Patty Hanna teaches at the eSTEM Academy for Reynoldsburg City Schools. She was chosen to do an externship at The Ohio State University’s Waterman Agriculture and Natural Resources Laboratory. As part of the externship experience, Hanna will produce curriculum for use in the classroom, available soon on GrowNextGen.
During her time on the farm, Hanna took a tour of all that is going on there and asked many questions of the farm staff. She also spent time with one of the farmers who specializes in plant pathology. He took Hanna to the different soybean plots to show her the signs and symptoms of disease and pestilence in soybeans, and also talked with her about the ways that different diseases and pests migrate and/or immigrate from other countries and the measures farmers can take to treat the diseases.
Hanna shared her thoughts about this experience:
“I am so grateful to be to given this opportunity to work as a GrowNextGen extern at Waterman Farm. The time I’ve spent on the farm has opened up a whole new world to me as an educator! I’ve learned about the crucial role of soybeans as a key crop in global bioeconomics, as well as challenges the agricultural industry faces as it seeks to meet an increasing demand. I was also able to see cutting-edge technologies that the industry is using and developing to mitigate these challenges. It is so cool! My mind is blown! I had no idea how absolutely integrated science and technology are in today’s agricultural work! I am excited to write curriculum and to do all that I can to introduce this industry to my students. I hope to inspire them to pursue solutions to these problems and to consider future careers in agricultural fields!”
