Since it started in 2016, the Bethel Farm in Eugene has become an educational farm for students in the Bethel School District mainly through third-grade field trips. Students at the nearby Kalapuya High School have played a key role in designing and building the farm. Many students work on the farm and Kalapuya teachers include agriculture in their lessons.
Nutrition educators from Oregon State University Extension’s Family and Community Health Program have a long history of working with Kalapuya High School to teach nutrition and cooking classes to its students.
OSU Extension's role in the Bethel Farm enhances students' understanding of where food comes from and how it's grown.
In the fall of 2021, OSU Extension’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) unit in Lane County was asked by the agriculture teacher at Kalapuya to help with a new version of farm field trips for Bethel elementary students. SNAP-Ed worked closely with Kalapuya staff to plan the field trips and train Kalapuya students to help during the trips.
From September to October 2021, Extension SNAP-Ed worked with Kalapuya staff and students to deliver nine field trips to a total of 221 third-graders. The field trip included a hands-on cooking activity led by SNAP-Ed educators. This included shucking corn, making pumpkin pie spice blend, learning about popcorn while it was popping and then tasting the pumpkin pie spice on popcorn.
This program was well-received by local elementary teachers and students. In the spring of 2022, a new round of field trips was offered to third-grade classes that couldn’t attend in the fall. Seven classes learned how to harvest strawberries and make berry-banana smoothies using a blender powered by a stationary bike.
The field trips continued in the fall of 2022. In September and October, a streamlined popcorn and spice activity was delivered during seven farm field trips. Spring field trips in May 2023 supported 122 third-grade students and 133 in fall 2023. In 2024, the program supported 116 students in the spring and 75 in the fall.
As a result of these efforts, about 500 third-grade students from the Bethel School District have visited the Bethel Farm as part of a field trip. During these trips, the students learn about farming practices and interact with honeybees and chickens. They also learn what the farm offers to their community including weekly free farmers markets and the Bethel Farm Summer Camp. OSU Extension SNAP-Ed educators who participate in the field trips send the students home with resources related to their lessons so that they can share important health and well-being information with their families.
OSU Extension's role in the Bethel Farm provides elementary school students with hands-on learning experiences in agriculture and nutrition, enhancing their understanding of where food comes from and how it's grown. These field trips also promote healthy eating habits and encourage students to share valuable health information with their families.
