Crawford County High School
Agriculture Education
Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) Project
General Information about the S.A.E. Project:
· Each student enrolled in agriculture Education will be required to have an S.A.E. project.
· It will count for 20% of your grade.
· It requires 18 hours of verifiable “hands on” activity in ANY area of agriculture: horticulture, forestry, natural resources, landscaping, agriculture mechanics, Agriscience and is selected by the student. Select a topic that will interest you. You may create your own project idea and submit it for teacher approval.
· Your18 hours of work must be completed OUTSIDE the normal school day.
· This is not a traditional research paper although you may count up to one hour of time spent on literature review as part of your 18 hours.
· You will choose a project and develop a plan. Your plan will be summarized on the “SAE Program Agreement Form.” The plan, along with a list of needed resources to complete the project, must be signed off by the students, parents/guardians, and any others involved in your project.
· Your teacher will then approve your plan and you may begin your work, or you may be instructed to rethink your proposal and resubmit.
· SAE approval forms turned in past the deadline will receive a lower grade. No credit is given to a project not pre-approved.
· Worrying about the project takes more energy than doing the project! You are going to do a good job because you will choose a topic that interests you. So…just do it! Starting can be the most difficult step.
· Each student will complete a Proficiency Application based on their SAE. Quality Proficiencies of FFA members will be entered in the Area competition.
DUE DATES & POINTS BREAK-DOWN
SAE Requirements / Due Date / PointsApproval Form / September 18, 2015 / 100
Inventory / October 2, 2015 / 50
Proficiency Application
Pages 1-3 part B 2-3 / October 23, 2015 / 25
Pages 6-8 / November 20, 2015 / 25
Page 9 & photos / December 17, 2015 / 25
Page 3 part C1 & 2, and pages 4-5 / January 13, 2016 / 25
Final Proficiency Application / January 26, 2016 / 100
Report / May 2, 10, 13, 2016 / 100
Evidence of Performance / May 2, 10, 13, 2016 / 100
Class Presentation / May 2, 10, 13, 2016 / 100
Categories of SAE Projects
Research and Experimentation
Placement
Ownership/Entrepreneurship
Improvement
1. Research and Experimentation: In this SAE you conduct either research (non-experimental) to discover new knowledge or design an experiment to test a hypothesis.
2. Placement: In this SAE, you work for someone else. It may be a paying employment or it may be for the experience alone. This can include a part-time job, if you have one, or it may include an “internship” that you get just for the experience and just to complete this project.
3 Ownership/Entrepreneurship Projects: You become a business owner and will provide a product or a serve to your customers. Of course it will be small but you own the related equipment and supplies and you take the financial risk. Any money you make is yours as profit and any money you lose is your loss.
5. Improvement SAE: An improvement SAE is a project that improves the value or appearance of some place in the community, a home or a school. It is an improvement project that makes the conditions of a place better.
Tips on Choosing a Dynamite SAE Project
For ideas, visit these websites:
www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/sae/toolbox/index.html (Google this address and it brings up valuable information)
www.gaaged.org Click on SAE, select from the categories of examples
www.ffa.org/index.cfm?method=c_programs.SAE
· Select a topic that interests you.
· Select a topic that could relate to a career objective.
· Select a topic that you can easily monitor progress and success.
· Select a topic that will benefit you, your home, or your community.
Crawford County High School Agriculture Education
103 S.A.E. Ideas
1. Develop, plant and maintain a garden plot at your home or any other property.
2. Create a plant growth experiment by altering different soil types or some other variable.
3. Create a plant growth experiment by altering environmental factors such as light, temperature, fertilizers or different types of music.
