Source: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN submitted to
CURRICULA DEVELOPMENT, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, NETWORKING, AND AGROECOLOGY FOR A DIVERSE STUDENT CLIENTELE IN SOUTH TEXAS (CENA)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1000489
Grant No.
2013-38422-20954
Project No.
TEXW-2013-01523
Proposal No.
2013-01523
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
NJ
Project Start Date
Aug 15, 2013
Project End Date
Aug 14, 2018
Grant Year
2013
Project Director
Racelis, A. E.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN
1201 W. UNIVERSITY DRIVE
EDINBURG,TX 78539-2999
Performing Department
Biology
Non Technical Summary
The primary goal of the proposed project is to overcome barriers to agricultural education and careers in south Texas through the establishment of an innovative program in agroecology and the study of sustainable food systems based at the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA). The program is designed to recruit and retain outstanding students into agriculture related disciplines that focus on the complex relationships between agricultural systems and community well-being. The CENA program at UTPA consists of four distinct elements: (1) development of innovative curricula to support an undergraduate concentration and graduate area in agroecology and sustainable agriculture, (2) expand experiential learning opportunities through research internships with USDA laboratories, university researchers, and practitioners of sustainable agriculture; (3) the establishment of a network that draws from research, teaching, and professional expertise which allows students access to educational and professional opportunities in agriculture related fields. (4) increased accessibility of agroecology related content in high schools science courses. Funding is requested to support 36 undergraduate research internships, one MS level graduate student, and 75 local area STEM teachers for their participation in summer workshops. Over the project period, measureable outcomes will include increased understanding of the intersection of agriculture and society among students and teachers, an increase in the number of applicants to UTPA's Environmental Sciences BS program, and an increase in the number of applications to graduate schools. We also aim to increase the number of UTPA graduates at local USDA/ agriculture research organizations. In effect, we aim to create and foment a high school-college-career pipeline for Hispanic students in the agrocological and food related sciences.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
10201991070100%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships;

