1. READ: Earth Day is an occasion to focus attention on environmental stewardship, which is the care and conservation of our natural resources. Sustainable agriculture follows natural farming techniques with limited use of nonrenewable resources to produce food without harming the environment.
   DISCUSS: Since Earth Day is about sustainable food, energy, and land use, should we consider eating organically grown food as part of our responsibility to the Earth? Should the federal government promote sustainable agriculture through farm subsidies, tax shelters, and credits?

2. READ: Organic farms grow a mix of crops and therefore encourage a balanced ecosystem. Different plants use and deposit different nutrients into the soil. By rotating plants year to year, the soil stays healthy and naturally repels disease and destructive pests. For example, nitrogen is replaced in the soil by planting crops that deposit it naturally, instead of using dangerous chemical fertilizers. In addition, planting various crops helps create a natural environment in which many species can survive. That way, pest-reducing insects are encouraged back to the farms to help to protect crops, limiting the use of chemical insecticides which are dangerous to the environment.
   DISCUSS: Should we pay attention to how our food is grown as part of our responsibility to protect the Earth? What can we do to encourage organic agriculture as part of our Earth Day event?

3. READ: Writer Louis Bromfield is quoted as saying, “As soils are depleted, human health, vitality and intelligence go with them."
   DISCUSS: What do you think he meant? Do you agree or disagree, why?

4. READ: “WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2009. Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced that $4.8 million will be awarded to local organizations in 14 states to build community food systems and fight hunger and food insecurity. This announcement comes as part of USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, a department-wide collaboration that will connect people more closely with the farmers who supply their food and increase production, marketing, and consumption of fresh, nutritious food that is grown locally in a sustainable way.”
   DISCUSS: How can we know our farmers and the source of the food we eat? Can this only be done in a rural setting, or is it possible to know and connect to farmers in an urban setting? If so, how?.
   http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/knowyourfarmer?navid=KNOWYOURFARMER

5. READ: U.S. laws have banned the use of some hazardous chemicals for farming. U.S. produced food is more chemical free than it has been in the past. Unfortunately, there are very few barriers to importing from other countries foods grown with chemicals. Agreements made through the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade allow chemicals which have been banned from use in the United States to be used agriculturally in other parts of the world. Since imported foods are not strictly tested, these banned chemicals may still show up on our dinner tables.
   DISCUSS: How can we take action to be sure food grown with chemicals that are banned in the U.S. are not imported and marketed in the U.S.?

6. READ Organic farming is considered “sustainable” farming. This means the agriculture production can be maintained over time without harming the environment. The workers and animals are not exposed to dangerous chemicals. Nonrenewable resources are used efficiently, and working and living conditions satisfy human needs. This enables farmers to continue growing healthy foods for their families and society without depleting natural resources.  
   DISCUSS: If everyone can be fed using sustainable methods, should this be our national policy? What can we do in our community to help make farming sustainable here?

7. READ: Organically grown fruits and vegetables are known to taste better than mass-produced foods or genetically modified foods. In addition, organic food contains lower levels of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and significantly higher levels of healthy antioxidants. Because organically grown fruits and vegetables are higher in antioxidants, these foods have been demonstrated to work to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.
   DISCUSS: Since organic foods are healthier than those produced by non-organic means, is it fair and just that only a segment of the U.S. population has access to organic foods due to location or finances? What are some of the barriers to having organic foods available to all people? Or as part of a school lunch program?http://www.biodelice.com/Organic-Food.asp

8. READ: In schools, physical education programs have been cut, while the presence of high-calorie junk foods has increased. Children nationwide are experiencing an epidemic of obesity. At the same time, farm families are finding it more difficult to make a living by farming. One solution might be the farm-to-school program, which connects local farms to school meal programs to provide markets for farmers and healthy, fresh food to school children.
   DISCUSS: How can we find out if our school’s cafeteria serves food from local farmers? How can we learn more about how the food is grown? Is this something we should be concerned about? Why or why not?
   http://www.ecotrust.org/farmtoschool/

