Progress 09/01/04 to 08/31/08
Outputs
This project has been extremely effective in expanding the capacity of two land grant universities to offer applied sustainable agriculture courses to non-traditional and place-bound students in Washington and Idaho. The Cultivating Success TM courses taught in WA and ID in the academic years of 2005-2008 reached 2265 students, including 320 academic students. Two new courses, Sustainable Livestock Production and Ecological Soil Management, were developed and piloted to reach place-bound students by distance delivery methods. The Sustainable Livestock Production course was broadcast via video conferencing between two UI campuses in 2005 with 10 academic students. A committee was formed in 2007 to further develop the curriculum for a course that could be offered in a variety of ways to reach students in Idaho and Washington. A successful short-course of the Sustainable Livestock Production course was piloted in Moscow in fall 2008. Resource materials compiled for the short-course will be distributed to our Cultivating Success instructors throughout Washington and Idaho. The online version of Ecological Soils Management was piloted in collaboration with WSU's Distance Degree Programs in 2007 and 2008. Laboratory kits were developed and distributed for online students to engage in hands-on activities, primarily assessment of soil quality components at student-selected project sites. An online version of Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching was completed and piloted; in WebCT in 2005 and 2006, and then enhanced in 2007 with video clips and moved to the WSU Blackboard format. It reached students in Idaho (Boise, Idaho Falls, Moscow, and Twin Falls), Washington (Poulsbo, Richland, Seattle, and White Salmon), and California (Lompoc, Sonoma, and the Vandenberg Air Force Base). Both universities have developed teaching farms to provide experiential education for place-bound students to learn and practice organic and sustainable farming skills. The Cultivating Success TM program has developed seven on-farm internship sites in WA and ID. Nine students have received academic credits on the UI farm. Forty-three students have completed coursework on the WSU Organic farm. UI and WSU faculty members have increased their capacity for distance education by attending multiple trainings to learn how to connect place-bound students with meaningful on-site learning opportunities. Faculty put the training into practice in the development of three courses in on-line, hybrid or video conference formats. An evaluation tool was developed to assess on-farm experiential learning. Interviews were conducted by telephone to evaluate apprentices and mentees on working farms and university farms. The interview data was used to develop eight case studies documenting on-farm experiential learning. A UI graduate student's thesis generated two publications to be used as a production guide and curriculum for on-farm apprenticeships. Hands-on lab activities were developed and implemented at the two WSU farms and the UI Organic farm. The lab activities may also be adapted for implementation on working farms for place bound or distance students. PRODUCTS: Curriculum for a new course on Sustainable Livestock Production has been developed and compiled by a team of producers with help from academic and extension faculty from both University of Idaho and Washington State University. The curriculum for the new Ecological Soils Management course was completed and piloted in spring 2007, and offered again in 2008. Inexpensive soil quality assessment kits were developed for the hands-on component of the Ecological Soil Management course. The curriculum for the Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course was converted for use with an on-line distance delivery system at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. A CD-ROM was developed and distributed to instructors, and an instructor site was developed on the Cultivating Success website for instructors to download course materials. A manual of on-farm based lab exercises were developed to compliment the Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching course. A graduate student, working at the University of Idaho teaching farm, developed a handbook to be used for future management of the farm. Program brochures were developed and widely distributed and can be downloaded from the website. A Farmer-Mentor Handbook was developed and is offered online. OUTCOMES: Seventy-nine (79)academic students completed a new or converted course through the distance delivery system and two students were employed at the university farm. Five university faculty and three university staff have increased their understanding and expertise with distance delivery systems. