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    Beginner Lessons

    The Beginner Lessons form the foundation with a sound overview of the core concepts of food production.

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    The Intermediate Lessons allow students to experiment and prove the core concepts.

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    The Advanced Lessons give students an opportunity to apply what they've learned in the previous levels.

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  • Blog

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    What is a Food Desert?

    Gain insight into food deserts, the communities they impact, and how edible education may offer a solution.

    The Difference Between Rainwater and Tap Water

    Not all water is created equal especially when we're talking about the health and development of plants and people.

    Why Rain is Important

    Rain or the lack of an adequate supply can have profound effects on farming and the communities that rely on the harvest.

    Anatomy of a Seed

    It all begins with a seed and this article dives deep into the 5 primary parts of the seed that make it all possible.

Seed Stories

Seed Stories

Back to the Future
Lesson: 7.7
Level:
Intermediate
Station: Seed Saving Library
Format: Class Project
Rating:
Intermediate Lessons 7.7 Seed Stories

Lesson Overview

Our plant history clearly shows the path we've taken. Less plant diversity is the outcome of our industrialized agriculture system. This lesson tasks students with the role of historian for their favorite plant variety.

Goals

  • Students will be able to describe the history of their favorite vegetable.

Outcomes

Students will research the history of their favorite fruit or vegetable in order to tell the story of its past.

Teach the Teacher

  • DIY Seed Packet Design
  • How to Read Your Seed Packets

Tools & Materials

  • Internet access
  • Pencil and paper

Activity

One of the most important battles in agriculture today is the one to preserve our plant diversity and seed heritage. Since 1900, we’ve lost more than 75% of our plant genetic diversity. Some put the loss as high as 96% if you can believe that! The rise of commercial ag and their mono-cropping approach has stripped the market of storied varieties with histories that date back to the earliest years of this country and even earlier.

Legions of home gardeners and farmers are working to preserve that heritage, to revive forgotten varieties on the verge of disappearing forever.

Those seeds have a story, a history, and we cannot allow them to simply fade away.

Students will research their favorite fruit or vegetable to uncover its history. Have them present on the variety or varieties that have interesting historical relevance or appeal to them for some other reason.

To fully embrace the historical feel of this project, have the students write their heirloom variety report on paper rather than the computer.

Related Lessons

Give the Advanced lesson a try now that you’ve completed the Intermediate Lesson! Or revisit the Beginner Lesson as needed.

This lesson, and all other lessons on this website, are intended for use by teachers in the classroom. These lessons are protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction or distribution of lesson content, supporting materials, or digital creative is prohibited with written permission from Modern Steader LLC.

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