4. Construct a landscape project such as a wall, fence, fountain, pond, arbor, walkway, window box.
5. Construct a bird sanctuary in your backyard.
6. Plan and plant plantings that attract wildlife.
7. Plan and plant a food plot for wildlife.
8. Plan and plant seasonal flowers at your home or in your community.
9. Adopt a stream in the community.
10. Adopt a section of road in the community.
11. Adopt a park in the community.
12. Adopt a subdivision entrance and improve its appearance.
13. Plan and plant a community garden.
14. Identify and inventory trees or wild plants in your neighborhood.
15. Identify and inventory invasive species in our community.
16. Create a landscape plan for your home, subdivision entrance or place of business.
17. Design an improvement plan for the grounds of a business, school or public area in the community.
18. Create a photo essay about an agriculture topic. It could be a “how to” video (changing oil, making a planter, welding, felling a tree, milking a cow, saddling a horse). It could address a community concern (water quality) or it could be about a success story (our community’s farmer’s market)
19. Create an informative video or photo essay about any agricultural business in our community.
20. Create a movie with characters and dialogue about an agricultural topic.
21. Conduct a plant experiment using hydroponics.
22. Make a collection of pressed leaves identified from your neighborhood, school or community.
23. Create a web page for our Ag Ed department at CCHS or an ag- related business or organization.
24. Conduct an experiment with seeds.
25. Conduct rooting experiments.
26. Build a cold frame for germinating seedling in the winter.
27. Visit public or private gardens in our area and report back with photos, interviews and/or video.
28. Prepare soil properly and conduct a home research planting with different type bulbs.
29. Conduct soil sampling at home or in the community.
30. Research the organic gardening industry in Georgia. Compare crops.
31. Grow Bonsai trees.
32. Develop a plan to produce, market and sell terrariums for holiday gifts.
33. Develop a plant to collect, sort, package, market and sell seeds collected from plants.
34. Research the interior plant leasing business and compare results.
35. Providing teachers, or a business in the community with flowers for a monthly fee.
36. Interview adults working in an agricultural field and create a scrapbook, or photo essay.
37. Sell a product or a service (pet sitting, watering flowers for absent owners, lawn care)
38. Sell firewood.
39. Create a business that suits YOU and your interests, complete with business cards and logo.
40. Volunteer at a plant nursery, landscape business or a public garden.
41. Work as an intern at the humane society, at a vet’s office or stable or farm.
42. Raise honeybees.
43. Build a compost bin for home or school.
44. Start a business selling pine straw.
45. Research different landscape equipment such as Bobcats or backhoes and video their usage.
46. Research the golf course industry. Visit courses and interview the golf course superintendents.
47. Research professional sports arenas and how their turf is maintained.
48. Develop a schedule of maintenance for our athletic fields at CCHS.
49. Demonstrate how computers can be used in a landscape design.
50. Develop or manage a recycling program for a school or business.
51. Study entomology and make an insect collection.
52. Study a wildlife concern in our community.
53. Work as a volunteer at a florist and share what you learn.
54. Improve our CCHS landscape.
55. Learn to dry flowers and create projects using dried flowers.
56. Make a recipe book of recipes that use fresh herbs.
57. Research the forestry industry or some part of the industry and report on your findings.
58. Visit and compare different types of greenhouse businesses.
59. Inventory the trees on your property or a neighbor’s property (with their permission.)
60. Create a tri-fold brochure highlighting the Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area (PFA.)
61. Create a tri-fold brochure advertising agriculture education at Crawford County High School.
62. Design an experiment using different sources of fertilizers.
63. Demonstrate different welding techniques and their uses in agriculture.
64. Design and make a materials and cost list for a storage barn.
65. Refurbish/rebuild a piece of equipment.
66. Install landscape lighting.
67. Lay sod.
68. Grow herbs from seed and sell them.
69. Design mixed planters and a plant to sell them.
70. Interview government employees: park rangers, foresters, extension agents.
71. Research the types of city & county employees involved in tree and grounds maintenance.
72. Create a welded sculpture.
73. Clean a neglected area of your yard or community.
74. Design a piece of equipment to be used in an agriculture -related field.
75. Research agriculture schools in Georgia and/or nearby states and the majors of study they offer.
76. Renovate a pond.
77. Develop an advertising campaign for a local business.
78. Plan a visit to the elementary school to inform younger students about agriculture education.
