Progress 01/01/24 to 12/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for AgroTek are 7th-12th graders, especially those underrepresented in agriculture, which includes BIPOC identifying indviduals as well as those who identify as female. Outreach regarding the Science Cafe and the Summer Academy was done via press release, social media, tabling displays at a Youth Environmental Summit and other conferences and pre-college activities taking place. It was also shared with organizations who support diverse individuals such as AALV (work with refugees and immigrants), and via our migrant education program as well as through a national 4-H listserv that includes colleagues form 1890 institutions. This reporting year we reached 24 youth attending the summer academies (13 female, 10 male, 1 nonbinary; 7 BIPOC, 2 Hispanic) and 19 youth attend the Science Cafe (11 female, 8 male, 6 BIPOC). Changes/Problems:The project team recognized that we could not expand to offering a fourth academy logistically and thus, with permission, we held with just offering the three academy tracks and created our new plans for the conference and teacher modules. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Eight undergraduate student mentors that worked with the academy participants, received training on youth development, child protection, and the content shared in the three academies. Academy participants also completed a lab safety course prior to attending. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Evaluation results have been shared with the project team to consider, as we finish up our project. The outreach videos created are posted on the agrotek website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A no cost extension is in the process of being approved; the project team is working with the past youth participants to plan and lead a youth conference based on their learning and sharing what can be done with the research. In addition, we are creating online modules based on the three tracks; once completed we will host a professional development opportunity for educators and teach them how to use these modules as part of their curriculum.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Forty-three individuals participated in at least one of the program offerings, either the Science Cafes meant to give students a taste of the full academy and encourage their participation, or the week-long academy itself. The science cafe included the lead faculty for each program track, offering an introduction into their work, their education and career trajectory, and what they cover in the summer experience, followed by a hands on activity related to the research the youth will explore. Students tried their hand at turning jeans and industrial hemp waste into paper, studied and explored roots and germinating seeds, and got some basic instruction on coding and gaming focused on prevision agriculture. Two past participants also shared their experience and encouraged their peers to attend. The three summer academies were offered June 23-29 with 24 rising 8th-12th graders participating. All academy participants learned about design thinking, prototyping and game design in anticipation of applying their learning through creating an outreach project at the end of the academy. Academy participants went on related field trips to farms and to businesses that use or apply the research or technology shared during the academies, including IMIO, a company that creates microbe innoculants. Participants learned by day and had fun while building relationships with each other, and with staff and college students by night, learning what it's like to live in a dorm and use college facilities. All participants presented a final project in front of their peers, their parents, and invited guests, and were scored by a panel of judges on creativity, evidence of collaboration and teamwork, knowledge gained, relevance and communication. A pre-post survey was offered to participants to assess subject matter and career interest, post high school plans, skill development and personal growth. Fifity-fix percent of participants stated that the program led to a change in their career area of interest. Almost half of particpants indicated that they learn from their mistakes and are more equipped to interact with people who are different from them. Participants shared these thoughts: "Agrotek expanded my knowledge of career paths", "I was able to get insight into the world of graduate degrees and what it takes to become a professor/researcher. This has supported my interest in pursuing research yet also given me realistic vision of what the job entails".

