Virginia children to explore crops and greenhouse gardening during ag literacy week

Children throughout Virginia will explore greenhouse gardening as well as popular fruits and vegetables during Agriculture Literacy Week March 18-22.

Logan’s Greenhouse by JaNay Brown-Wood was selected as the Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom 2024 Book of the Year.

Illustrated by Samara Hardy, the book follows a young boy who uses a wheelchair and accessible gardening tools as he organizes a playdate at his greenhouse for his friends.

Throughout the book, readers use visual clues to learn about unique characteristics of fruits and vegetables.

“We were looking for an inclusive and interactive story about growing food,” said Tammy Maxey, Virginia AITC executive director. “Everything but one crop featured in the book is grown in Virginia. It’s a good opportunity for students to see and relate to something they may be able to grow here.”

Agriculture Literacy Week is AITC’s largest educational event of the year, with thousands of volunteers reading to children in classrooms, libraries and virtually across Virginia. During 2023’s reading event, more than 1,000 volunteers read I Love Strawberries! by Shannon Anderson to approximately 60,000 children throughout Virginia.

Now in its 13th year, the program combines fun and education to help teach youth about the importance of agriculture, farming and the sources of their food and fiber.

Free supplementary resources are available online to expand school and at-home learning. These include seeds for children to plant, volunteer reading tips, coloring pages and other activities.

For more information, visit virginia.agclassroom.org.