This week marked the beginning of a series of three farm field trips for the 227 students at MITCH Charter School, a K-5 public charter. Student traveled to Our Table Cooperative, a 58-acre diverse fruit and vegetable farm in Sherwood, Oregon.
The farm provides an incredible learning opportunity for students, with a curriculum that is aligned to common core and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) standards, providing a sensory experience that extends far beyond the typical classroom.
Being afforded no transportation support from the Tualatin Tigard School District, the school reached out to the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD) for financial assistance. TSWCD granted the public charter school funding for buses and covered the cost of the field trips for each MITCH student to visit Our Table Cooperative three times over the course of the school year. The students are elated. As one second grader exclaimed upon returning to school from their first trip, “That was the most amazing day ever!”
At Our Table Cooperative, students learn about the life cycles of plants, animals, insects, and their necessity to a healthy farm and native ecosystem. Our Table Cooperative is home to cultivated acreage, but also riparian zones and an extensive renewable energy program that powers irrigation, refrigeration, and residential needs. This diverse and efficient agricultural system is a perfect learning environment for MITCH students, who daily utilize the lense of regenerative agriculture to learn math, science, writing, history, art, health, and music.
With the help of TSWCD, the students are looking forward to the farm trips that await them this winter and spring, which will cover topics such as pasture-raised chickens and pollinators.
To learn more about MITCH Charter School or how to apply, please visit mcs.k12.or.us or call 503-639-5757.
