By Yaza Sarieh
Yaza Sarieh is a contractor for Farm to School at Georgia Organics and a Childhood Health and Wellness intern at the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Sign up today for the eighth annual Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit, held virtually from Tuesday, April 27 through Saturday, May 1. The Summit features dynamic education sessions highlighting gardening, cooking with kids, local procurement, curriculum integration, and more! This event is hosted by Georgia Organics and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.
“We have a strong Farm to School and ECE Alliance and Coalition in Georgia, and I am looking forward to learning from the expertise of the diverse partners and connecting with them.”
Partnerships make Georgia Farm to ECE stronger, something Dr. Caree Cotwright has experienced firsthand. A professor in the UGA Obesity Prevention lab, Dr. Cotwright, has been working with the State Botanical Garden in Athens, Georgia to use Farm to Early Care and Education as a strategy for preventing childhood obesity. This partnership led to a summer pilot program at the State Botanical Gardens called “Bee Smart, Eat Smart” that allowed UGA to analyze the implementation of comprehensive garden curricula in Early Care education.
While collaborating on this project, Dr. Cotwright noticed the benefits of using gardens as a holistic place to nurture student’s learning, development, and lifestyle choices. She noted:
“There was so much learning going on in the garden! I love that Farm to ECE connects students with where food comes from. When these students develop basic knowledge and love of food, nutrition, and the environment early on, they are taught to be mindful and have an appreciation of the whole spectrum that will serve them well in the future.”
During Summit, Dr. Cotwright and her students will be hosting a virtual tour of the State Botanical Gardens where they tested their Farm to ECE garden curricula. Then, they will provide best practices for creating partnerships and offer suggestions for funding mechanisms and garden curriculum development that enhances Farm to Early Care and Education.
Visit our website to learn more and register for this year’s Summit using this link!