The Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau’s GAATE Foundation Ag Pen Pals Program includes Los Olivos Elementary School’s third-grade class led by Mrs. Branquinho. The class visited its collective pen pal Kevin Merrill of Mesa Vineyard Management on April 15 among the vines in Los Alamos and gained first hand knowledge of how local grapes are grown, harvested, and processed.
Merrill visited Mrs. Branquinho’s class this year after receiving handwritten letters full of questions from the students. The response to the classroom visit was so positive that a field trip was arranged. The Los Olivos Elementary third graders enjoyed a tour of Premiere Coastal Vineyards with their pen pal, and it included demonstrations and information about irrigation, energy use, and environmental protection.
“It is so important for the students to get outside and learn about one of our local industries as we did today,” Branquinho said in a statement released by the County Farm Bureau. “By teaming with an Ag Pen Pal and this program, it has allowed the students to get a first-hand view of agriculture and what it had to offer us.”
The GAATE Foundation’s Ag Pen Pal Program is designed to educate students and teachers about food, fiber, and fuel by creating personal connections with students. More information is available through the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau at 688-7479.
This article appears in Apr 23-30, 2015.