Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Two new undergraduate courses ("Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture" and "Agricultural Leaders without Borders") dedicated to this project were taught between 2010 and 2012 to provide students with basic leadership development opportunities, introduce them to global issues in agriculture, enhance their critical thinking and analysis skills, and enable them to have experiences that directly benefit rural/impoverished communities. Total enrollment for the two courses over the three years was of 45 undergraduate and four graduate students. At the end of the "Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture" course, students were selected to conduct an international 4- to 6-week experience in Guatemala with the Norman Borlaug Institute (NBI) for International Agriculture and in Costa Rica with the non-profit organization Amigos de las Americas. Selected students were awarded stipends based on completion of the course and of an application. During the "Agricultural Leaders without Borders" course, students could apply to receive funding to spend spring break week in Guatemala, again working with the NBI. Over the course of three years, 17 students traveled to Guatemala to help the NBI's project staff in delivering training programs for farmers and for youth using Junior Master Gardener (JMG) activities to teach about horticultural sciences and leadership. A special JMG fair was conducted for over 90 children at the Ut'Zamaj farmer training center in Tecpan. In total, students offered training programs to approximately 130 girls in the rural communities. The participants were members of the Population Council youth development program in which the NBI is collaborating with in order to improve food security and nutritional status in the department of Chimaltenango. Students also worked on community gardens and conducted JMG sessions to approximately 20 teachers and 175 elementary students in rural communities. Students were also able to help with technology transfer programs by helping plant coffee seedlings in a nursery in the community of Poaquil. They also helped facilitate a flower design workshop for Mayan women. A blog about this program is available at: http://borlaug.tamu.edu/dispatchesguatemala/#.TrltxvQUqso. In total, 10 students travelled to Costa Rica to work with Amigos de las Americas in the province of Limon, which hosts many rural and isolated communities. During their stay, our students worked side-by-side with other Amigos Volunteers to carry out various gardening and environmental projects. Weekly themes include reforestation, trash collection, organic composting, safe water, and nutrition. In select communities, students worked on different Community-Based Initiatives (CBIs), either in the fields or in local schools. Students also collaborated with EARTH University, which is a private, international, non-profit university dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources. The students had the opportunity to work closely with EARTH students from different countries around the world to study sustainable agriculture in tropical climates. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Leonardo Lombardini and Dr. Gary J. Wingenbach (PIs) - developed and taught the on-campus courses, coordinated student activities at a local school, trained students in preparation of out-of-country internship, assisted students with preparing documentation and arrangements for foreign travel. Dr. Rebecca Robles-Pina - served as External Evaluator of the effectiveness of the grant. She performed the following activities: attended organizational planning meetings and teleconferences; taught two classes for the course; developed nine bilingual (Spanish/English) evaluations for the Junior Master Gardner (JMG) Program; traveled to Costa Rica and Guatemala to evaluate the program on-site and to evaluate the work of the TAMU students. Trevis Helm, Sarah Noack, Carlos Puentes, Alisa Luckey, Caleb Shane (2010 Costa Rica interns); Clint Taylor, Ismael Villalobos, Lauren Garcia, Ian Stines, Meghan Luckett (2010 Guatemala interns); Kristi Baughn, Elizabeth Howell, Bailey Keith, Samantha Lamantia, Teresa McIntyre (2011 Costa Rica interns); Lindsey Felps, Kimberly Francis, Diana Juarez, Theadora Martinez, Heather Salopek, Jesenia Sampson, Timothy Silberg, Heather Smith, Laura White (2011 Guatemala interns); Janos Arnosky, Lorentina McKoy, Gabriela Reid (2012 Guatemala interns). Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University (partner organization) - provided assistance with travel arrangement, logistic support, and training for students traveling to Guatemala and for their projects. Amigos de las Americas (partner organization) - provided assistance with travel arrangement, logistic support, and training for students traveling to Costa Rica and for their projects. Junior Master Gardeners (partner organization) - provided assistance with training students to conduct education activities for youth using the JMG's Nutrition and the Garden curricula. TARGET AUDIENCES: Spanish-speaking and Hispanic students, who had an advantage while interning in Central America, were particularly involved in the courses and internship activities thus contributing to increase minority enrollment