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Cultivating Success website, http://www.cultivatingsuccess.org, is routinely updated to promote the overall program, new course offerings, and serves as an online location for the farmer mentor manual, instructor materials, and updated class materials. Presentations on Cultivating Success have been given to: WSU Small Farms Team annual meeting (2005-2008) and the National Small Farms Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina. Posters on the Cultivating Success TM program have been presented at the following conferences and meetings: Sustainable Livestock Production, Moscow, ID, October 2008; Cultivating Success instructor and farmer mentor orientation meeting in Moscow, ID, December 2007 and Boise, ID February 2008; Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture Conference on Post-Secondary Education, Pacific Grove, CA, January 2006 and Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, July 2007; Rural Roots Annual Conference in Feb of 2006, Boise, Idaho; American Horticultural Society, Las Vegas, NV, July, 2005; Washington Tilth Conference, Wenatchee, November, 2005, Ellensburg, November 2007, and Bellingham, November 2008; The National Women in Agriculture Educators Conference, April 2008; the Bioneers Conference in Spokane, WA, October 2008; Montana Organic Association annual conference Dec. 2008; and the Washington State University Organic Farm Field Day, July 2007. Brochures about the Cultivating Success TM program were distributed at the Moscow, Idaho farmers markets in 2008. FUTURE INITIATIVES: This project will continue to evaluate, refine and disseminate curricula for sustainable agriculture programs for campus-based and distance delivery systems. The Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching online course will continue to be taught through the WSU Distance Degree Program in 2009, and is approved as an elective course for the WSU Organic Agriculture Systems major, as well as a required course for the undergraduate certificate in Organic Agriculture. A hybrid online course will likely be taught in 2009 through the UI system. Funding will be sought for a farmer friendly on-line version (less rigorous than academic version) of the SSFR course to allow increased options for course participation by rural residents in Idaho and Washington. The Ecological Soils Management online course continues to be refined and will next be offered in fall 2009. (The course was moved to fall semester to increase the value of the in-field hands-on component, since soils have proven to be overly cold and saturated across most of the PNW during the period of the university's spring semester.) Both a semester length and short-course formats have been developed for offering the Sustainable Livestock Production course, and can be offered in future years. A 2008 Higher Education Challenge Grant was received as a collaborative effort between Montana State University, WSU and UI which will further enhance the Cultivating Success TM program, and related efforts at all three schools (described briefly above). In addition, this grant will allow UI to develop a UI senior-level capstone course on sustainable agriculture and natural systems that will be added to the overview module of the Cultivating Success certificate program. This grant is also providing funding to hire an organic farm instructor to manage the UI student farm and collaborate with Brad Jaeckel, the WSU organic farm manager, to offer on-farm courses covering sustainable and organic farming methods. Brad Jaeckel will be partially funded through the new project, as will a sustainable food / agriculture academic coordinator at WSU who will work to coordinate and enhance offerings at WSU and sharing amongst the three schools (e.g., through student learning assessment and faculty learning communities).
Impacts
Development of online courses has enhanced outreach to a broader audience of place bound students in Washington and Idaho. Online courses are now being included in an online organic certificate program through WSU. A practical soil management course is now available to professionals across WA and ID out of reach of the two land-grant campuses. This should be of benefit to consultants and agency staff across the region who finds themselves working in soils areas with only minimal soil science training. A semester long course on Sustainable Livestock Production was developed by UI academic and extension faculty and piloted in 2005. A short-course format of Sustainable Livestock Production was developed and piloted in 2008. A guidebook and handbook were created to be used as curriculum for the UI student organic farm, and further develop the farm as a university teaching farm. Completion of academic degrees for rural and non-traditional students will improve their opportunities for careers in the agricultural industry, while improving the economy of rural communities.
Publications
- C. Williams, A. Snyder, etal. Cultivating Success Fact Sheet, 2007.
- Agenbroad, A. Sustainable Vegetable Production Planning for Direct Markets: Lessons from a Student Organic Farm on the Palouse, 2007.
- Agenbroad, A. Growing Toward Sustainability: Market Garden Production and Planning Guidebook, 2007.
- Green, D., T. Beaver, C. Williams, etal. The Farmer Mentor Handbook, 2006.
