SEEAG at the Santa Paula Tractor Fair
The Event
This past Monday, September 7, SEEAG participated in the 11th Annual Santa Paula Labor Day Tractor Fair—an event featuring something for every age and agricultural interest, from tractor enthusiasts and history buffs to gardeners and local families. Each year, the fair is hosted annually at the Santa Paula Agriculture Museum. This year included
Vintage Tractors: The Topa Topa FlyWheelers Antique Gas Engine & Tractor Club displayed Up-close displays of vintage tractors.
Live Entertainment: The ‘Jazz Trio’ performed live during the entire event.
Food & Markets: Local food trucks offered a variety of foods and beverages. No one went hungry.
Family Fun: The UC Master Gardeners offered activities for people of all ages including beeswax candle making, rock painting and garden exploration.
Community Partners: SEEAG was one of the contributing community groups offering information and activities for the fair.
Our Booth
Our SEEAG booth was filled with a variety of offerings.
For Children. The younger children loved our "Farm in a Box" activity, where they learned the basics of drip irrigation. A plastic box was filled with toys set up as a miniature farm, including a farmer, fruit trees, animals, a tractor and turf to serve as the vegetable field. A small amount of water served as the “ground water” for young farmers to extract and feed through their mini drip irrigation lines with a small hand pump.
For Teens. Older middle and high school-aged teens got a preview of our STEM program by viewing fungus slides under a microscope. They then searched through a small booklet of fungi photos and information to identify which one was displayed on the slide and to learn fun facts about it.
Local Produce. Visitors stopped by to pick up free local produce, including apples donated from a local farm and citrus from our newly leased Southbank Learning Farm.
Other Materials. Also displayed on the table were drawings and thank-you notes from past program participants, SEEAG and Farm Day stickers, and informational flyers about our educational offerings and events.
Thank You to Our Volunteer
A very big thank you to Mary Carol who assisted us at the SEEAG table. When the event became extra busy, her extra hands were very needed and appreciated.
What a Day.
Overall, it was a fantastic day to connect with the community, share our programs and internships, and spread the word about our upcoming Santa Barbara County Farm Day on Saturday, September 19! You can find more information about our Santa Barbara County Farm Day this Saturday at this link on our website.