Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/10
Outputs
During the third and final year of this project recruitment efforts were continued and expanded, four additional internships were developed with USDA partners, and the new instructional delivery system (educational garden) was utilized in a variety of ways. At this point, all stated objectives have now been accomplished. PRODUCTS: A total of sixteen scholarships were awarded from this project to help increase student recruitment and retention. Eleven students were placed in paid internships with new USDA partners as a result of this project. These experiential learning opportunities were created with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Rural Development (RD) agency in the Stockton, Modesto, and Merced County service centers. This project supported a total of fourteen students so they could attend the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conferences in 2008 and 2009. In addition, these students participated annually in recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo, the Stockton Ag Expo, and the California State Future Farmers of America (FFA) Conference. Although completed in the second year, utilization of the new educational garden was the primary focus of the third and final year of this project. The garden was further integrated into existing courses, utilized for several student/faculty projects, provided valuable hands-on experience for students, provided fresh produce for a local homeless shelter, and raised the overall awareness of agriculture on the campus. The educational garden was used for a workshop at the California Agriculture Teachers Association Central Region Meeting on November 20th and 21st, 2009. Student and teacher tours were provided to Earl Elementary School on March 18, 2010 and for the Hughson Charter School on April 13, 2010. Twenty-six local elementary school teachers attended a School Garden Workshop on May 18, 2010. This included hands on activities in the garden and presentations from existing teachers and other experts about how to use gardens for educational purposes. The garden served as the centerpiece for AgEdventure which was held on May 21, 2010. Forty-seven third grade classes containing over 1,000 students attended this hands-on educational experience that promoted good nutrition and eating habits, explained how agriculture is essential to environmental stewardship, and observed presentations on the primary agricultural commodities of the county. They were also exposed to curriculum that was provided to their teacher prior to the event that met the California State Standards for Third grade. The event was co-sponsored by the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, Turlock Unified School District, Pittman and Turlock FFA's, The California Poultry Federation, the Dairy Council of California, California Milk Advisory Board, Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, the Almond Board of California, Modesto Junior College and California State University Stanislaus Agricultural Studies Department. The garden provided six local FFA high school students with a site for their Supervised Occupational Experience Program where they worked in the garden, grew and harvested the produce, and showed some of their project at the Stanislaus county Fair in July 2010. In addition, a local Girl Scout Troop used one of our raised beds for a flower garden project. OUTCOMES: The primary outcomes of this project have been to increase student recruitment to the Agriculture program, provide more experiential learning opportunities for the students, expose students to USDA career opportunities, and increase agricultural awareness on the campus and community. As a result of increased recruitment efforts and providing more scholarships, the Agriculture program has continued to grow at a significant rate. Between the start of the project in the 2006/2007 academic year, the number of agricultural majors has increased from 50 to 75 students (50% increase). Over 50 percent of the students enrolled in the program are now receiving financial aid. The program placed over 50 students in internship opportunities and eleven of these have been with new USDA partners. These students are receiving hands-on experiences that will better prepare them for successful careers in agriculture. In addition, they are being exposed to a variety of USDA career opportunities. As a result of promoting more participation in agricultural conferences, project staff accompanied fourteen students to the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference. This activity has resulted in the Agricultural Ambassadors becoming even more involved in local agricultural activities and community projects. The creation of the educational garden has had significant outcomes as well. The garden has been built into the curriculum of several courses (AGST 3000 Agriculture, Society and the Natural World; GEOG 4750 Geographic Information Systems; PSCI 4326 Planning Issues in Agriculture; GEOG 4070 Agricultural Geography). The garden activities have increased public awareness of the agriculture program and this has had a positive effect on the level of community support. During the last three years, over $40,000 worth of donations have been received to support the long term success of the garden. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Project Directors held numerous workshops and attended numerous conferences, other academic institutions and events to disseminate information about the project. This includes several state and regional conferences that allowed the Project Directors to directly inform high school, community college, and university faculty about the opportunities offered through this grant. Some of these meetings included, The California Agriculture Teachers Association (CATA), the California Community College Agriculture Mid-Winter Institute, the California FFA Convention, and the Central Region Meetings of the CATA. A presentation was given about the project at the annual North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) conference and the associated abstract was later published in its journal. It is estimated that over 1,000 California educators were reached by attending these events. Information about the project was also made available in recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, and the Stockton Ag Expo each year. Total attendance at these three events is well over 300,000 per year and a conservative estimate would indicate that approximately 15,000 people were directly reached by attending these events each year. In addition, the website that was created for this project during the first year has been updated annually and provides additional information about the project. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The educational garden that was developed under this project and integrated into the agricultural curriculum will continue to be supported by the university, private contributions, and future external grants. In addition, the agricultural program will continue to recruit/retain underrepresented students and develop new ways to further enhance the educational experience for these students.
