Both Bri Bonacquista’s agriculture classes, Ag 1 and Ag 2, at Nucla High School are getting experiences with apple farming this fall — and apparently loving it. It’s Bonacquista’s first year of teaching the ag courses, but the curriculum is unfolding organically for her.
Last spring, students got some experience in grafting apple trees with Jenn Nelson, a local fruit tree expert and who was a co-founder of the Apple Core Project in the West End. Bonacquista reached out to Nelson this fall about following up with some apple-related activities for the ag classes. She thought Thursdays would be a good day to focus on the apple work.
Students began assisting Nelson, but became so enthusiastic that they wanted to do the work daily. They begged to work on fall fertilization, pick apples and also sort them.
Bonacquista said they ended up with so much fruit, the kids had an idea to then start selling apples.
Melanie Eggers, the other co-founder of the Apple Core Project, suggested selling them to Nucla’s school lunch program. So far, students have sold 60 pounds of apples to the school, with more to come. They’ve had to learn to determine Grade A quality, and they’ve learned to juice them too.
Some of the apples are being stored for preservation, dehydration or mini-pies. But, there are so many in Bonacquista’s office at school that kids stop by and ask if they can have an apple as a snack. They claim they’re just so good.
And, the ag classes are working on their business plan. In fact, they’re collaborating with Split Rock Printworks, of Nucla, to get their labels and logos created. They’ll soon have T-shirts too.
Sydney Tomlinson, a sophomore in the class and also the FFA reporter, told the Forum she and her classmates are finding fulfillment in working with the local fruit. She said every day they can’t wait to walk to Nelson’s and go to work.
“She’s really incredible with what she knows, and she’s passing on knowledge to us,” Tomlinson said. “We are all super excited.”
She said it’s also exciting to see children enjoying the apples her class has picked and provided for school lunches.
“It’s been such a fun experience,” she said. “We are really happy learning how to do this.”
Bonacquista said while the class focuses on more than just apples, apples happen to be a big part of what’s happening now. She added it’s likely going to become the new fall curriculum.
Over the next few weeks, students still have to get many smaller trees planted before the ground freezes, and they have more apples to pick at their favorite heirloom orchard over at Frank Grabeal’s. They do have a few more weeks of apple farming. Then, they’ll transition back into the classroom for more traditional learning for the cold season.
Still, Bonacquista said it’s been a joy to be outside with the kids, watching them learn while they follow their passion and receive hands-on experience, especially with all of the resources that exist in the West End.
“They love it, and they know what to do,” she said. “It’s amazing how much they say these apples are so much better than other apples too. … This has been way bigger than what I had originally planned.”
