High school agriculture teacher Alyson McCullough dug up extra classroom funds by searching online.
“I googled classroom grants,” she said.
McCullough teaches 100 ninth through 12 grade students Agriculture Technology 1 and 2, agriculture science and horticulture classes at Hilliard Middle-Senior High School. A tight budget for classroom projects left the teacher looking for ways to find extra money, she said.
One of her first searches yielded the Florida Agriculture in the Classroom resource. McCullough attended a workshop to learn how to research grants and submit grant applications for funds.
“The money is out there,” she said. “Anybody can do it. The donors are out there. The businesses are out there and they want to give. The students raised nearly $2,000 from local businesses who believe in the future of agriculture. The community has reached out and given their personal checks. To make money, it takes a lot of money. The kids are learning that quick.”
In December, McCullough recei-ved $1,000 from McDonald’s USA, LLC as part of the McDonald’s Classroom FUNds Contest.
The contest was open to teachers in 18 counties in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia who “demonstrate exceptional efforts in furthering students’ education,” according to a recent press release.
Baker County High School Culinary Arts Program Head Brittnie Johnson and Midway Elementary School Science Teacher Kimberly Walter of Blackshear, Ga. were also awarded $1,000.
McCullough said the funds will be used to purchase citrus and fruit trees, seeds, bulbs and fertilizer for the Future Farmers of America’s year-round garden. A chicken coop was also built on the Hilliard campus.
Plans also include producing and selling eggs.
The students had planned to have a steer and a hog on campus as part of the class curriculum, but a request to the town’s Planning and Zoning Board was denied Jan. 9. The group has 15 days to appeal the decision before the Hilliard Town Council.
With the chicken coop, tractor and other farm implements at hand for projects, Brandon Whitley feels at home with the curriculum.
“For me, it lets me do what I’m used to,” he said. “For other kids, it helps them build a stronger work ethic. For me, I’m doing things I’ve grown up doing.”
The 17-year-old cares for four horses, four hogs, numerous goats and chickens on his family’s farm. He built two large rustic tables that students utilize in the classroom. Whitley also knows how to operate the red Mahindra tractor that students use to cultivate the garden.
The tractor was purchased for $17,124 from Johnson Brothers Hardware, with “funds generated by the cutting of timber within the FFA forest, and on deposit with the school district,” HMSHS Principal Tammy Johnson wrote via email Monday. “Johnson Hardware was very supportive by delivering the new tractor. They also provided an on-campus training session for students and staff regarding equipment use and safety.”
The classroom budget received another boost when Lowe’s announced plans to award McCullough with a grant.
“I was actually in Lowe’s with my husband on a Lowe’s trip and I asked them if they had any materials they’d be willing to donate,” the teacher recalled. “They gave us some seeds and some information on the grant. They only take the first 1,500 applicants and I explained the need and how the kids wanted to grow these things, but it’s just not in the budget.”
Because utilizing a greenhouse provides a classroom model and can teach entrepreneurship, leadership and sustainability for the students to experience first-hand, McCullough applied for the grant. The grant of more than $3,000 will be used to purchase materials to build a greenhouse.
Agriculture Technology 1 student Allison Barber recently created wood pallet art and painted canvases that she sold at a booth during the Greater Nassau County Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. Sales benefited the agricultural program.
“I can be creative,” she said. “My mom has, like, a craft room and I can always create things. I change my room every day. This class is pretty much my personality.”
For the class assignment Jan. 10, Kaitlyn Persinger tweaked her résumé.
“It’s actually fun for me to do,” she said. “I actually do enjoy taking Ag. I think it’s a class that you can learn basic life skills in.”