Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm wins $78,889 grant

van Beuren Charitable Foundation grant will help fund after-school and camp programs

Posted 1/31/23

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm Program has been awarded $78,889 in grant funding from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation (vBCF), the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District …

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Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm wins $78,889 grant

van Beuren Charitable Foundation grant will help fund after-school and camp programs

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm Program has been awarded $78,889 in grant funding from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation (vBCF), the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District (ERICD) has announced.

The funds will support programming for after-school classes and summer camp, among other things. AgInnovation is a partnership between ERICD and Portsmouth Middle School.

The project began in December 2019, when five acres of fallow farmland in Portsmouth were offered by Martin Beck of New England Grassfed Beef to ERICD to lease for an educational program. ERICD’s district nanager, Sara Churgin, coordinated with school Principal Joao Arruda and Science Coach Margie Brennan to discuss an educational partnership, and the Portsmouth AgInnovation Farm was born. 

Brennan created a virtual AgInnovation class during the pandemic with 25 students. Through student-led discussions, Brennen worked with the students to learn about topics such as gardening, composting, solar power, and irrigation. They researched and planned what is now the general idea and layout of the farm. The students completed their first full growing season in 2021, donating produce to local food pantries.

“These kids are our leaders of tomorrow,” said Brennan. “We believe that through educating them about sustainable agriculture with hands-on learning, they will feel connected to the food system, each other, and the wider community - giving them the tools they need for the future.”

The farm’s programming has grown, with the addition of resources including a classroom structure, community farm plots, seasonal high tunnel, pollinator path, tractor with attachments, chickens, composting, and outdoor pavilion planned for construction this spring. Brennan runs programming year-round, teaching concepts and methods that the students implement on the farm spring through fall.

“We are so appreciative of how our community has come together in so many ways to make this project in Portsmouth possible, and we can’t wait to take it island-wide,” said Churgin.

To learn more about the farm, visit easternriconservation.org/aginnovation-farm, or contact Churgin at schurgin.ericd@gmail.com.

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.