EduCulture

EduCulture bridges local farms, classrooms, lunchrooms and the larger food community through edible education programs that foster scholarship, stewardship, citizenship and sustainability. EduCulture is partnering schools and farms, transforming working landscapes into landscapes of learning, and utilizing our community as curriculum. Our edible education programs are serving academic needs, while growing produce for school and community food streams. In the process, we are contributing to the preservation of local sustainable agriculture, nurturing farm stewardship and food citizenship, and inspiring young people to become co-producers in their food communities.

Our Learning Landscapes and Farm Partnerships: In 2007, the EduCulture Project was founded on the historic Suyematsu & Bentryn Family Farms, the oldest working farm in our region. This land has become a center of teaching and learning, and seedbed for our local edible education movement, which has served thousands of preK-12 students throughout the Puget  Sound region. In 2010, we formed a partnership to utilize a parcel of Morales Family Farm for our local farm-school and edible education programs. It has become a model for public land serving public education and creating public produce for our school and community food streams. At Heyday Farm, we serve students at the south end of Bainbridge Island, as they visit the farm to engage in field studies about plant and animal life cycles.

In 2010, EduCulture broke new ground by starting the "Bite of Bainbridge" program with the Bainbridge Island School District.. Each year, hundreds of pounds of produce such as corn, potatoes and raspberries grown by students and local farmers are featured in the student lunch program.

Professional Education & Teacher Leadership - EduCulture trains and works with K-12 & community-based educators throughout the Pacific Northwest through our annual summer institute, seasonal courses, and weekend workshops. We are proud to be partnering with Antioch University Seattle to offer the first-ever Specialization in Edible Education, a series of professional field courses connected with the WA Environmental & Sustainability Education endorsement.

We are grateful to all our partners and collaborators, including: Suyematsu Farms, Bainbridge Island Vineyards, Laughing Crow Farm, Butler Green Farms, Bainbridge Island Farms, Paulson Farms, Heyday Farm, BISD, Island Coop Preschool, Antioch University Seattle, BI Historical Museum, Friends of the Farms, City of Bainbridge, Kitsap Food Chain and Bainbridge One Call for All.