Growing economic partnerships
June 1, 2015Fremont Packer Land Lab
The Fremont Packer Land Lab isn’t your typical classroom.
Located on 65-acres of farmland north of Fremont, the Land Lab provides a realistic agriculture learning environment to high school students while producing a diverse range of crops, from pumpkins to pickles.
Under the supervision of teacher Rebel Smith, students oversee all aspects of the growing process from planting to harvest. In addition to a hands-on education in agricultural science and business, students build relationships with diverse community partners.
“There are not a lot of other high school programs where students meet with the president of a bank one day, a nutrition corporation the next day, and a local farmer the next,” said Rebel. “What makes this rare is the partnerships and how many different groups of people I’ve put my students in front of.”
Each year, the class hires a farmer to plant the crop and meets with local experts to learn about budgeting, soil quality, and more. The produce grown is destined for baby food thanks to a five-year commitment from Nestlé Gerber. The key to the commitment—installation of an irrigation system—was made possible through a grant from the Community Foundation.
“The most interesting thing has been seeing how everyone is involved and active in our education,” said Devin Richards, an 11th grade Land Lab student. “I’m excited for future classes to see what the community helped us do.”
