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Pittsville High School and Gardner Cold Storage and Trucking
(Pittsville, Wisconsin)
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| Goal: |
To increase students' academic interest and proficiency in plant, soil and earth sciences, improve their self-esteem and public speaking skills, and expand their understanding of career options in the agricultural industry. |
| Strategy: |
Student-led professional tours conducted on the farm of a working cranberry grower enable high school students to apply classroom science training by providing a comprehensive, interactive tour of a cranberry operation. High school students learn about the economic impact of the cranberry crop and attain an understanding of the local and global impact of the cranberry industry.
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| Tactics: |
As a prerequisite to serving as a tour guide, cranberry science students are required to score 80 percent or higher on a written examination that tests their knowledge of key aspects of the overall cranberry tour.
In their role as professional tour guides, cranberry science students describe the characteristics of a working cranberry marsh and the cranberry harvest; explain the importance of honeybees to growing cranberries along with the role of integrated pest management; and discuss the health benefits of cranberry consumption.
Tour participants observe a working cranberry lab. Student tour guides discuss the "binning" and freezing of cranberries, and explain how "premium berries" earn this distinction. In addition to a cranberry-based lunch prepared by students, each tour participant receives a bottle of cranberry juice, one pound of fresh cranberries, and a bag of dried cranberries, all donated by the grower.
Word-of-mouth advertising in 2002 is now augmented by radio, television, email, and Web page marketing. Students draft news releases and have created a brochure that is distributed by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism at highway rest stops. Student tour guides also wear "CranCrew" t-shirts, another form of tour marketing and professional presentation.
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| Results: |
Cranberry science class enrollment, once under enrolled and at risk of cancellation, is now at capacity (i.e., 22 students).
Eighty percent of students in the cranberry science class are college-bound.
Tour revenue, used to support Pittsville Future Farmers of America (FFA) Organization and Ag-Education student scholarships, trips, and community-based events, has risen 800 percent from 2002 to 2005.
In 2002, the "Splash of Red Cranberry" tour drew 63 tourists; in 2005, 301 tourists participated in the program, a 478 percent increase. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has taken the tour, as have other state officials.
Overall evaluation scores rating the tour as "very good to excellent" have risen from 68 percent in 2002 to 92 percent in 2005.
Continuous comprehensive improvement of the tour results from frequent exchanges among the grower, student, instructor and tour participants, with identified improvements re-invested back into the program.
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