4-H Delivers

Vested in Vineyards

The Issue:
Many of today’s youth have very little knowledge of where their food comes from or how to prepare it. With this new educational vineyard, youth now have an opportunity to learn experientially, through a hands-on approach, about the crop growing process such as planting, maintaining and harvesting.

What has 4-H Done?:
The Sonoma County Leadership Project has started working with the first of 13 schools installing an educational vineyard. When the project is completed, students and community members will have an opportunity to work, learn, and grow together while maintaining a working 150 vine vineyard at one of the schools. Donations were procured from a vineyard nursery, a compost company, local hardware store, a vineyard products company, a vineyard management company and other local businesses. One of the business partners has also provided special pricing on environmentally friendly time release irrigation which will save supplies and labor.

The Payoff:
With the education vineyard installation, the 4-H leadership group is providing many opportunities to the community and other 4-H members. The vineyard gives the possibility to integrate science, math, language development and art into the vineyard program. Additional curriculum areas include environmental studies and sustainable farming. Through the cooperation of 4-H, the school and public, a sense of community between schools and their neighbors was created. From an aesthetic view, a beautiful landscape feature is now in front of the school. These education vineyards create a healthy environment where students and our community will be introduced to the concepts of viticulture as a part of a science curriculum that includes hands-on, inquiry-based learning.