PRESS RELEASE—for immediate release
July 7, 2008
Contact Eric Dyer 530-681-0251    ericdyer@hotmail.com

On July 10th, Woodland Joint Unified School District and the agriculture programs at Woodland and Pioneer High Schools will celebrate the grand opening of the Laugenour Land Laboratory (LLL) on road 17A that has been in the works for the past 20 years. Eric Dyer, the coordinator of Career Technical Education programs for the school district states “we are excited that we have been able to realize our dreams through the support from the school district and community members”. The opening of this facility marks a milestone in the vision of the agriculture programs in the district.

The vision of this laboratory is to provide an extension of the agriculture curriculum through extensive “hands-on” experience in plant and animal sciences. The Laugenour Land Laboratory (LLL) will also give agriculture students the opportunity to have year-round projects at the facility. Having such a facility will increase in number of students who that have strong Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects. Since SAEs form one of three components of an agricultural education program, the Laugenour Land Laboratory will enhance agricultural education in Woodland Unified School District through hands-on teaching and strong SAE projects. Another purpose for the LLL, is to provide unique learning opportunities for students at all grade levels in the school district through field trips and class demonstrations.
 
The finished project should have two classrooms, at least three barns, show ring, bleachers, developed pasture, tree crops and a renewable energy unit.

Currently, the land laboratory has a newly completed large barn, pig barn, water supply and the entire property has been fenced. The current facility has the capacity to hold 32 pigs, 10 cattle, 28 sheep and 30 poultry projects. The 2.5 acres of pasture has also been developed for grazing purposes. The agriculture program received one hundred and fifty six thousand dollars ($156,000) for the completion of this first phase of the project. The Woodland Joint Unified School District agriculture educators would like to thank Steve and Terry Laugenour, Eaton Drilling, E. Center/ Migrant Head Start, Woodland Joint Unified School District, Yolo County Office of Education, Better Barns, Iron Horse Fabrication, the local Agriculture advisory committees, FFA boosters and community members who have made the dream a reality. The agriculture educators look forward to working with future donors to complete future phases of the LLL development project.