Through the generous support of our many donors, LKAITC is able to provide numerous different projects to local school children in the Lambton-Kent region.

Harvest Days is offered each fall to grade 3 students in Chatham-Kent. It is a fast-paced educational, activity-based learning event held at Ridgetown Campus. Students explore the wealth of agricultural products that Chatham-Kent has to offer through hands-on activities and an exploration of our food system. Students travel through four stations: Early Settlers, A Day in the Dairy, Soil and Seeds and "I Spy" Agriculture. Pre and post tour activities are provided including classroom resources. Harvest Days is held for 7 days in September/October each year. In 2010, there were 766 participants in the Harvest Days program

The “Spring Days" program is designed for grade 4 students in Lambton County with activities for the students to experience agriculture with their own hands. Students explore Simple Machines, Living with Farm Animals, Turning Rocks into Food and Farm Foods for Healthy Living in an interactive environment at the Children's Animal Farm at Canatara Park in Sarnia. Spring Days is held for 4 - 5 days during late May or June each year. There were 294 participants in the Spring Days program in 2010.

 The Healthy Eating Clubs build unique relationships between several local community volunteer organizations, service groups and other agricultural stakeholders. The promotion of healthy eating habits, encouraging students to try new foods, along with raising awareness of where their food comes from are the main goals of this project. Healthy Eating Clubs, the first of their kind regionally, were developed to assist elementary students in grades 6, 7 and 8 in the Lambton-Kent District School Board and connects health curriculums with local food and its production. Each of the clubs met twice for a period of 8 weeks (16 forty-minute sessions). Each week focused on a specific  food group based on the Canada's Food Guide. One session per week had a producer or commodity representative deliver a positive message around the healthy eating of Ontario farm-grown products. The other weekly session involved hands-on food preparation and sampling based on those products. Recipe cards and other resource materials were organized for each student and became a personalized take-home resource. In 2010, four schools (2 in Chatham-Kent and 2 in Lambton) with 20 students per club participated in the Healthy Eating Club program.

Our annual Gala Dinner "A Taste of Lambton-Kent" is a successful fundraiser for the committee.  This multi-course meal which occurs every March is overwhelmingly successful with wonderful food creations thanks to Chef Raymond.  The silent and live auction makes for an interesting and fun evening and helps to raise funds for the organization.  The generous sponsorship and ticket sales from this event fund our education efforts throughout the year.  Over the years, we have had good community support with donations assisting the committee in providing agricultural awareness to the consumers of tomorrow.

Lambton-Kent Agriculture in the Classroom (LKAITC) committee is operated by volunteers as a non-profit organization, delivering successful agricultural programs to local school children free of charge.  The hands-on approach to learning used by the programs we are involved with are the key to the education process.  Increasing awareness of the agri-food industry continues to be the mandate of the committee.

COMMITTEE CONTACTS:

Chairperson - Kim Cooper

Vice Chairperson - Krista Gladstone

Treasurer - Kyla Reid

Secretary - Marlene Morris