Subject Of Investigation
0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
The main goals for this projects are: 1. Propose and establish within the project period: (a) three (3) undergraduate courses that will form the core curriculum in Agroecology within Environmental Science Program in the Biology Department at UTPA. These courses will be promoted to a broad range of students in the Colleges of Science and Math, and the College of Health and Human Services, designed to impart students a broad, science-based training in agricultural and food sciences. (b) One (1) graduate level course that will support a new programmatic Agroecology concentration within the Masters of Biology program at UTPA. 2. Within the first semester of the project period (Fall 2013) establish an internship program that provides qualified undergraduate students and high school students with paid opportunities for internships/apprenticeships with local institutions that either (a) conduct agroecological research (b) promote sustainable food systems or (c) actively practice sustainable food production and/or community supported agriculture. Six undergraduate interns will be placed with partnering institutions each semester during the project period (for a total of 36 internship opportunities over three years). 3. Execute cost-effective opportunities to encourage the broadening the treatment of agriculture to address a diverse student body. This will include close collaboration with the UTeach program at UTPA, where UTeach students (who are STEM majors) will be encouraged with guidance from PD's and other partners to develop lesson plans that use examples from agriculture and food science to address high school curricula needs. These lesson plans will be presented to (b) exemplary high school STEM teachers in a summer workshop in order to encourage STEM teachers to broaden the treatment of agriculture in science curricula. Finally, (c) there are two existing courses BIOL 4315 Inquiry Based Learning and EDSC 6326 Master's in Science Teaching course, taught by the PD's. Both these courses target undergraduate and graduate students with career interests in high school or middle school science teaching. These courses will be redeveloped to include several modules that incorporate agriculture into high school and middle school curriculum. 4. Establish within the first year a multi-member alliance including university professors, scientists, local farmers, education specialists, that will help recruit and retain outstanding students and teachers in a largely Hispanic south Texas population into the CENA program. Through this network, participants can develop knowledge, skills, and attributes that make them competent and competitive for employment in agricultural fields, or for graduate level training in agroecological science, or increase their effectiveness as science teachers. Partners have pledged to help advertise opportunities for training, employment, and discussion through an electronic program listserv that we will establish within the first semester. Also, we within the first year will create a website that advertises CENA related opportunities, where partners and program participants can post related messages or opportunities.
Project Methods
The following is our plan of operation, which is designed to address the four performance-based objectives cited in the project goals. 1 Establish within two years three (3) undergraduate courses and one (1) graduate level course in Agroecology at UTPA. In the first two years participating UTPA faculty will proposal and develop three undergraduate courses that will be considered core courses for a concentration in Agroecology within the Environmental Science Program within the Department of Biology at UTPA, and will be offered over the entire project period. The three courses include: (1) Principles of Sustainable Agriculture; (2) Methods and Analysis in Agroecology; (3) Problem Based Learning in Agricultural Sciences. Principles of Sustainable Agriculture will focus on history of agriculture and food, current problems and issues in global and local agriculture, interactions between agriculture and the environment, and food systems. Methods in Agroecology will involve research and experimental design in agricultural and food sciences, including introduction to geo-spatial analysis, laboratory and clinical studies, ecological restoration, statistical analysis, and ecological modeling. Finally, Problem Solving in Agriculture is an upper division seminar that guides students through development of research or curricula in agricultural sciences and successful communication of these ideas (oral, poster, and/or written communication). All student participants (i.e. interns, UTeach students, etc.) will be encouraged to enroll in this course. Student goals include the development of communication skills via written and oral presentations. 2 Establishing an agriculture internship program at UTPA: As a major component of this program, we propose an internship program that provides undergraduate students with paid opportunities for internships/apprenticeships with either (1) different local USDA offices, including at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Edinburg, TX, and the USDA-APHIS laboratory in Mission, TX, (2) University faculty that are conducting agro-ecological or food systems research, within the UTPA's College of Science and Math, and at the College of Health and Human Services, and faculty at the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension in Weslaco TX (3) organizations that promote sustainable and/or community supported agriculture including UTPA's office of Community Engagement and local farm operations such as Tierra Preta Farms in Edinburg, TX; Each semester, eligible students would compete for semester long paid internships (up to a $3000/semester, or $11hr at 15 hrs/week for 17 weeks each semester). UTPA's Office of Undergraduate Research and Service Learning (URSL) will assist with the recruitment of a qualified pool of undergraduate students to apply for the competitive research internships. Each successful intern will work witha mentoring institution. The supervisor will all provide training with any instrumentation, research techniques, safety etc., in addition to the training that the intern would receive as paid UTPA student interns. Supervisors agree to provide oversight and mentorship over the course of internship period. Interns will also receive considerable support from UTPA's Office of Undergraduate Research and Service Learning. Six internships will be offered every semester during the project period of three years for a total of 36 semester long internships. Students will be eligible for a maximum of two internships. 3. Implement diverse instructional opportunities: (a) The UTeach program at UTPA is university initiative to concurrently prepare students earning at Bachelors of Science in STEAM fields with pedagogical expertise in STEAM teaching. STEAM majors can concurrently earn a teaching certificate by completing course work and through supervised student teaching, and upon graduation are both prepared and eligible to be teachers at local K-12 schools. UTeach student participants will be encouraged by clinical instructors during the academic year to develop lesson plans that use agriculture and food science to address high school curricula needs. As part of their requirements, student-teachers offer these lessons at local middle and high schools, which will allow teachers to pilot the agriculture-based science lesson plans. Student teachers then rework the lesson plans based on their in-class experiences, and submit a report and summary as required by UTeach. These lesson plans will be presented to high school teachers in non-for-credit summer workshop for local science teachers. (b) In the first three consecutive years of this project, we aim to offer a non-credit summer workshop for local STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Math) high- and middle school teachers, with the ultimate goal of encouraging teachers to broaden the treatment of agriculture in their curriculum. As part of this workshop, teacher-participants will participate in a series of lectures and inquiry-based exercises on issues related to agroecosystem principles. They will be able to witness scientific demonstrations at participating research facilities at USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, and Texas A&M Agrilife in Weslaco. Teachers will also see on-field demonstrations at partnering local organic farms. Finally, the participants will hold focus group meetings moderated by PDs. At these meetings, participants will be provided piloted lesson plans developed by UTeach student teachers during the school year. For their participation in the summer workshop, teachers will receive a $400 honorarium. (c) Additionally, there are two existing courses which will be redesigned to broaden the treatment of agriculture in high school and middle school curricula. BIOL 4315 Inquiry Based Learning is an upper division undergraduate course offered every year intended for students planning to teach life science in grades 7-12. EDSC 6326 is an existing graduate course integrating pedagogy with practice and is intended for existing science teachers. As part of this program, we propose to redesign BIOL 4315 to integrate agriculture-related examples as inquiry based exercises to be used with science curricula. EDSC 6326 will be offered in year 3 and designed so that is entirely devoted to agricultural sciences. 4 Establish a multi-member network Since our program stresses locally relevant issues and draws from the social and intellectual capital of a diverse alliance of agriculture related local professionals, the CENA program at UTPA has great potential prepare and recruit from a diverse student body. Though the programs networking objective, participants will be better informed and prepared for the application process into career positions or graduate programs in agriculture. First, the promotion of any opportunities can be advertised and disseminated though the proposed program listserv and website, both which will be operating by the first year of the project. Key partners have also pledged to provide networking services for students. For example, the URSL office (UTPA) will provide academic development opportunities, advisement and networking, and resources to support their scholarly development, including calls for student presentations, publications, and additional research activities. The URSL office also sponsors an annual Undergraduate Research Conference, and student interns will be required to submit a proposal to present at that conference. Ms. De la Garza (Regional Director for USDA-HSI) will present briefings on career and internship opportunities with the federal government, and can advertise deadlines through the program listserv.

