Suzanne Squire's Recognition - California's National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award

TAMMY MAXEY: Good morning.

Hello and welcome.

My name is Tammy Maxey and I am with
National Agriculture in the Classroom.

Today we'd like to welcome everyone
to our 2020 National Excellence

in Teaching About Agriculture Award
Recognition ceremony.

As we get started,

let's go over an order of events
and a few instructions this morning.

Today we're highlighting the
accomplishments of our National Teacher

Award winner, Suzanne Squires
of Los Olivos, California.

If you've not already had a chance to do
so, please check out her full video story,

either on the National Agriculture in the
Classroom website or on Facebook Live.

There will be an opportunity
for Suzanne and her

state contact, Judy Culbertson,
to answer your questions.

So please communicate those questions
along through the Facebook chat box.

This year,

we are recognizing our National Teacher
winners a little bit differently,

as our national conference should have
been occurring in Salt Lake City, Utah.

But we've had to transition
that to a virtual conference

this year due to the Covid pandemic.

Each of our eight National Teacher
Award winners, along with our Agriculture

Advocate, will be celebrated throughout
the month of June using Facebook Live.

The National Agriculture in the Classroom
website

has a full schedule list of those
that we'll be featuring.

We hope that you'll join us
for each session,

and learn about how these exemplary
educators incorporate

agricultural concepts
into their core subjects every day.

These teachers have worked diligently
throughout the school year

to incorporate agriculture into their
classroom instruction in all subjects,

and educate their students

about the importance of agriculture
in their daily lives.

This program has been made possible
by our sponsors

at USDA National Institute for Food
and Agriculture, along with Farm Credit.

And we'd like to thank those two groups
for making this program possible.

Welcome, Suzanne!

Today we're recognizing Suzanne Squires
a sixth through eighth grade core science

electives teacher at Los Olivos
Elementary in Los Olivos, California.

Her-
Whose students learn about agriculture

and exploring the school's oak trees
and invasive species

affecting them.

Participating
in STEM activities,

learning about something called popcorn
genetics, and learning health lessons

by maintaining a school garden
and incorporating

California specialty crops
into their garden design.

Good morning, Suzanne, and welcome.

SUZANNE SQUIRES: Good morning, Tammy.

TAMMY:
Suzanne, tell us about your program.

It sounds like you have a lot of things
happening.

SUZZANNE: Well, I actually
just took over the garden this year.

I had my own, planter beds near
my classroom

that the middle school students
were, working on.

My oak project has
been going on for 25 years.

It actually

stemmed from- I used to be a quarantine
biologist for the county of Santa Barbara

before I was a teacher,
and I would go to the nurseries

and the post office
and look for invasive species.

And, also did nursery inspections

where I learned about,
various kinds of insects.

And when I worked, with the county,

I actually would go out to the schools
and educate them about invasive species.

So I was, teaching my, teaching students

about them before I even became a teacher.

So the oak project, we have several

oaks around our school,
and our valley is known for its oak trees.

And so I developed a project
where the students go around-

The seventh graders
learn about the different types,

and the eighth graders
actually study the insects.

And then I bring the invasive species part
into it, as the sharpshooter

became a problem in the valley, because

we grow a lot of grapes and there's also
a lot of ornamental plants grown.

So because, the sharpshooter
was trying to find its way here, which,

it didn't, which was good. Um.

We just practiced trapping,

those insects using sharpshooter
traps, that the county uses.

And the kids could see other kinds of
flies and things also that landed on it.

And this year, actually, with the distance
learning, my students,

one of the experiments
that they worked on at home

was developing an insect trap

so that they could practice
collecting data

on different types of insects
that they were catching at home.

Which turned out
to be a really fun experiment, for them.

And so that's kind of
how my invasive species has evolved.

And I'm fortunate that I have samples.

And, the California Department of Food
and Ag has a great video that I use. so.

Um.

That's kind of how
the invasive species/oak project happened.

The popcorn genetics

kind of just happened on the fly,
which is kind of

how some of my projects, um, occur.

We have a, a school garden,

but like I said, the middle school kids
weren't really involved in it.

But the person that was teaching,

the lower grade teacher,

er- kids, had some popcorn seeds
from Whole Foods that had different colors

and she said,
"Hey, I have all these popcorn seeds,"

"are you interested in
doing anything with it?"

And so the wheels started turning. And,

before I knew it, I had, uh,

one of my old students
was trying to get his Eagle Scout medal.

So he came and built,

a bunch of big boxes for the popcorn
so we could grow it.

And, I started incorporating
the sixth grade,

who started planting the parent plant.

Um.

