LEAD Society at Penn State started off by jumping into learning about wildfires and the smokejumpers. There are 400 smokejumpers who jump into wild fires in the nation. At the base in Montana they have about 50 jumpers and 3 of them are woman! These jumpers get to jump out of the plane into the fire with about 80 lbs worth of gear on top of their suits and then get more supplies sent down to them! It is a hard industry to work in.We came off that adrenaline rush and into our element when we visited Missula,Mt and their agricultural center. This high school just got a USDA certified meat processing lab. Urban students get to raise beef, lambs and hogs from insemination to table on site. Students own the animals and are responsible for its well being. The meat processing plant is a great fundraiser for the students to make money off of their SAE projects at the end!
The last stop was to an Indian reservation. We met with faculty from Salish Kootenai College were we got to see how art, agriculture and culture can be combined. We started by talking about the research being done on the reservation about an invasive grass that is threatening the bison heard. From there we went on campus and got to make mini drums from deer hid. This was taught to us by an art professor at the college. This was a full circle idea of how the Indians are mindful about using the full animal in their lives.
Food For Thought:
What are some unique aspects of your high school?
What would you like to see so far from our trip implemented in Pa?
How can we diversify our programs to learn more about other states agriculture better?
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