Experiential Learning Opportunity on the Farm

Since the 1970s, Jefferson County 's Bear Creek High School has been sending seniors out on experiential learning program called Senior Field Study. Colorado Farm Bureau Associate Director of Technology and Membership Becca Edlund says

Edlund: "So this year we had almost 30 students, we had 29 students that participated. They went out to about 22 families. Those families host the students for a week. This year that was a Tuesday to a Tuesday over the Easter weekend which was an exciting opportunity for the students to really experience a rural holiday where a lot of family gathers and they actually take a break from the ranching life for a couple of hours. The students go out to a variety of operation styles, including organic or conventional farms, cattle producers. So this a great opportunity for kids to see a broad variety. Then they come back to the classroom and they talk about those experiences and they can engage each other in what they learned — whether they were on an organic operation or a conventional farming location or in the case of one student a vegetarian on a cattle ranch. So those kind of opportunities can only be created in an environment like this. It will not have the same impact if it is written in an article or put on the internet as a blog. It is really experiential in that."