Colorado Foundation For Agriculture Inc

COLORADO FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURE IS A NON-PROFIT EDUCATION CORPORATION WITH THE VISION TO ADVANCE AGRICULTURAL LITERACY IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF CONSUMERS, CITIZENS AND PROFESSIONALS. THE MISSION IS CONNECTING COLORADO EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS TO THEIR FOOD, FIBER, FUEL, AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

COLORADO READER: AN 8-PAGE STUDENT ACTIVITY NEWSPAPER GEARED TOWARDS UPPER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS, AND ALSO USED BY MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS. EACH ISSUE COVERS A DIFFERENT AGRICULTURE OR NATURAL RESOURCE TOPIC AND IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE. A TOTAL OF 60,000 COPIES OF EACH ISSUE WERE PRINTED AND DIRECTLY MAILED TO 1,675 CLASSROOMS IN BOTH URBAN AND RURAL COMMUNITIES ACROSS COLORADO, REPRESENTING 730 SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND CSU EXTENSION OFFICES. FOUR ISSUES WERE PUBLISHED DURING THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR: 1) SPUD-TACULAR COLORADO POTATOES; 2) UDDER-LY AMAZING (COLORADO DAIRY); 3) THE STORY OF COLORADO BEEF; AND 4) CAREERS IN AGRICULTURE. ALL ISSUES OF THE COLORADO READER ARE ALSO PUBLISHED IN A DIGITAL FLIP-BOOK FORMAT, AVAILABLE IN THE CFA DIGITAL LIBRARY.

ACTIVITY BOOKS: DESIGNED TO INCREASE THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF A PARTICULAR TOPIC, EACH BOOK VARIES IN LENGTH RANGING FROM 24 TO 72 PAGES AND CAN BE TAUGHT OVER MULTIPLE CLASS PERIODS. THEY INCLUDE A VARIETY OF READING AND ACTIVITY PAGES TO MAKE LEARNING FUN! THE ACTIVITY BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE IN PRINT AND VIA DIGITAL FLIP-BOOK IN THE CFA DIGITAL LIBRARY. A TOTAL OF 11,145 COPIES OF THE ACTIVITIES BOOKS WERE DISTRIBUTED IN 2022-2023, AND THE DIGITAL FLIP-BOOK VERSIONS RECEIVED 479 TOTAL ANNUAL VIEWS, A 38% INCREASE FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR.JOURNEY 2050 AND FARMERS 2050: EXPERIENCE AGRICULTURE LIKE IT'S NEVER BEEN TAUGHT BEFORE THROUGH THIS EDUCATIONAL GAMING PLATFORM. STUDENTS EXPLORE WORLD FOOD SUSTAINABILITY AS THEY MAKE INQUIRY-BASED DECISIONS TO SEE THE RIPPLE EFFECT ON SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY. JOURNEY 2050 IS IDEAL FOR GRADES 6-12 AND COMES WITH STEM-BASED LESSON PLANS. FARMERS 2050 IS A FUN FARMING GAME FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES. JOURNEY 2050 AND FARMERS 2050 ARE PROVIDED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NUTRIEN AND THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION. COLORADO HAS MORE THAN 85 ACTIVE EDUCATORS UTILIZING THE JOURNEY 2050 PROGRAM. ADDITIONALLY, APPROXIMATELY 3,700 USERS FROM COLORADO VISITED THE JOURNEY 2050 WEBSITE AND 500 USERS FROM COLORADO VISITED THE FARMERS 2050 WEBSITE IN 2022-2023. STUDENT, EDUCATOR, AND PUBLIC EVENTSTHROUGHOUT THE YEAR, CFA STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS ATTEND VARIOUS STUDENT AGRICULTURE AND WATER FESTIVALS, PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR CONFERENCES, AND PUBLIC EVENTS. THESE EVENTS ARE KEY FOR EDUCATING STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC, AS WELL AS PROMOTING THE MANY PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES PROVIDED BY COLORADO AGRICULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM. IN 2022-2023, CFA HAD DIRECT CONTACT WITH 35,000 STUDENTS, TEACHERS, FAMILIES, AND INDIVIDUALS AT 32 SUCH EVENTS HELD THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

COLORADO LITERACY PROJECT: IN THE SPRING, FARMERS AND RANCHERS VISIT CLASSROOMS - EITHER IN-PERSON OR VIRTUALLY - AND READ A BOOK ABOUT AGRICULTURE. THEY ANSWER QUESTIONS, TALK ABOUT THEIR CONNECTION TO AGRICULTURE, AND DO AN ACTIVITY WITH THE STUDENTS. AT THE END OF THE VISIT, THE BOOK IS DONATED TO THE SCHOOL. THIS IS A FREE PROJECT TARGETED TOWARDS PREK-5TH GRADE STUDENTS. FOR THE 2023 COLORADO LITERACY PROJECT, CFA ONCE AGAIN PARTNERED WITH COLORADO AGRICULTURE JOURNALIST AND CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR RACHEL GABEL TO PUBLISH A NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK TITLED "THE WOOLLY WAY: PAPOU AND THE STORY OF LANTERN RIDGE." THE BOOK TELLS THE ROLE SHEEP AND SHEPHERDS HAVE PLAYED IN COLORADO, HISTORICALLY TO PRESENT-DAY, INCLUDING CULTURAL AND LAND MANAGEMENT CONTRIBUTIONS. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE BASED ON HISTORIC AND MODERN PHOTOS OF SHEEP RANCHING IN WESTERN COLORADO. THIS PROJECT WAS A JOINT PROJECT OF CFA, THE COLORADO SHEEP & WOOL AUTHORITY, THE BESSIE MINOR SWIFT FOUNDATION, THE COLORADO STATE FOREST SERVICE, AND VARIOUS INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS AND DONORS INCLUDING THE COLORADO WOOL GROWERS ASSOCIATION. EACH PARTICIPATING CLASS RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK, ONE WOOL SAMPLES KIT, TREE COOKIES (SMALL CROSS-SECTIONS OF TREES), A COPY OF THE PROGRAM GUIDE, COPIES OF FIVE STUDENT ACTIVITIES, ONE COPY OF THE CFA WOOL & SHEEP ACTIVITY BOOK, AND A POSTCARD ABOUT PROJECT LEARNING TREE. MORE THAN 10,000 STUDENTS IN 500+ CLASSES WERE REACHED THROUGH THIS PROGRAM IN 2023.

SUMMER AGRICULTURE INSTITUTES: THE SUMMER AGRICULTURE INSTITUTES ARE MULTI-DAY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES DESIGNED FOR TEACHERS. ATTENDEES LEARN ABOUT COLORADO AGRICULTURE, TOUR FARMS, RANCHES, AND FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITIES, AND LEARN INNOVATIVE, STANDARDS-BASED WAYS TO INCORPORATE FOOD, FIBER, FUEL, AND NATURAL RESOURCE TOPICS INTO ACADEMIC CURRICULUM. TWO COURSES ARE OFFERED EACH YEAR IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS COLORADO. THE COURSES FOR 2023 WERE: SAI DURANGO: CROSSROADS OF AGRICULTURE AND EDUCATION A 5-DAY COURSE HIGHLIGHTING AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE SOUTHWEST; AND SAI DENVER: THE SCIENCE OF ANIMAL AGRICULTURE A NEW 3-DAY COURSE OPTION FOCUSED ON IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN SCIENCE EDUCATION RELATED TO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND CLIMATE. A TOTAL OF 30 TEACHERS RECEIVED TRAINING THROUGH THESE TWO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENTS.