Progress 09/01/04 to 08/31/08
Outputs
The overall goal of this proposal was to develop ornamental curriculum to attract under-represented students and other groups to agriculture and prepare them for careers in agriculture. The specific objectives were (1) to develop new and or modify existing courses in ornamental horticulture and integrate them in a curriculum in Ornamental Horticulture (2) to acquire instrumentation for instructional delivery (3) to provide support for hands-on experimental learning activities for students (4) to develop and enhance recruitment and retention incentives to attract students to agriculture. Several partners provided support for this project. These included external groups such as CSREES/USDA/Natural Resources and Environment, which provided advice, as well as Wood Creek Golf Links, Longwood Gardens, Griswold Nursery, local florists, Elizabeth City State University scientist and Maryland Cooperative Extension commercial horticulture unit, which provided technical expertise, tours and complimentary admission to tour sites. Campus support included the GIS / water quality unit, biotechnology faculty, landscape design faculty, a program manager, and the two investigators on this grant. Three courses, Plant Propagation, Ornamental Plant Materials, and Lawn Water Management, were developed and taught. Courses in landscape design and turf management were offered and supported by the project. Resource materials were acquired to support the development of the ornamental curriculum and the student research activities. Sixteen undergraduate students, including 14 minorities, participated in experiential and scholarship opportunities, making it possible for them to learn about ornamental horticulture and make progress towards their degrees. Six graduated and six are seniors. Two presented their research findings at the 2008 meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Thirty-five high school students from 16 high schools on the Delmarva Peninsula and neighboring states participated in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 summer ornamental institutes. The goal of this 2-week residential program was to promote awareness of ornamental horticulture among high school students through experiential activities. These students learned about horticulture careers, biotechnology, horticulture therapy, turf, landscape design, floral design, geographic information systems and water quality. A poster presentation on the summer institute was done at the 2006 meeting of the North American Association of College Teachers of Agriculture. Other project activities were disseminated through on-campus and off- campus recruitment fairs, open houses high school visits and the mail. Student ambassadors were hired to participate in various recruitment and retention activities. PRODUCTS: The following marketing and program materials were produced or acquired: flyers on the summer program and ornamental scholarship, new courses in ornamental horticulture, a CD on the summer experience of the high school students, curriculum for the high school summer institute, student stipends and scholarships, posters of student research presentations and of project presentation done at scientific meetings, a partial dataset of UMES ornamental plants using GPS and digital imagery, GPS units and a digital camera. OUTCOMES: A summer ornamental, 2-week, residential academy was conducted in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for providing high school students with awareness about careers and activities in ornamental horticulture. Undergraduate students engaged in ornamental research and applied new knowledge from biotechnology and geospatial technology. Undergraduate courses in ornamental horticulture were developed and offered. Scholarships and stipends were awarded to undergraduates and high school students engaged in the ornamental program activities. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: A poster presentation on the summer institute was done at the 2006 meeting of the North American Association of College Teachers of Agriculture. Flyers on the summer program and ornamental scholarship were distributed to high schools on Delmarva and through community or outreach functions. Brochures highlighting ornamental horticulture were shared with undecided campus majors, high school counselors, and high school students at recruitment fairs. Two undergraduate students presented their research findings at the 2008 meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science. FUTURE INITIATIVES: Future initiatives include the continued offering of the new ornamental courses, seeking final approval for new courses as department undergraduate courses, use of GPS and the digital camera in ornamental and other courses, and creation of an interactive webpage of the campus ornamental plants on the University's website.
Impacts
High school students in the summer academy reported that they gained new knowledge about horticulture careers, biotechnology, horticulture therapy, turf, landscape design, floral design, geographic information systems and water quality. Some indicated that they will consider a career in agriculture or a related area. This information was collected from a survey which all students completed. Undergraduate students applied new knowledge from biotechnology and geospatial technology (GPS) to ornamental research projects as they gained research experience. The dataset from the GPS project will be valuable to courses dealing with identification of plant materials and to the University's Grounds Department. This resource will be available to other departments on campus for educational and administrative uses. Resources such as GPS units, digital cameras, and various biotechnology supplies helped to make this possible. Undergraduate students gained new knowledge and now have additional access to resources in ornamental horticulture with the development and offering of the ornamental courses. The new courses have strengthened the department's program offerings in horticulture. The scholarships provided to the undergraduates helped to make the quality of their campus life better by relieving them of some of their financial stress while enabling them to progress to graduation.
Publications
- Nathan Collier, Lurline Marsh, Tracie Earl, Virginia Rosenkranz. 2008. Using GPS and Digital Imagery to Catalog Ornamental Plants on UMES Campus. HortScience, Vol. 43 (4): 1188 Abst.
- Jennie Powell, Lurline Marsh, Joseph Pitula, Elizabeth Philip, Margaret Young, and Zhiliang Chen. 2008. Genotypic Characteristics of Four Ornamental Gingers. HortScience, Vol. 43 (4): 1289 Abst.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
A 2 week ornamental horticulture curriculum was developed and implemented during summer 2006 for a residential internship program for high school students. Eighteen students from eight high schools on the Delmarva Peninsula and neighboring states participated in this summer ornamental institutes. They learned about different aspects of horticulture and various careers in ornamental horticulture through experiential learning opportunities. At the completion of the program they completed a survey which showed that they had learned much about ornamental horticulture. A poster presentation on the summer academy was done at the 2006 annual NACTA meeting held in Vancouver, Canada. Undergraduate student research was continued on ornamental plant materials. Two student ambassadors were hired to participate in various recruitment and retention activities. Three experimental courses, Plant Propagation, Ornamental Plant Materials and Lawn Water management were developed and
taught. Courses in landscape design and turf management were offered and supported by the project. Experts from the ornamental industry presented guest lectures for both the summer and semester programs. Six undergraduate students were awarded tuition or book scholarships to help them in their plant and soil science studies. Resource materials were acquired to support the curriculum developed.
PRODUCTS: The following marketing and program materials were produced: flyers on the summer program and ornamental scholarship,and a CD on the summer experience of the high school students.
OUTCOMES: High school students developed awareness of the different facets of ornamental horticulture and related career opportunities.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Flyers on the summer program and ornamental scholarship were distributed to high schools on Delmarva, and through community or outreach functions. Revised department brochures highlighting ornamental horticulture, were shared with undecided campus majors, high school counselors and high school student at recruitment fairs. A poster on the ornamental institute for high school summer students was presented at the 2006 NACTA meeting.
FUTURE INITIATIVES: A third summer internship program will be held in 2007. The newly developed ornamental course will be submitted for approval as permanent courses.
Impacts
Both campus and high school students developed new awareness of ornamental horticulture. Survey of the 18 high school students in the summer program indicted that most of them will consider studying ornamental horticulture.
Publications
- Lurline Marsh, Corrie Cotton, and Robert Dadson. 2006. An ornamental summer institute for high school students: observations. Lurline Marsh, Corrie Cotton, and Robert Dadson. NACTA 50: 89. Abst.
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