79. Plan and implement a food drive to benefit a local food bank.
80. Take flowers to a local nursing home.
81. Take flowers to local shelters for abused children.
82. Make a worm bed.
83. Design an experiment to determine how effective natural pesticides are in reducing pests.
84. Make a collection of gardening, farming recollections from seniors in the community.
85. Create a musical production about the agriculture industry.
86. Attend our state fair.
87. Tour a local farm.
88. Build a piece of furniture.
89. Build bluebird boxes or any wood-working project to sell to the faculty.
90. Research wetland plants and improve the wetland at the Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area.
91. Maintain a school’s potted plants.
92. Plan a holiday project (woodworking, flowers)
93. Design an irrigation plan.
94. Research and design an experiment using different fishing lures.
95. Make a collection of casts of wildlife paw prints.
96. Lay a patio.
97. Make a smoker or grill.
98. Make a hunting stand.
99. Make a demonstration to present to our exceptional ed class.
100. Study the impact of four wheelers on erosion.
101. Make an audio of turkey calls.
102. Learn to make wreaths
103. Research and document your pet care.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO A FANTASTIC SAE PROJECT
PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN!!
HEADS UP TIP: START EARLY! THIS PROJECT IS TOO BIG TO WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!
Keep this list (hang it on your bathroom mirror!) and check items off as they are completed.
______STEP ONE: Think. Brainstorm. Ask questions. Research Ideas. What do you like? What is doable? What gets you excited? What have you always wanted to find out? What may give you some information on a career choice? What would benefit others?
______STEP TWO: Complete and submit a Project Approval Request. This form is included in this packet of information. If project is not approved, rethink and resubmit.
YOUR PROJECT APPROVAL IS DUE ON ____September 18, 2015______.
______STEP THREE: Begin your project. As you work, keep accurate records of all work done toward your project. If you do anything, write it down. If you write or sketch anything, keep it! Not everyone will have the same records but here are some examples of records you may need to keep: date and hours spent on project, how your work hours were spent, expenditures and earnings, items that were bought, any drawings or sketches necessary to complete your project, skills that were learned, people interviewed. DO NOT FORGET PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE. IT IS A MUST! To keep your records, you may use a calendar, a spiral notebook, charts or anything that suits you. It is important to be accurate and consistent. The sooner you write down your work, the more accurate you will be. YOU WILL INCLUDE YOUR ORIGINAL WORK RECORDS IN YOUR PROJECT REPORT. You will need to document 18 hours of work outside the school day. Work until your project is complete and you have at least18 hours of documentation. The more hours documented the better.
______STEP FOUR: Complete your Report. Your report consists of a title page, project summary and a bibliography. On your title page include title of SAE, Category of SAE, Your Name, Current Agriculture Class, Date. In your project summary describe in detail your project. Expectations of the project summary are described in more detail on the SAE Deconstructed: How to Conquer Your SAE. Your photographic evidence can be included in your report and/or your presentation.
______STEP FIVE: Plan your Presentation. A visual aid is required. You may use a poster, a tri-fold, scrapbook, a demonstration, a video or the finished product. More points are given for a Power Point. If you have something else in mind, be sure to get your instructor’s approval. Your presentation should be 5-7 minutes. The more you plan, the more confidant you will be in your presentation. Refer to SAE Deconstructed: How to Conquer Your SAE and the SAE Grading Sheet for ideas on what to include. Your photographic evidence can be included in your report and/or your presentation.
______STEP SIX: Make your 5-7 minute presentation to the class and submit your SAE Report and Evidence of Performance.
YOUR PRESENTATION IS DUE ON _____ May 2, 10, 13, 2016______.
If you are late, you will be penalized 20%. The maximum you can earn is 20% less than 100. A late presentation will be scheduled for the next available time slot, to be determined by your instructor. Don’t be late!!
Completed proficiency applications are due January 26th; the sections are due on the assigned dates and are graded separately.
SAE Project Approval Form / Student Name:______Date:______
Project Category:______
What are you doing for your SAE?
What materials will be needed to complete your SAE?
Who may have to help you with your SAE?
Will any research for this project be required? If so what?
What activities will be required to complete your SAE?
List the steps, in order, necessary to complete this SAE.
Parent Permission to undertake the project:______
Signature
Advisor's approval ______Yes ______No
SAE Deconstructed: How to Conquer Your SAE