Recipient Organization
ALMA BRYANT HIGH SCHOOL
14001 HURRICANE BLVD
IRVINGTON,AL 36544
Performing Department
AQUACULTURE
Non Technical Summary
As stated earlier, the aquaculture program was established when Bryant High School opened in 1998. Since the inception of the program, we have attempted to accomplish a number of interrelated goals. Our primary goal is to provide interesting and meaningful classes that will help to keep students in school.give them a good reason to attend. At the same time we wanted to stimulate interests in science and agribusiness. Because students learn by doing the "real thing", they are more engaged in learning and learning is more relevant. They see practical applications for biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, business skills, etc. Additionally the school is located in a coastal seafood community surrounded by farmland. The seafood industry was suffering prior to Hurricane Katrina but was devastated in its wake. The area farmers have had to contend with drought as well as crop damage resulting from recent hurricanes. Rather than simply set up some small tanks and aquaria
to demonstrate how to culture aquatic organisms, we started out conducting pilot scale operations in a search for species with good economic potential. Our specific long-range goals include the establishment of a successful commercial operation on the school campus that would serve as a model for the expansion of additional aquaculture ventures for area farmers as well as other schools. We have already expanded our current project into other areas of the state at several other high school aquaculture programs and have also set up a number of demonstration projects with several farmers in southwestern Alabama. These demonstration projects were funded by grant money received by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. They are keenly interested in projects that could possibly enhance struggling catfish production facilities. Students will learn all aspects in the operation of an agribusiness ranging from the science needed to successfully culture the animals to the business
and marketing skills needed to generate a profit. They will also learn about other related disciplines such as processing and shipping as the summer tours will include visits to local processing facilities as well. As previously stated, the project is relevant to other academic curricula (biology, chemistry, physics, math, business, etc.) as students experience a true need and application of these topics. The project has already, and will continue to serve as a model for other schools and potential farmers.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Bryant High School is located in a coastal seafood and agricultural community in southwest Alabama. In 1998, the year the school opened, business and education leaders created an aquaculture program in hopes of encouraging students to pursue new careers related to community economic interests. After five years of pilot scale studies on various aquatic species, the decision was made to start a student-operated commercial aquaculture business using the most promising species, the Australian redclaw crawfish. The aquabusiness will be self-sufficient within the next two years and assistance is needed in providing the resources needed to continue operations over the next two summers. To fill this need, we propose to operate a summer camp for aquaculture students exhibiting a special interest in agriscience. These student interns will continue their agriculture studies by learning how to operate an agribusiness operation, by conducting a scientific investigation, and by
field trips to other similar facilities and institutions. An additional purpose is to develop an articulation agreement between the high school aquaculture program and Auburn University. While student interns and the aquaculture teacher will be the initial direct beneficiaries, the future benefits of the project will be extended to all future aquaculture students at the school (approx. 200 per year). We have had some students pursue agriscience careers as a result of the aquaculture program but we hope to increase this number as a result of the planned articulation agreement. We are also confident that our project will ultimately lead to new agricultural business opportunities throughout the southeast. The intended results of this project are numerous and include keeping at-risk students in school, involving special needs students, generating student interests in agribusiness, maximizing student learning through hands-on activities, preparing students for a successful business life,
and stimulating some students to pursue post secondary studies. We also expect the annual sales of the crawfish to exceed $50,000 which will make our program self-sufficient. The establishment of a student-operated business will add new dimensions to the program by introducing business skills such as marketing, advertising, record keeping as well as many other related aspects of operating a business. It will also lead to additional collaboration between the aquascience teacher and members of the science and business departments. This project is obviously an educational activity with the potential to enhance agricultural literacy. We have found that many of our students go home to their families and discuss the various aspects of the agribusiness industry they learn in aquaculture. We have also experienced a large number of interested parents inquiring about the business potential of our activities.
Project Methods
The summer camp project will include field trips, the initiation of a scientific study, working on the articulation agreement, and operating the hatchery/nursery during the summer. Specific working duties of the summer interns will include activities such as feeding the crawfish, checking brood stock for females with eggs, water quality monitoring and maintenance activities, sorting and counting juvenile crawfish, stocking grow-out ponds, as well as working on our other associated activities such as our snapper and grouper grow-out project with Dauphin Island Sea Lab. We will also expand the activities associated with the grow-out ponds into a scientific research project. Summer interns will also be responsible for servicing and maintaining the facilities and equipment. We will evaluate the success of the program after the first summer and decide if the program needs modification and seek new improvement ideas. This evaluation will include quantifying any observed
increases in the number of students pursuing and completing a 2- or 4-year postsecondary degree in the food and agricultural sciences, observed decreases in drop-out rates, and student questionnaires to determine their evaluation of the teacher and program and track their success in meeting their career goals.