Progress 08/15/13 to 08/14/18

Outputs
Target Audience: UTRGV students (Undergraduate) Local area High school and Middle School science, environmental science, and agriculture teachers UTRGV University / CollegeAdministration and Faculty interested in developing agriculture-related programs Changes/Problems:During the project period, the university went through a major, unprecedented overhaul, as a result of Texas Legislation that executed theUniversity of Texas System Board of Regents'proposal to abolish The University of Texas-Pan American and create The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in their place (with the combined assets of UTPA and the University of Texas Brownsville). This created significant adminstrative hurdles, illustrated by the loss of two PD's in this project (Dr. Dan Plas and Dr. Danika Brown). Fortunately, Dr. Dan Plas relocated to a local area school district, and was able to consult with us as an independant consultant. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A successful internship program was created leveraging other institions in the region and beyond. A significant number of internships were offered with both federal and non-federal partners:the USDA-Agriculture Research Service, USDA-APHIS, Texas A&M, Texas Plant and Soils Laboratory, and several growers in the region. A total of 36 semester-long internships were offered, reaching a total of 17 different students (some repeated). A highly successful summer professional development workshop was designed with help from PDs. Over the project period, the summer professional development workshops were offered three times, each targeting 20 local area school teachers that focus on STEM subjects. A total of 62 different teachers were trained under these workshops (60 supported through this grant).In the final offering of theworkshops a total of 116 teachers applied for the 20 spots, signaling a significant demand for this type of training. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Accomplishments from this project have been advertise on the university's main webpage, as well as through the project webpage (www.utrgv.edu/agroecology). We also have been on the local radio station, as well as on the local area news paper. A listserv was sucessfully created with 144 registered members. Annoucements as well as opportunities were disseminated through this media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (1) This grant spurred the creation of atotal of 4new courses related to agriculture were created and successfully offered during the project period: BIOL 4429 Agroecology, BIOL 6249 Advanced Agroecology, EEMS 3305 Sustainable Agriculture, EEMS 6305 Advanced Sustainable Agriculture. An additional course was redesigned (BIOL4201 Biological Problems) to include agriculture-related topics (Urban Forestry), and was offered successfully three times during the project period. The demand for these courses inspired the creation of two new degrees within the College of Science: an MS Program in Agricultural, Environmental, and Sustainability Sciences, and a new BS degree in Sustainable Food Systems. Currently the MS program is the fastest growing program in the college, with a total of 35 gradute students. (2) A successful internship program was created leveraging other institions in the region and beyond. A significant number of internships were offered with both federal and non-federal partners:the USDA-Agriculture Research Service, USDA-APHIS, Texas A&M, Texas Plant and Soils Laboratory, and several growers in the region. A total of 36 semester-long internships were offered, reaching a total of 17 different students (some repeated). (3) A highly successful summer professional development workshop was designed with help from PDs. Over the project period, the summer professional development workshops were offered three times, each targeting 20 local area school teachers that focus on STEM subjects. A total of 62 different teachers were trained under these workshops (60 supported through this grant). In the final offering of theworkshops a total of 116 teachers applied for the 20 spots, signaling a significant demand for this type of training. The existing courses mentioned in the original goal (BIOl 4315 and EDSC6326) were each offered twice during the project period, and were modified to include examples of agriculture in the curriculum. They are still being offered, although with no current emphasis on agriculture. 4. This project inspired a multi-member alliance that spanned accross the university and beyond, and included federal and non-federal organizations, local area school districts, community colleges, and professional societies.Through the network, a number of ambitious initiatives were created. For example, UTRGV collaborated with local area schools to apply for Texas Education Agency grant for professional development, where we offered the professional development workshopto 13 of the districts teachers. We also applied for a USDA-SPECA grant with another local ISD, focusing on strengthening the pipeline between students and the University. Although unsuccessful, this inspired the creation of a new course at Edcouch Elsa ISD that focused on agriculture. Of the students directly involved with the CENA project, a total of 6 of them were gainfully employed with USDA, another 3 with agriculture related organizations, 2 of them became registered farmers, and three of them have permanent full time jobs with the federal government (USDA, EPA, USFWS), and 4 of them have gone on to graduate studies.

