The TEAM (Teaching Environmental and Agricultural Memories) field trip program is a unique environmental education program offered to elementary youth county wide in partnership with the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (RCD). The content of the TEAM program incorporates the significant role that Sonoma County’s characteristic agricultural landscape plays in environmental stewardship.

 

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Funded by the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space), the program invites elementary students to experience our diverse agricultural heritage of Sonoma County on a number of properties to learn about: the importance of maintaining bee populations for apple production, how ranchers protect salmon habitat on a working cattle ranch, experience fresh picked blueberries on a sheep ranch and play with local fiber, what “CSA” truly means to our community, and how all life is connected to the health of our soils. TEAM field trips emphasize the importance of partnership among diverse stakeholders in protecting our natural resources and the renowned agricultural landscape of Sonoma County.

The TEAM program serves elementary schools only in Sonoma County. Priority is given to Title I schools, schools with 50% or more students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Scheduling is also completed on a first come first served basis annually with interested schools.

The TEAM program offers trips to the grades indicated below:

3rd grade – Dutton Apple Orchard, Graton – spring
4th grade – NEW Duckworth Farm, Sebastopol – spring
5th grade – Open Field Farm, Petaluma – fall

 

JOIN US | 2023-2024 SCHEDULE

The Sonoma RCD is excited to announce in-person 3rd (Dutton), 4th (Duckworth) and 5th (Open Field Farm) grade field trips for the 2023-24 school year!

See our field trip line up here:TEAM 2023-24 Flyer
Sign-up to participate here: Program Application 2023-24
Need funding support for a bus? Complete our Transportation Request Form

Once you have submitted your field trip date requests via our Program Application to ckuehn@sonomarcd.org, please allow us up to a week to confirm your program slot. At that time, you will receive student liability waivers in both English and Spanish and a TEAM Program Agreement Form for your administrators to sign. Simultaneously, our environmental education consultant Stephanie Lennox will coordinate your pre and post classroom visits. We will work to ensure each school districts any COVID-19 policies are met on and off of campus.

Please contact Christine Kuehn, Director of Communications and Engagement at ckuehn@sonomarcd.org if you are interested in participating or learning more. We look forward to seeing you back out on the land!

 

TEAM GOES VIRTUAL

Learning transcends the classroom. Our virtual program enables learners to study the diversity of local agriculture from their homes. Students of the TEAM program explore and engage with the interconnectedness of our landscapes and the people that steward them. How do farmers adapt to the seasons? Where does our food come from? Why do we need pollinators? These are just a few of the questions we investigate during our visit to Open Field Farm. Get ready to learn about how farmers work with the land to grow nutritious food…while also protecting the environment.

The Gold Ridge and Sonoma Resource Conservation Districts have partnered with the Sonoma County’s Ag and Open Space District to take local 3-5th grade students on a virtual field trip to Open Field Farm, a protected organic, biodynamic CSA farm located in Petaluma. Our educators will guide your class on an interactive farm tour to learn about the farm ecosystem, visit the CSA barn to collect fresh produce, and buzz through the flower patch to study the farm’s tiniest farmers.

We hope you can join us!  Teachers please email us at ckuehn@sonomarcd.org to learn more and to sign your class up for this engaging, asynchronous learning experience OR fill out this quick TEAM Google Form to gain direct access to both the Open Field Farm video and downloadable student journal. Check out our virtual promo video to the right >>>

 

 

 

 

 

TEAM Video produced by Gold Ridge RCD:

Coming soon! 

 

Ag + Open Space partners with local organizations through innovative programs that get young people outside to explore nature, science, agriculture, and environmental stewardship in their communities. This program is made possible by the Ag + Open Space District.

 

 

 

 

If you’re interested in sponsoring or donating to the TEAM program please see our donation page for more information or contact Christine Kuehn, Education and Communications Manager at ckuehn@sonomarcd.org.