Brent Douglas’ roots in Florida agriculture run very deep. His family has been farming in Alachua and Gilchrist counties since the 1930’s, and Douglas himself grew up on a local farm. Now, as an agriscience teacher at High Springs Community School, he’s passing along what he knows about the field to a new generation of students.

“I’m teaching in my home community about the subject I love most,” he said.

And clearly, he’s doing it very well. Douglas was recently chosen as the winner of this year’s Middle School Agriscience Teacher Award by Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, Inc. He will be honored at the organization’s state meeting in mid-June and will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Costa Mesa, California later that month.

“This awards program gives us an opportunity to recognize those teachers who make the extra effort to teacher their students about agriculture, and Brent is a fine example of that,” said Lisa Gaskalla, executive director of Florida Agriculture in the Classroom.

Douglas says he wants his students to understand what agriculture is really all about and how many career opportunities are available in the industry.

“They have this image in their mind that agriculture means a guy out on a tractor, and they don’t think it’s applicable to them,” he said. “It’s my job to show them all the different things that agriculture has to offer.”

On any given day, students in Douglas’ classroom may be feeding the chickens they’ll be showing in the upcoming Alachua County Youth Fair, caring for the begonias they’ll eventually be selling to parents and staff, or pickling the cucumbers they grew themselves from seeds. Through such activities, they’re also boosting their skills in other subjects, including math, science, reading and technology—for example, a recent lesson involved using computers to create charts that track the growth of their cucumber plants.

“This entire subject is interdisciplinary, so it’s applicable to every kid,” said Douglas. “They’re learning and getting support for all the academic areas through an elective class.”

Douglas’ students say they enjoy his hands-on approach.

“For me, I have to have something to touch or I don’t learning anything,” said sixth-grader Kacey Smith. “So I really like his methods of teaching.”

“Instead of just reading about it, we actually get to do it,” said eighth-grader Kyle Brooks. “We get a better idea of what it is we’re learning.”

“Mr. Douglas is awesome,” said eighth-grade student Kellie Hidalgo. “He explains everything so we can understand it, and he takes time to go over things if we don’t.”

Douglas says a big part of his job is ‘selling’ agriculture. He often makes the point to students and adults that while only 2% of the population provides agricultural products, 100% of the population uses those products.

“We are all consumers of the products of the ag industry,” he said. “That’s why it’s important and relevant to every single person.”