ATI visit: the country meets the city

On Thursday, March 24, rural agriculturalists encountered a peculiar experience they will never forget. Nearly 30 students from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio traveled to Cleveland to visit East Technical High School and George Washington Carver STEM School.

Dr. Nathan Crook brought his Introduction to Agricultural Communications, Education, and Leadership students to visit urban Agricultural Education. The future leaders and educators of our beloved industry had their eyes wide open as they traveled down East 55th Street to both schools. With most students coming from rural and agriculture backgrounds, these Buckeyes were in for an experience that would change their lives forever.

Their day began at East Technical High School where they were met at the door by district security guards, something absent from their own school backgrounds. I had the pleasure of speaking with the ATI undergrads for two periods on the importance of reaching urban consumers and educating them on our state’s number one industry. My high school students were able to ask questions they had about agriculture, one being, “Where do you sleep? In the barns with the cows?” It’s important to highlight this question as it was a legitimate inquiry on one student’s part. The students from ATI were certainly shocked at the disconnect between the consumers I teach and the farms on which they were raised.

Our discussions led to deep conversation about the need of our industry to invade and educate their urban counterparts. Following lunch, the ATI students had the opportunity to do just that as they led activities with seventh and eighth graders at George Washington Carver STEM School. In honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, ATI students worked with seventh graders to test their “egg-catcher” designs, followed by dying and painting eggs different colors and discussing college experiences with the eighth graders.

I asked the ATI students how many of them were excited about the opportunity to visit Cleveland: nearly 75% were initially upset about the idea of visiting “some random Cleveland school.” After intense discussions, eye-opening experiences, and working hand in hand with middle schoolers, every ATI student shared that urban Agricultural Education is not what they originally expected. Even since the visit in March, many have returned to the schools for a more intimate visit with the students to gain a better perspective and appreciation for the new era in agriculture.

With a growing population, increase in urban sprawl, dwindling natural resources, and a shortage of employees to fill demanding jobs, our goal is to prepare students to solve some of our planet’s greatest challenges. We have always looked to open fields, but this experience will hopefully prove that we can also look to the concrete jungle for the light of a better tomorrow.

Photo credits: Brianna Gwirtz, Agricultural Communications at The Ohio State University