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
The Community-Based Experiential Education in Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching program, Cultivating Success, has progressed remarkably well in 2007, reaching over 200 students through courses taught in WA and ID. Sustainable Livestock Production for Small Acreages was piloted in 2005 at the University of Idaho Moscow campus and to Twin Falls, ID through distance delivery using the video conferencing system. This year a team of academic and extension faculty met twice to further develop the course content and prepare curriculum for use with both academic and extension audiences. The curriculum development committee has outlined content, assigned topics, and a draft is expected in early February 2008. The goal is to pilot finalized materials in fall 2008. An online hybrid course on Ecological Soil Management was developed and piloted through the WSU Distance Degree Program in spring 2007. Nine students completed the course in 2007, reaching students in Moses Lake
and Pullman, WA, and in Hermiston, OR. Fourteen students are currently enrolled online in a 2008 course of Ecological Soils Management. An online version of Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching was completed and piloted in slightly different formats in 2005-2007. The course reached students in ID (Boise, Idaho Falls, Moscow, and Twin Falls), WA (Poulsbo, Richland, Seattle, and White Salmon), and CA (Lompoc, Sonoma, and the Vandenberg Air Force Base). In 2005-2006, the course was offered as an online hybrid with students participating in reduced class hours with supplemental on-line lessons, activities and assignments. The course was evaluated through student evaluations and instructor interviews. In 2007, the course was revised and enhanced for a completely online version. UI and WSU collaborated to move the course from a UI WebCT platform to a WSU Blackboard system. Lecture materials, course assignments and activities were revised and video footage was inserted to enhance the
online version to meet specific educational outcomes. Sixteen academic students completing the online course co-taught between WSU and UI. Both universities plan to offer the online version of Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching in 2008. To advance the distance delivery capacity of faculty and staff working on Cultivating Success, Cinda Williams, Amanda Snyder, and Ariel Agenbroad attended a workshop on "New Technologies: Current and Experimental for CALS and Extension" at the 2007 Extension Annual Conference for Idaho (April 10-12 in Moscow, ID). UI students continue to be lead managers of the university farm. They have developed a marketing plan of the farm, developed and tested crop rotation and production plans and also certified the farm as organic. The student farm ran a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program for UI faculty, staff, and students. Soil Stewards mentored with local producers, hosted farm tours, and developed a website and media pieces to publicize to
other UI students on how to become involved with on-farm learning activities. A second Academic Certificate of Completion was awarded to Willis Spiker as part of the Cultivating Success program in 2007.
PRODUCTS: A new course on Sustainable Livestock Production was piloted in 2005, and curriculum for this course is currently being developed by a team of academic and extension faculty from both University of Idaho and Washington State University. The curriculum for the new Ecological Soils Management course was completed and piloted in spring 2007, and will be offered again this spring 2008. The curriculum for the Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course was converted for use with an on-line distance delivery system at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. A CD-ROM was developed and distributed to instructors, and an instructor site was developed on the Cultivating Success website for instructors to download course materials. A graduate student, working at the University of Idaho teaching farm, developed a handbook to be used for future management of the farm. Program brochures were developed and widely distributed and can be downloaded from the
website. A Farmer-Mentor Handbook was developed and is offered online.
OUTCOMES: Sixty-five (65) academic students completed a new or converted course through the distance delivery system. Five university faculty have increased their understanding and expertise with distance delivery systems.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Cultivating Success website, http://www.cultivatingsuccess.org/, is routinely updated to promote the overall program, new course offerings, and serves as an online location for the farmer mentor manual, instructor materials, and updated class materials. Presentations on Cultivating Success have been given to: WSU Small Farms Team annual meeting, May 2005 and the National Small Farms Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina. Posters on the Cultivating Success program have been presented at the following conferences and meetings: Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture Conference on Post-Secondary Education, Pacific Grove, CA, January 2006 and Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, July 2007; Rural Roots Annual Conference in Feb of 2006, Boise, Idaho; American Horticultural Society, Las Vegas, NV, July, 2005; Washington Tilth Conference, Wenatchee, November, 2005 and Ellensburg, November 2007; Fourth National Small Farms Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina,
October 2005.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: This project will continue to evaluate, refine and disseminate curricula for sustainable agriculture programs for campus-based and distance delivery systems. The Sustainable Small Farming and Ranching online course is planned to be co-taught through UI and the WSU Distance Degree Program in 2008, and is approved as an elective course for the WSU organic degree program. The Ecological Soils Management online course was refined and is being offered for university students a second time this spring 2008. A team of faculty is currently developing curriculum materials in Sustainable Livestock Production that may be offered using a variety of formats. A proposal for a 2008 Higher Education Challenge Grant is to be submitted requesting funds to further enhance the Cultivating Success program. One goal is to develop a senior-level capstone course on sustainable agricultural and natural systems that will be added to the overview module of the Cultivating Success
certificate program. Another objective of the proposal is to hire an organic farm instructor to manage the UI student farm and collaborate with the WSU organic farm manager to offer on-farm courses covering sustainable and organic farming methods.
