Oct. 3, 2006

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine 724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

SRU TO PRESENT ‘PENNSYLVANIA FARM DAY’ ON OCT.  17

      SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The agriculture awareness event Pennsylvania Farm Day  (formerly known as Cows on the Quad), is scheduled for Oct. 17 at Slippery Rock University. The event teaches local school children about farm animals and crop production while meeting state guidelines for environmental education.

       Pupils learn about the source of their food by visiting learning stations, each featuring hands-on activities relating to Pennsylvania agriculture. SRU elementary education students and local farmers staff the stations outside of Morrow Field House.

      The event, in its fifth year, has evolved through a partnership between SRU’s Robert A. Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research, Slippery Rock University elementary education/early childhood Department, Slippery Rock Area Elementary School, local farmers, businesses and organizations.

      “We felt very strongly about involving elementary education majors in this project,” says Macoskey Center director Thomas Reynolds. “These students will continue teaching about the importance of local agricultural systems when they graduate and enter the workforce.”

       This event will meet standards in the subject of  “Agriculture and Society” and “Humans and the Environment,” requirements from the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Environment and Ecology at the elementary level, Reynolds said. By fourth grade, students should have an understanding of society’s dependence on agriculture and should be capable of identifying the types of animals found on Pennsylvania farms, recognize common agricultural crops, as well as understand the basic parts of commonly grown crops such as corn, soybean and barley.

            For more information, call the Macoskey Center at 724-738-4050.

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