Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PAGE 6A BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 School/social BASA CLASSES WORK ON LARGE GARDEN PROJECT Submitted photos The Campus Outdoor Enhancement Project at Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy has received several grants to increase biodiversity on the school campus, as well as make it more “pollinator friendly,” according to school leaders. The project, a collaboration between STEM, biology and math classes, received grants last year from the Oconee River Resource Conservation and Development Council and McDonald’s Golden Grants, totaling $2,000. This year, the program received an additional $3,000 from the Whole Kids Foundation to build a new apiary and pollinator garden. “The garden is full of fruits, vegetables, and flowers which provide nectar for our resident honeybees as well as wild pollinators,” leaders said, adding that the project eventually will also provide honey and food to the school’s culinary program and the Simsations restaurant. “This is an excellent example of farm- to-school programs and the benefit they have for our entire community,” leaders said. UGA workshop provides educators knowledge about food-based learning By Aaron Cox UGA Media Relations As a kindergarten teacher, Robin Edens was an outlier in the group of mostly mid dle and high school teachers at the University of Georgia learning how to introduce food-based learning to their students. The three-day workshop immersed participants in the ins and outs of the food sys tem, including how to plant and maintain a garden, the intricacies of the food dis tribution network, and how to integrate food into the school curriculum to talk about larger societal issues. “Even though I teach kin dergarten kids, I think it’s important that we start them early,” said Edens, a teach er at Kennedy Elementary School in Winder. “Most of the people here teach mid dle school and high school kids, but I think the earlier the better with these kids. By the time they get to that age, if they don’t have any knowledge then they’re not even interested.” A dozen teachers traveled to Athens for the work shop this summer, now in its third year. The program is a collaborative initiative of the UGA Office of Ser vice-Learning’s Grow It Know It program, UGA Co- operative Extension and the student-run UGArden. “It’s amazing to see the energy in that room and how excited they all are to get back to their classrooms and connect food and the garden to their classroom and their students and in corporate it all together.” said Charlie Evans, a grad uate research assistant with Grow It Know It who helped with the program. “Having teachers actually do the ac tivities that they’re going to do with students, have open discussions with each other, go out in the UGArden and harvest and wash and every Nor the ast Georgia y s Best Fence Installer Wood Fences Steel and Aluminum Fences • 1 \ TTt " 1 V ii.*' ** ji 14 '< h ,.j ' / ;■! 1 ' , ■ .. “ - - ' » .. j, i; \ , ? , •* i ^ykrlr-.. .. . ' ' ' 3 I k ■' 'i' * Chain Link Fences thing else; all these hands- on components and network connections they’re able to make is what makes this a really great opportunity.” The workshop also in cluded specialists from UGA’s College of Agri cultural and Environmen tal Sciences and the Mary Frances Early College of Education, who spent time with the teachers outside in the UGArden and inside a classroom to talk about har vesting, composting, food safety and school nutrition programs, among other things. “It’s sort of like drinking from a fire hose when we’re trying to teach all of this,” said Kathy Thompson, a clinical professor with the College of Education who has been a part of the teacher training program since its inception in 2018. “Really, it’s just to whet their appetite to get them interested and at least have some knowledge about ev erything. A lot of them just need confidence that they can do it. ... There are a lot of ways to take something like food and gardening in lots of different directions in the classroom, no matter what content you’re teach ing.” Limited to teachers from Barrow and Clarke coun ties for the first two years, the teacher training work shop expanded this year to include educators from Oconee, Jackson and Hen ry counties as well. That opened the door for Tim Griffeth, an agriculture teacher who was looking for a professional develop ment workshop to help him better utilize the new school garden at North Oconee High School. “The amount of resourc es that they have put in our hands to understand the community connections and food safety things is really great.” said Griffeth. “It’s tough to find that informa tion, and they’ve consol idated it and given it to us in a nice package to be able to go back and modify it to what we’re trying to do in our district and communi ty-” Thompson and the other program instructors fol low up with participants throughout the school year, answering any questions and ensuring they have the necessary resources and connections to incorporate their training in the class room. The hope is that teachers pass along their newfound food faculties to students, showing a new generation the importance of where food comes from and how it affects the world. “I do this because I want students to have these expe riences, and the only way for students to have these experiences is for us to pro vide these experiences to teachers,” Thompson said. “They’ve got to be able to see how the curriculum con nects to the real world and how to address the issues in the world.” CITY OF AUBURN AD VALOREM TAX RATE FOR THE PORTION OF THE CITY WITHIN BARROW COUNTY Auburn - The City of Auburn Property net tax levied for Barrow County portion increased for 2021 tax year by $107,977. The City of Auburn anticipates that Property tax levies for the Barrow County portion of the City for the 2021 tax year will be set at 4.931 mills. The City of Auburn, per O.C.G.A. § 48-5-32, will hold a Public Hearing on October 7, 2021 at 5:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Auburn Council Chambers located at 1361 Fourth Avenue, Auburn, Georgia. The City will set the millage rate on October 7, 2021 at 5:00 PM. at the Auburn Council Chambers located at 1361 Fourth Avenue, Auburn, GA. The five-year tax and levy history will be published no less than 14 days prior to the adoption. ** Due to recommendations by the CDC during the Coronavirus crisis, this meeting may be conducted via teleconference. This is allowed by O.C.G.A. §50-14-l(g) as the public is provided simultaneous access to the teleconference meeting. The City of Auburn may utilize the Zoom meeting app to conduct this public hearing teleconference meeting, more information can be found on the City’s website www.cityofauburn-ga.org Select Fence Group: (678) 201-6548