And then they watched the F1 generation

show up when they became seventh graders,

and then the F2 generation would show up,

when they were eighth graders.

And I'm fortunate that I have them
sixth, seventh, and eighth grade

so I can do that.

But I didn't always have sixth grade,
so I always just worked

with the sixth grade teacher
when that was the case.

But it's turned
into being such a great project.

The kids have- last year we had twin, cobs

and, kernels, and somebody found those
and they were all excited.

One year we had fungus in our kernels,
which affected our production.

So we kind of talked about that.

So it's just, a living,
y'know, laboratory

really out in the
the yard, in the garden. So,

really enjoying it.

And I took the garden over this year,
which has been challenging,

but it's something that I really have
looked forward to.

And my students,
they're just really enjoying it.

I kind of
just give them the run of the garden.

What do you guys want to do?

What do you want to plant?

This year one of my classes
was a, more of a aesthetic class,

so they wanted to put some flowers in

and put an arch and benches
and things for people to enjoy the garden.

So we did a bulb project where they grew

some bulbs in the wine barrels,
'cause not a whole lot grows really well

in the wine barrels,
they don't have a drip system.

So, it turned out great.

Um.

And, y'know, we're gonna a-
we added some other flower seed to it

so that when the bulbs are gone,
we have some more flowers. So,

y'know, we had a gopher
that was very challenging.

And, you know,
science is all about problem solving and,

figuring out
how you can make things better and

th- it was, the gopher lesson
was was quite a lesson because

y'know they plant their plants
and boop, they were gone.

And one kid stood there and said,
"I think the tunnel's going this way,"

"but maybe it's going that way." So,

you know, as, as a teacher,
I'm just feel really fortunate

that I have so much support at my school
because I can use all these great natural

tools that really keep the kids working
and have a lot of hands-on activities.

TAMMY: Boy, it sounds like you have
a lot of teachable moments,

[inaudible] which are great for teachers,

but it also does lead to a lot of problem
solving moments!

You mentioned, before that your s-
you had come up with some problem solving

for your students to do as
they were receiving virtual instruction,

due to the pandemic

What types of projects,
did you have them do at home

to mimic the things that were happenin'
in the garden?

SUZANNE: Well, you know,
they couldn't plant their popcorn.

And, so I went out and did it.

Weeded.

Pulled everything and videotaped myself,

doing it for the kids
so that they could see.

We had planted fava beans

in the, in the beds
to replace the nitrogen.

And, you know, they have the little,

nitrogen-fixing bacteria nodules
on the roots.

And so I was pulling those up and,
showing the kids,

y'know, what they look like,
and so they could see

why we were actually
planting our fava beans.

And so I pulled those out
and then showed them how to plant.

And while,

they watched the video, they

had to take notes on it
because they have to predict,

y'know, what colors are going to occur,
how many are going to- how many cobs

are going to be solid, how many are going
to have multicolored kernels?

So, hopefully

when we get back, they'll be able to,

start writing that experiment up.

And, you know, we usually pick our popcorn
in the fall, October usually.

So they'll get to see, you know,
what exactly happened

TAMMY: That's awesome.

It sounds like you're doing
a lot of scientific method with them.

All that hypothesis building
that you were mentionin',

as they were workin' from home,
we have had a question come in.

"What advice do you have for teachers,"

"that are concerned that they don't have
the science background that you do?"

"And how can they get started
teaching about agricultural literacy?"

You know, um, on-

I always start small, actually.

Don't go out and attack the garden
right away

because it's a big job, even for somebody
with a science background.

My daughter's actually a teacher,
and she's,

y'know, science isn't her, big thing, but,

it helps to have your mom
as a science teacher,

but she's actually turned to California
Ag in the Classroom.

Quite a bit.

And, has used several of their tools.

Th- it's really easy
to use their fact sheets

as informational text for the kids
to learn about different things.

Just if you're into, healthy eating,

you can do the specialty crops
and have taste tests.

We've even done it

where we've taken the taste test
to the different the younger grades.

And, had them run taste tests

and then collected data on which,

which things did they like
and which things did they not like.

And made a, a school graph showing, you
know, what happened and who liked what.

And then just talking
about being healthy eaters.

So it really fits into
just about any curriculum health, P.E.,

I bring it into P.E. quite a bit,

with fitness
and eating healthy, and she just uses

a little garden in the glove activity
that California Ag in the Classroom has.

And, the kids just love it.

Y'know, anytime
you can grow seeds, that's,

a really easy thing to do.

And you can measure your plants
and collect data and do scientific,

um,

y'know, problem solving that way.

TAMMY: That's awesome.

Well, Judy Culbertson from California
Ag in the Classroom,

Suzanne is singing the praises
of your program and she's your winner.