Publications

  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Escamilla, R. (2017). CALCULATING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION OF ARUNDO DONAX ALONG THE RIO GRANDE. MS Thesis. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Department of Biology. 87 pp.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Villarreal, J. M.*, Goolsby, J. A., Vacek, A. T., Perez de Leon, A., Racelis, A. E. (2016). Horticultural technique for rearing and redistribution of the sessile biological control agent, Rhizaspidiotus donacis on its host plant, Arundo donax. Subtropical Agriculture and Environments, 67, 19-23.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Escamilla, J.**, Rugg, S.**, Brush, J.**, Cantu, J.**, Racelis, A. (2015). Ecosystem Services in Agricultural and Urban Landscapes. Ecological Restoration, 33(1), 119-120. http://dx.doi.org/10.3368/er.33.1.119 10.3368/er.33.1.119
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Cantu, D., Soti, P., Van Camp, Q., Racelis, A., (April 19, 2017). Integrating Cover Crops in Organic Vegetable Farming Systems in South Texas, Engaged Scholars Symposium University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Richards, L.*, Racelis, A., (March 31, 2017). Silver Plastic Mulch and Neem Oil as a Method for Whitefly Control in Tomato Plants in South Texas,, College of Sciences Annual ConferenceUniversity of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg TX.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Lopez, H.*, Goolsby, J., Vacek, A., Racelis, A., (February 18, 2017). Comparison of nitrogen sources to improve mass rearing of the arundo scale; a biological control agent of Arundo donax (updated), USDA HisLopez, H.*, Goolsby, J., Vacek, A., Racelis, A., (February 18, 2017). Comparison of nitrogen sources to improve mass rearing of the arundo scale; a biological control agent of Arundo donax (updated), USDA Hispanic-Serving Institution Annual Meeting USDA-HSI in Albuquerque, NM.Hispanic-Serving Institution Annual Meeting USDA-HSI in Albuquerque, NM.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Singh, A.*, Christofferson, B., Johnson, D., Wei, L., Xiu, C., McDonald, N., (February 18, 2017). ap Filling Plant Trait Data for Earth System Models, USDA Hispanic-Serving Institution Annual Meeting USDA-HSI in Albuquerque, NM.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Mier, R.*, Braswell, E., Ruiz-Arce, R., Racelis, A., (February 18, 2017). Mitochondrial DNA variation within the ND2-COI tRNA region for the members of the Anastrepha fraterculus group (updated poster), USDA Hispanic-Serving Institution Annual Meeting USDA-HSI inAlbuquerque, NM.


