Near the end of the 2008-09 school year, students in all four Boardman elementary schools and St. Charles had the opportunity to take part in the 2009 Passport to the Splendor of the Valley Farm Tour. The tour called for students to stop at local farms for a visit and get a stamp on a passport card. Those who had the most were put into a hat for a prize drawing.
“It is the first year for this pilot program that was implemented in Boardman and Canfield elementary schools,” said Kathleen Vrable-Bryan, district administrator for the Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation District.
She said the program was designed by her office, OSU Extension and the Mahoning County Farm Bureau. The initiative was geared to bring awareness on local farms and what they produce. The trio of organizations first came up with the 2008 Mahoning Valley Agri Guide in 2008. This pamphlet pinpointed local farms in the tri-county area.
To go along with the Agri Guide, an elementary school program was implemented at the end of the last school year when students were given a passport that listed 19 area farms. Over the summer months, the students could visit each farm and get their passport stamped. This month, the passports were counted and students became eligible for prizes.
“Every child participating got a gift,” said Boardman Food Service supervisor Karen Sanders. “I got a lot of great feedback from parents.”
After the passports were counted, two Boardman students rose to the top, visiting all 19 farms listed on their passport. Leanna Weese from Stadium Drive Elementary and Casandra Wigley from Robinwood Lane both completed all the tour. Unfortunately there was only one grand prize, so a drawing was held and Weese’s name was drawn. Wigley took the first place award.
Weese found out about her win on Friday, Dec. 18 when Sanders and Stadium Drive Principal Jim Goske visited her classroom to present her with the prize. She was given an e-Trex Venture hand-held GPS and a family fun night at the Fairfield Inn where her family and friends could stay the night, have a pizza party and enjoy a winter swim in the hotel pool.
Weese’s mother Tina Waller said the farm visits were a lot of fun.
“We did all of them,” she said. “It was a blast."
Waller said the farm owners were all pleasant and were more than happy to show off their operation. When Weese was asked which one she liked the most, she didn’t hesitate to answer her favorite was Spacey Acres Llama Ranch.
“They had cats and llamas and I got to pet them all,” she said.
Waller said her daughter is found of animals, specifically horses. She has been working with a relative who has horses. If all goes well she will be competing at the Pony Palace in the 2010 Canfield Fair.
Weese took the passport program seriously and managed to visit 18 of the farms over her summer break. She had to wait until October to add her last farm, which was Detwiler Farm near the southern border of Mahoning County.
“We had to wait till October because they are a pumpkin farm,” Waller said.
This year’s program success will definitely help bring the program back again. It was held this year for 3,100 students in Canfield and Boardman elementaries only, but will likely be expanded into other area schools next year.
“The goal of the Passport to the Splendor of the Valley Farm Tour is to educate local consumers about local agricultural goods and services, to promote buying local, and to stimulate local agricultural business,” said Vrable-Bryan.
