Green Mountain grows future leaders

The harvest season is over for the year, but at Green Mountain’s new Agriculture Pathway, plant season is just getting started.

After several weeks of animal science focus, teacher Courtney Mayo is moving the class into the second half of the semester with a focus on crops, plants and soil.

“We’re looking at how plant science is involved and relates back to them,” Mayo said. “We’re going to be looking at Colorado’s biggest crops, and doing some soil work in class.”

Interactive learning is the name of the game in the class, from germinating seeds in a vertical farm to dissecting flowers, as the class did on Nov. 19.

“At the beginning of this unit, I asked them to name the parts of the flower they knew, and most of the things they knew were about plants,” Mayo said. “So we’re taking a closer look at the flower so they can see how it works, and how similar it is in many ways to human reproduction.”

Students took apart lilies and Peruvian lilies as a way to learn and identify flower features like pistil, anther and stamen. They also learned some surprising facts, like all flowers start out as male, and only certain species grow female parts as they mature.

During the recently completed animal sciences unit, students learned the biology and taxonomy of livestock, as well as the different breeds. To make the subjects more hands on, students also had to create a livestock magazine that they could use to teach their fellow students about livestock.

“I usually talk to the students about the basics of the subject, and then based on their interests, build a lesson plan around that,” Mayo said.

Future Farmers of America officers

One of the key components of the Agriculture Pathway is Future Farmers of America work, and Mayo sees it as an opportunity for her students to learn about leadership and advocate for agriculture in the community.

The officers for the class were just announced, and were selected through a rigorous application process, which included letters of intent and interviews with other science teachers.

“I wanted a leadership role — one that would provide me with more responsibilities,” said senior Cody Karsmeyer, who was chosen as the FFA president for the class. “I want to inspire others to join this class, and bring the community together over this kind of agricultural work.”

The class’s FFA chapter hasn’t had its first meeting yet, but Karsmeyer and vice president Sydney Hensley have been working hard on ideas for the group.

“As a senior, this is an opportunity for me to leave something behind for other students,” Hensley said. “We’re developing this program as we go, and it’s all really exciting work.”