Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The Capacity Building in STEM Programming for Sustainability started by being focused on Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) students and faculty. As a result of the accomplishments of the project we have extended our focus to include the greater community as well as local research and educational organizations. This program is targeted to give our students a chance to do hands-on STEM projects while investing them in the future of a sustainable campus. The Capacity Building in STEM Programming was able to use the sustainability initiatives as a tool for different courses to give their students a hands-on, practical application project. The Environmental Institute which coordinates the Capacity Building in STEM programming is a specially recognized department in our World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC) accreditation. Recognized as an international accrediting authority, WINHEC strengthens and validates indigenous higher education institutions and programs by promoting and acknowledging indigenous epistemology and pedagogy. WINHEC provides an international forum and support for indigenous peoples to pursue common goals through higher education. WINHEC is founded according to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.The WINHEC accreditation specifically applies to Anishinaabeg Gikendaasowinan (the People's way of knowing) American Indian Programs at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Anishinaabeg Gikendaasowinan's mission is to promote, honor and value the language, history, worldview, and knowledge of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe people, thereby ensuring the longevity of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabeg culture. The goals and philosophy of the sustainability initiatives strongly supports and reflects the Ojibwe - Anishinaabeg culturalworld view of living in a good way. The FDLTCC courses that faculty used the sustainability initiatives to enhance STEM learning was Environmental Science, Biology, Environmental Ethics, Geospatial Technologies, Nursing Program, Law Enforcement, TRIO, and Alternative Energy. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has also developed, in partnership with American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and University of Minnesota -Duluth (UMD), the addition of a sustainability foods system certificate and a transfer relationship for our students to receive a bachelors in sustainability at UMD.The sustainable food systems certificate will focus on organic, local food growing as well as agricultural and traditional harvest. We served multiple audiences through three major outreach methods that included participation in campus sustainability initiatives, outreach events, and research learning opportunities. This grant year these methods brought awareness to over5500youth, college students, and the greater community. Some examples of our outreach includes the fall quarter's Sustainability Week and spring quarter's EarthWeek. These events was a chance for our students to give research presentations to the whole college community about the work that is being done on campus. Our program is also bringing in local community members as advisors and partners on the various sustainability initiatives that the campus is pursuing. Our community outreach used our Bee Yard and partnership with the Northeastern Beekeepers Association to host a "Bees and More Symposium" in February 2019. We had 180 community members from Wisconsin to southern Minnesota attendour symposium. Our FDLTCC "Bee Team" research students helped organize, facilitate, and participate in the February pollinator event. Our Environmental Club helped organize a lunch fundraiser and coordinate the set up and cleanup of the Bee Symposium event. The FDLTCC Bee Yard has also attracted the attention of local educational groups. Staff also supported and participated in regional events such as the We Are Water exhibition, the Gichi Manidoo Giizis Pow wow, the Carlton County Fair, Cloquet Forestry Center's Conservation Days, and a field day for the Cloquet School District.FDLTCC camps such as Nandagikendan (Seek to Learn) Academy, Scrubs, and USDA APHIS camp, as well as college student orientation have incorporated the gardens, bee yard, and trails as part of their camp activities. These camps served 45 students ranging from high school to college age. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The continuing partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College gave faculty a chance to connect with community and University experts on bee ecology. The skills and knowledge gained by attending meetings and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab workshop will allow faculty to share their gained expertise with our college students and greater community. Sustainability Week and Earth Week brought in regional professionals that spoke to sustainability research and initiatives happening in our region and provided education outreach to our faculty, staff, and students. Connection with both Minnesota Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant gave more opportunity for staff to learn about the Great Lake curriculum. This partnership also created an exchange of information that helped increase the inclusion of information aboutthe work of the surrounding tribal communities on the history, management, and stewardship of the Great Lakes. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The 2018 FDLTCC Environmental Institute Report Card highlighted the campus sustainability initiatives. This publication was handed out at workshops, community events, and to college and community leaders. FDLTCC also hosted two college events that provided educational outreach on sustainability efforts at the college as well as issues globally. Over 350 college students and community members participated in the fall 2018 Sustainability Week and the spring 2019 Earth Day All Week events. Both of these events featured speakers, student research posters, and multi-media displays on campus sustainability initiatives. The 4thAnnual Bee Symposium served over 180 community members and focused on our pollinator work on the college and in the community. This year our Environmental Club students set up education outreach tables on our sustainability initiative during the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Open House events in April of 2018. Our activities were also featured in the campus newspaper. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the 2018-2019 year of the Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming has been a huge success. We have provided hands-on practical application experience to83 studentsin multiple sections of our Environmental Science, Alternative Energy, Environmental Ethics, Geospatial Technologies, and Biology class. Our community outreach through our events, networks, and presentations served approximately5500 students and community members. All of this research and the resulting projects has createda campus that encourages STEM learning and creates a model for sustainability on our campus that honors the Anishinaabe culture.Our accomplishments this year: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and for traditional harvesting by Fond du Lac Band members. The Environmental Science classes did tree surveys to determine "breast height diameter" and use a carbon calculator to determine the amount of carbon sequestration provided by our campus forest. We will use this research to help monitor the campus carbon footprint and make smart forestry management decisions.The students met with the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center head forester to discuss sustainable harvest, current forestry research, and opportunities to work with the Forestry Center. Goal 2: Build Capacity for offering sustainability agricultural classes. In the early Spring of 2019 all three of the hugel garden mounds were planted using saved seeds from the thirdgrowing season and adding purchased seed for the 4thgrowing season.During this year the Environmental Institute students harvested and used the produce to cook meals that were delivered to the on campus dorm students. These meals included recipes and information on how to find the vegetables used in the campus gardens. The 4thAnnual Bee Symposium was held in February 2019. This one day event featured a beginning beekeeping course,presentations by the University of Minnesota Bee Squad, theXerces Society, and added value product demonstrations by regional beekeepers. There were 180 participants from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Our Building Capacity in STEM outreach as well as Extension work has led to a partnership with the American Indian College Fund to work on adding a Sustainable Food Systems Certificate to our college curriculum. This certificate will providecourses on conventional as well as Anishinaabe traditional food harvest and include hands-on skills, knowledge, and training on growing, harvesting, and marketing local fresh foods.During Sustainability Awareness week there were presentations on herbal harvestand community policy on sustainable food systems. Using produce from the campus gardens, a cooking demonstration was part of the outreach events. Earth Week presentations included a focus on pollinators and their importance to both agricultural and native foods. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within outdoor learning space. In Spring 2018the Environmental Science students partnered with the Alternative Energy class to work on a growing season extension design for the greenhouse. This design included both solar and passive heat to provide a more regulated temperature into the winter and then in the very early spring. The goal is to be able to grow food in the green house from March to November in our cold northern climate. The design used solar powered water heaters to heat water barrels in the greenhouse. This design will heat the water during the day and then the water will release this heat during the chilly overnights. Added insulation and venting will help with temperature regulation all year.In 2019the Alternative Energy Utilities class continues to use the greenhouse as a hands-on project as they add solar panels and are planning on putting up a small windmill in2019-2020. Overall Goals: Activities and events that fulfilled all three of the goals of our Building Capacity for STEM project In October of 2018 Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted Sustainability Week. During this week many of the campus sustainability initiative projects were highlighted and used for educational outreach. Tours of the bee yard, posters on the campus recycling programs, and a cooking demonstration highlighting produce from the campus gardens were some of the outreach events of the week.Fond du Lac Resource Management researchers presented on the topics of expandingthe narrative of tribal healthby discussing the importance of first foods on the health of the community. The impact of invasive species on the natural ecology oftribal lands and the management strategies of Fond du Lac Band's Resource Management was shared by the tribal Invasive Species coordinator. The Fond du Lac Resource Management environmental educator and wetland specialist presented on their work anduse of herbal medicines. Many of the plants discussed have very specific traditional uses by the Ojibwe people. This week also featured free energy audits by the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota,the Blue Zones Community Well Being Initiative, and the Women in Science panel. There was200 participants. As part of our youth outreach the Environmental Institute participated in the 50th annual Conservation Days held by the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center. This event was two days of educational outreach on water quality and the importance of stewardship of our regional waters. This event served over520 fifth gradersfrom across the region. The Environmental Institute did outreach at the Cloquet school district field day that served all 7th graders in the district.There were around200 studentsat this field day event. The Environmental Institute supported and had a table at the Gichi Manidoo Giizis Pow Wow. Over1500 peopleattended the one day event that brought together tribal, federal, and state agencies with tribal community members. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa presented the "We Are Water "traveling exhibit and community engagement initiative at the Great Lakes Aquarium. This interactive exhibit showcasedour human relationship with water with special emphasis on water stories from the Fond du Lac community. Our program supported outreach at that event hosted at the Great Lakes Aquarium and saw over2000 participants. Earth Week was held in April of 2019.Each day of Earth week had presentations by regional professionals, films, hands-on events, and FDLTCC student poster presentations.Over 200students, faculty, staff, and community members participated in the event. As part of our community outreach we also hosted an informational table on the sustainability initiatives onthe FDLTCC campus at the Carlton County Fair. This outreach reached around100peoplethat visited the tables. In partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Bee Keeping Association the Environmental Institute also did a native pollinator presentation at the Fair Honey House. Work study students presented during multiple campus events doing poster and other presentations on their work for the Environmental Institute. These visits included Minnesota College Trustee visit, the National Estuarine Research Reserve Conference visit, and high school visit days. These visits had over120 visitors. As part of building capacity for student research the FDLTCC faculty and Environmental Institute staff established regional research partnerships. Through partnership with the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab students had opportunities to do research on regeneration of White Spruce and survey of the regional pollinators.