And I know you want to share a bit
about what made her your winner.

She's a great example.

What made her stand out in the crowd
and become your winner?

And essentially our national-
a national winner due to that.

JUDY CULBERTSON: Well, good morning and,
Sue, thanks for all the kudos.

I did not pay her to say
all those good things. She has,

as you can tell from just her description
of how she teaches in the,

um,

in her science and other, subject areas.

She is just the real thing,
and she's teaching real life lessons.

And um, I want to share.

One little thing
is, Sue is the first person,

um,

teacher,
that we have recognized in 25 years,

a second time, because, she does so much-
so many great things.

Y'know, sometimes
people get excited about a project

and then it goes by the wayside
and they get excited about something else.

But I think you can tell from her
real life lessons

that she shares with these kids.

She's just totally dedicated. And,

another secret about Sue.

In the olden days, we used to have people
apply to be our teacher of the year.

And we found that teachers
aren't out there to promote themselves.

And so we changed it to a grant.

And so people apply for the grant,
and then we're able

to select, a teacher
from those grant applicants.

So they're willing to put themselves
out there.

Um.

To receive a grant
that can help their classrooms.

And um, but they,
they are not really touting their own,

talents.

And we've just we've been pleased
to have Sue, she,

she was able to speak at the California
Farm Bureau annual meeting

to 500, farmers and ranchers
and share about her experience.

And, y'know,
nothing's a better, recognition

for Ag in the Classroom than a teacher
who's teaching real life lessons. So.

She's been using
Ag in the Classroom

because of her background
for as many years as I can remember.

And I've been here from the beginning.

Um.

We had to cancel a couple of our events
that she would have been

representing, Ag in the Classroom
at because of the pandemic.

But um, we're hoping
still to have our conference in September,

which is just, what, an hour or two,

um, Suzanne?

Right. away.

SUZANNE: Yeah,
an hour away.

JUDY: And that's, so fingers crossed that
that will still be there.

And at that point in time, we get to award

Suzanne with her nice plaque.

SUZANNE: Aww.

JUDY: That- Yesss!

So if we don't see you in September, Sue,
we will make sure

that we have the proper time and, and, um,

place to be presenting you
with the plaque, because you are one

person who does not want any attention,
and yet you do great things.

And, we're really proud to have you
as part of our team.

And I'm gonna make me cry.

[Participants laughing]

It's good to see you, too.

SUZANNE: They're like my family, so.

JUDY: It, it works.
And we're how many?

We're probably seven hours apart.

Um.

Across the state.

So, anyway, congratulations to you.

SUZANNE: Thanks, Judy.

JUDY: Mhm!

TAMMY: Suzanne,
I'm having questions coming in-

Are you sitting in the garden right now?

SUZANNE: I am sitting in the garden.

TAMMY:
So we see all kinds of beauty behind you.

Tell us about-

Describe the garden to us.

SUZANNE: Well, um, it's, uh,

the lower grade did a really pretty mural
in the back about the garden.

Which you can maybe see, I think.

TAMMY: Oh, yes.

SUZANNE: And then, um, it
we have quite a few planter beds.

This actually was supposed to be a pad
for another classroom,

and then they abandoned it,
so then they turned it into the garden.

So it has a base underneath it, which
the gophers don't mind going through.

[Participants laughing]

And we have several boxes.

I, y'know, mainly we had winter crops,

when the kids were around
and I- like I said, we planted bulbs.

We have raspberries.

We re- the kids recently wanted to do, uh,
we're tryin' a blueberry plant.

We have blackberries,

a lot of grapes,
because they do really well here.

Um.

And then I just kinda went around and

and planted some tomatoes and corn
and things like that for them

so that when they come back, hopefully,
hopefully they come back.

Then we'll get to see something else
growing in the garden. So.

TAMMY: Um, what support
has been the most critical

for success of your efforts?

Well,
I, y'know um, actually, it's my school.

I'm really fortunate,
and I get a lot of support from my school.

My, my office staff
is constantly looking for money for me,

for things in the garden,
which is fabulous.

I have a- we have a Spartan Alliance,
that is a group of parents,

and several of them are very passionate
about the garden.

And they've gotten me, like, some mulch

and, and other things.

Some have donated just, gift cards.

And, then there's a foundation

that we have
that raises a lot of money for our school.

And, um, I actually got another grant
from them for innovation. Um.

To get more, um, more things
for the popcorn genetics.

Um.

So that was great.

I was able to buy
some US-, U-, USB microscopes,

which have been cool because we could look
at our kernels, um, really magnified.

And we were, when we were looking
at the fungus, we could see that.

