Thomas County Central High School is the recipient of a $10,000 grant from America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program.

The grant is for “Honey Bees in Jacket Country,” a proposal for the establishment of an on campus apiary with three bee hives and a honey house to extract and bottle the substance for distribution. It also covers the purchase of technology to track pollination, nectar, hive health and other data.

“We are always looking for ways to provide opportunities for our students to use technology in hands-on activities,” Career Technical Agricultural Education, or CTAE, Director Beth Adams said. “The addition of the apiary and a honey house will provide agriculture students a chance to gain new experiences as they work through classes like animal science, horticulture and sustainable agriculture.”

According to an America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program press release, the America’s Farmers campaign highlights the importance of modern U.S. Agriculture through communications and community outreach programs that partner with farmers to impact rural America. Introduced in 2011, America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education program is sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer. It partners with farmers in support of their local school districts through awarding merit-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, education grants of either $10,000 or $25,000. Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $16 million in grants to rural public school districts.

“America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education is a special program because farmers play a key role in nominating local schools and selecting the grant winners,” Monsanto Fund President Al Mitchell said in the release. “Each year, countless school winners tell us that the Grow Rural Education grants make a positive impact in their classrooms. For some, the results are evident in student test scores, and many educators say their students are more excited about STEM courses.”

Before TCCHS could even consider applying for one of the Grow Rural Education grants, its public school district (Thomas County Schools) had to be nominated by local farmers and this nomination accepted by the Monsanto Fund.

“I am very appreciative of the local farmers who nominated us to submit an application,” Adams said. “It means a lot that farmers in our local community want to support our students and our agriculture program.”

Nominating farming families were the Thompsons and the Griffins: Mat Thompson of Thompson Farms in Ochlocknee and Charlie, Pat, Brent and Trey Griffin of Thomasville.

Mat Thompson says he nominated TCCHS because he feels it is important for students to receive as much exposure as possible to all aspects of agriculture.

“They may learn there is more to farming than driving tractors,” he said. “It may spark that interest that they never knew they had and lead some of them to a career in agriculture. While most of the students will not become farmers, the education they get at school may open their eyes to [the] hard work that it takes to get food and fiber from the fields to the stores.”

Thompson adds that his part in the process was simple; TCCHS did the heavy lifting.

“They deserve all of the credit,” he said. “Receiving the grant is very difficult, and the community should be proud of all Thomas County Schools does to educate the students in our community.”

The Griffin family has a long history with the Thomas County Schools system. Charlie and Pat Griffin graduated from TCCHS when it was still called Central High School; their two sons, Brent and Trey, also graduated from TCCHS. Now, their grandchildren are students in the system and their daughter-in-law Elexis teaches at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School.

Pat Griffin says the family is glad the school chose to use its grant funds to aid the honey bee.

“Honey bees are vital for farming operations and pollination,” she said.

Once nominated, TCCHS staff members Nikki Smith and Lindsay Thompson composed the grant application. Smith, animal science teacher in the school’s CTAE Agriculture pathway, conducted research and determined what would be needed to start the apiary. Thompson, digital learning specialist, collaborated with Smith in writing the actual grant request.

Smith and Thompson began working on the grant proposal in January. Smith researched past winners and community issues that could benefit from such a grant. In flies the honey bee.

“Bees are currently a huge issue in agriculture due to the colonies dying,” she explains.

Smith met with Thompson to discuss the idea and with school and system administrators to gain approval to have bees on campus.

“From that point I began researching apiaries, logistics and the materials needed,” Smith says. “This took a month or two. Lindsay and I spent several days working together to answer the questions for the grant and make sure we added specific details. We worked really hard and had the grant submitted in three months. Once it was submitted, we waited.”

Smith learned their application was a finalist in July and was notified of winning a grant in August. 

“I am beyond amazed that we were able to win this grant,” Smith said. “Being that it was my first year as a teacher, I had many doubts about whether or not I would be able to even write the grant. It is a great feeling to have our hard work and dedication pay off. I am very excited for our program’s future with this grant. I believe this will allow the Ag department to grow and create a name for itself. As a school we will be recognized in our district, if not state, for our accomplishment and hopefully encourage students in our school district to become a part of and be excited about what we can do in the Ag program.”

Lindsay Thompson says this grant is special because of the people who deemed the system worthy of it.

“It is a great honor to be awarded this grant, and I am elated to be a small part of it,” she said.

A special presentation was held at the school Monday, Sept. 17. Those present included school administrators, grant writers, local farmers who nominated TCCHS, a representative from Bayer, and students who will be impacted by the implementation of the grant’s funded project.

Bayer representative Jason Pittman gave a brief overview of the grant nomination and selection process. He also congratulated TCCHS on its allotment.

“This is not an easy grant to get,” he said to those present before offering a round of applause.

In fact, nominations and application acceptance – which took place from January to April – is only part of the process. Applications are judged based on merit, need and community support. According to the program press release, a panel of qualified math and science teachers review applications and determine finalists. Then, the program’s Farmer Advisory Council, approximately 30 farmer leaders from across the U.S., selects the winning school districts.

TCCHS agriculture students are excited about this upcoming program addition.

Junior Shelby Lewis, 16, attended the presentation. She feels this grant will allow students a great opportunity to explore obstacles that could affect future farmers.

“From all of us in the agriculture program, we are more than grateful to get this,” she said.

Lewis most anticipates working with the bees and the honey.

“I look forward to learning how bees pollinate and help all other plants grow,” she said. “I can’t wait to be able to extract honey and pack it!”

Blayne Paschall, 17, says agriculture is very important to today’s society.

“We need more farmers and people able to grow our food and resources,” he said. “I am excited to have this opportunity to be part of such an achievement. I look forward to being part of the raising of the bees.”

Staff members are equally enthusiastic about having the apiary on school grounds.

“I am excited to see how the technology will be used to track the pollination of our crops,” Adams said. “I think the use of technology was an important part of our grant application as it mirrors the growth of technology used [in] agricultural practices today. I appreciate the hard work of Nikki Smith and Lindsay Thompson, as they wrote the grant and will follow through on its implementation.”

Smith says the grant allows students to realize that math, science and technology are vital parts of agriculture. Also, its implementation will teach students valuable lessons and connect them to their community.

“This grant will also allow the students to gain a sense of pride and responsibility by helping maintain the hives and bottle/sell the honey,” she said. “The community will be able to see our growth by being able to purchase the honey and know the students helped make this happen.”

For more information, visit the websites www.GrowRuralEducation.com or www.AmericasFarmers.com, or follow on Facebook at AmericasFarmers.