Impacts
The scholarships provided by this project have reduced the financial barriers for sixteen deserving students who are becoming better prepared for successful agricultural careers. As a result of these scholarships and increased recruitment efforts, the number of students enrolled in the Agriculture program is at an all time high. Students that participated in the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conferences received valuable leadership training that will help them in their futures. The students in the USDA internships gained hands-on experience and are more aware of USDA career opportunities. Some of these students have graduated and accepted full time employment with the USDA. The educational garden has had a positive impact on the way our agricultural courses are taught and allow us to incorporate more hands-on experiences. Although difficult to quantify, the garden has also raised the awareness of agriculture on the campus and community. Numerous requests are made each year regarding how they might participate and/or utilize the educational garden. The ability of this project to provide scholarships, new experiential learning opportunities, and a new instructional delivery system has proven invaluable to the program and in student success.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/01/08 to 06/30/09
Outputs
During the second year of this project recruitment efforts were continued and expanded, seven additional scholarships were awarded, two new internships were developed with USDA partners, and the new instructional delivery system (educational garden) was completed. Although most of the stated objectives have been accomplished, unexpected delays in the development of the educational garden have prevented it from being utilized as extensively as originally planned. As such, a one year project extension was requested and the remaining activities will be completed within that period. PRODUCTS: The recruitment of underrepresented students to the agriculture program has primarily been accomplished through increased recruitment efforts at HSI community colleges and additional scholarships. Seven additional scholarships were awarded during the second year to help increase recruitment and retention. These scholarships were given out at the annual student awards dinner which is financially supported by our agricultural industry partners. Two additional students were funded and placed in newly developed internships that were established with USDA partners. These experiences were created with staff from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in both Stockton and Modesto, California. Six Agricultural Ambassador's and one Faculty Advisor attended the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference at Sam Houston State University in Texas. In addition, the Agricultural Ambassadors have once again assisted with student recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, the Stockton Ag Expo, and the California State Future Farmers of America (FFA) Conference. During this year of the project, the educational garden was completed and is currently serving as a new instructional delivery system for the program. Due to unexpected turnover in project staff, two garden workshops and a new course utilizing the garden was unable to be offered. However, the garden has been integrated into some of our existing classes, utilized for several student/faculty projects, provided valuable hands-on experience for students, provided fresh produce for a local homeless shelter, and raised the overall awareness of agriculture on the campus. The increased visibility of the project has also helped generate additional support from the local agricultural community. OUTCOMES: The primary outcomes during the second year have been to continue to increase in student recruitment to the Agriculture program, provide more experiential learning opportunities for the students, further expose students to USDA career opportunities, and increase agricultural awareness on the campus and community. As a result of increased recruitment efforts and providing more scholarships, the Agriculture program has continued to grow at a significant rate. Between the start of the project in the 2006/2007 academic year, the current level of enrollment has increased from 50 to 62 students (24% increase). These rates of growth in enrollment are especially impressive since the rate of graduation has also increased and we have just had the largest graduating class in the history of the program (27 students). Over 50 percent of the students enrolled in the program are now receiving financial aid. The expanded internship program has increased the total number of students that participate in this type of experiential learning opportunity. The program placed 39 students in internship opportunities and seven of these have been with new USDA partners at the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Rural Development (RD). These students are receiving hands on experiences that will better prepare them for successful careers in agriculture. In addition, they are being exposed to a variety of USDA career opportunities. As a result of promoting more participation in agricultural conferences, project staff accompanied six students to the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference. This activity has resulted in the Agricultural Ambassadors becoming even more involved in local agricultural activities and community projects. The creation of the educational garden has had significant outcomes as well. As the project staff has developed the garden, it has been built into the curriculum of several courses (AGST 3000 Agriculture, Society and the Natural World; GEOG 4750 Geographic Information Systems; PSCI 4326 Planning Issues in Agriculture; GEOG 4070 Agricultural Geography). Students in these classes have been involved in garden design, installation, production, and distribution of the produce to local shelters. The garden activities have also made the public more aware of the grant's activities. This awareness has continued to have a positive influence on the level of community support. During the second year of this project, project staff received an additional $10,000 worth of donations (over $35,000 total) to help support the long term success of the garden. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Project Directors continue to attend numerous conferences, academic institutions and events to further disseminate information about the project. During the first week of October 2008, a poster highlighting the grant activities was featured in a University wide conference. Approximately 400 people from both on and off campus attended this conference. An abstract was also published in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Journal. This abstract describes how this project has contributed to the creation of a new agriculture program at a Hispanic Serving Institution. In addition, several other state and regional conferences/meetings were once again attended to inform high school, community college, and university faculty about the opportunities offered through this grant. These included: The California Agriculture Teachers Association (CATA), the California Community College Agriculture Mid-Winter Institute, the California FFA Convention, and both the Fall and Spring Central Region Meetings of the CATA. Over 500 California educators were reached by attending these events. Information about the project was also made available in recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, and the Stockton Ag Expo. Total attendance at these three events is well over 300,000 and a conservative estimate would indicate that approximately 15,000 people were directly reached by attending these events this year. In addition, the website that was created for this project during the first year has been updated and provides additional information about the project. FUTURE INITIATIVES: During the third year extension of this project, the project staff will continue to recruit/retain underrepresented students in agricultural studies and complete the three remaining activities using the new educational garden. These activities include two garden workshops and a new course that utilizes the garden. Additionally, there will be a focus on developing new ways to continue offering all of the activities that have been created by this project beyond the completion of this award. This includes applying for new public grants that might build upon these activities and seeking alternative funds to support these activities into the future.
Impacts
The scholarships provided by this project have reduced the financial barriers for sixteen students who are becoming better prepared for successful agricultural careers. As a result of these scholarships and increased recruitment efforts, the number of students enrolled in the Agriculture program has increased significantly and we are graduating more students than ever. Students that participated in the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference received valuable leadership training that will help them in their futures. The students in the USDA internships gain hands-on experience and are more aware of USDA career opportunities. One student who received a project scholarship and was placed in a new USDA internship has graduated and accepted employment with the USDA FSA. She was also recently selected as one of only 18 students in the country to attend the 2009 Agricultural Outlook Forum Student Diversity Program in Washington, D.C. The development of the educational garden has had a positive impact upon the way existing agricultural courses are taught and how new courses are being developed to incorporate more hands-on experiences. Although it is difficult to quantify, the garden has also raised the awareness of agriculture on the campus. As a result, the campus community has been asking how they might participate and/or utilize the educational garden. The ability of this project to provide scholarships and new experiential learning opportunities has proven invaluable to the program and in student success.
Publications
- Houk, E. and M. Bender. 'How Community Colleges and Federal Grants Were Used to Create a New Multidisciplinary Agriculture Program.' Abstract published in the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Journal. Volume 52, Number 2. June 2008.
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Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/08
Outputs
As a result of this project, project staff have increased recruitment efforts at partner community colleges, created new scholarships, developed new internships with USDA partners, and created an educational garden on the campus. These activities have allowed us to make significant progress towards the primary goals of increasing student recruitment, providing the students with more experiential learning opportunities, and better preparing the students for lifelong careers in agriculture. PRODUCTS: The recruitment of underrepresented students to the agriculture program was primarily accomplished through the use of new scholarships and increased recruitment efforts at HSI community colleges. At this time, nine new scholarships have been awarded to increase recruitment and retention. These scholarships were formally presented at a student awards dinner that was financially supported and attended by the local agricultural industry partners. New experiential learning opportunities were developed using new internships with local USDA partners. Five students have been placed in part-time internships that were established with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Rural Development (RD). The students in these internships have been exposed to a variety of USDA careers and have gained additional hands-on experience in the field of agriculture. Eight Agricultural Ambassador's and one Faculty Advisor attended the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference at North Carolina State University on January 3-5, 2008. The students who attended this conference will provide leadership for future Agricultural Ambassador activities and will help energize others to become more involved in this valuable leadership program. In addition, the Agricultural Ambassadors have assisted with student recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, the Stockton Ag Expo, the California State Future Farmers of America (FFA) Conference, and the Stanislaus County Fair. The project also created a Sustainable Garden, which serves as a new instructional delivery system for the agriculture program. This garden has had a significant impact on the program and increased the visibility and awareness of agriculture on the campus. The garden has provided valuable hands-on experience for the students and the project staff has already utilized the garden in some of the existing courses. The project has also received significant support from the local agricultural community in the development of this garden. In addition to the products identified above, a project website (http://www.csustan.edu/AgStudies/USDA%20GRANT.htm) was created to help promote the project and allow current and potential students to have better access to project related information. OUTCOMES: The primary outcomes of this project have included an increase in student recruitment to the Agriculture program, more