Empowering Teachers with Hands-On Agriculture Education

We had the pleasure of hosting a professional development day for Palm Beach County School District educators in partnership with Florida Agriculture in the Classroom to help develop programs for students to learn about the importance of farming.

We provided local teachers with a firsthand look into how we apply science, technology, research and innovation to our agricultural business and environmental stewardship in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA).

The mission of Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is to be a leading collaborator and provider of educational resources Pre-K through 12th grade, focusing on teacher professional development programs on agriculture and natural resources. By showing teachers our how we operate, we can help them incorporate real-world examples into their science curriculum.

Teachers from all grades who teach STEM, agriculture, gardening and health participated to attain continuing education credits towards the renewal of their teaching licenses. 

During the professional development, Diego Luzuriaga, Vice President of R&D, presented to the educators on our business, including the sustainability of sugarcane, as well as the technology and practices implemented in the growing and harvesting of our crops.

“The opportunity to see where our food comes from and the effort that goes into growing and harvesting our food was amazing,” said Tim Miller, Physical Education and Health teacher at Lake Worth High School. “How the farming industry and the farmers work to protect the environment and conserve the land and water was truly eye opening and informational. I would encourage any teacher who presents any topic on environment, nutrition, or food science to take the opportunity to attend this tour.”

After the educational session, we took the group to lunch, then visited the Everglades Equipment Group, Hundley farms and Roth Farms.

We look forward to continuing our work with Florida Agriculture in the Classroom to support our local teachers and their students.