Why It Matters: Full Circle Education

“I love salad parties!”
“I noticed that last year the basil did not grow very well but this year the plants are huge!”
“I didn’t like tomatoes until I ate one that we grew inside the greenhouse!”

These are a few of the many comments we hear from students inside the greenhouse and garden as educators at Full Circle Education. Full Circle Education’s “why” is to support and promote a healthy Teton Valley. Research shows that farm to school programming works! Farm to school worksto create positive school and community benefits. Farm to school worksto stimulate the local and regional economy. Farm to school worksto improve children’s health, nutrition, and academic performance. Farm to school worksto help healthy habits take root early and provide access to local foods all year long (USDA: Office of Community Food Systems, August 2017).

Full Circle Education has been participating in the Tin Cup Challenge since 2012. So far this year, we have provided programming for over 300 individuals in Teton County, Idaho and Wyoming. Tin Cup has allowed our organization to provide farm-based education to children, adults, and families. As a result, we have established core farm and garden programs at Tetonia Elementary School, Alta Elementary School, and Teton Valley Community School and will be working with administrators from Victor and Driggs Elementary Schools to establish gardens and greenhouses on their new campuses. We have also been able to work with multiple local farms to bring students and adults out to experience a “day on the farm” and learn about the joys and challenges of farming in Teton Valley. Our sustainable living workshops run year-round and include classes like “Preserving the Harvest”and “Field Dressing Wild Game”. 

Full Circle Education encourages cultivation, preservation, and enhancement of the land and water that sustains life in Teton Valley and beyond. We aim to bridge the divide between old-timers, new comers, and visitors to Teton Valley by highlighting our shared values of stewardship, self-reliance, and healthy living. We have been working in local schools and on local farms for the past ten years and are moving toward establishing a permanent home on an educational farm in Teton Valley to share our work with the entire community.

From salad parties to soap making, “Farm to Fork” celebrations to foraging dandelion greens, Full Circle Education loves participating in the Tin Cup Challenge and sharing our passion for our beautiful valley with donors, community members, event participants,and other nonprofits.