Publications

Progress 01/01/23 to 12/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for AgroTek are 7th-12th graders, especially those underrepresented in agriculture, which includes BIPOC identifying individuals as well as those who identify as female. Outreach regarding the Science Cafe and the Summer Academy was done via press release, social media, tabling displays at a Youth Environmental Summit and other conferences and pre-college activities were taking place. It was also shared with organizations who support diverse individuals such as AALV (organization taht supports immigrant and refugees)and via our migrant education program and through a national 4-H listerv that includes colleagues from 1890 institutions. This reporting year we reached 32 youth (16 female, 16 male, 5 BIPOC) attending the science cafes and 34 youth (23 female, 11 male, 10 BIPOC) attending the sumemr academies. Changes/Problems:The project team had their hands full running three academies this past year. The grant proposal included adding a fourth academy in our last year however, we recognized that a, it would be very hard to expand for another 12 students and b, it's a lot of work to envision a new academy for just one season. As a result and with permission already provided by our NIFA contact, we will hold just the three academies and spend time documenting the curriuclum and experiences and creating resources in preparation for a newly visioned professinoal development experience the following year. The roles of the mentors are also not being realized quite the way we envisioned, as the mentors have not felt that their time is of good use since the program staff are more involved in teaching and supporting. Thus, we will be reducing the number of mentors and also not drawing from a group of RREA fellows and instead, hire uvm students already aligned to the research and projects selected. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Twleve undergraduate student mentors that worked with the academy participants, received training on youth development, chold protection, and the content shared in the three academies. Six overnight staff had training on child protection and also received profesional development in the content of the academies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Evaluation results have been shared with the project team to consider, as we prepare for our upcoming year ahead. The outreach videos created are posted on the AgroTek website with a press release sharing the results .https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/agrotek-videos . An Across the Fence television show also aired that showcased the prevision agriculture academy. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Agrotek project team will be conducting another Science Cafe in February, as a mechanism to introduce the summer academies to a new group of students. We will repeat the three academies at the end of June, 2024 wtih the slam event immediately following. We are also working on documenting the curruiclum and beginning to create resources and tools that will live on following the grant wtih goals of providing professional devleopment to educators who wish to integrate this curriuclum into their courses. Final evaluation of the larger program will also reach back out to graduated students to see if AgroTek influenced their major and postsecondary plans.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Sixty-six individuals participated in at least one of the program offerings, either the Science Cafes meant to give students a taste of the full academy and encourage their participation, or the week-long academy itself, The Science Cafes included the lead faculty, offering an hour-long introduction to their work and career trajectory, followed by a hands on activity related to the research they will delve into more deeply during the summer. The Cafe also included the winners from the previous summer's presentations, to share more about their experience at Agrotek Innovation and encourage others to attend. This year, we offered the same two academies (Culturing Cells for Healthier Soils and Shifting the Waste to Value Paradigm), as well as a new third academy, Using Using Virtual Reality in Precision Agriculture. The three summer academies were offered June 25-30, 2023 with 34 rising 8th-12th graders participating. All academy participants learned about desig thinking, prototyping and game design in anticipation of applying their learning through creating an outreach project at the end of the academy. Academy participants went on related field trips to farms and to businesses that use or apply the research or technology shared during the academies, including IMIO, a company that creates microbe innoculants. Participants learned by day and had fun while building relationships with each other, and with staff and college students by night, learning what it's like to live in a dorm and use college facilities. Eighty-eight percent of academy participants returned to campus on July 28 for the Agrotek Innovation Slam, a pitchstyle competition where teams presented their learning and applied that learning by creating prototypes of apps, games, and other ideas for outreach. A panel of judges scored the teams and each team gained feedback on their projects. Twelveundergarduate student mentors were incorporated into the summer academy, learning alongside the participants and also supporting understanding of the technology and ideation of outreach projects. Mentors and participants also got to know each other on a personal level and throughout the five weeks working together, formed a relationship that can support connections and future aspirations Over 80% of participants reported an increase in design thinking skills wtih 63% of participants increasing their comfort level working as a team. One participant shared "the academy introduced me to new ideas and career opportunities that I am interested in". Another said, "I think that AgroTek involved me with much more surrounding the campus and learning environment/labs at UVM, which could potentially sway me towards choosing different college classes or even majors that are more relevant to what AgroTek taught.".

