The Wonderful World of SAE

Every Agricultural-Science student is required to have a four-year-long project referred to as a Supervised Agricultural Experience, or SAE. Every year, at the beginning of December, Agri-Science students have the option to show off their exemplary SAE to other students and teachers through the SAE exhibition. This year, our journalism class took a field trip to the Ag-wing and viewed many wonderful projects, asking questions and learning about the variety of opportunities that each student has. While every SAE was amazing and extremely impressive, journalism students had to decide which project to feature in this article.

Rising with the Reptiles

Sophomore Pixie Hill takes care of Ag’s reptiles such as geckos and snakes for her SAE project. Every morning, she goes down to Ag for Morning Crew to help feed and take care of our school’s reptiles by cleaning them or their tanks or filling up their food and water. Pixie used to take care of the rabbits and ferrets, but she said she enjoys caring for the reptiles more than the rabbits and ferrets because they smell better and are less messy. Pixie said the geckos will be having babies soon if they can incubate the eggs correctly because last time the baby geckos did not survive, but it is already looking better than last time she says.

Coloring in the Shadows 

Alana Brewer is a sophomore this year at Ledyard High School. She has been in the Agri-Science program since last year, and this is her first year doing art as her SAE project. At first, her project was landscaping and working outside, but her teacher Mr. Smith really helped bring out her inner artist by telling her he loved her art and wanted to see more. She decided to make this her new project only a week or so ago. Art is something that Alana is very passionate about and she enjoys it a lot. She is a very outdoorsy person, so finding inspiration was not very difficult. While going outside to enjoy a nice hike, she sees many different things in nature that she incorporates into every drawing or painting that she works on. She puts a lot of effort into these watercolor and pen-based amazing pieces of art and sees art as becoming a part of her future.

Homemade Doggy Products by Ledyard Seniors

After walking around the 2023 SAE Exhibition, seniors Hailey and Kayla Veal presented their action of creating their doggy products. Products included homemade dog treats, rope toys, and Christmas ornaments. While listening to their SAE goals and previous accomplishments, the audience had the opportunity to learn about the progression of this idea as it branched from the Civic Action Project to their SAE and now Capstone Project. Learning that they do not keep any profit and donate all money earned to a local animal charity was awesome, and sweet to hear. Both Hailey and Kayla’s products can be purchased in the Ag Store through Mrs. Jordan.

                  Wapanupumuhkô Creations

For her SAE project, sophomore Michaela Allen made candles and wax melts for her brand, Wapanupumuhkô Creations, pronounced wa-pan-u-pum-uh-kô. Wapanupumuhkô is her tribal name. The goal of Allen’s projects was to make and sell candles while attempting to add culture to it. In 8th grade, she started making candles for fun because she was bored, and when she needed something for her SAE project she decided to utilize it. According to Allen, the hardest part of making the candles and wax melts is all the math that goes into actually making a good candle/melt. Each needs a certain fragrance load and different amounts of wax which differs depending on the type of candle being made. Making different decorative candles is even harder because they each have a different look and require more than just pouring the wax into a mold. However, she said that when she gets to see the results and how each separate piece comes out is the best, most rewarding part of the process. If you want to see more you can visit @wapanupumuhko_creations on Instagram

                    Green Gardening

Loreli England and Bree Pepin’s SAE Exhibition Project was fish emulsion. This is the process of using fish waste as fertilizer. A greenhouse in the back of the school holds a tank of fish, which produces waste and poop that is then sent through a filter. The solid waste is caught in the filter, but the rest of the nutrients are still left in the liquid that is left over. The liquid is then put in a big garden bed filled with water, which houses the plants. Growing plants in water with no soil is called hydroponics. The added nutrients to the water help the plants to grow even faster and stronger. Loreli and Bree’s SAE Project is to keep this system up and running. This process is super cool, it takes advantage of the waste produced by the fish and helps to produce some of the freshest produce I’ve ever tasted. 

                  Dogs Tags and Jewelry Brands

I interviewed Keira Whitman about her SAE Project. She created a brand called Cresent Jewelry (Cresent without a c) where she makes and sells jewelry such as necklaces, earrings, and pendants. She originally started out making dog tags freshman year before committing to jewelry and starting her own business. She already had an interest and passion for making jewelry, so she just turned her passion into a brand. Her stand includes multiple different types of jewelry and a sign with her brand’s logo alongside prices for the different items.

