For Educators
Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) has long understood the importance of education to the overall success of its land conservation program. MALT´s Education Program began in 1996 with a small offering of farm tours. The program has evolved into an enormously successful and popular way of introducing the public to MALT´s mission and goals. The following facet of our Education Program is particularly focused towards classroom teachers.
The Farm Field Studies Program offers farm field trips to K-12 school groups from throughout the Bay Area in the Spring and Fall. This year's MALT day at the Nicasio Valley Farms pumpkin patch was made possible thanks to the support of Autodesk, the County of Marin, Nicasio Valley Farms, and Wells Fargo. We are sorry that all of our spring field trips are now full. We do encourage you to take your students on a farm tour. Please check with these other local organizations that may have availability: Marin Organic, Marin Agricultural Institute, and Devil's Gulch Ranch. Be sure to check back in August to apply for a fall 2010 MALT field trip.
For information about our Outreach and Education Programs, contact Constance Washburn, Director of Education at 415-663-1338 or cwashburn@malt.org.
Farm Field Studies Program
About the Farm Field Studies Program
Our spring 2010 farm field studies trips are fully booked. Please check back with us in August to apply for a fall 2010 field trip.
MALT offers the Farm Field Studies Program (FFS) to Bay Area schools. Fifty percent of Marin's land-use base is tied to agriculture, yet many Bay Area children have never set foot on a working farm. Our program offers an opportunity for hands-on learning at a local farm or ranch about the natural world, our food supply, nutrition, the local economy, and our rich California history.
We offer curriculum aids, including maps of Marin agriculture, science and nature activity kits, and lesson plans which correlate to the California Department of Education Frameworks for math, science, history-social science, and English-language arts.
Our standard fee of $150 per class is used as a stipend for the host farmer; financial assistance is available by request. Farm field trips are offered September through November; and March through June by application. Participating schools are selected on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information please contact Education Department staff, at ffs@malt.org, or 415-663-1338.
Teaching Agriculture
Read this article from the MALT Fall 2007 newsletter for an introduction to the Farm Field Studies program.
"On a bright spring morning in Bolinas, a school bus unloads 25 fourth graders and all their exuberant energy onto Sandy Dierks´ family farm. She smiles in welcome. "Here they come! We have so much to share with them!" she says. She greets the children, their teachers, and parents, knowing that she is someone few of the kids or adults may have met before-she is a farmer. "
Download the rest of the article here (PDF 791 KB).
Core Participating Farms & Visual Lesson Plans
Paradise Valley Farm – Dennis & Sandy Dierks, Bolinas, California
Dennis and Sandy grow and sell organic row crops. They work hard to build healthy soil in order to grow vegetables and greens of the highest possible nutritional value. The tour normally starts with a lecture from Dennis near the enormous compost pile as he explains the soil nutrient cycle.
After the lecture, students will visit the greenhouse to plant seeds and discuss the plant life cycle, followed by a lesson on the restoration of salmon-spawning habitat in adjacent Pine Gulch Creek, and a visit to the creek to capture and study various life forms. Other seasonal, hands-on activities might include planting beds or harvesting fruits or vegetables.
Click on the titles for visual lesson plans on the The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Bugs (7.4 MB), Basic Nutrient Cycle (PDF 3.3 MB), Soil Nutrient Cycle (PDF 2.8 MB), Parts of a Plant (PDF 2.9 MB), and Coho Salmon Life Cycle (PDF 3.6 MB) that are appropriate for this farm location.
Tresch Dairy – Kathy & Joe Tresch, Two Rock, California
The Tresch family has been in the California dairy business since Joe´s family emigrated from Switzerland to California in the 1870s. The dairy at Two Rock has been worked by four generations of the Tresch family, and was certified organic in 1996. All the milk goes to the Straus Family Creamery in Marshall, where it is used for the Straus product line of milk, cream, butter, and yogurt.
Students will learn the farm-to-market process of an organic dairy´s milk, bottle-feed a calf, visit the milking barn, and have the chance to churn and taste butter. During a walk out to the heirloom apple orchard, they will learn about the life cycle of dairy cows, sustainable agricultural methods that care for the environment, and the important role farms play in preserving watershed and wildlife habitat.
Click on the title for visual lesson plans on The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Bugs (7.4 MB), Cows and Milk Production (PDF 3.2 MB), Chicken Life Cycle (PDF 2.5 MB), Parts of a Plant (PDF 2.9 MB), and Pond Life (PDF 4.2 MB) that are appropriate for this farm location.
Windrush Farm – Mimi Luebermann, Chileno Valley, Petaluma, California
Spring 2010 field trip schedule is full!
Windrush Farm is an old-fashioned farm where Mimi raises much of her food, including goats, chickens, and vegetables. Mimi raises sheep, alpaca, and llamas for their wool, which she cleans and cards, then spins into yarn, which she dyes. The students will get a lesson on this process, as well as a discussion of wool products.
The students will learn about the frog life cycle at the farm pond, where they can capture and release tadpoles and small frogs. Pond kits will be provided for study of other water creatures. The MALT docent will also conduct a lesson on the food chain, from grinding wheat for flour, to baking bread, time permitting.
Click on the titles for visual lesson plans on The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Bugs (7.4 MB), Sheep (PDF 3.1 MB), Chicken Life Cycle (PDF 2.5 MB), Grains (PDF 3 MB), and Pond Life (PDF 4.2 MB) that are appropriate for this farm location.
Drake’s Bay Family Farms - The Lunny family, Point Reyes, California
The Lunny family has been farming and ranching around Drakes Estero for four generations. Today, there are two operations that sustain the family: organic, grass-fed beef cattle and oyster production.