9. READ: A 2007 paper by Nadia El Hage Scialabba of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations indicates that a switch to organic agriculture on a global scale would result in a total crop yield large enough to feed the world’s population. This switch would greatly reduce the negative environmental impacts of current agriculture techniques. The main benefit would be reduced energy (fossil fuel) usage. This would lower the greenhouse effect of food production because less carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere.
   DISCUSS: If organic farming produces enough food, and it lowers energy usage, should we support organic farmers by buying their more expensive products? Why or why not?
   www.fao.org/paia/organicag/ofs/OFS-2007-s.pdf

10. READ: "There is enough for all. The earth is a generous mother; she will provide in plentiful abundance food for all her children if they will but cultivate her soil in justice and in peace."Bourke Coekran (late 1800s)
    DISCUSS: What do you think it means to “cultivate her soil in justice and peace?” This is a quote from more than a century ago, Do you think it might apply to our food and farming choices today? How?

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event.  Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Have each student write a one or two sentence response to at least three of the following prompts:

1. During this service project, I learned how to…
2. During this service project, changed my mind about…
3. During this service project, I was feeling…
4. During this service project I thought ….
5. During this service project I was hoping that…
6. During this service project I became convinced of…

Encourage the students to share their responses to the prompts they selected and have them look for similarities and differences in the responses of others. Conclude this activity by having students come up with three or four single words that reflect the majority of responses given to each prompt.  Write these words on the display board. Have the students share why it might be difficult to ‘put into words’ what they experienced during this service project.

ACTIVITY TWO: 
Provide the students with the following questionnaire. Using a Likert scale rating 0-5 with 0 meaning “not at all” to 5 meaning “very much so”, have them circle their responses. Instruct the students not to place there name on the questionnaire.

	Not at All > Very Much So
1. I was fully prepared to participate in this service project.	0   1   2   3   4  5
2. What I expected would happen during this service project happened.	0   1   2   3   4   5
3. The feelings I had about participating in this service project, remained the same from start to finish.	0   1   2   3   4   5
4. I think the service project had positive impacts.	0   1   2   3   4   5
5. I felt that everyone worked together to make this service project the success that it was.	0   1   2   3   4   5
6. I have given some consideration to how I might be able to be involved in other service events in our school/community.	0   1   2   3   4   5
7. Should participation in this service project be required of all 9th graders next year?	0   1   2   3   4   5

 
When each student has completed their questionnaire, have them exchange their questionnaires with another student. Do this exchange two additional times. Now have the students call out the response numbers to each of the questions as you record hash marks (IIII) for each question on a display area for all to see.  Engage the students in a discussion of what the class responses to these questions tell them about this service project?

ACTIVITY THREE:

Place the following slogans on the display board:

1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
2. Just do it (Nike)
3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
4. We try harder (Avis)
5. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
6. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
7. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
8. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
9. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

Tell the students that these slogans have been identified as the Top Ten Slogans of the Century.  Have each student decide which of these slogans (or one that they come up with on their own/or one that is more contemporary) he/she thinks might best represent their personal over all feeling about their involvement in this service project.  Encourage the students to share their selected slogan and their reason for selecting it.  Discuss how slogans could be used to promote future service projects.

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Pair the students and provide them with a “Person in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the Event.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project? What did you do during this service project?
3. How did you feel the night before this service project?
4. How did you feel during this service project?
5. How did you feel after this service project?
6. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
7. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
8. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
9. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?
    

Pair the students and provide them with a “Man in the Street” Interview form (see below). Indicate that each student will take turns interviewing and being interviewed using this form as a guide.  Each interviewer is responsible for recording the information he/she obtains from their interviewee during the interview.  The interviewer should “read back” to the interviewee what it is that he/she recorded/heard them say in response to the interview questions.  Once the interviewee agrees that what he/she said was accurately recorded, the interviewer is responsible to write a one-page newspaper article about the interviewee and his/her experiences during the Event.

“Person in the Streets” Interview:

1. What is you name?
2. What was your role in this service project?
3. What did you do during this service project?
4. How did you feel the night before this service project?
5. How did you feel during this service project?
6. How did you feel after this service project?
7. Do you think you did your best during this service project?
8. If you had it to do over again, are there some things you would do differently? If so, what things would you change?
9. Do you feel that this was a worthwhile service project? Why or Why Not?
10. Any recommendations/suggestions for next year’s service project?