              The Magic of Mechanical Engineering

Junior William “Billy” Peterson is a proud member of the mechanics branch of the Ag-Sci program. His SAE project focused on doing projects around the barn. In his high school career, he has completed over 20 projects. He attributes his smallest project to building hooks/hangers for buckets to hang in the barn. He allocates his biggest project to building an automatic chicken door. “I had to troubleshoot it for a long time while trying to email this company which doesn’t have many representatives,” Billy added. He hopes to expand in the future of his SAE, learn to do bigger projects, and further his knowledge of mechanics. His plans for after school are working as a diesel mechanic, owning his own livestock, or being a lineman.

                  The Animal Whisperer 

Sierra Johnston is in her senior year at Ledyard High School and participated in the SAE Exhibition with her own animals. Sierra has many animals like chickens, goats, a pig, and even emus! She is using her animals like her chickens and selling the eggs for $3 per dozen. She also makes her own honey for $10 per bottle. She started a rooster sanctuary and bird sanctuary and even bred her goats. She is planning on eventually selling her baby goats and her emu eggs. Emu? You mean the bird that grows six feet tall? Yes, and she has four emus that she’s had since they were babies. Eventually, her future plan is to sell the emu eggs for $45 per egg. Sierra says she likes working with animals for AG and at her house selling her own products despite how challenging and hard working the farm can be. Her project was very interesting considering it was her own farm and how much work she had put into that and how adorable all of her animals are. She is very passionate about her animals and plans on going to college to become a veterinarian.

                      Sit and Style

Senior Ashlyne Smallwood works with dogs in Ag classes. She trains and grooms the dogs providing doggy daycare for a small fee. She also does field training and agility training on her own dog which is what her Capstone Project is about. She enjoys working with the dogs because she wants to become a vet, and she is quite passionate about it. One of the difficulties of training the dogs is not knowing exactly how the dog feels, and she has to use a bit of her intuition. Overall, she would rate the experience a good seven out of ten.

                   Avery’s Amazing Photography

 Senior Avery Rogulski, had a booth for her photography at the SAE Exhibit for agri-science. She said she has always had a passion for photography, and it is something she has always enjoyed! She takes her pictures with her phone, usually, which is phenomenal. Her mom likes to put her pictures on social media to promote her passion and sometimes this results in people hiring her to take pictures for them! She has taken most of her photos of greenery outside or of wildlife. One of the most professional photos she has taken was at the zoo! Her photos of the animals from the zoo include elephants and birds! These photos looked like they came out of a National Geographic Magazine, Avery did such an amazing job!

                     Lambing Around 

For junior Jessica Dudley’s SAE Project, she focused on being the barn manager for Ledyard High School, which involves overseeing all of the animals. During the SAE Exhibition, Jessica laid down with a sheep named “Miss America” and explained her project to students. She says that she had always wanted to be the barn manager and has been working in the barn since she started high school. Freshman year, she was a crew member, then moved up to the assistant to the barn manager her sophomore year, and is the barn manager this year, her junior year. When asked what her favorite animal to work with is, Jessica said, “I like working with all the animals, but the sheep are definitely one of my favorites.”  Jessica does a lot more than just work with the animals though, she is also involved in educating new agriculture students about them. She says that one of the best but hardest parts about being barn manager is, “Educating people about each animal is the most fun part, but is also the most challenging when you have a high-stress situation, like when an animal is giving birth, and newer students may not know what to do and it’s my job to help them out.”

                   Doggy Daycare

Junior Angelina Manwaring did her SAE Project on dog training. Angelina trained her dog, Riley. She also trained in agility, where a dog runs a fast-paced obstacle course in a certain amount of time. She has trained a horse, goes to clinics, conferences, and mentors at a doggy daycare. She also works in Ag with the teacher’s dogs (Mrs. Finnegan’s dog is featured in the picture). Angelina explained how she watched videos and read books on training dogs and realized it was her passion.

Articles written by Colonel News Staff