“What we learn to do, we learn by doing” – Thomas Jefferson.
"Many times the Agriculture and Environmental Science students apologize for the mess made in class. My favorite response to them is 'if you’re not dirty, you’re not learning!' To reduce the mess we make inside, we head outside as much as possible! Students learning about the environment should have a chance to get out into it! If a student learns to appreciate the land around them, his/her interest level in learning about it, and how to protect it, will increase. The simple acts of holding a fish, seeing a turtle, or planting a seed can create a strong bond between a student and the environment. These learning experiences are a valuable tool to get them excited to learn and want more! Hopefully, these students will remember these experiences long after they graduate and use the experiences they have had to be good stewards of the Earth!"
Nicole Barth has been teaching with Chesapeake College for 11 years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland. If she is not at Chesapeake College, you can find her at Family Affair Farm, working with the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or pumpkins. Or, you could also find her hanging out with the miniature Herford cows or the miniature donkey, Ms. Patsy. Nicole shares, “I love working at the farm! The work is very fulfilling and I really enjoy it! I always say if I am covered in dirt I am happy! The greatest joy about the farm is having people come to the farm to u-pick or visit the corn maze. I have seen kids grow up and a community bond develop, which makes all the hard work behind the scenes worth it!”