General Information
The major area was the heart and soul of the agricultural science department this year at GHP. Split into two classes, environmental science and biotechnology, the Aggies covered a wide range of topics. By learning many new topics in agricultural science through hands-on activities in the classroom (in short, by emulating an outdoor environment), the Aggies also took their knowledge a step further by conducting research projects. Even though they were confined by the boundaries of a classroom, the Aggies still strived to learn as much as possible.
In the first half of GHP, the Aggies mainly focused on exploring the many fields of study found in agricultural science. The students even noted that no two days were the same. A typical day started out with students arriving at class at 8:00 in the morning and settling in. Then, the students usually listened to a guest speaker who lectured on a topic in agricultural science. Such topics this year included world hunger, plants, calves, food science, forestry, etc. After that, the students performed hands-on activities; mainly labs. One such activity gave students the opportunity to visit a dairy operation, where they witnessed first-hand how milk is processed from a cow to its final form. The students also engaged in another activity where they were allotted 400 acres of "virtual land" and had to manage it economically while preserving wildlife. In short, agricultural science students explored and experienced.
During the second half of GHP, the students had the opportunity to work on whatever research project they wanted to conduct. These projects were presented at the Agriscience Challenge 2006 - held in the Bailey Science Center. Aggies were able to show their "stuff" and let everyone in GHP know what they were all about.
At times, the Aggies also participated with the other science departments in science competitions. For example, the first competition the "Aggies" participated in was the egg-drop, in which teams of four had to build a protective encasing for an egg that would be dropped from the second or third floor of the Bailey-Science building.
Student List
The following students were selected to attend GHP 2006 for the biotechnology part of agricultural science:
- Letitia Renee Carelock (Riverdale High)
- Austin Crown (Union Grove High)
- Sara Ervin (Southeast Bulloch High)
- Dru Gunter (North Oconee High)
- Claudia Hagan (Heritage High)
- Carla Parks (Wilcox Co. High)
- Jared Wozny (Ware Co. Magnet High)
- Cameron Yearty (Bleckley Co. High)
- Tyler Bridwell (Tift Co. High)
The following students were selected to attend GHP 2006 for the environmental science part of agricultural science:
- Justin Brown (Southeast Bulloch High)
- Cameron Clark (Wilcox Co. High)
- Jacob Daniel (Oconee Co. High)
- Colton Farrow (Wilcox Co. High)
- Samatha (Sam) Ferrick (Southeast Whitfield High)
- Andrea Gonzalez (Etowah High)
- Whitney Jenkins (Screven Co. High)
- John Kimbrell (Colquitt Co. High)
- Ariail Nash (Franklin Co. High)
- Anna Savelle (Oconee Co. High)
- Jessica Stanford (Colquitt Co. High)
- Katie Williams (Morgan Co. High)
- Nicholas Worley (Lowndes High)
Ag Challenge 2006
This year, the Aggies' (both majors and minors) culminating project was known as the Agriscience Challenge. More than just an exhibition in the Bailey Science Center with live cows, sheep, and goats, the Agriscience Challenge highlighted each students' individual research project this year. The projects ranged from a variety of topics. For example, some of the projects displayed included:
- Using bamboo and other natural resources in order to purify water rather than using the expensive methods used today
- Solving the problem of world hunger through charity and informing people in order to solve this growing problem
- Examining the growth and development of a cow's rumen from the time it is born into its childhood
- Exploring the dangers of global warming and how humans contribute to this problem
In addition, various exhibitions were also set out for visitors to see. For instance, one table displayed various skins/furs of rabbit, mice, etc. Another display showed the differences in soils from the different parts of Georgia. In short, the Agriscience Challenge was an interactive experience that not only showed what each student worked on during GHP, but also the importance of agricultural science (and yes, there were live animals there as well).
