A is for agriculture
By Holly Hollenbeck

With only 2 percent of the current U.S. population involved in production agriculture, the majority of the nation's population is further away from agriculture than it has ever been. The Junior Master Gardener Program allows children to see that their food really comes from a garden or field, not the grocery store.

What could be more fun for 10- to 12-year-old children growing up in the city than pulling weeds from their own garden during the hot months of summer? How about eating the end results of their hard work on a blanket under the shade of a nearby tree?

This is how children in several communities in Missouri spent their summer. Instead of sitting in front of their TV playing video games, they're planting, tending to and harvesting their own fruits and vegetables--and learning where their food comes from.

With most children growing up in cities today, few children get to experience growing their own food, and many don't know how the food they eat from the grocery store gets there. The Junior Master Gardener Program, a University of Missouri Outreach and Extension program, is designed to show kids what's involved in food production. Michele Warmund, MU extension horticulturist, developed and now coordinates the program.

The program
Warmund started the program in 1998 in hopes that teachers could use gardening in their classrooms as an agricultural teaching tool. But summer vacation put a damper on things because students couldn't go through the whole gardening process.

So in 1999, Warmund developed the program into a 10-week summer program for 10- to 12-year-old students interested in participating. "A lot of kids in Columbia don't have gardens," said Warmund. "This gets them involved in learning about science and agriculture during the summer. And it's a lot of fun for them, too."

Two sites in Columbia served as the initial trial run in 1999. They were such a success that the program went statewide this year. The program was held in North Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and Kirksville this year.

The program is sponsored by university extension, the Universtiy of Missouri-Columbia's department of horticulture and 4-H. A three-year grant is funding the program.

"Most of the volunteers that help run the program are adult master gardeners, retired teachers or 4-H leaders," said Warmund. "They do a great job and are knowledgeable about gardening and agriculture."

The volunteers run the hour-and-a-half sessions twice a week, and Warmund visits the locations throughout the summer. Extension finds the volunteers for the program and a plot of land for the kids to use.

Activities and learning
The kids are paired up and assigned to a plot of ground to tend to. The group selects the type of theme garden they want to plant. The kids can choose between rad, weird, pizza, salsa, relish tray, spicy, holiday and Native American theme gardens. All of the plants grown in the garden then center around that theme.

At each session, the children tend to the various needs of the garden as it matures. They work together to plant, weed, water and harvest. The kids keep track of how much their plants have grown, and some even conduct their own science experiments.

"The program is very hands on," said Warmund. "It's learning by doing. And gardening allows the students to see instant success. You can plant the seeds and at the next session you can usually see how the seeds have already germinated. Kids can see immediate results of their work."

But the sessions aren't all work and play. Each session also includes a classroom-type atmosphere where other agricultural topics are discussed. Photosynthesis, weed and insect identification, plant anatomy, nutrition, plant breeding and even bioengineering are discussed during the sessions.

The value of food is discussed, and grocery store ads are used so that the kids can see how much their product and work are worth. They also are exposed to service learning. Local hunger is discussed. "Lots of kids don't know there is hunger in their own communities," said Warmund. "The kids get to take some of their produce home, but they also get to choose a local food agency they donate to as well."

Their reward
At the end of the 10 weeks, the kids get to throw a garden party. They invite the sponsors who donated money or supplies for the program and their parents and family members to see their accomplishments. "The kids are always so excited to show all of it off," said Warmund. "And then we hold a presentation where the kids receive a certificate and T-shirt."

The program gives them a sense of accomplishment, helps them work together with other kids as a team, teaches them personal and service responsibility, and they see the process their food goes through before they can buy it in the grocery stores.

And Warmund hopes it does even more. "I hope they see that gardening is fun," she said. "I hope it's just their first encounter with a life-long hobby." n