It’s been a busy week of grooming goats, tackling tight turns on tractors, and harvesting fields of flowers for beautiful bouquets. Ag Camp, produced by the Buncombe County Schools Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, offered rising 5th through 8th grade students the chance to experience a wide variety of careers.
“Growing crops and tending to livestock is just part of the story,” said Joshua Justice, a career development coordinator who organized the camp. “Campers have loved the hands-on experiences of tasting their own homemade butter and ice cream and washing chickens to show at the Mountain State Fair. They’ve also visited Cataloochee Ranch and Worley Flower Farm to see agritourism in action and learned about the importance of conservation.”
Ag Camp is meant to share the many career opportunities in the agriculture industry and get kids thinking about their futures.
“Once these campers get into high school, they can take agriculture education classes to help them prepare for a job they may have seen during camp,” explained Michele Smith, the school system’s CTE director. “Our high school agriculture teachers are helping with the camp, so they’ll already know the teachers who can help connect them to their chosen career pathway.”
High school students also shared their skills with the campers. Members of North Buncombe High School’s FFA brought their herd of goats, demonstrating how to properly care for the animals.
