Programs
Current Programs
Organic School Garden
We help to create and sustain a youth, school, and community-driven educational and productive edible school garden.
After-School Programming
We develop and run a year-round after-school program focusing on youth empowerment and developing skills related to food preparation, organic gardening, and activism called The Tappan Food and Garden Club. This program is the backbone of the school garden- they are the youth leaders and primary caretakers of the garden, committing collectively hundreds of volunteer hours.
School Greenhouse
We are building a large, production style greenhouse as an extension of the garden to extend schoolyard food production and grow fresh food throughout the coldest months of the year.
Farm-to-School Pilot Program in Ann Arbor Public Schools
The Agrarian Adventure is part of a collaboration with AAPS, Chartwells (the school lunch provider), and the Food System Economic Partnership (FSEP) to make sustainable, healthy changes to the school cafeteria through Farm-to-School programs to connect students with healthy foods and local farmers by serving locally produced foods in school cafeteria meals.
Curriculum Integration
We help integrate experiential and agriculture-related lessons into the school curriculum by working with interested teachers, focusing on specific lessons or units of study to supplement core learning objectives, sustaining the garden for use as an educational tool by teachers, and by starting a food and garden-related curriculum lending library at the school. Teachers have created units and used the garden and/or the Agrarian Adventure as a resource for lessons and units in the following areas: Health, Life Science, Student Council, English, Latin, and Math.
Community and School Collaborative Events
We organize food-related educational events with youth that welcomes and includes the community participation in our public schools.
Programs in the Works and on Our Horizon
Student-Driven Tastings of ‘School-Grown’ Foods
Students will grow, tend, harvest, prepare, and serve healthy, fresh foods and vegetables to their peers through tastings at school.
High School Mentorship Program
Youth that have participated in our after-school program as middle school students return as high schoolers to mentor the younger students in the continuing development of our food and gardening after school program.