Sustainable Agriculture (CTE)

McDaniel’s Sustainable Agriculture Program is rooted in hands-on learning, teaching practical gardening, cooking, and business skills. Agriculture is the intentional attempt by humans to influence what plants grow where, when. Sustainable agriculture is a system of growing food and fiber that does not damage the soil, air or water, even over many generations. The program offers practical gardening and urban farming techniques.

Students visit the school garden regularly and take field trips to local farms and other horticulture programs. Students plant, harvest, and eat food from the garden, start seeds indoors, work in the greenhouse, prepare soil for planting, identify medicinal and edible plants. Students will build a compost pile so hot it will melt cheese!

This program also provides small business skills and opportunities to pursue paid and unpaid internships in sustainable agriculture. Small business skills include: planning, management, marketing, financing, and networking with social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.). Put those skills into action by developing and running a McDaniel Farmer’s Market. This "living" business will sell a combination of produce grown from the school garden, as well as value-added products like jam, pickles, salsa, pesto, and tomato sauce made by students.