Each Season NHAITC is pleased to introduce you to a community person who volunteers to bring ag education to children within their community or an outstanding educator who makes it a point to show the connection between the land, people and their food system. If you know of someone who is a great ambassador please let us know, we want to showcase them and thank them for their efforts! NH AITC’S Ag/Ed Ambassador Profile:
Meet Donna Miller…..
By Lisa Nevins

I first met Donna when I was interviewing for the position of Director of Education for NH Ag in the Classroom (NHAITC) 10 years ago!   She instantly made me feel comfortable through the interview process, a process that I hadn’t dealth with for years since starting my family. Over the years she has been a both an activist and constant source of support for NHAITC. She was not born into or raised by a farming family, just a lover of her natural environment and someone who loves to share her time and energy with people making a difference.

Donna served as the Farm Bureau Executive Director, the first women to hold that honor, and when I came to the FB office she was a legend that came up everyday one way or another, and always with smiles and positive recollections by her former staff.   Since leaving FB and NHAITC to start her own family and be with her children she has been volunteering at the elementary school in Canterbury, providing grades K-6 with all kinds of agricultural lessons, many of them long term.  It might be hard to believe but Donna says that some of the teachers were somewhat resistant at first, but now they are all are on board and she has earned the nickname of the “Ag Lady.” Even though she is not a teacher, or on staff, she works regularly with the classes.  She has come full circle, from the first women to head the NH Farm Bureau promoting to the NH public the importance of agriculture in NH to sharing that same importance with the next generation, a generation that will be responsible for keeping NH, naturally beautiful.  

I contacted Donna to let her know that she had been nominated for this seasons Ag/Ed Ambassador and asked her for an interview. Her response was exactly what I would have expected, she said “I’m both honored and humbled,” however it’s us Donna at NHAITC that are  both honored, humbled and thankful to have someone like you enriching the children of our community with the message of ag literacy.

I know that you've been involved in the farming community for some time now,  can you recap when and how that began and some of the highlights?  

I was a city girl who went country when I went to UNH and majored in Animal Science at the Thompson School. After Thompson School I worked in the dairy industry for a bit and then I got my bachelors degree in Animal Science at Virginia Tech. Right after graduation I went to work for the NH Farm Bureau and I was there for 10 years serving in various roles.
I left there 9 years ago to raise my family. We now raise chickens, rabbits and have lots of gardens on 7 acres in Canterbury.

 How did you get involved with Ag in the Classroom?  

AITC was one the many hats I wore at Farm Bureau. I was on the board but also played an active role with the UNH School-to-Farm program. It was that program that really opened my eyes to how much kids could see and learn out at the farm. Now that I have kids in the school system, it was a natural transition into the teaching portion of AG in the Classroom.

How much time do you spend bringing ag to the classrooms and how often?

It depends on the year and the teacher. My kids are in 3rd and 5th grade now. When my oldest, Jesse, was in 1st grade, I went into the class every month and did a different unit from the AITC Barn Box.   A group of Canterbury farmers had purchased the box of curriculum materials for our school back before I had kids. Once Jesse started there, I found the box and just started using it. His teacher was very open to my volunteer efforts with this program. There was always a way to tie the monthly unit into something they were already studying - Apples in September, Pumpkins in October, etc. His teacher even dubbed me "Ag Woman" when I first started. I made sure they knew what "Ag" meant too.   So far this year most of my efforts centered around garden tours in early September. It's tricky trying to get these tours lined up right after they start a new school year and before the first.

Would you tell us what you are doing now with AITC and some of your units?

During the past few years I have been planting several garden beds at my home, each with a different theme. Through this process I have made it a point to have teaching activities with each themed garden I build. My goal is to have a different program for each grade level from pre-school through grade 5. Right now I have a Peter Rabbit scavenger hunt for preschoolers. My husband thought he was getting the "Old Fashioned Vegetable Garden" but instead I told him it would be called Mr. McGregor's Garden from the Peter Rabbit story! I read the story to the class and then we went on a scavenger hunt finding things from the story - blackberries, the lettuce bed, a wheelbarrow, hoe etc. I even made a little blue jacket and got some shoes to make a scarecrow like Mr. McGregor did. At the end the kids find a tin with a rabbit stamp and a bag of mini carrots to munch on. They can bring their own notepads to stamp and I sign the location and date.

