Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation
The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF) seeks to develop and implement a Goats/Sheep in the Classroom curriculum. Our goal is to reach over 1,000 Elementary and Middle School students and 35 teachers annually with hands-on, innovative lessons that advance the understanding and importance of goats and sheep and their roles in agriculture and the lives of student. The three Goats in the Classroom lessons and three Sheep in the Classroom lessons will be packaged in easy to carry totes which could be replicated as a resource to Ag in the Classroom programs nationwide, and which could be modified for use by volunteers in the agricultural community, education system, and youth organizations, to provide an innovative, educational program to civic organizations and other public venues. Each lesson will include a component where students have an actual visit with live lambs or kids.
MAEF plans to work with several groups to develop this program and complete the outreach. The Maryland Dairy Goat Association (MDGA) will help MAEF to locate goat farmers who would like to participate in bringing live goats to each Goats in the Classroom lesson. The Maryland Farm Bureau Women’s Committee has invited MAEF to train the Miss Maryland Agriculture County Ambassadors in teaching the lessons. These ambassadors will visit schools in their counties with the lessons. The Maryland State FFA Association will work with MAEF to train FFA chapters across the state to share lessons to their feeder schools through a program called Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS).
The main goal of this project is to educate the general public and students about agriculture through educational experiences with both sheep and goats. The products made from sheep and goats will be marketed and promoted to help increase sales in the local area. Local farmers who participate will learn how to interact with the public using their lambs and kids. The main area of focus will be Maryland but MAEF hopes to share the program with the rest of the country.