Jeff teaches Biology, Anatomy, Botany, Zoology, Environmental Science, and 8th grade Science at Fort Jennings High School. He’s finishing up his 28th year as a teacher, and his favorite part is being in the classroom talking about science and participating in science through labs, projects, experiments, etc. He likes being with the kids and helping them discover something new about the world. In addition to teaching, he coaches the Envirothon team. They meet twice a week from December to April to prepare for competition, studying forestry, soils, wildlife, aquatics, endangered species, exotic species, agricultural issues, etc.
Would you recommend the FTW workshop to other educators?
I would enthusiastically recommend the FTW program to educators. Everything can be tied back to agriculture and our need for food. The planet provides for us but we need to make sure that it is healthy and can continue to provide for us. I have always had an appreciation for agriculture living in a rural area, but thanks to the FTW program I feel I am better equipped to bring knowledge of it to the classroom for my students in all my classes.
What kind of outreach activities are you hoping to do as an FTW alumni educator?
I hope to do some outreach in the grade school and possibly in the county. We are in one building, K-12, so to bring the little ones to my classroom would be like a fieldtrip experience for them. I think soils, macroinvertebrates, erosion, etc. would be great topics I could show to them.
If you could develop the perfect crop, what would you develop?
I think the perfect crop would be something that feeds many people for less input. Maybe a root crop that could be used in its raw form, processed into a variety of foods, and is quick to grow.