experiential learning opportunities for the students, an increased awareness about USDA career opportunities, an increased agricultural awareness on the campus, and the Agriculture program is better preparing the students for careers in the agricultural industry. As a result of the increased recruitment efforts and student scholarships, the Agriculture program has continued to grow at a significant rate. Between the 2006/2007 academic year and the 2007/2008 academic year, total enrollment has increased from fifty to seventy-three students (46 percent). Over 50 percent of the students in the program are now receiving financial aid. The new internship program has increased the total number of students that participate in this type of experiential learning opportunity. The program currently has thirty-one students placed in internships and five of those are with new USDA partners at the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Rural Development (RD). As a result of promoting more participation in agricultural conferences, project staff accompanied eight students to the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference at North Carolina State University. This activity has resulted in the Agricultural Ambassadors becoming even more involved in local agricultural activities and community projects. The creation of an educational garden has had significant outcomes as well. Once the project staff received notice that the project would be funded, the university immediately responded by providing the project with approximately one acre of land that was centrally located on the university campus. As the project staff developed the garden, the public became more aware of the grant's activities. This awareness of the activities has positively influenced the level of community support that was received by the project staff. At this time, the project staff has received over $25,000 in donations that will be used to support the long term success of the garden. The garden has also had an effect on how new agriculture courses are being developed so that more hands on activities can be incorporated. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: The Project Directors have attended numerous conferences, academic institutions, and other events in order to further disseminate information about the project. Two different poster presentations that explained the project's activities and described the USDA CSREES HSI Education Grants program were given at state and national conferences. On March 14, 2007 a poster was presented at California State University, Fullerton's 50th Anniversary Conference entitled 'In Celebration of Research: Strengthening CSU's Research Partnerships and Collaborations'. At this event, there were representatives from over twenty different academic institutions and over 200 people were in attendance. On June 13, 2008 another poster presentation was given at the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) conference in Logan, UT. Over 250 people were in attendance at the NACTA conference. At both of these conferences the project staff handed out information about the project and answered numerous questions. Information about the project was also presented to over 1,000 students at recruitment trips to local HSI community colleges. In addition, several other state and regional conferences/meetings were attended to inform high school, community college, and university faculty about the opportunities offered through this grant. These included: The California Agriculture Teachers Association (CATA), the California Community College Agriculture Mid-Winter Institute, the California FFA Convention, and both the Fall and Spring Central Region Meetings of the CATA. Over 500 California educators were reached by attending these events. Information about the project was also made available in recruitment booths at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, the Stockton Ag Expo, and the Stanislaus County Fair. Total attendance at these three events is well over 300,000 and a conservative estimate would indicate that approximately 15,000 people were directly reached by attending these events. In addition, the website that was created for this project provides additional information about the project. FUTURE INITIATIVES: During the second year of this project the project staff will continue to provide and expand upon all of the activities that had been created within the first year. The project will further utilize the educational garden and several events will be organized in order to further raise the awareness of agriculture in the local region. Additionally, there will be a focus on developing new ways to continue offering the activities that have been created by this project beyond the completion of this award. This will include applying for new public grants that might build upon these activities and/or seeking alternative funds to support these activities into the future. Project staff will also stay committed to the recruitment of underrepresented students in the agricultural program and the provision of student scholarships.
Impacts
The scholarships provided by this project have already reduced the financial barriers for nine students who are now becoming better prepared for successful agricultural careers. As a result of these scholarships and increased recruitment efforts, the number of students enrolled in the Agriculture program has increased significantly. Students that participated in the National Agricultural Ambassadors Conference have become more familiar with the U.S. agriculture industry and received valuable leadership training that will help them in their future. The students in the USDA internships have gained hands-on experienced and are more aware of USDA career opportunities. One Hispanic student, whose agricultural experience had been limited to night shifts in a processing facility, is now in a paid USDA internship that has both contributed to his educational experience and changed the way he views agricultural careers. The development of the educational garden has had a positive impact upon the way existing agricultural courses are taught and how new courses are being developed to incorporate more hands-on experiences. Although it is difficult to quantify, the garden has also raised the awareness of agriculture on the campus. As a result, the campus community has been asking how they might participate and/or utilize the educational garden. The ability of this project to provide scholarships and new experiential learning opportunities has proven invaluable to the program and in student success.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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