Agricultural Literacy Week Participants Needed

MIDDLETOWN – Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County will be participating in the annual New York Agricultural Literacy Week from March 18-22, 2024. Master Gardener volunteers and community members will read I LOVE Strawberries by Shannon Anderson in Orange County elementary classrooms. This book will take students on a journey from strawberry seedling to table of strawberries, as told through the experiences of Jolie, a young girl determined to prove her responsibility by growing this popular perennial.

This year’s program will be held in-person and volunteers can organize the preferred experience with each classroom. In addition, each participating school receives a copy of the book for their school library at no cost. An interest survey and invitation letters will be emailed to public and private school administrators and educators in early January. We also have Spanish speaking readers for bilingual classrooms.

If you have questions about the program, you can find additional information at the New York Agriculture in the Classroom website:www.agclassroom.org/ny. If you would like to arrange AgLit week participation for your grade K-3 classrooms, please contact Susan D’Egidio atsmd348@cornell.edu and include “AgLit 2024” in the email heading. Please indicate if you have bilingual class needs.

Cornell Cooperative Extension and its partnerships provide programs for Orange County residents on youth and family development; nutrition, health, and food safety; community and economic vitality; and agricultural sustainability through Cornell based research.

Committed to Orange County, we design programs to meet local needs to enable people to improve their lives and communities. For more information call Cornell Cooperative Extension Orange County at 845-344-1234 or visit our website at www.CCEOrangeCounty.org.