SEEAG's "Bus Bucks" Fundraiser Supports Student Farm Field Trips
The Californer/10304958

VENTURA, Calif. - Californer -- Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is holding its annual Bus Bucks fundraiser. The donations go directly toward funding bus reimbursements for schools attending SEEAG's Farm-to-Food Lab programs in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

"We want to ensure that every student has the opportunity to participate in our hands-on Farm-to-Food Lab programs. Covering transportation costs helps remove a major financial barrier," says Caitlin Paulus-Case, SEEAG executive director. "We often hear from students that their trip to Farm Lab is their very first field trip. It leaves a lasting understanding of the connection between agriculture and the food we eat."

Each year, third-graders from Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties take part in the Farm Lab program at Petty Ranch in Ventura and Allan Hancock College's Demonstration Orchard in Santa Maria. The program and field trips are entirely cost-free to students, teachers and schools.

Currently, SEEAG is scheduled to host more than 5,000 students in 2025. To ensure there are enough funds to pay for transportation, Bus Bucks' goal is to raise $20,000. In the 2023/24 school year, the nonprofit organization delivered hands-on agricultural education to 9,796 students from 87 schools across 26 school districts. Many who attend are low-income, Title 1 students.

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To make a Bus Bucks donation, go to https://www.seeag.org/busbucks. For more information about SEEAG's ag education programs, go to www.seeag.org or call 805-585-5872.

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, visit www.seeag.org or email Caitlin Paulus-Case, caitlin@seeag.org.