Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture & Agency has launched AgLab: #ChickEdition, a new high school adaptation of Sunshine Farms’ popular chick hatching project. The pilot program at Cross Creek High School builds on the original elementary model by aligning it with Georgia’s Basic Agriculture (02.47100) curriculum and emphasizing agribusiness, biosecurity, and data-driven farm management.
The project is led by Karen Gordon, director of Growing Augusta. She designed and coordinated the AgLab @ Cross Creek: #ChickEdition pilot and currently serves as a long-term substitute teacher for agriculture classes at Cross Creek High School under educator Stacey Henderson.
Gordon has worked in agriculture, food systems, and community-based education since 2019, becoming more directly involved in urban agriculture in 2022. A native of Waynesboro, Georgia, now living in Hephzibah, she said her work focuses on making agriculture accessible to those who may not come from traditional farm backgrounds. As director of Growing Augusta, she oversees community food programs, student learning initiatives, and partnerships that connect agriculture, the arts, and workforce development throughout the CSRA…