Fryeburg Academy's FFA Chapter Builds Excitement for Agriculture in Local Schools

In March, the Fryeburg Academy FFA Officer Team visited Molly Ockett School, the Maine Environmental Science Academy (MESA), and New Suncook School to get students excited about agriculture. FFA is an organization that promotes leadership through agricultural-based learning. This national organization is committed to securing the future of agriculture across the country. With that mission in mind, the officer team visited classrooms of kindergarten to eighth-grade students with materials to pot bean plants for students to take home and grow.

Additionally, the chapter read to elementary school students the 2025 Read ME Agriculture book Farmer Ava’s Green Garden Life. Each teacher was given a copy of the book to keep in their classroom. The MESA students were given an excerpt from Braiding Sweetgrass to explore the importance of agriculture to Indigenous people, and the FFA team conducted the lesson plan, presentation, and communication efforts. The Academy's FFA Officer Team comprises four graduating seniors: President Dakota Fox, Vice President Maddy Beckwith, Secretary Rayna Wales, and Treasurer Enna Carbone. “It was important for FFA to reach out to the middle and elementary schools because we want to bring more awareness to FFA, and hopefully, in the future, that will spur some interest,” says Dakota Fox.

The Fryeburg Academy FFA Chapter would like to thank all the teachers for making time in their busy schedules for these presentations and the students for being so engaged. There is no doubt that the future of agriculture is bright! 

by Rayna Wales '25