and retention in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University by providing unique national research opportunities with international applications. The children reached by the activities supported by the grant where mainly of Hispanic or African-American origin, when the activities where conducted in a local school. The hundreds of children and adult trained in Central America were obviously local, and mainly selected from socially and economically disadvantaged groups (farmers, orphanages, etc.). Students that participated in the internship in Costa Rica and Guatemala have shared their experiences with other students and faculty members. Presentations were given at meeting of the Horticulture Club of Texas A&M, in the department of Horticultural Sciences, as well as at the Borlaug Institute. The instructors will also be using the information and materials collected personally or by the students during the internships to improve their teaching programs on food, agricultural, and environmental sciences by developing more globalized undergraduate curricula, rich with authentic case studies. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The grant allowed strengthening of the partnership between Texas A&M University and the grant collaborators, i.e., the Borlaug Institute, Amigos de las Americas, and the Junior Master Gardener program. The new undergraduate courses created for this project will be taught again and will become recurrent opportunities for Texas A&M to teach basic leadership skills and global issues in agriculture. The courses will also become preparatory platforms for students interested in having international experiences in agriculture or related field. The on-campus training and the international experiences not only had a profound impact on the studentsˈ personal lives, but they will also increase competitiveness and job preparation for careers related to research, extension, and academia. During the on-campus experience students conducted JMG activities at a local early childhood center, located in a low-income class neighborhood, where approximately 100 children and their teachers participated in activities conducted by A&M students trained during the class. We estimate that over 500 elementary, middle, and high school students and their families in both Guatemala and Costa Rica were served by this international effort in the development of agricultural subjects, such as planting, cultivating, erosion, as well as teaching about protecting eco-systems, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, hygienic practices, etc. Data were collected in Guatemala and Costa Rica by two graduate students participating in the internship as part of their Masterˈs research. One the research projects was a qualitative study of community reaction to development programs in Limon, Costa Rica, in order to develop a consistent program evaluation. The other study investigated and compared perceptions held by Guatemalans who had or had not adopted composting enterprises. The study documented why or why not the farmers adopted compost technology, which is an important part of the NBIˈs training activities in Guatemala.
Publications
- Conference Proceedings: Silberg, T.R., T.P. Murphrey, G. Wingenbach, and L. Lombardini. 2012. An examination of employee characteristics within compost micro-enterprises in Chimaltenango, Guatemala: Factors that facilitate success. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, Nakorn Pathom Province, Thailand, May 21-24, 2012.
- Silberg, T.R., T.P. Murphrey, G. Wingenbach, and L. Lombardini. 2012. Exploring profitability of compost micro-enterprises in Chimaltenango, Guatemala: A strategy for international development. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, Nakorn Pathom Province, Thailand, May 21-24, 2012.
- Dissertations: Shane, Caleb (2011). Building Toward a Consistent Program Evaluation: A Qualitative Study of Community Reaction to Development Programs in Limon, Costa Rica. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2011-08-9769.
- Silberg, Timothy (2011). A Study of Sustainable Compost Micro-Enterprise In Chimaltenango, Guatemala: Profitability and Employee Characteristics. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Full text not yet available to the public.
- Abstracts: Lombardini L. and G. Wingenbach. Cultivating global leaders in agriculture: A successful effort to engage agriculture students through international learning experiences (Poster). NACTA/DOCE Conference. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, June 14-18, 2011.
- Luckett M., C. Shane, L. Lombardini, and G. Wingenbach. From classroom to reality: Global leadership engagement in Guatemala and Costa Rica (Poster). NACTA/DOCE Conference. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, June 14-18, 2011.
- Publications: Silberg, T.R., T.P. Murphrey, G. Wingenbach, and L. Lombardini (2012). An examination of employee characteristics within compost micro-enterprises in Chimaltenango, Guatemala: Factors that facilitate success. J. Int. Ag. Ext. Ed. 19:180-182.
- Silberg, T.R., T.P. Murphrey, G. Wingenbach, and L. Lombardini. (2012). Exploring profitability of compost micro-enterprises in Chimaltenango, Guatemala: A strategy for international development. J. Int. Ag. Ext. Ed. 19:57-58.