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:The Capacity Building in STEM Programming for Sustainability started by being focused on Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) students and faculty. As a result of the accomplishments of the project we have extended our focus to include the greater community as well as local research and educational organizations. This program is targeted to give our students a chance to do hands-on STEM projects while investing them in the future of a sustainable campus. The Capacity Building in STEM Programming was able to use the sustainability initiatives as a tool for different courses to give their students a hands-on, practical application project. This year the program had 87 students directly involved in STEM projects. The courses that faculty used the sustainability initiatives to enhance STEM learning was Environmental Science, Biology, Environmental Ethics, Geospatial Technologies, Nursing Program, Law Enforcement, TRIO, and Alternative Energy. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has also proposed the addition of a sustainability degree at the college. FDLTCC also received funding from the American Indian College Fund to design a Sustainable Food Systems certificate. This certificate will focus on organic, local food growing as well as agricultural and traditional harvest. Approximately 350 college students and 35 high school students were educated about our sustainability initiatives through two education awareness events at FDLTCC. The Fall Quarter's Sustainability Week and Spring quarter's Earth Day All Week gave a chance for our students to display their research posters, as well as give research presentations to the whole college community the work that is being done on campus. Our program is also bringing in local community members as advisors and partners on the various sustainability initiatives that the campus is pursuing. Our community outreach used our Bee Yard and partnership with the Northeastern Beekeepers Association to host a "Bees and More Symposium" in February 2018. We had 190 community members from Wisconsin to southern Minnesota attended our symposium. Our FDLTCC "Bee Team" research students helped organize, facilitate, and participate in the February pollinator event. Our Environmental Club helped organize a lunch fundraiser and coordinate the set up and cleanup of the Bee Symposium event. The FDLTCC Bee Yard has also attracted the attention of local educational groups. The local Upward Bound group requested a demonstration of bee keeping that was led by our FDLTCC Bee Team students. In a cross collegiate collaboration 8 regional state and tribal college / universities led by students at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College spearheaded the creation of the Twin Ports Collegiate Sustainability Network and expanded the network. FDLTCC camps such as Nandagikendan (Seek to Learn) Academy, Scrubs, and USDA APHIS camp, as well as college student orientation have incorporated the gardens, bee yard, and trails as part of their camp activities. These camps served 45 students ranging from high school to college age. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The continuing partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College gave faculty a chance to connect with community and University experts on bee ecology. The skills and knowledge gained by attending meetings and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab workshop will allow faculty to share their gained expertise with our college students and greater community. The Forestry Committee brought together Fond du Lac Resource Management Forester and the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center Head Forester with FDLTCC faculty and staff. This committee partnership led to advance training for FDLTCC faculty and staff on forestry management and measurement techniques. Sustainability Week and Earth Week brought in regional professionals that spoke to sustainability research and initiatives happening in our region and provided education outreach to our faculty, staff, and students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The 2018 FDLTCC Environmental Institute Report Card highlighted the campus sustainability initiatives. This publication was handed out at workshops, community events, and to college and community leaders. FDLTCC also hosted two college events that provided educational outreach on sustainability efforts at the college as well as issues globally. Over 350 college students and community members participated in the fall 2017 Sustainability Week and the spring 2018 Earth Day All Week events. Both of these events featured speakers, student research posters, and multi-media displays on campus sustainability initiatives. The 3rd Annual Bee Symposium served over 190 community members and focused on our pollinator work on the college and in the community. This year our Environmental Club students set up education outreach tables on our sustainability initiative during the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Open House events in November of 2017 and April of 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are hoping for a no cost extension of our Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming for another year. The focus will be on growing the interdisciplinary network of faculty and student work on campus sustainability issues, to increase the on the ground projects, and work on greater community outreach. In the 2018 - 2019 the work done on this grant by our students will be showcased during our Sustainability Week and Earth Day celebrations. These educational outreach events are targeted to both our campus, tribal, and surrounding communities. We will also produce a 2019 Environmental Institute Report Card that will highlight all the work being