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Marzolf has a hit on his hands with ag education open house Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Agri News staff writer
FOREST LAKE, Minn. -- There was an unusual sight May 2 in Forest Lake: A student was riding a horse in the suburban town's high school parking lot while a group of his friends watched. One took a picture with his cell phone.
Nearby, another student showed off a cow and calf from her family's farm. A few feet away, a Forest Lake alumna and her 10-year-old daughter offered students pony cart rides.
It was all part of the school's annual Agricultural Education Open House. The event turns the school's ag classrooms, greenhouse and part of the parking lot into a showcase of exhibition booths and activities run by the ag program's students and industry representatives.
The goal is to teach other students and the public about agriculture.
Groups of elementary students came on field trips, state officials and legislators stopped in and all of the school's 1,900 students were expected to weave through the crowd during the six hour event. In total, it was expected to draw in 2,000 to 2,500 people.
"I'm excited for today to come always, always," said Bob Marzolf, one of the school's agriculture teachers and FFA advisers. "...it's a day where I see a lot of smiles."
Marzolf started the annual open house 24 years ago. He said the event is important because it provides education about the many different aspects of the agriculture industry. Some people may not think of horticulture, for example, as part of agriculture, but the open house is a chance to broaden people's knowledge of what the industry encompasses.
"This is a way for us to expose them to who we are and what we do," Marzolf said.
Mike Miron, another Forest Lake agriculture teacher and FFA adviser, said the event is an opportunity for Forest Lake's FFA members to show off their Supervised Agricultural Experience projects, which offered a broad range of topics from animals to renewable energy. Miron also said the many organizations that participate, such as the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and Farm Bureau, allow students and the public to learn about these groups.
"This is an opportunity for students to ask questions," he said.
Megan Claflin, a Forest Lake High School student, attended the event with a mission. Her macroeconomics College in the Classroom teacher had assigned her and her classmates to pick one booth at the open house and fill out a worksheet of questions. Claflin picked the Minnesota Clean Air Choice Team's table and learned about renewable fuels.
Meanwhile, Kristen Lobermeier and her Golden Retriever, Bailey, were attracting a lot of attention. Lobermeier is a Forest Lake FFA member who worked with Bailey for her Supervised Agricultural Experience project by taking the dog to obedience school and researching the breed. She said the project has helped her prepare for her career goal as a veterinary technician.
"I've wanted to work with animals my whole life and this has broadened my education about it," Lobermeier said.
Other students were near the greenhouse for the event's plant sale. Marzolf said the fundraiser is expected to raise $4,000.
"It's more about learning than it is about the money," he noted, explaining that students were getting hands-on experience by working with cash and customers.
FFA members Matt Reed and Max Capra were handing out free trees sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources. They had learned about trees through career development events and were handing out about 1,600 of them with information students put together for successful planting. Miron said the FFA chapter has a tree planter and will plant windbreaks and trees in the community in the future. |
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