Progress 08/15/14 to 08/14/15

Outputs
Target Audience:UTPA students (Undergraduate) Local area, High school and Middle School science, environmental science, and agriculture teachers Changes/Problems:With permission from National Program Staff, made a budgetary change in 2014 to move student internship money to student travel to be able to encourage and entice students to have professional experience or development outside of UTPA. With this money, I will be able to bring students to professional meetings or send them to training that they need to complete their work. 2015-16: Two key PDs are moving to other institutions. Dr. Dan Plas will be leaving the university to return to high school teaching and administration. We may request permission to National Program Staff to pay him a stipend to continue his contribution to the summer Agroecology institution to be offered in June 2016, or to reallocated more funding to Tim Sears who helps co-organize the summer institute. Dr. Danika Brown may also relocate to another institution, but we will expeditiouslywork with her replacement once this is announced. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?*July 2015, Sent Jose Escamilla (CENA graduate fellow) to 1 week training with Dr. Prasanna Gowda USDA-ARS, El Reno, OK for instrument training in Eddy Covariance *June 2015, offered Agroecology Summer Institute to local area 6-12 STEM teachers, with 22 total participants. * March 2015, training provided to the Boys and Girls Club (Edinburg, TX) for starting community gardens *February 2015, 12 students associated with the Agroecology Program participated in the annual meeting of the Society of Subtropical Agriculture and Environment, Weslaco TX *October 2014, 1 CENA student presented at Undergraduate Research Conference at UTPA *October 2014, 6 students funded by CENA Program attended the 2014 AgriScience conference in Miami, FL. One student received 2nd place for her presentation at this meeting. *August 2014, Training offered in spectroradiometry instrumentation held at UTPA *July 2014, 3 CENA students sent to HACU annual meeting in Denver CO *June 2014, 1 CENA undergraduate student travel to SACNAS annual meeting in Los Angeles CA. *June 2014, Danika Brown (co-PD) attended summer workshop/PD meeting at the NACTA conference in Montana *June 2014, offered Agroecology Summer Institute to local area 6-12 STEM teachers, with 24 total participants. *March 2014, Ruby de la Garza (USDA-HSI) offered seminar on "Navigating and applying for jobs Usajobs.gov" *Feb 2014, waived fees for interns to take "UTPA statistical training I workshop"; 3 interns took advantage of this opportunity *Jan 2014, attended new PD meeting in Baltimore with one student intern How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We do have a website that is frequently updated, as well as a electronic list serv. Our program has also been featured in local and national press releases, including 2 feature stories in the McAllen Monitor, 2 feature stories on the University Webpage, and 2 vignettes on local public TV. We also have two featured videos on youtube, and 1 press release by the National Center for Appropriate Techn ology. Our lab volunteered in the annual Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology Education Conference (HESTEC), which reaches 60,000 local residents. We led a session that introduced trees to more than 900 middle school students. Students are also required to do community outreach, with more than 12 different events were our lab was present. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Proposed activities include: • Annual planning meeting with PDs + key partners (September) • Participation at Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology Week (HESTEC) (October 6-9) • Advertise and fill 6 internship opportunities (Fall and Spring) • Recruit undergraduate and graduate students into program • CENA participation at Undergraduate Research Conference at UTPA (Nov 25-26) • Promote and advertise high school teacher workshop (Spring 2016) • CENA participation at Subtropical Agriculture and Environments Conference (Feb 2016) • Attend USDA national meeting, including the 2016 NACTA meeting Submit annual report and CRIS report to USDA (Summer 2015) • Offer STEM HS Teacher workshop (June 2016) • Update web page (Monthly) • Third annual external evaluation of work progress

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Within this project period we have: (A) Proposed and established one undergraduate course at UTPA related to Agroecology (BIOL 4429 Agroecology) Offered in Fall 2014, total of 15 Undergraduates; and modified two internship/research courses to be associated with the Agroecology Program ( BIOL 4201 -- Biological Problems (Racelis lab), and ENSC 4301-- Independent study (Racelis lab), offered in Spring 2014, Summer 2014, and Fall 2014 to a total of 32 undergraduate students (B) One (1) graduate level course in Agroecology (BIOL 6329) Offered in Fall 2014, a total of 11 Graduate students (C) Recruited and retained one graduate student into program (just completed his first year). In academic year 2014-15, we had 29 inquiries into the graduate program with a focus on agriculture. Currently, the Agroecology program has 6 graduate students, all funded through graduate research fellowships or assistantships (one funded through this grant). 4 of the graduate students have co-authored one invited, peer-reviewed book review in the Journal of Ecological Restoration. Established an internship program which placed a total of 26 qualified undergraduate students opportunities for unpaid internships/apprenticeships with local institutions such as the USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, Texas A&M University, UTPA, and local area farms. Each intern qualified for a $2000 scholarship for each semester of internship service. (A) Established closed collaboration with the UTeach program at UTPA through Co-PD Tim Sears. UTeach students (who are STEM majors) were encouraged with guidance from Tim Sears (co-PD) to use examples from agriculture and food science to address high school curricula needs. (B) June 2014, offered Agroecology Summer Institute to local area 6-12 STEM teachers, with 24 total applicants (21 were selected and completed the workshops). In June 2015, the interest in this professional development dramatically increased: we had 110 applicant for the 20 sponsored spots. We accepted 22 of the applicants. (C) Two existing courses BIOL 4315 Inquiry Based Learning, EDSC 6326 Master's in Science Teaching course were offered by Dan Plas (co-PD), redeveloped to include several modules that incorporate agriculture into high school and middle school curriculum. These were offered in 2014 and 2015 Established a multi-member alliance including university professors, scientists, local farmers, education specialists, that will help recruit and retain outstanding students and teachers in a largely Hispanic south Texas population into the CENA program. Established a website that advertises CENA related opportunities, where partners and program participants can post related messages or opportunities. Also, created a listserv that advertises opportunities for employment and training to CENA participants. Leverging the funds from this grant, pushed for and established the UTPA Agroecology Garden and greenhouse complex which includes a state of the art temperature controlled greenhouse and a 8000 sq ft teaching and research garden. Students that were involved in the CENA grant have gone on to win 3 grants from the UTPA Office of Undergraduate Research and Service Learning (2K each grant).

