Mission: Test This - SLM-why
Utilizing the talents and resources in our local communities, we provide youth
with hands-on learning experiences in natural and agricultural systems to develop
their personal strengths, critical thinking skills, social responsibility, and
respect for the critical interplay of food production, culture, and nature.
History and Future:
The FARMS Leadership Program was started in 1994 by Winters walnut farmer Craig
McNamara, now President of FARMS Leadership, Inc. Five high schools from Yolo,
Solano, Sacramento, and Marin counties were selected to participate in the first
FARMS program with a total of thirty students and six teachers involved in the
project. Since 1994, eight more FARMS Leadership Program sites have been initiated
around California; Orange and Sonoma in 1998, Riverside in 1999, Ventura and
North State in 2000, and San Luis Obispo, San Diego, and Contra Costa in 2001.
Also in 2001, the SLEWS Program was formed in partnership with Audubon California.
The result of this dramatic growth and increased demand led to the formation
of FARMS Leadership, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, in February, 2001.
We moved from our four-year home and lead organization, the Yolo County Resource
Conservation District, to our own office and associated Farm and Nature Center
at 5265 Putah Creek Road in Winters.
FARMS Leadership, Inc. continues to add new FARMS Leadership Program sites
around California and develop new partnerships with high schools in the Sacramento
Valley to participate in the SLEWS Program. Our Farm and Nature Center provides
us with the opportunity to host a variety of educational field days for students
in the areas of sustainable agriculture, natural resource conservation, and
ecological restoration.
All of this growth (we now reach almost 2,000 students a year!) could not have
been possible without the incredible partnerships that have been formed in the
last eight years. From teachers and students to farmers and ranchers, from Universities
and Colleges to Farm Bureaus and Resource Conservation Districts, and from local,
statewide, and federal funding sources – we could not have done it without
you. Thank you for your support, dedication, and tireless efforts. We look forward
to an even more exciting future!
Degrees