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Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The undergraduate course (HORT/ALEC 489) "Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture", first developed and taught in 2010, was again taught in Spring 2011 to provide students with basic leadership development opportunities, introduce them to global issues in agriculture, enhance their critical thinking and analysis skills, and enable them to have experiences that directly benefit rural/impoverished communities. Enrollment in 2011 was of 18 undergraduate and one graduate student. During the course, students applied for a partially-funded, 4- to 6-week experience in Guatemala with the Norman Borlaug Institute (NBI) for International Agriculture or in Costa Rica with the non-profit organization Amigos de las Americas. A total of nine students were selected for Guatemala and five for Costa Rica. The students that traveled to Guatemala helped establish vegetable gardens and conducted education activities for youth using the Junior Master Gardener's Nutrition and the Garden curricula. The first week was for orientation and practice. In week two, students offered training programs to approximately 130 girls in the rural communities. The participants were members of the Population Council youth development program in which the NBI is collaborating with in order to improve food security and nutritional status in the department of Chimaltenango. During the third week, students worked on community gardens and conducted JMG sessions to approximately 175 elementary students in rural communities. Teachers were also involved in the training programs since they are becoming certified as Junior Master Gardener trainers. The students wrapped up their final week in Guatemala by holding a JMG fair for over 70 youth from local schools, which went from station to station to learn about horticulture, insects, nutrition and leadership. Students were also able to help with technology transfer programs by helping plant coffee seedlings in a nursery in the community of Poaquil. They also helped facilitate a flower design workshop for Mayan women. A blog about this program is available at: http://borlaug.tamu.edu/dispatchesguatemala/#.TrltxvQUqso and a video at: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=J_A1FJYY4_w. The students that went to Costa Rica were located in the province of Limon, which is characterized by many rural and isolated communities. During their internship, students conducted a series of activities in collaboration with EARTH University, which is a private, international, non-profit university dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources in order to contribute to sustainable development in the tropics by seeking a balance between agricultural production and environmental preservation. In select communities, students worked on different Community-Based Initiatives (CBIs), either in the fields or in local schools. Weekly themes include create children' gardens or playgrounds, plant trees to increase reforestation, collect trash, teach the basics of organic composting, drinking safe water, and nutrition. In summary, the Horticulture student internship program was extremely successful and a life-changing experience for all the students. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Leonardo Lombardini and Dr. Gary J. Wingenbach (Pis) - developed and taught on-campus course; coordinated student activities at a local school; trained students in preparation of out-of-country internship; assisted students with preparing documentation and arrangements for foreign travel. Dr. Rebecca Robles-Pina - served as External Evaluator of the effectiveness of the grant. Toward this end, she performed the following activities: attended organizational planning meetings and teleconferences; taught two classes for the course; developed nine bilingual (Spanish/English) evaluations for the Junior Master Gardner (JMG) Program; traveled to Costa Rica and Guatemala to evaluate the program on-site and to evaluate the work of the TAMU students. Kristi Baughn, Elizabeth Howell, Bailey Keith, Samantha Lamantia, Teresa McIntyre (students who spent six weeks in Costa Rica in 2011); Lindsey Felps, Kimberly Francis, Diana Juarez, Theadora Martinez, Heather Salopek, Jesenia Sampson, Timothy Silberg, Heather Smith, Laura White (students who spent four weeks in Guatemala in 2011). Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University (partner organization) - provided assistance with travel arrangement, logistic support, and training for students traveling to Guatemala and for their projects. Amigos de las Americas (partner organization) - provided assistance with travel arrangement, logistic support, and training for students traveling to Costa Rica and for their projects. Junior Master Gardeners (partner organization) - provided assistance with training students to conduct education activities for youth using the JMG's Nutrition and the Garden curricula. During the on-campus experience students conducted JMG activities at a local early childhood center, located in a low-class neighborhood, where approximately 100 children and their teachers participated in activities conducted by A&M students trained during the class. We estimate that over 500 elementary, middle, and high school students and their families in both Guatemala and Costa Rica were served by this international effort in the development of agricultural subjects, such as planting, cultivating, erosion, as well as teaching about protecting eco-systems, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, hygienic practices, etc. TARGET AUDIENCES: Spanish-speaking and Hispanic students, who had an advantage while interning in Central America, were particularly involved in the course and internship activities thus contributing to increase minority enrollment and retention in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University by providing unique national research opportunities with international applications. The children reached by the activities supported by the grant where mainly of Hispanic or African-American origin, when the activities where conducted in a local school. The hundreds of children and adult trained in Central America were obviously local, and mainly selected from socially and economically disadvantaged groups (farmers, orphanages, etc.). Students that participated in the summer internship in Costa Rica and Guatemala have shared their experiences with other students and faculty members. Presentations were given at meeting of the Horticulture Club of Texas A&M, in the department of Horticultural Sciences as well as at the Borlaug Institute. The instructors will also be using the information and materials collected personally or by the students during the internships to improve their teaching programs on food, agricultural, and environmental sciences by developing more globalized undergraduate curricula, rich with authentic case studies. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