done on campus. Our plans for this no cost extension year include: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and traditional harvesting. Continue to partner with Cloquet Forestry Center and Fond du Lac Band Forestry Division to bring University of Minnesota and tribal researchers to meet with students, faculty, and staff to discuss best practices for our campus. Work with the forestry management committee to refine guidelines for our forestry management plan. Partner with the Cloquet Forestry Center to give FDLTCC students opportunities to work on forestry research at the center through independent research projects. Continue the involvement of students in gathering data and conducting research on the current condition of our campus forest and wildlife diversity Continue the refinement of a long term ecological research project on campus using curriculum created by science faculty. Use the greenhouse for classroom use and research projects Start plants for campus gardens. Gardens will include pollinator, butterfly, vegetable, and traditional plants. Refine and improve the campus composting program Host 4th annual Bee Symposium to bring in experts in support of beginning and experienced bee keepers Highlight sustainable agriculture during 2018 Sustainability Week Use campus garden produce to teach nutrition and preservation classes to dorm students and greater community Contribute fresh food to the FDLTCC Dorm food shelf Goal 2: Build Capacity for offering sustainability agricultural classes. In collaboration with the American Indian College Fund, FDLTCC has received funding to create a Sustainable Food Systems certificate. This certificate will be designed to give students skills and knowledge to be able to grow, harvest, and market both conventional and traditional local fresh foods. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. Work with our alternative energy program to create solar powered bee shed to support bee research Work with our facilities management to create informational posters on current and future energy saving initiatives. Work with our community partners to increase tours of our solar powered projects including Fond du Lac Reservation's new solar farm.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our fourth year of the Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming has been a huge success. We have provided hands-on practical application experience to over 87 college students in multiple sections of our Environmental Science, Alternative Energy, Environmental Ethics, Geospatial Technologies, and Biology class. These students have produced 20 research posters, air quality research, and extended growing season solar and passive heat powered greenhouse. Our community outreach through our events, networks, and presentations served approximately 635 students and community members. All of this research and the resulting projects will create a campus that encourages STEM learning and create a model for sustainability on our campus that honors the Anishinaabe culture. Our accomplishments this year: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and for traditional harvesting by Fond du Lac Band members. The Environmental Science classes did tree surveys to determine "breast height diameter" and use a carbon calculator to determine the amount of carbon sequestration provided by our campus forest. We will use this research to help monitor the campus carbon footprint and make smart forestry management decisions. Goal 2: Build Capacity for offering sustainability agricultural classes. In the early Spring of 2018 all three of the hugel garden mounds were planted using saved seeds from the second growing season and adding purchased seed for the 3rd growing season. The goal of our garden team is to continue collecting seeds of organic heirloom plants to use in campus planting so that our garden program will be totally self-sustainable. The 3rd Annual Bee Symposium was held in February 2018. This one day event featured beginning beekeeping morning course and presentations by the University of Minnesota Bee Squad, the national organization Xerces Society, and added value product demonstrations by regional beekeepers. There were 190 participants from Minnesota and Wisconsin. This year's event was organized by the FDLTCC Bee Team student researchers and supported by students from the FDLTCC Environmental Club. Our Building Capacity in STEM outreach as well as Extension work has led to a partnership with the American Indian College Fund to work on adding a Sustainable Food Systems Certificate to our college curriculum. This certificate will provided courses on conventional as well as Anishinaabe traditional food harvest and include hands-on skills, knowledge, and training on growing, harvesting, and marketing local fresh foods. Community outreach included the previously mentioned college events as well as presentations. The Fond du Lac Band's Gitigaan garden group and the FDLTCC College for Seniors asked for presentations on bee keeping and pollinators. The Seeking to Learn academy requested a FDLTCC campus trail tour as well as a tour of the gardens. These presentations served 30 community members. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within outdoor learning space. The FDLTCC Greenhouse was converted to total solar power in the summer of 2016. The Alternative Energy Utilities class completed the design and started the building of the solar power during the Spring Semester. In the summer of 2016 the work was completed and the greenhouse has solar powered vents, fans, and lights. In Spring 2018 the Environmental Science students partnered with the Alternative Energy class to work on a growing season extension design for the greenhouse. This design included both solar and passive heat to provide a more regulated temperature into the winter and then in the very early spring. The goal is to be able to grow food in the green house from March to November in our cold northern climate. The design used solar powered water heaters to heat water barrels in the greenhouse. This design will heat the water during the day and then the water will release this heat during the chilly overnights. Added insulation and venting will help with temperature regulation all year. Overall Goals: Activities and events that fulfilled all three of the goals of our Building Capacity for STEM project The Building Capacity for STEM programming for Sustainability has provided an amazing opportunity for our students to conduct research that meets sustainability efforts while exploring issues in more depth. During this grant cycle our students produced the 20 research posters. In October of 2017 FDLTCC hosted Sustainability Week. During this week many of the campus projects were highlighted and used for educational outreach. The work of the Fond du Lac Band was featured with three speakers over 3 days of the event. Fond du Lac Resource Management researchers presented on the topics of climate change and the impact of invasive species in our region, food sovereignty through the lens of local fresh foods, and sustainability initiatives on tribal lands. The Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Bee Team presented on our bee yard, how to become a beekeeper, and the importance of pollinators. Environmental Club students led hands-on activities such as invasive plant removal on campus to increase pollinator habitat, geocache contest, and a campus nature walk. Earth Week was held in April of 2018. Each day of Earth Week had a theme such as Cultural Sustainability, Water, Sustainability for the Future, and Health and Wellness. Each day of Earth week had presentations by regional professionals, films, hands-on events, and FDLTCC student poster presentations. Wednesday, the Sustainability for the Future featured 6 presentations by FDLTCC students on their research projects. These projects included Air Quality at FDLTCC, Mercury Research in the St. Louis River Watershed, Beaked Hazelnut Abundance, Season Extension in the FDLTCC Greenhouse, Season Extension and Fresh Foods, and Pollinator Research. Over 200 students, faculty, staff, and community members participated in the event. Three new collaborations were created as result of the FDLTCC sustainability initiative and built upon in 2018. The Twin Ports Collegiate Sustainability Network (TP-CSN) was a student led effort that brought together 5 regional colleges in 2017. In 2018 the TP-CSN was expanded to include 3 tribal colleges and American Indian Sustainability Departments from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Citizen Science Network was a collaboration between University of Minnesota - Duluth, EPA, MN Sea Grant, FDL Resource Management, and the Natural Resource Research Institute. FDLTCC also collaborated with the University of Minnesota on a state-wide native pollinator research project that is tracking the diversity of native pollinators across Minnesota
Publications
|
Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The Capacity Building in STEM Programming for Sustainability started by being focused on Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) students and faculty. As a result of the accomplishments of the project we have extended our focus to include the greater community as well as local research and educational organizations. This program is targeted to give our students a chance to do hands-on STEM projects while investing them in the future of a sustainable campus. The Capacity Building in STEM Programming was able to use the sustainability initiatives as a tool for different courses to give their students a hands-on, practical application project. This year the program had 109 students directly involved in STEM projects. The courses that faculty used the sustainability initiatives to enhance STEM learning was Environmental Science, Biology, Environmental Ethics, Sustainability, TRIO, and Alternative Energy. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has also proposed the addition of a sustainability degree at the college. Approximately 400 students were educated about our sustainability initiatives through two education awareness events at FDLTCC. The Fall Quarter's Sustainability Week and Spring quarter's Earth Day All Week gave a chance for our students to display their research posters and sustainability demonstrations to share with the whole college community the work that is being done on campus. Our program is also bringing in local community members as advisors and partners on the various sustainability initiatives that the campus is pursuing. Our community outreach used our Bee Yard and partnership with the Northeastern Beekeepers Association to host a "Bees and More Symposium" in February 2017. We had 181 community members from Canada to southern Minnesota attended our symposium. Eight FDLTCC students helped organize, facilitate, and participate in the February pollinator event. The Fond du Lac Gitigaan (community gardeners club) invited the Environmental Institute to talk about bee keeping at their spring meeting. In a cross collegiate collaboration 5 regional college / universities led by students at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and University of Minnesota - Duluth spearheaded the creation of the Twin Ports Collegiate Sustainability Network. FDLTCC camps such as Nandagikendan (Seek to Learn) Academy, and college student orientation have incorporated the gardens, bee yard, and trails as part of their camp activities. These camps served 36 students ranging from high school to college age. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College gave faculty a chance to connect with community and University experts on bee ecology. The skills and knowledge gained by attending meetings and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab workshop will allow faculty to share their gained expertise with our college students and greater community. The Forestry Committee brought together Fond du Lac Resource Management Forester and the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center Head Forester with FDLTCC faculty and staff. This committee partnership led to advance training for FDLTCC faculty and staff on forestry management and measurement techniques. The National Adaptation Forum held in St. Paul River Center brought together regional professionals, FDLTCC staff, and students to learn about the work and latest research on adaptation to changing environmental stresses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The 2017 FDLTCC Environmental Institute Report Card highlighted the campus sustainability initiatives. This publication was handed out at workshops, community events, and to college and community leaders. FDLTCC also hosted two college events that provided educational outreach on sustainability efforts at the college as well as issues globally. Over 400 college students and community members participated in the fall 2016 Sustainability Week and the spring 2017 Earth Day All Week events. Both of these events featured speakers, student research posters, and multi-media displays on campus sustainability initiatives. The work done on the FDLTCC campus and in the community was discussed during the National Adaptation Forum. In a presentation titled Climate Change Impacts on First Foods and Food Security: Adaption options for Tribal Communities, Courtney Kowalczak and Thirteen Moons coordinator Nikki Crowe discussed the work done to increase sustainable agriculture in the Fond du Lac and greater community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The fourth full year of our Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming will see a growth in interdisciplinary faculty and student work on campus sustainability issues, more on the ground projects, and greater community outreach. In 2017 - 2018 the work done on this grant by our students will be showcased during our Sustainability Week and Earth Day celebrations. These educational outreach events are targeted to both our campus, tribal, and surrounding communities. We will also produce a 2018 Environmental Institute Report Card that will highlight all the work being done on campus. Our plans for this next year include: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and traditional harvesting. • Continue to partner with Cloquet Forestry Center and Fond du Lac Band Forestry Division to bring University of Minnesota and tribal researchers to meet with students, faculty, and staff to discuss best practices for our campus. • Work with the forestry management committee to refine guidelines for our forestry management plan. . Forestry management implemented before the end of the 2018 project cycle. • Continue the involvement of students in gathering data and conducting research on the current condition of our campus forest and wildlife diversity • Add additional wildlife habitat improvements such as bird feeders, bird houses, and an overwintering bee shed • Incorporate acoustic research in the classrooms to highlight diversity and sustainability topics • Continue the refinement of a long term ecological research project on campus using curriculum created by science faculty. • Use the greenhouse for classroom use and research projects • Start plants for campus gardens. Gardens will include pollinator, butterfly, vegetable, and traditional plants. • Refine and improve the campus composting program • Host 3rd annual Bee Symposium to bring in experts in support of beginning and experienced bee keepers • Highlight sustainable agriculture during 2017 Sustainability Week • Use campus garden produce to teach nutrition and preservation classes to dorm students and greater community • Partner with the Fond du Lac Farmer Market and Fond du Lac Journey Garden program to sell campus produce and use money to sustain campus gardens • Contribute fresh food to the FDLTCC Dorm food shelf Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. • Work with our alternative energy program to create solar powered bee shed to support bee research • Work with our facilities management to create informational posters on current and future energy saving initiatives. • Work with our community partners to increase tours of our solar powered projects including Fond du Lac Reservation's new solar farm.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our third year of the Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming has been a huge success. We have provided hands-on practical application experience to over 109 college students in multiple sections of our Environmental Science class and Alternative Energy class. These students have produces 21 research posters and a solar powered greenhouse. Our community outreach through our events, networks, and presentations served over 600 students and community members. All of this research and the resulting projects will create a campus that encourages STEM learning and create a model for sustainability on our campus that honors the Anishinaabe culture. Our accomplishments this year: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and for traditional harvesting by Fond du Lac Band members. The Forestry Committee worked with FDLTCC administration to plan implementation of a forestry management plan. FDLTCC used a whole campus faculty and staff event to educate the campus community on forestry management. This Fall and Spring semester will be used to set up the final plan for management and get input from FDLTCC and Fond du Lac Band input. Goal 2: Build Capacity for offering sustainability agricultural classes. In the early