“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” Those words were spoken by Nelson Mandela. That sentiment is why we feel it’s so important to focus on agricultural education in schools and at home. Today’s episode features four special programs that introduce students of all ages to the wide world of modern-day farming and agriculture.

Starts at 2:30 – Smack dap in the middle of downtown Birmingham, you’ll find the hub of Jones Valley Teaching Farm. It’s one of seven teaching farms in the city. The network of farms allows Jones Valley to teach K – 12 students about what it takes to grow and harvest their own food.

Starts at 9:33 – Summer camp probably conjures up images of canoes on a lake, cannon balling into swimming pools and sharing ghost stories around the campfire. Along with all those fun traditions, campers usually learn a thing or two as well. Camp McDowell’s Farm School in Winston County offers life lessons about the process of getting food from the farm to the table.

Starts at 16:25 – Alabama ranks in the top three in the nation for total timberland acreage, and over 90% of those trees are privately owned. It takes a lot of hard work to appropriately manage those forests so they can provide a home for diverse wildlife and eventually be harvested for a wealth of forest products. Students can learn more about how Alabama’s forestland owners manage their trees through the Alabama TREASURE Forest Association’s Classroom in the Forest program.

Starts at 22:54 – College students entering the job market don’t always have a clear idea of where their degree can end up taking them. With a degree from a college of agriculture, you might think farming is the only option, but then you’d be missing out on a plethora of job opportunities in the ag world. During spring break, students in Auburn University’s College of Agriculture explored all these possibilities during a tour across the state with the Alabama Ag Expedition.