For kindergarteners we tour the butterfly garden and they get to see butterflies in the wild and learn the difference between larval plants and nectar plants. Often they can see the butterflies sipping nectar from the purple coneflower or zinnias and see a chrysalis hanging nearby on the everlasting plants. I also teach them the difference between butterflies and moths through pictures. Lastly, we visit the butterfly nursery, a huge patch of milkweed, to look for caterpillars and chrysalis.

The first graders have the 5 senses of the body reinforced in the 5 Senses Garden. I have a bed that represents each sense of the body. Each child learns the name of one plant and the body sense it represents. They get samples to use in the classroom so they can see them, touch them, smell them, hear them and yes, eat them.

The second graders do an Alphabet Scavenger Hunt. I have all my plants labeled and they get a chart to fill out, one plant name for each letter of the alphabet. They also have to look for things around the gardens like the weather station, birdhouses, chipmunks, etc.

My son's 5th grade class wants to build a Colonial Garden at the school. That activity will tie in history and math. They need to research the plants that would be found in a colonial garden and do the math to figure out how many plants they'll need to fit in the available space.

Do you think that this is something only trained agricultural people can do or can someone with a love for kids and farming be able to do this in their town?

Anyone can do this!   If you have a garden or a farm, take what you have and work from that base. The important thing is to tie it into the things the kids are learning at school and to teach at their level. The teachers really appreciate it when what you teach them reinforces something they are doing in school. If you can tie it in with math, spelling or, science, etc., all the better.   For specific teaching ideas, AITC is a great resource. I've also picked up some great books through the Gardening with Kids catalog. My favorite activity this fall, Peter Rabbit's Scavenger Hunt, was found by googling "Peter Rabbit curriculum." There are great ideas out on the internet.

Can you tell us how the students respond to your visits and the use of ag topics?

They really seem to enjoy it. Sometimes they come up to me at school and tell me about a big pumpkin in their garden or that they went apple picking.   They certainly remember the topic I was teaching them and they always call out to me by saying "Hi Ag Woman!" It's my hope that their early introduction to agriculture and gardening will inspire them when they are adults. As I mentioned in the beginning I was a city girl but was drawn to this life by my grandparents who introduced me to gardening and agriculture as a young girl.

I know that the children benefit greatly from your visits, but can you tell us what sharing your time with the children does for you?
I get so much pleasure from seeing the kids enjoy the gardens and plants when they are here. When kids are outside playing on their own they wouldn't usually stop to smell the roses. (pardon the pun.) Here I can draw their attention to certain plants and things that are going on in their environment that they wouldn't otherwise notice. For example, when the kids visited the butterfly garden I showed them plants that were literally stripped of their leaves by the caterpillars that needed them to grow. The initial reaction to seeing that happen in the garden would be to find a way to kill those caterpillars that are eating the plants. But in this case, those plants were put there to attract the caterpillars that will develop into beautiful butterflies. That is a real aha moment for the. To see that look on their face is priceless.

Also, I have learned so much more about plants by growing a much larger variety of species than I normally would. When I pour through seed catalogs, finding plants that fit my garden themes is in the forefront of my mind. I would probably never grow the Easter Egg Plant or the Pumpkin Pepper (which is really an eggplant) if I didn't have a Poultry Garden in front of my chicken coop. The fruit of the Easter Egg Plant looks like a chicken's egg and it's fun to show these to the kids, next to a real chicken's egg, and compare the two.

Lastly, can you share any words of wisdom with others as to why bringing agriculture into the classroom is so important?

Kids are so far removed from agriculture these days. We are the ones with the expertise and physical resources and I think it's important for us to share that with them. We know about No Child Left Behind. How about No Child Left Inside! Get them outdoors, let them get their hands dirty and help them to appreciate where their food comes from.

Thank you Donna,
it’s been a pleasure.