Spring of 2017 two additional hugel garden beds were added near the FDLTCC dorms. These gardens are placed close to the campus living spaces in order to bring students closer to food growing spaces and convenience of harvesting produce for healthy living nutrition demonstrations. The 2nd Annual Bee Symposium was held in February 2017. This one day event featured beginning beekeeping morning course and presentations by the renown University of Minnesota Bee Squad, the national organization Xerces Society, and added value product demonstrations by regional beekeepers. There were 181 participants from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. Community outreach included the previously mentioned college events as well as presentations. The Fond du Lac Band's Gitigaan garden group and the FDLTCC College for Seniors asked for presentations on bee keeping and pollinators. The Seeking to Learn academy requested a FDLTCC campus trail tour as well as a tour of the gardens. These presentations served around 30 community members. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within outdoor learning space. The FDLTCC Greenhouse was converted to total solar power in the summer of 2016. The Alternative Energy Utilities class completed the design and started the building of the solar power during the Spring Semester. In the summer of 2016 the work was completed and the greenhouse has solar powered vents, fans, and lights. Overall Goals: Activities and events that fulfilled all three of the goals of our Building Capacity for STEM project. The Building Capacity for STEM programming for Sustainability has provided an amazing opportunity for our students to conduct research that meets sustainability efforts while exploring issues in more depth. During this grant cycle our students produced the 21 research posters. An example of posters include: Eat Better, Save More FDLTCC Cleaning Chemical Study The Switch to LED on FDLTCC Campus: Better Cost, Less Impact Solar Panels as a Source of Renewable Energy Year-round Sustainable Green House Is a Recycling Reward System Worth It? FDLTCC Solar Panel Implementation / Green Energy Would Solar Panels Work for FDLTCC? FDLTCC Trail Camera Project Understanding Our Involvement With Water Conservation In October of 2016 FDLTCC hosted Sustainability Week. During this week many of the campus projects were highlighted and used for educational outreach. Nationally know speaker Gerald Hayes was brought in to discuss the latest developments in pollinator health. Tours of the Fond du Lac Bands Solar Farm as well as the Natural Resource Research institute were offered to students and community. Collaboration with FDLTCC music and arts faculty resulted in a sustainability film fest and panel discussion. The student led Twin Ports Collegiate Sustainability Network brought together students from FDLTCC and University of Minnesota of Duluth for events and discussion of regional sustainability initiatives. 200 students and community members participated in the event. Earth Week was held in April of 2017. Each day of Earth Week had a theme such as Water, Food Systems, Tribal Nations, and Energy. Each day of Earth week had presentations by regional professionals, films, hands-on events, and FDLTCC student poster presentations. Over 200 students, faculty, staff, and community members participated in the event. Three new collaborations were created as result of the FDLTCC sustainability initiatives. The Twin Ports Collegiate Sustainability Network was a student led effort that brought together 5 regional colleges. The Citizen Science Network was a collaboration between University of Minnesota - Duluth, EPA, MN Sea Grant, FDL Resource Management, and the Natural Resource Research Institute. FDLTCC also collaborated with the University of Minnesota on a state-wide native pollinator research project.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Climate Change Impacts on First Foods and Food Security: Adaption options for Tribal Communities
National Adaptation Forum May 2017 St. Paul MN
Caitriana Steele
USDA SW Climate Hub
Wednesday 9:10am - Concurrent Session 4
Meeting Room 4
Symposium (Panel Discussion)Nikki Crowe, Courtney Kowalczak, Linda Kruger, Jerry Padilla, Melissa Poe, Cheryl Shippentower, Tony Skrelunas
Food security is defined as the access by all people at all times to sufficient food for an active, healthy life. This definition does not account for the cultural importance of First Foods and raising traditional crops to native societies. First Foods embody the reciprocity between Native American Creation beliefs and the natural environment. Likewise, cultivated foods such as corn, beans and squash play a central role in the culture and mythology of many tribes. First foods were also part of indigenous diets before colonization and provide physical, spiritual, ceremonial and cultural meanings. These traditional foods are at risk from climate change through changes in precipitation, temperature and extreme weather events. Indirect threats include increased exposure to invasive species, pests and disease as well as changes in the availability and quality of traditional plant and animal species. Maintaining or restoring ecosystem health, in partnership with tribal communities, for hunting and gathering, or cultivation not only ensures a sound cultural future but also contributes to future food security.
This symposium will host a panel of up to 8 speakers. A discussion round table will also invite audience participation. Primary objectives of this session are (i) to highlight best practice and innovation in developing adaptation initiatives that have incorporated first foods and food security, demonstrating where these efforts are achieving success; (ii) to discuss challenges in developing and adopting adaptation initiatives; (iii) to identify gaps in research and outreach.
