Rebekah “Bekah” Marten likes to bring her worm bin to school for her lesson on composting.
Elementary students have the option to hold a worm or two, or just watch the worms to see what they do.
Same goes for roly-polies, or potato or pill bugs, formally known asarmadillidiidaeor woodlice, terrestrial crustaceans that resemble pill millipedes, oroniscomorpha, which also have the ability to roll up into little balls.
“There were kids who had never seen one before, never held one before,” Marten says.
She’s carried moss-covered logs to school, so children can easily hunt for insects within the partially decomposed wood and small, flowerless plants. … » More …
Potato chips. Cookies. Candy. A burger, fries, and soda from your favorite fast-food restaurant. Most people know these are processed foods. But even apples, the classic healthy snack that keeps doctors away, are processed.
“‘Fresh’ apples are actually picked several months to a year before they show up in the supermarket,” says Soo-Yeun Lee, director of the School of Food Science at Washington State University. “They’re washed, coated with an edible wax, and stored in a very specific condition before they’re distributed. That’s all processing. Without it, apples would shrivel up or rot within a few weeks.”
Agriculture looks pretty fun in Kaitlyn Thornton’s hands.
Big trucks, small trucks, pears and apples, belt buckles and boots, and lots of music.
Thornton, who’ll graduate from the Carson College of Business in December 2023, is an ag influencer on TikTok and Instagram with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Through videos and photos she educates her followers on what it takes to operate a more than 400-acre orchard in north-central Washington. For example, that “dust” on apples in the family orchards? It’s natural clay sprayed on the fruit to prevent sun damage. And imperfect fruit tastes … » More …
Master Gardeners started at Washington State University 50 years ago.
Watch videos from Master Gardeners and WSU commemorating this anniversary of the volunteer gardening program with such an impact. (Videos produced by the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences)