Publications

Progress 01/01/22 to 12/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:There were two primary activities during this reporting period. The first included two 4-H Science cafes, virtual, hour-long sessions that introduced the content of two of our targeted academies; culturing cells for healthier soils and shifting the waste to value paradigm. The target audience for each of these academies included middle and and high school students as a method of getting young people interested in learning more and attending the AgroTek Academies. We reached 23 individuals, with 47.8% of those individuals being considered under-represented in agriculture (female/BIPOC). The week-long summer AgroTek Academies filled 22 out of 24 possible slots for the targeted audience of middle and high school youth. Of those attending the full week academy, 16 or 72.7% are considered under-represented (female, BIPOC) in agriculture. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Ten undergraduate student mentors that worked with the 22 middle and high school students, received training on youth development, child protection and the content shared within each of the two academies. Four overnight staff had training child protection and also received professional development in the content of the academies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Evaluation results have been shared with the project team to consider, as we prepare for the upcoming year ahead. The outreach videos created will be posted on the AgroTek website in the upcoming month or two.https://www.uvm.edu/extension/youth/agrotek-innovation-program-7th-12th-graders A press release was shared with news outlets and picked up by UVM's research highlights newsletterhttps://www.uvm.edu/news/cals/summer-agrotek-innovation The impact of Agrotek was also shared on Across the Fence, Extension's daily television talk show aired on a CBS affiliatehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmRRh_In3Do andhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVLzSU4cvqo What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Agrotek team will be repeating the same delivery experiences while expanding and offering one additional academy. The new academy (and associated science cafe) will focus on using virtual reality and artificial intelligence systems to inform precision agriculture. Outreach is beginning by promoting at upcoming school events. Evaluation data is informing some changes to our design, increasing the length of the academy by a day and better integrating the mentor role. Evaluation tools used will also be refined to ensure we are collecting the data we need.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Forty-five individuals participated in at least one of the program offerings, either one of the two Science Cafes and/or the AgroTek Summer Academy with 90% of participants indicating learning new science skills. The Science Cafes included the lead faculty or their designee, leading an hour-long virtual synchronous webinar to share their subject expertise and the agricultural innovation and technology, that the academy will offer. Participants got to ask questions and get a feel for what would be covered in the residential academy. Two summer academies, a 6-day residential learning experience held on the UVM campus, were offered, with both academies integrating during non-academic time. The two academies include "Shifting the Waste to Value Paradigm" and "Culturing Cells for Healthier Soils". Academy particants learned about design thinking and the process to ideate, in preparation for taking their learning and applying it in innovative ways.During the Waste Academy, participants learned 3D modeling, how to create paper using hemp waste, denim and other materials destined for the landfill, and also how to create hempcrete for building, as examples. Participants walked away considering ways to reuse agricultural waste in different products and applications. Those in the Soils academy learned about microbes, fungi, andsoil health, nutrients, and data collection techniques. In addition, particiipants learned and supported an experimentabout an indigenous intercropping method of planting corn, beans and squash together (three sisters) and the unique symbiotic relationship amongst the crop when planted together. An overwhelming number of respondents indicated that besides the science content, they increased their commuication and teamwork skills. For those who attended the Summer Academy, 91% of attendees partcipated in the AgroTek Innovation Slam, the culminating event where teams presented their learning and created prototype projects, applying their learning. 100% of participants contributed to those final projects. Videos of each presentation are available for viewing as outreach to share the applicability of each agricultural innovation. Ten undergarduate student mentors were incorporated into the summer academy, learning alongside the participants and also supporting understanding of the technology and ideation of outreach projects. Mentors and participants also got to know each other on a personal level and throughout the five weeks working together, formed a relationship that can support connections and future aspirations. One participant indciated that "they could relate and talk with their mentor, and look up to them. They could ask questions about college, their fellowship program, etc". Participating in the academy led one student to an internship in a faculty partner's lab, showcasing the intention and impact this opportunity is meant to have. By exposing secondary students to mentors and faculty in higher education, doors are opened that can lead to a pipeline of education and career. One parent also had this to say; "The experience had a huge impact on my daughter. She went to camp a teenager passionate about the climate crisis and returned from the week with more hopefulness for the future,more self-confidence and new friends. For my husband and I, the most noticeable impact of the week was her shift in identity. Though she has had rigorous science classes in high school, the field and lab experiences and collaborations with experts at Agro-Tek has helped her to view herself as a scientist now (and for her future). She came home from the week away having experienced a taste of what college could be like, and eagerly dove back into her college search spreadsheet for environmental science programs honing in on schools thatinclude field study / research opportunities for undergraduates. Her experience has ignited a flame!"

Publications