Publications


    Progress 08/15/13 to 08/14/14

    Outputs
    Target Audience: UTPA students (Undergraduate) Local area, High school and Middle School science, environmental science, and agricultureteachers Changes/Problems: With permission from National Program Staff, made a budgetary change to move student internship money to student travel to be able to encourage and entice students to have professional experience or development outside of UTPA. With this money, I will be able to bring students to professional meetings or send them to training that they need to complete their work. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? *June 2014, Danika Brown (co-PD) attended summer workshop/PD meetingat the NACTA conference in Montana *June 2014, offered Agroecology Summer Institute to local area 6-12 STEM teachers, with 24 total participants. * March 2014, Ruby de la Garza (USDA-HSI) offered seminar on "Navigating and applying for jobs Usajobs.gov" *Feb 2014, waived fees for interns to take "UTPA statistical training I workshop"; 3 interns took advantage of this opportunity * Jan 2014, attended new PD meeting in Baltimore with one student intern How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We do have a website that is frequently updated, as well as a electronic list serv What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Proposed activities include: Annual planning meeting with PDs + key partners (September) OfferBIOL 4429 and BIOL6329Agroecology (Fall) Offer sBIO 4201Problem-Based Learning - Urban Forestry (Fall and Spring) Booth at Hispanic Engineering Science and Technology Week (HESTEC) (October 6-9) Advertise and fill 6 internship opportunities (Fall and Spring) Initiate graduate student research with research partnership (Filled in April 2013) Recruit undergraduate and graduate students into program CENA participation at Undergraduate Research Conference at UTPA (Nov 25-26) Promote and advertise high school teacher workshop (Spring 2015) Development + piloting of high school lesson plans (UTEACH) CENA participation at Subtropical Agriculture and Environments Conference (Feb 2015) BIOL 4315 Inquiry Based Learning (Spring 2015) Attend USDA national meeting of PDs + 3 select student participants (Summer 2015) Submit annual report and CRIS report to USDA (Summer 2015) Offer STEM HS Teacher workshop (June 2015) Update web page (Monthly) Second external evaluation of work progress

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Within this project period we have: 1. (A) Proposed andestablished oneundergraduate courses at UTPA related to Agroecology (BIOL 4429 Agroecology ); and modified twointernship/research courses to be associatedwith the AgroecologyProgram(BIOL 4201 -- Biological Problems (Racelis lab), and ENSC 4301-- Independent study(Racelis lab) (B) One (1) graduate level course in Agroecology (BIOL 6329) (C) Recruited one graduate student into program. 2. Established an internship programwhich placed a total of9qualified undergraduate students opportunities for unpaidinternships/apprenticeships with local institutionssuch as the USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, TexasA&MUniversity, UTPA, and local area farms.Each intern qualified for a $2000 scholarship for each semester of internship service. 3. (A) Established closed collaboration with the UTeach program at UTPA. UTeach students (who are STEM majors) were encouraged with guidance fromTim Sears (co-PD)to use examples from agriculture and food science to address high school curricula needs.(B) June 2014, offered Agroecology Summer Institute to local area6-12 STEM teachers, with 24 total participants.(C) Two existing courses BIOL 4315 Inquiry Based Learning, EDSC 6326 Master's in Science Teaching course were offered by Dan Plas (co-PD), redeveloped to include several modules that incorporate agriculture into high school and middle school curriculum. 4. Established a multi-member alliance including university professors, scientists, local farmers, education specialists, that will help recruit and retain outstanding students and teachers in a largely Hispanic south Texas population into the CENA program. Established a website that advertises CENA related opportunities, where partners and program participants can post related messages or opportunities. Also, created a listserv that advertises opportunities for employment and training to CENA participants. 5. Leverging the funds from this grant, pushed for and established the UTPA Agroecology Garden, and 8000 sq ft teaching and research garden adjacent to the newly constructed UTPA greenhouse.

    Publications