Supervisory District Special Education Department, is funded through a $6.5 million grant awarded to University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
As a subrecipient, UVM Extension received $1.6 million, which will fund program development, staffing, materials, cultural interpretation, and other needs in Brattleboro and at a second site in Burlington that has partnered with the Association of Africans Living in Vermont for five years to prepare young people for careers in agriculture and food sciences.
The group explores jobs and careers in food systems including agriculture, cooking, and small business, among other fields, on Thursdays. Lauren MacArthur, of Whetstone Ledges Farm, a small farm and farmstand in Marlboro, was their first speaker.
"One Friday a month, the students participate in an educational field trip to a local farm or food business," Bos-Lun says. "They recently harvested apples at Cortland Hill Orchard and visited Lilac Ridge Farm, which are both in West Brattleboro. In October, they will glean fall produce at Harlow Farm in Westminster, one of Vermont's oldest and largest organic vegetable farms, to donate to the Vermont Foodbank."
In coming months, Christopher Denette, a Williamsville forager and mushroom expert, and local food entrepreneur Kate Barry of Mocha Joe's Café in Brattleboro are scheduled to meet with the students.
To learn more about YEA projects across the country, visit youth-ed-network.org. If there are questions, or if interested in providing a culinary or career exploration experience for the SEA program, contact Bos-Lun at michelle.bos-lun@uvm.edu.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.