Students help Peter Christensen and Maryam Emami attach plastic to the greenhouse hoops.

This fall, students and staff at RLRS have been embracing agricultural opportunities on the Rangeley campus and beyond. Activities and lessons at all levels have been created to encourage learning beyond the classroom and students are reaping the benefits.

Kids Harvest – Kindergarten students harvest carrots in the Elementary Garden.

Elementary students participated in Stone Soup Day, based on the book by the same name. Kindergarten and Grade 1 harvested carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, and celery from the school garden with the help of Nini Christensen. Each class in grades Kindergarten through five were then responsible for washing and preparing the vegetables using the mobile kitchen unit from the Life Skills classroom.

Washing veggies – Grade 1 helps Nini Christensen wash their carrot harvest.

After the vegetables were carefully cooked by an adult, the soup was served to elementary students as an afternoon snack.
The newly constructed greenhouse built in Spring 2024 provided a harvest of mixed lettuce, spinach, broccoli, purple fingerling potatoes, and various types of tomatoes. Students in Spanish III and IV used these tomatoes to make pico de gallo for the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, thus creating another farm-to-table experience.
Spanish teacher, Kate Van Etten, taught students the ingredients and recipe instructions in Spanish and allowed students to create this authentic dish and enjoy the flavors of the fresh ingredients.

Senior, Natalie Stokes, harvests a giant tomato to make pico de gallo in her Spanish class.

RLRS received a total of $34,880 in grant money obtained by Maryam Emami and Darlene Woodman to aid in the construction of the greenhouse and Christensen helped in the planning and budgeting stages. Early crops such as broccoli and celery were used to sell at the Farmer’s Market in downtown Rangeley to raise money for the Garden Club.

On Friday, September 20th, RLRS high school students attended the Common Ground Fair in Unity for the second consecutive year. Students could choose which workshops they wanted to attend ranging from pottery-making to cattle-showing to beekeeping to name a few. The key component of this experience was learning about organic farming and sustainable agriculture.

Toby at GH – Toby Alves explains how regenerative farming practices are integrated into their business, The Farmers Daughter in Oquossoc.

At the end of September, Lindsay Richards, Physical Education and Life Skills teacher, along with the ninth and tenth grade classes went to Grasshopper Hill Farm in Rangeley to learn about regenerative farming practices and how Doris Santoro and Toby Alves integrate them into their store, The Farmer’s Daughter in Oquossoc.

While visiting, students visited the hoop houses where they picked giant cucumbers, learned about a chicken tractor, composted breakfast scraps from RLRS, fed the pigs, picked potatoes, radishes, and many other delicious vegetables. They also learned that only three percent of food eaten and purchased in Maine is actually grown in Maine.

Rangeley Lakes Regional School has been afforded these unique opportunities both on and off campus and says it appreciates the support of the families and community members who value education beyond the classroom.

 

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