In its second year, the grant reinforced the partnership between Texas A&M University and the grant collaborators, i.e., the Borlaug Institute, Amigos de las Americas, and the Junior Master Gardener program. The new undergraduate course created for this project was taught for the second time and will be offered again to become a recurrent opportunity for Texas A&M students to acquire basic leadership skills and learn about global issues in agriculture. The course will also become a preparatory platform for students interested in having international experiences in agriculture or related field. The on-campus training and the international experiences not only had a profound impact on the students' personal lives, but they will also increase competitiveness and job preparation for careers related to research, extension, and academia. During the on-campus experience students conducted JMG activities at a local early childhood center, located in a low-class neighborhood, where approximately 100 children participated in activities conducted by A&M students trained during the class. We estimate that over 500 elementary, middle, and high school students and their families in both Guatemala and Costa Rica were served by this international effort in the development of agricultural subjects, such as planting, cultivating, erosion, as well as teaching about protecting eco-systems, the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, hygiene, etc. Data were collected in Guatemala by the graduate student participating in the internship as part of his Master's research. The purpose of the study was to investigate and compare perceptions held by Guatemalans who have or have not adopted composting enterprises. The study documented why or why not the farmers adopted compost technology, which is an important part of the NBI's training activities in Guatemala. This study will soon be published in refereed journals.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
The principal investigators developed a new undergraduate course (HORT 489) (Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture) at Texas A&M University to provide students with basic leadership development opportunities, introduce them to global issues in agriculture, enhance their critical thinking and analysis skills, and enable them to have experiences that directly benefit rural/impoverished communities. The course was taught in spring 2010 with an enrollment of 16 undergraduate and graduate students. At the end of the course, ten students were selected to conduct an international 4- to 6-week experience in Guatemala with the Norman Borlaug Institute (NBI) for International Agriculture (July 5-30) and in Costa Rica with the non-profit organization Amigos de las Americas (June 29-Aug. 10). Selected students were awarded stipends based on completion of the course and of an application. The five students that traveled to Guatemala helped the NBI's project staff in delivering training programs for youth using Junior Master Gardener (JMG) activities. They also helped NBI's project technicians with horticultural programs in rural communities. Main activities included helping rebuild a greenhouse for a group of Mayan women whose greenhouse had been destroyed by a recent tropical storm thus allowing them to continue to grow flowers and ornamental crops. The JMG activities conducted by the students involved children from many rural communities. Children learned about horticultural sciences and leadership through those activities. A special JMG fair was conducted for over 90 children at the Ut'Zamaj farmer training center in Tecpan. Two of the collaborators on the grant (Ms. Lisa Whittlesey, National JMG Coordinator, and Dr. Rebecca Robles-Pina) evaluated the program in Guatemala and helped conduct JMG activities with Guatemalan children. The five students that traveled to Costa Rica with Amigos de las Americas were based in the province of Limon, which hosts many rural and isolated communities. Since Limon is a province on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, there is a unique combination of races, cultures, and languages spoken. During their internship, students conducted a series of activities in collaboration with EARTH University, which is a private, international, non-profit university dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources in order to contribute to sustainable development in the tropics by seeking a balance between agricultural production and environmental preservation. The students had the opportunity to work closely with EARTH students from different countries around the world to study sustainable agriculture in tropical climates. During their stay, our students worked side-by-side with other Amigos Volunteers to carry out various gardening and environmental projects. In select communities, Earth University students visited on a weekly basis to work with our students on different community service projects, either in the fields or in the local schools. Weekly themes include reforestation, trash collection, organic composting, safe water, and nutrition. PRODUCTS: A new course curriculum at the baccalaureate level was created to introduce students to global issues in agriculture, enhance critical thinking and analysis skills, and enable students to conduct research experiments that will directly benefit impoverished communities. During the course, two short videos were produced to document how students performed some Junior Master Gardener activities. A series of data was collected in Costa Rica by one of the graduate students participating in the internship. The data were collected to evaluate the outcomes of JMG activities and the impact that they have on local children education. The information collected will be a major part of the student's Master's dissertation. OUTCOMES: The grant allowed strengthening of the partnership between Texas A&M University and the grant collaborators, i.e., the Borlaug Institute, Amigos de las Americas, and the Junior Master Gardener program. The new undergraduate course created for this project will be taught again and will become a recurrent opportunity for Texas A&M to acquire basic leadership skills and learn about global issues in agriculture. The course will also become a preparatory platform for students interested in having international experiences in agriculture or related field. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Students that participated in the summer internship in Costa Rica and Guatemala have already started sharing their experiences with other students and faculty members. Presentations have been given at meeting of the Horticulture Club of Texas A&M, in the department of Horticultural Sciences as well as at the Borlaug Institute. Academic advisors have been actively promoting the program for 2011. The videos generated during the course activities are already available on aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu and will be soon disseminated via websites such youtube.com. FUTURE INITIATIVES: The course and the internship experience will be offered again in 2011. Three days after registration was opened, nine students had already registered for the Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture course that will be taught in spring 2011 which is an indicator that after just one year the program has been well received by the students. More recruiting activities will be conducted within and outside Texas A&M University.
Impacts
Sixteen students were trained in the "Cultivating Global Leaders in Agriculture" course and ten of them participated in an international experiences that not only had a profound impact on their personal lives, but that will also increase competitiveness and job preparation for careers related to research, extension, and academia. To develop a model that would allow Land Grant and Hispanic-Serving Institutions to compete for fully funded international research opportunities for underrepresented students. Spanish-speaking and Hispanic students, who had an advantage while interning in Central America, were particularly involved in the course and internship activities thus contributing to reach goal #2 of the grant to "increase minority enrollment and retention in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University by providing unique national research opportunities with international applications".
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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