Preservation, Animal Care, & Infrastructure

This culminating unit integrates post-harvest processing, small‑livestock and pollinator health, and homestead infrastructure to turn garden yields into safe, shelf‑stable foods and functioning systems. Students will apply advanced preservation techniques, implement animal and apiary health practices, and design/construct small-scale structures to support year‑round production and value‑added activities.

Learning Objectives

• Apply established safe food‑preservation and post‑harvest handling techniques (canning, freezing, drying, pickling, fermenting, bottling, jams and relishes) to prepare, package, label, and store garden and homestead products meeting food‑safety guidelines.
• Demonstrate animal and pollinator health management practices—including basic dairy care, disease prevention, Varroa mite control, and Colony Collapse Disorder mitigation—while maintaining records and biosecurity procedures.
• Analyze, plan, and implement small‑scale infrastructure projects (fencing, rain‑barrel stands, compost bins, tool walls, and a walk‑in hoop house), evaluating material choices, site placement, safety, and resource efficiency.
• Evaluate planting, transplanting, and harvest timing in relation to preservation workflows and season‑extension strategies to produce a coordinated seasonal production and processing plan that optimizes yield, storage life, and potential value‑added outputs.