A tour at Drakes Bay Family Farms includes a discussion of sustainable agriculture and why eating organic meat is important, a walk through pasture land, a lesson on aquaculture, and a chance to taste the oysters of Drakes Estero.
Click on the title for a visual lesson plans on The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Beef (4 MB), and Oysters (PDF 2.8 MB), that are appropriate for this farm location.
Gospel Flat Farm – Don & Mickey Murch, Bolinas, California
In 1982, Don Murch and Sarah Hake moved onto the last farm on the Pine Gulch Creek delta, to an area once known as the Gospel Flat for the four churches that previously existed there. They reclaimed the fields from a decade of trash buildup. Don, Sarah, and their sons Mickey and Kater farm in a variety of styles, and raise organic vegetables and flowers. The farm is increasingly dedicated to its role in community not only as a provider of local vegetables, but inspiration towards handmade food through mobile kitchen workshops, after-school education, and school tours.
Click on the titles for visual lesson plans on the The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Basic Nutrient Cycle (PDF 3.3 MB), Soil Nutrient Cycle (PDF 2.8 MB), Parts of a Plant (PDF 2.9 MB), and Coho Salmon Life Cycle (PDF 3.6 MB) that are appropriate for this farm location.
Bianchini Ranch/Bivalve Dairy –John & Karen Taylor, just north of Point Reyes Station, California
John and Karen Taylor run a herd of approximately 200 dairy cows on this historic 750-acre ranch. Karen is a sixth-generation Marin dairywoman, and she and John converted their dairy herd to organic in 2006 and now produce quality organic milk for Clover Stornetta Farms.
The Taylors’ cows are fed on pasture for most of the year. When the pastures wane in late summer, they must feed the herd a TMR - Total Mixed Ration – to meet the cows’ nutritional needs. The ration is made up of silage raised on the ranch mixed with various feeds and supplements. To protect Tomales Bay, the Taylors work closely with governmental agencies and practice erosion prevention and good pasture and water quality management to meet the necessary environmental regulations. Karen and John have three children, who they hope represent the 7th generation of dairy ranchers to work and care for this land.
Click on the title for visual lesson plans on The Farmer as Steward (7.9 MB), Cows and Milk Production (PDF 3.2 MB), and Total Mixed Ration (PDF 2.9 MB) that are appropriate for this farm location.
Additional Marin Farms
Other farms and ranches are available for FFS field trips. If you are interested in specific agricultural industries or issues, please contact Education Department staff, at at ffs@malt.org, or 415-663-1338.
How to Apply for a Field Trip
All of our spring field trips are now full. Please check back in August to apply for a fall 2010 field trip.
This is the first step. Download the application and submit online, or by mail or fax to address on form.
Once you are registered for a field trip, there are several other forms you need. Click on the form titles to download:
- For Parents (PDF 3.4 KB)
Informational letter to distribute to parents about the Farm Field Studies program and field trip logistics.
- For Chaperones (PDF 3.4 MB)
Informational letter to distribute to participating chaperones about their responsibilities during the trip.
- Acceptance of Risk and Release of Liability (PDF 84 KB)
A completed, signed copy of this form for each participating student and chaperone must be turned in to the MALT docent at the farm at the time of trip. Please fill out the trip information at the top before distributing to parents.
- Teacher Evaluation (PDF 3.4 MB)
Your feedback is very important to us! After your trip, please take a moment to let us know how your trip went. Submit online or by mail or fax to address on form.
Resources for Teachers
Visual Lesson Plans
California Content Standards with Links to Farm Activities
More facts about agriculture in Marin County, California, are found in the
Amazing BUT TRUE fact sheet (PDF 1.1 MB).
Download a Marin County Farms and Ranches Map here. (PDF 2.7 MB)
Grown in Marin, the website of the University of California Cooperative Extension, has extensive resources for educators, including Food For Thought: Agricultural Activities for Growing Minds, a classroom activity guide for grades 3-6.
Collaborative Educational Programs
Through collaborations with other organizations, Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) has acted as an incubator for innovative and effective programs that encourage agricultural literacy, raise awareness of local agriculture, and encourage public policies that support the viability of local agriculture. Increased awareness and understanding of agriculture by the greater Bay Area community can help support the long-term survival of local agriculture.
Marin Agriculture and Education Alliance (MAEA)
Promoting agricultural literacy for a sustainable food system
Founded in 1998, MAEA is a collaborative of agriculture and education agencies working together to promote agricultural literacy for a sustainable food system. Environmental Education Council of Marin acts as fiscal agent for MAEA at this time. Member agencies include the Environmental Education Council of Marin, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Marin County Farm Bureau, Marin County Office of Education, Marin Food Systems Project, Marin Organic, Slide Ranch, The Bay Institute, University of California Cooperative Extension, Regenerative Design Institute, Marin Montessori School, Marin Conservation Corps, Marin Master Gardeners, Environmental Traveling Companions, Marin County Farmers Market Association, Laurel Dell Elementary School, Windrush Farm, Devils Gulch Ranch, Walker Creek Ranch, Green Gulch Farm and the College of Marin. For information on programs visit the MAEA website.
University of California Cooperative Extension Diversification Workshops
Panel discussions with researchers in the field of livestock agriculture and water quality are held in collaboration with UC Cooperative Extension and Marin Organic. Sessions have included such topics as alternative energy sources being used to power farms and ranches in the Bay Area, organic strawberry production, and the growing of medicinal herbs. Each session includes a tasting of Marin farm products. For more information, contact Steve Quirt at 415-499-4204 or www.growninmarin.org.
