Connecting Students to Agriculture
We invite classrooms to take part in our brand new Ag Adventures program! Spring and fall, tours are available for K-12 students. All grade levels can participate in free educational agriculture tours (facilitated by staff and local volunteers). Ag Adventures provide opportunities for students to get outside, enjoy the fresh air, and get their hands dirty in the soil – all while learning about BC’s agriculture and food story!
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Ag Adventures are 90-120 minute tours providing education on BC agriculture subjects including soil, pollinators, water preservation, growing zones, the Agriculture Land Reserve, invasive species, greenhouses, crop rotation, and more. Bring your classroom to our outdoor classrooms filled with nature’s surprises and delights! Ag Adventures take place at two Lower Mainland locations:
- Stable Harvest Farm, Langley (New!)
- The Pencil Patch, Abbotsford
Stable Harvest Farm – New!
By Langley Airport
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We are excited to announce that Stable Harvest Farm has partnered with BCAITC this year to bring Ag Adventures to the farm! Stable Harvest Farm is an expansive 65-acre farm located in Langley. It was created in 2020 with a vision to grow food for the community and supports local food banks, community kitchens, and other charitable organizations to get produce to those in need. The educational part of the farm brings community and schools together.
Highlights:
- 12 Learning Stations: Provide fun and interactive BC agriculture subjects such as soil, pollinators, water, greenhouses, invasive species, bats, owls, bugs, greenhouse birds, and more.
- Greenhouses: Showcase different ways to grow food all year-round.
- Beehives: Get the inside “buzz” on beekeeping!
- Picnic Area: Picnic tables provide scenic spots to relax and enjoy snacks or lunch.
The Pencil Patch
East Abbotsford
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What better way to provide students with the opportunity to visit a working garden than to create one ourselves! Supported by the City of Abbotsford, community and schools come together at The Pencil Patch – a garden for discovery and learning. It also give us the chance to get out of our offices and play in the soil!
Highlights:
- 14 Learning Stations: Provide fun and interactive BC agriculture subjects such as soil, pollinators, water, growing zones, the Agriculture Land Reserve, invasive species, dairy, and more.
- Large Garden Bed: Grows pumpkins, corn, beans, and rhubarb.
- Medicine Wheel: This traditional Indigenous concept provides learnings about the interconnectivity of the natural world to people.
- Pollinator Garden: Planted especially to attract and support pollinators.
- The Milk House: A former milk storage location for a 1920's dairy farm, the Milk House now holds the garden’s tools. This site also provides a talking-point for lessons on milk production.
- Raised Harvest Bin and Flower Beds: Showcase carrots, sunflowers, wheat, radishes, and greens as well as dahlias, marigolds, daffodils, lavender, nasturtiums, snapdragons, chamomile, lemon balm, agastaches, and scarlet runner beans (great for hummingbirds)! Plus herb containers display fragrant thyme, sage, chives, mint, and rosemary.
Watch this video below to learn more about The Pencil Patch.
Sign Us Up!
We’d love to welcome you and your grades K to 12 students to Ag Adventures. Free visits are offered each spring and fall. Sign up today for spring 2022 visits! Registration required. Space is limited.
Stable Harvest Farms Spring 2022 Classroom Visits
- 9:30am to 11:30am April 21, 26, 28, May 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 26, 31, June 2, 7.
- 12:00pm to 2:00pm May 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 26, 31, June 2, 7.
*All of the above noted spring tours are now fully booked. If you are interested in getting on the waitlist for a spring tour, call our office at 1.866.517.6225. Thank you.
*Spring tours are offered only for schools at this time; fall tours may be offered for home learners later this year (visit this page in mid-September for more details). **There must be a minimum of 25 students to book a visit; we suggest you bring your buddy class or another class that to share the transportation costs.
The Pencil Patch Classroom Visits
Due to the recent flooding of the Sumas Flats, The Pencil Patch is under reconstruction and visits are temporarily postponed. Stay tuned to this page for more updates!
Questions?
For more information on Ag Adventures, contact agadventures@aitc.ca.
A Crop of Resources!
Use these resources to expand on what you’ve learned from Ag Adventures. From planting guides to outdoor lesson plans, you’ll find everything you need to get your school garden started and to enhance your outdoor education plan. Here are some free resources that help you bring agriculture into your classroom!
- School Garden Resource (Inspired by Ag Adventures): Step-by-step instructions on how start-up and maintain a school garden year-round.
- It All Starts Here Poster: A fun poster for your classroom.
- Alfalfabet A to Z: A storybook of agriculture from A to Z.
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Partners Make It Possible — Thank You!
Stable Harvest Farms
Thank you to our partners at Stable Harvest Farms for providing farm space for Ag Adventures! We appreciate your enthusiasm for this hands-on learning opportunity for our community.
The Pencil Patch
Thank you to our partners and Abbotsford neighbours for their help in creating the Pencil Patch — A Garden for Learning and for offering this hands-on learning opportunity for our community.
BC Youth in Agriculture Foundation
Fraser Valley Dairy Farmers
McDonald & Ross Construction Ltd.
Join Us!
To find out how you or your business can support this exciting program, contact us or check out our Partnership Opportunities.
Teachers and Parents Ask the Best Questions
Students will engage in a variety of planting, growing, harvesting, and other hands-on learning activities in a garden or farm environment.
Teachers need to bring clipboards and pens/pencils (enough for each student) and print-outs of the Ag Adventures handouts. Students should be dressed in weather-appropriate clothing, including jackets and, if possible, rubber boots. BCAITC provides everything else needed for your garden visit!
No. Unless it is dangerous to complete the activities, we continue with the garden visits as planned. In the unlikely event of a cancellation, we will contact you in advance.
Yes. Teachers are responsible for transportation to the garden. Free parking is located at each site.
Participation is completely free! Registration required.
Yes, we have washrooms at both sites.
The outdoor tour environments provide plenty of space to physically distance. We ask that visitors follow the local regions’ healthy and safety requirements.
For public and independent school classrooms, there is a minimum of 25 students required to book a visit; we suggest you bring your buddy class or another class that to share the transportation costs. For homeschool visits (offered on select dates only), there is no minimum.
