MEXICO — A group of Mountain Valley Middle School seventh-graders camped behind the school Monday night so they could be there early to start cooking bean hole beans on Tuesday.

Jim Radmore, technical education teacher, helped the students design, dig and line the pit with bricks.

It was all a part of River Valley Day at the school.

Youngsters, staff and community members alike feasted on the beans, burgers, greens and rhubarb dessert, all products of local area farmers.

Some students researched ethnic recipes used by settlers of the area, including Lithuanian cookies and French molasses cookies. A few students baked some and shared with others.

“It’s a huge endeavor,” Principal Ryan Casey said. “It’s pretty cultural and more and more people want to come and share.”

The River Valley project wasn’t just for local and ethnic foods. Each of the three middle school grades visited various sites in the area.

Eighth-graders Brett Payne and Kyle Cote were among those who traveled to Byron. “I learned to gold pan,” Payne said. Cote learned there was a schoolhouse in the small town.

Krysta Hodsdon of Roxbury discovered that some people once made their living panning for gold in the the Swift River.

Ryley Flynn said he liked his trip to Roxbury to visit the recently commissioned wind farm. “I like them,” he said. “Wind is a good thing.”

Other students created demographic sheets showing the number of men and women in area towns — women outnumber men in most. Others made drawings of native animals, such as coyotes, rabbits, moose and wolves.

Still others traveled to Bryant Pond to learn about hunting, wildlife, tree identification and outdoor survival. And students also visited the ski museum at Black Mountain in Rumford.

Each year, teachers of English, science, math, social studies and technology coordinate a two-week unit with a focus on the River Valley.