California Ag Network

Tag: Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture

  • SEEAG Expands Ag Education Efforts in Santa Barbara

    Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) expanded its reach by opening a new Santa Barbara County office and adding student and community learning programs during the 2024-25 school year.

    SEEAG is a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect youth and communities to the farm origins of their food and inspire the next generations of agricultural ambassadors.

    During the last school year, 4,225 students took part in 515 hours of STEM education. Nearly 500 high school students participated in SEEAG’s first year of STEM Career Pathways in Agriculture, a three-part experience including hands-on STEM-in-Ag labs, career guidance workshops and field trips to local agri-businesses.

    Elementary-age students in 72 schools from 27 School districts, from West Hills toSanta Maria, participated in immersive learning experiences in classrooms and on farms through SEEAG’s Farm-to-Food Lab. SEEAG’s Youth Wellness Initiative organized seven Produce Pop-Ups where 7,700 pounds of donated produce weredistributed to students and their families, with priority to students at Title 1 schools. Besides receiving seasonal fruits and vegetables, families received nutrition handouts, recipes and reusable shopping bags.

    In addition to SEEAG’s annual Farm Day in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where farms, ranches and agricultural organizations open their doors to the public, the nonprofit introduced Farm Day Every Day in 2025. From January through May, Farm Day Every Day took place on designated Saturdays, enabling community members to tour five Ventura and Santa Barbara county farms. Over 12,000 Central Coast residents and visitors engaged with local farms firsthand through Farm Day events.

    “In a time when people are more disconnected from their food than ever before, agricultural labor and resource issues are growing, and too many community members on the Central Coast lack access to the fresh produce grown around them, SEEAG’s role is more critical than ever. SEEAG educates, inspires, and empowers youth and communities to become stewards of a more equitable and sustainable agricultural future,” says Caitlin Palus Case, SEEAG executive director.

    For a report on SEEAG’s 2024-25 activities, click here. To learn more about SEEAG or to make a donation, go to https://www.seeag.org.

  • SEEAG’s First Annual Spring Celebration Seeking Sponsors

    Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is seeking sponsors for its First Annual Spring Celebration. The event will honor the farms and people of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties who create the food we eat. The celebration is Saturday, May 10 at the Stow House in Goleta from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

    Those attending will enjoy a curated farm-to-table brunch prepared by Seasons Catering featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients from SEEAG’s Ventura and Santa Barbara farm partners.

    Each year, SEEAG’s team educates and inspires over 15,000 students and community members throughout both counties about the value of local agriculture and how food is grown. “We are able to provide all our programs completely free,” says Caitlin Paulus-Case, SEEAG executive director. “That’s only possible because of the generous donations we receive.”

    The actual cost of SEEAG’s Farm-to-Food Lab, a 3-part program for second graders, is $65 per student. For its STEM Career Pathways in Ag, a 3-part program for high schoolers, the true cost is $86 per student. Its Farm Day/Every Day year-round farm tours program for all ages costs $38 per participant. “Every dollar raised makes it possible to keep these programs accessible to all,” says Paulus-Case. “They give everyone the opportunity to learn about our local food systems and the benefits of eating healthy.”

    Spring Celebration attendees will be able to visit booths to learn about each of SEEAG’s programs, take home fresh-cut bouquets and seedlings, and bid on locally crafted auction items.
    Sponsors already signed up include the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, Gene Haas Foundation Gills Onions, AgWest Farm Credit, Montecito Bank & Trust, The Land Trust For Santa Barbara County, LightGabler LLP and Duda Farm Fresh Foods.

    Five levels of sponsorship are available. SEEAG is also accepting auction items and locally grown food products to be part of the food presentation by Seasons Catering.
    To learn more about sponsorship and donation opportunities, go to https://www.seeag.org/spring-celebration or contact Liz Shura, SEEAG’s Director of Business Operations, at liz@seeag.org, 805-892-8155.

    About SEEAG
    Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this and other SEEAG programs, over 100,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. For more information, visitwww.seeag.org or email Caitlin Paulus-Case, caitlin@seeag.org.

  • Fifth Annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day, September 23

    The fifth annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day is set for Saturday, September 23. It’s a once-a-year opportunity to experience how the food we eat is grown. The day includes behind-the-scenes tours, tractor with trailer rides, tastings, giveaways and kid-friendly activities. With the help of the online Farm Day Trail Map, the public can pick which farms to visit and then map out the day’s driving itinerary. Farms are located in Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos and beyond.

    Farm Day is free to attend. Tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees can tour farms that produce specialty crops, seasonal produce and berries, wine grapes and livestock. New Farm Day agricultural participants are being added. Check the Farm Day website and social media for the latest list of participants.

    For more information, visit www.SantaBarbaraCountyFarmDay.com or call 805-892-8155. No pets allowed. Also, mark your calendars for the 11th annual Ventura County Farm Day taking place on November 4.

    Santa Barbara County Farm Day is organized by the 501c3 nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG). SEEAG’s mission is to educate students and the greater community about the farm origins of our food and agriculture’s contribution to our nutritional well-being.

  • SEEAG Reaches Over 15,000 Students on Importance of Local Ag

    Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students and the community understand the farm origins of their food and the importance of local agriculture, spread its message to more than 15,000 students and community members in 2021.

    “One of SEEAG’s goals is for the public to better appreciate our local farmers, ranchers and farmworkers who grow the food we eat,” says Mary Maranville, SEEAG founder and CEO. “The food supply chain from farms to our tables is a journey we don’t often think about, but we should.”

    SEEAG’s Farm Lab at Petty Ranch in Saticoy welcomed over 1,600 second graders, including low-income, Title 1 students, for a hands-on farm experience. “In addition to the wonderful experiential education benefits that Farm Lab gives students,” says Maranville, “it also gets kids outside off their devices and tech, which improves their mental health and wellbeing.”

    Another 1,300 students in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties took part in SEEAG’s Child Wellness Initiative designed to educate and inspire children to eat healthy by adding locally-grown fruits and vegetables to their diet. Each student received a bag of fresh produce, recipes and other educational material. Another 200 middle and high school students attended SEEAG’s STEM Career Pathways in Agriculture presentations to learn about technical careers in the industry.

    “SEEAG wants to cultivate the next generation of agricultural ambassadors and farmland stewards,” says Maranville. “We’re hoping that learning about the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables will create life-long healthy eating habits. We did much of our instruction remotely during the first part of 2021. We were able to return to in-classroom instruction in October.”

    After a year off because of the pandemic, SEEAG held its Ventura County Farm Day and Santa Barbara County Farm Day in 2021. More than 12,000 people attended, visiting growers and other agricultural sites to see firsthand how food is grown, harvested and transported to local markets. Visitors experienced a day of agricultural activities, farm tours, tastings, and fruit and produce giveaways.

    “SEEAG was able to engage with a large number of kids and adults even during a challenging year,” says Maranville. “We are currently expanding our STEM Career Pathways in Ag outreach to middle and high school students throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and our Ventura County Child Wellness and Santa Barbara County Child Wellness elementary school presentations.”

    All SEEAG programs are free to schools and participants. It provides free bus transportation for students attending SEEAG’s Farm Lab.

    Major 2021 donors included Haas Automotive Foundation, Gill’s Onions, Sprout’s, Ed and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation and Wood-Claeyssens Foundation.

    For more about SEEAG, go to www.SEEAG.org.

    About SEEAG

    Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program based in Ventura County teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this and other SEEAG programs, over 60,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. For more information, visit www.seeag.org or email Mary Maranville at mary@seeag.org.