Impacts
WSU and UI academic and extension faculty have been working cooperatively to develop curriculum for a course on Sustainable Livestock Production. Development of online courses has enhanced outreach to a broader audience of place bound students. Completion of academic degrees for rural and non-traditional students will improve their opportunities for careers in the agricultural industry, while improving the economy of rural communities.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/06
Outputs
The Community-Based Experiential Education in Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching program, Cultivating Success, has progressed exceptionally well in 2006 to meet the needs of place-bound students in Washington and Idaho. The first of two new courses, Sustainable Livestock Production for Small Acreages was piloted in the fall of 2005 at the University of Idaho Moscow campus and through video conferencing to Twin Falls, Idaho. The new Ecological Soil Management course will be piloted as a Washington State University online course in spring 2007. We are behind our projected timeline for this course due to additional and unexpected responsibilities taken on by the instructor. The online hybrid version of Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching was completed and offered in fall 2005 and again in 2006. The course reached students in Moscow, Pullman, Boise, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls, and Poulsbo, WA. Cinda Williams, course developer, worked with Erik Anderson
and UI Educational Communications staff to create the on-line course design and student interface via WebCT. The on-line version has been evaluated through student course evaluations, student surveys, and instructor interviews. The project team reviewed student evaluations of all courses to assist in identifying problem issues and improving format and content of course offerings. The Cultivating Success courses taught in WA and ID in the academic year of 2005-2006 reached 504 students including 53 academic students (most of the non-academic students took the courses for Continuing Education Units offered through WSU/UI). Three project team members have attended four workshops and two meetings to enhance their ability for effective distance education. University of Idaho students have been the lead managers of the university farm, have developed both production and marketing plans for the farm and are currently helping to develop curriculum-based experiential learning activities for
students. One UI student completed the first apprenticeship on the university farm in 2005 and also received the first Cultivating Success Academic Certificate (in Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching) in May of 2006. Seven students have received university credit for direct study work on the farm and an additional four students have received partial credit in the Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course for their involvement with on-farm work with the Soil Stewards (a student campus club centered upon organic farming and sustainable community food systems). Instructor trainings have reached out to new instructors and our 2006 training attracted 25 potential instructors. Attendees were provided copies of new and revised curriculum and details of the program, the courses and successful techniques for reaching diverse audiences in the two states were covered.
PRODUCTS: Curriculum for the new Sustainable Livestock Production course was developed and curriculum for the new Ecological Soils Management course is nearing completion. The curriculum for the Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course was converted for use with an online distance delivery system, a CD-ROM was developed and distributed to instructors, and an instructor site was developed on the Cultivating Success website for instructors to download course materials. A graduate student, working at the University of Idaho teaching farm, developed a handbook to be used for future management of the farm. Program brochures were developed and widely distributed and can be downloaded from the website. A Farmer-Mentor Handbook was developed and is offered online.
