For FFA members, every day is Earth Day — and every day, members are involved in conservation, education, and an entrepreneurial spirit that promises to keep agriculture moving forward in the “promise of better days, through better ways.” But this year, April 22 and the days leading up to Earth Day give members the opportunity to represent themselves, their organization, and agriculture.
Here are some of the ways that FFA chapters are already stepping up to celebrate agriculture through Earth Day:
1. Tree planting projects
FFA Members at the Miami East FFA Chapter in Casstown, Ohio donated trees to every student in the fourth grade in their local school district. As a part of their FFA Environmental Committee, members distributed the Norway spruce trees as part of an effort to repopulate Ohio with trees.
“FFA members realize that farmers and ranchers provide food and habitat for 75 percent of the nation’s wildlife. Not only will the trees provide cover for wildlife in the area, but they will also produce quality oxygen,” writes the chapter.
Boswell-Saginaw-Chisolm Trail FFA in Fort Worth, Texas is also planting trees as a community service event on Earth Day.
2. Host an Earth Day cleanup challenge
Cleanup days or challenges are a great way to address waste problems in your area, and to make public areas more enjoyable for everyone. There’s even a global movement that FFA can get involved in by posting before and after photos to social media using #TrashTag.
Members of the Mexico FFA chapter in Mexico, Miss. are holding a challenge to organizations and families to clean up public areas. The chapter has set the goal of logging 1,000 hours and involving 100 people in the clean-up efforts to celebrate Earth Day.
3. Showcase and share your greenhouse success
Earth Day is an excellent day to celebrate the hard work FFA members have put into their greenhouses, and to offer plants to the public. Keep an eye out for local FFA plant sales popping up in your area as a way to support local FFA members and celebrate Earth Day by providing habitat for pollinators and possibly, food for your family in the coming months.
4. Participate in Envirothon contests
Northview Academy FFA members in Kodak, Tennessee, participated in a regional Envirothon contest. These contests combine in-class and hands-on environmental education with a competition setting where students will solve problems and answer questions on the field test. The subject areas include ecology, forestry, soils and land use, and wildlife.
5. Plan a service project centered around environmental responsibility, and apply for a Living to Serve Grant
For chapters that have big plans extending beyond Earth Day, the National FFA Organization is accepting applications from chapters with year-long service-learning projects. Awardees will receive $3,000 towards their chosen project.
