FRESNO, CA- In a continued effort to invest in the future, the California Table Grape Commission has opened the door for thousands of students to participate in innovative projects ranging from planting vineyards and building mini-wind turbines, to programming robotics.
“The education grant program is one of the ways table grape growers in California give back to communities in which they live and work,” said Kathleen Nave, President of the Commission, according to a release.
The Innovation in Teaching Education Grant Program was created in 1993 to support innovative educational projects in the table grape growing regions of California. Overall, 56 education grants worth up to $750 each were awarded this year.
Other samples of the projects funded by the grants include:
- Exploring California Foods and Nutrition: Focused on California agriculture, this project will help teach science, reading, math, and nutrition. Third through sixth grade students will grow, cook, and taste produce firsthand. Grant funds will purchase cooking supplies, California cheeses, mushroom kits to grow and taste, and transportation to visit an olive oil company.
- Agricultural Engineering in Mini Greenhouses: Grant funds will purchase the equipment and materials needed to upgrade their garden project to include miniature green houses to protect the plants from freezing. Seventh grade students have analyzed the data and designed this solution for maintaining their garden ecosystem.
- 3D-Assisted Wind Turbine: Seventh and eighth grade students will design and build a miniature Wind Turbine prototype that generates power. The 3D printer that grant funds will purchase can produce the over-sized plastic gear that is needed to increase power output.
The full list of funded projects can be found here.
The funded projects will be implemented in the current academic year, and will reach over 7,500 K-12 students in the table grape growing regions of California’s San Joaquin and Coachella valleys.
The next funding cycle for the Innovation in Teaching education grants will be in the fall of 2017. The Innovation in Teaching education grants are part of a community service program of the California Table Grape Commission, funded by California’s table grape growers.