OUTCOMES: Fifty -three academic students completed a new or converted course through the distance delivery system and two students were employed at the university farm. Five university faculty have increased their understanding and expertise with distance delivery systems
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Cultivating Success website, http://www.cultivatingsuccess.org/, is routinely updated to promote the overall program, new course offerings, and serves as an online location for the farmer mentor manual, instructor materials, and updated class materials. Presentations on Cultivating Success have been given to: WSU Small Farms Team annual meeting, May 2005 and the National Small Farms Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina. Posters on the Cultivating Success program have been presented at the following conferences and meetings: Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture Conference on Post-Secondary Education, Pacific Grove, CA, January 2006; Rural Roots Annual Conference in Feb of 2006, Boise, Idaho; American Horticultural Society, Las Vegas, NV, July, 2005; Washington Tilth Conference, Wenatchee, November, 2005; Fourth National Small Farms Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, October 2005.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: This project will continue to evaluate, refine and disseminate curricula for sustainable agriculture programs for campus-based and distance delivery systems. Further curricula will be developed to supplement the current course offerings.
Impacts
Through development of educational programs for non-traditional and place-bound students we anticipate enrollment in university courses in agricultural sciences to increase by 15%. Completion of academic degrees for rural and non-traditional students will improve their opportunities for careers in the agricultural industry, while improving the economy of rural communities.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/04 to 07/10/05
Outputs
This project, Creating hands-on sustainable agriculture educational opportunities for place-bound students in ID and WA, is progressing exceptionally well and is on schedule with our proposed timeline. A full-day project planning meeting with all collaborators present was held in fall of 2004. Additional meetings have taken place between joint course instructors and project coordinator, course instructors and Distance Education Specialists, and project coordinator and site facilitators. The new Sustainable Small Acreage Livestock Production course is well under-development by Drs. Richard Battaglia and Benton Glaze. It has been established as a cooperative course at UI and WSU and is listed on the class schedule to be piloted this fall. It will be offered on the Moscow, Idaho campus, with satellite delivery to Twin Falls, Idaho. The new Ecological Soils Management course will be offered cooperatively this fall between UI and WSU. The exercises and activities for this
new course will be piloted on-campus. The distance delivery component is still under-development and planned to be piloted in fall, 2006, with formative evaluation input from this years course. Extensive work has occurred on the existing Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course conversion to a web-based format. Cinda Williams, course developer and instructor, has met with the Distance Delivery Specialist several times and has completed conversion of most of the units to web-based format. It will be piloted this fall semester in Moscow and surrounding region, and in Boise and surrounding region. These two sites are piloting the model of web-based instruction with on-farm class activities. We are piloting our community-based experiential education opportunities this fall in Boise, Idaho. A local site facilitator is working with local farmers and ranchers as a resource for student activities. From our experiences in Moscow and Boise, we will be able to take the model to
other regions where place-bound students are enrolling for the course. Cinda Williams, course developer and instructor for the Sustainable Small Acreage Farming and Ranching course, attended a 9-hour workshop on Web-Based Course Development. The project team is gathering evaluation data from students who worked on a university farm for comparison to evaluations collected from students who conducted apprenticeships on working farms. This information will: 1) help in the development of our university farm, and 2) contribute to refinement of the assessment methods for our program. We currently have a UI student participating in an Apprenticeship at the University of Idaho student farm. She will be assisting in development of activities for class participation.
PRODUCTS: The products of this project to date include curricula for two new courses being offered at two land grant universities, and a web-based curriculum has been developed from an existing course.
OUTCOMES: Two new courses will be offered, giving students more options for studying Sustainable Agriculture. The development of the web-based course will provide opportunities for place-bound students to participate in a university course in Sustainable Agriculture.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Presentations are scheduled for the Symposium on Organic Curriculum of the American Society for Horticultural Science Annual Meeting, and at the National Small Farms Conference.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: The future initiatives for this project include development of more courses in sustainable agriculture, more distance delivery options, and increased hands-on opportunities for place-bound students.
Impacts
The primary impact of this projcet is to expand the capacity of two land grant universities (University of Idaho and Washington State University) and one 2-year college (Wenatchee Valley College) to offer applied sustainable agriculture courses to non-traditional and place-bound students.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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