Four teams of Georgia NASEF Farmcraft® 2024 winners were honored with an awards ceremony and live-streamed event on May 2nd at Skillshot Media studios in Atlanta, GA. A collaboration between Georgia Public Broadcasting, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), and the U.S. Department of State, Georgia NASEF Farmcraft® 2024 is a free, engaging STEAM-based program that teaches the challenges faced by agricultural producers and distributors in Georgia and around the world in a custom Minecraft game. The program is supported by lesson plans and online engagement with teachers and subject experts and is open to teams in grades 3-12.

United Federation of Axolotls

Senior Division Winning Team “United Federation of Axolotls” (Macon, GA): Evan Divis, Kim Humphreys, Charlotte Humphreys. Also pictured: Team Facilitator/Teacher Kellie Divis, Skillshot Media CEO Todd Harris, NASEF Chief Advancement Officer Claire LeBeaux, GPB VP of Education Laura Evans

LK Poultry

Junior Division Winning Team “LK POULTRY” (Buena Vista, GA): Dre’den Clark, Ashlyn Clark, Bryce Hall. Also pictured: Skillshot Media CEO Todd Harris, NASEF Chief Advancement Officer Claire LeBeaux, GPB VP of Education Laura Evans, LK Moss Elementary Team Facilitator/Teacher Kelly Morgan

Da Boyz

Junior Division Runner Up Team “Da Boyz” (Macon, GA): Seamus Garcia Watts, Elwin Starling, Zach Divis. Also pictured: Team Facilitator/Teacher Kellie Divis, Skillshot Media CEO Todd Harris, NASEF Chief Advancement Officer Claire LeBeaux, GPB VP of Education Laura Evans

Cave Gamers

Senior Division Runner Up Team “Cave Gamers” (Macon, GA): Miley Humphreys, Lila Divis, Emily Carson, Dean Dickenson. Also pictured: Team Facilitator/Teacher Kellie Divis, Skillshot Media CEO Todd Harris, NASEF Chief Advancement Officer Claire LeBeaux, GPB VP of Education Laura Evans

 

Farmcraft® is an immersive experience that uses Minecraft Education Edition to mirror the process of farming and taking food to market and consumers. The 2024 program focused on the impact of digital technology on agricultural productivity, asking the question “How do you grow more with less?” Many of the agricultural productivity increases in the last few decades have directly resulted from the adaptation and adoption of digital technologies to farming. 

Educators were provided with lesson plans that reinforce the learning objectives of Farmcraft® and can be integrated into educational curriculum throughout the year. Minecraft Education Edition is also provided free to all participants throughout the course of the program.

GPB worked with partners at Georgia Forestry Foundation, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, and others to design Georgia-specific pre-season challenges within the standard Minecraft game. Participants used their problem-solving and creativity to complete the three pre-season challenges related to forestry, vertical farming and aquaponics, and regenerative agriculture. Each pre-season challenge has an educator guide for classroom implementation. 

To try out the Georgia challenges and learn more about the annual Farmcraft® competition, go to gpb.org/georgia-farmcraft. 

About the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF)

The Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) is on a mission to provide opportunities for all students to use esports as a platform to acquire STEM/STEAM-based skills and critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. NASEF operates under the umbrella of the World Wide Scholastic Esports Foundation (WWSEF). Find NASEF at NASEF.org and on Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.