And then, um, I applied, um,

for the county of Santa
Barbara has several grants.

So I did a Care for the Earth Grant,
which I received.

So I've-

And then, the-, our-
we have a great community.

Um.

One of the or-

organic farmers in the area
is always giving us seed.

And then I have another lady
that brings up, um,

little seedlings
from another farmer in Santa Barbara.

So I'm really fortunate.

I have a lot of help.

And honestly, the gardeners
also help me when I have leaks

and things in the garden,
which is important. So.

TAMMY: There's so many questions
I want to ask you.

Uh, what's the biggest challenge
that you have faced?

You talk a lot about gophers.

It sounds like you have great funding
between your community and others, but

what's the biggest challenges
that you're facing in your efforts?

SUZANNE: Um, it's a lot of time
to take care of a garden.

And uh, you know, it's

it's mainly
been the kids, and I right now.

Um.

And I'm hoping that,
we get a little bit, maybe-

Especially in the summertime,
as all teachers know, that have gardens,

everybody just disperses.

And then, you know,
I have to ask the poor office staff

to come and help me water
sometimes in the summertime.

So um, it's challenging to, to keep,

keep it going and keep it looking nice,
but it's really rewarding

and the kids really like it.

I was definitely sending them
a lot of pictures of their strawberries

and the things that they didn't
get to see.

Y'know, I'm, I'm literally here pretty
much every day, working in the garden.

So that's the challenging
part is the time.

TAMMY: It sounds like it.

And also, it's just like you said,
inh-, y-,

sounds like you inherited this garden
from someone else.

SUZANNE: Yes.

TAMMY: What advice do you have for
somebody who's just starting out,

or maybe mentoring someone
to inherit the garden, as you did?

SUZANNE:
Well, if you can get somebody that's,

knowledgeable, like a master gardener or,
um,

we had a group come in that was teaching.

Um.

And because I wasn't involved,

I don't know exactly, but it was ecology

an ecology group that came in
and taught lessons to the kids

and things like that. So.

You definitely need to find somebody,

in your community
or an organization that will come in

and help a little bit
if you don't have that support,

right at school.

But other teachers are great.

Y'know, oftentimes
you'll find one or two other teachers

that'll come in and help as well.

TAMMY: That's wonderful.

It just sounds like you have made
a full school impact.

You've talked about all three of
the grades that you've had.

Um.

What are some of the changes

that you've seen as students, uh,
work in the garden?

SUZANNE: Um, it just-

Y'know, I live in an agricultural area,
and, y'know,

my background actually
was that I grew up in the city.

Um.

My grandpa was a farmer,
but that was when Orange County was farms.

And then it became a city
and that's w- that's how I knew it.

And so I was always saying,
oh, y'know, these city kids,

they really need to learn about

what it's like to have garden
and where your food comes from.

And right now, with the pandemic,
that's become even more important.

And I think people are starting
to take notice

of how important farmers are,
bringing food to our tables.

And you would think that kids around here

with the ranches and everything would,
um, be a little more,

educated on it, but they really aren't.

So um, I just feel like
just getting your hands, y'know,

even just planting a plant I had-
because I had introduced them to a garden-

the garden.

I had several students go home over
the pandemic and start gardens.

And, I, y'know, I'd go to the,
the hardware store

to get plants for the garden here
and they would be out.

So I think that, you know,
that's one of the positive things of this

pandemic is that people are gardening,
they're teaching their kids how to garden.

They're, y'know, it's just

it's just a nice way, um,
to learn about things

and to to realize
that you can grow your own food.

TAMMY: It is. And you're so accurate
that during this time, families have b-

began to experience and experiment
with gardening again,

to get a little bit closer
to where their food comes from.

And agricultural literacy is,
happening among us due to need right now.

I thank you so much
for joining us this mornin'.

Thank you to everyone who's participated
in today's recognition of the 2020

National Excellence in Teaching
About Agriculture Award recipient,

Suzanne Squire[s],
of Los Olivos, California.

She's such a wonderful example
of how agriculture concepts

are an exciting way
to teach all, about all subject areas.

We hope that you've had a chance
to learn something this morning

and we invite you to join in

o- on our next scheduled, uh,
highlight reel,

which will be Tuesday, June 9th at 2 p.m.
Eastern Time,

as we all recognize the National Teaching
in Excellenc- Teaching-

National Excellence
in Teaching About Agriculture

Award recipient,
Christine Puckett from Oklahoma.

Again, Suzanne and Judy,
we thank you for joining us this morning,

and we wish you all a good day.

Thank you to everyone for joining us
this morning, have a great day.

SUZANNE:
Thank you.