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The Capacity Building in STEM Programming for Sustainability started by being focused on Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) students and faculty. As a result of the accomplishments of the project we have extended our focus in the 2nd and 3rd years to include the greater community. This program is targeted to give our students a chance to do hands-on STEM projects while investing them in the future of a sustainable campus. The Capacity Building in STEM Programming was able to use the sustainability initiatives as a tool for different courses to give their students a hands-on, practical application project. This year the program had 88 students directly involved in STEM projects. The courses that faculty used the sustainability initiatives to enhance STEM learning was Environmental Science, Biology, Nursing, and Energy Alternative Energy. Approximately 475 students were educated about our sustainability initiatives through two education awareness events at FDLTCC. The Fall quarter's Sustainability Week and Spring quarter's Earth Day All Week gave a chance for our students to display their research posters and sustainability demonstrations to share with the whole college community the work that is being done on campus. Our program is also bringing in local community members as advisors and partners on the various sustainability initiatives that the campus is pursuing. Our community outreach used our Bee Yard and partnership with the Northeastern Beekeepers Association to host a "Bees and More Symposium" in February 2016. We had 158 community members from Canada to southern Minnesota attended our symposium. 10 FDLTCC students helped organize, facilitate, and participate in the February pollinator event. FDLTCC camps such as Scrubs (targeted at youth interested in medical fields), Nandagikendan (Seek to Learn) Academy, and college student orientation have incorporated the gardens, bee yard, and trails as part of their camp activities. These camps served 107 students ranging from high school to college age. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College gave faculty a chance to connect with community and University experts on bee ecology. The skills and knowledge gained by attending meetings and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab workshop will allow faculty to share their gained expertise with our college students and greater community. The Forestry Committee brought together Fond du Lac Resource Management Forester and the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center Head Forester with FDLTCC faculty and staff. This committee partnership led to advance training for FDLTCC faculty and staff on forestry management and measurement techniques. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The 2016 FDLTCC Environmental Institute Report Card highlighted the campus sustainability initiatives. This publication was handed out at workshops, community events, and to college and community leaders. FDLTCC also hosted two college events that provided educational outreach on sustainability efforts at the college as well as issues globally. Over 475 college students and community members participated in the fall 2015 Sustainability Week and the spring 2016 Earth Day All Week events. Both of these events featured speakers, student research posters, and multi-media displays on campus sustainability initiatives. The FDLTCC Bee Yard was featured in the June 2015 Fond du Lac Newspaper Nahgahchiwanong. The Bee Yard and Bee Symposium were both on local news stations and the Cloquet Pine Journal and Duluth News Tribune in February 2016. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The third full year of our Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming will see a growth in interdisciplinary faculty and student work on campus sustainability issues, more on the ground projects, and greater community outreach. In 2016 -2017 the work done on this grant by our students will be showcased during our Sustainability Week and Earth Day celebrations. These educational outreach events are targeted to both our campus, tribal, and surrounding communities. We will also produce a 2017 Environmental Institute Report Card that will highlight all the work being done on campus. Our plans for this next year include: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and traditional harvesting. Continue to partner with Cloquet Forestry Center and Fond du Lac Band Forestry Division to bring University of Minnesota and tribal researchers to meet with students, faculty, and staff to discuss best practices for our campus. Work with the forestry management committee to start create guidelines for forest management harvest on campus Continue the involvement of students in gathering data and conducting research on the current condition of our campus forest and wildlife diversity Add additional wildlife habitat improvements such as bird feeders, bird houses, and an overwintering bee shed Incorporate acoustic research in the classrooms to highlight diversity and sustainability topics Create and implement first phase of a long term ecological research project on campus using curriculum created by science faculty. Goal 2: Build capacity for offering sustainable agriculture class Use the greenhouse for classroom use and research projects Start plants for campus gardens. Gardens will include pollinator, butterfly, vegetable, and traditional plants. Start a composting program Have regular meetings of the gardening committee to help guide garden creation on campus Host 2nd Bee Symposium to bring in experts in support of beginning and experienced bee keepers Highlight sustainable agriculture during 2016 Sustainability Week Use campus garden produce to teach nutrition and preservation classes to dorm students and greater community Start a FDLTCC Farmer Market on campus to sell campus produce and use money to sustain campus gardens Contribute fresh food to the FDLTCC Dorm food shelf Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. Work with our alternative energy program to create solar powered bee shed to support bee research Work with our facilities management to create informational posters on current and future energy saving initiatives. Work with our community partners to increase tours of our solar powered projects including Fond du Lac Reservation's new solar farm.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our second year of the Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming has been a huge success. We have provided hands-on practical application experience to over 88 college students in multiple sections of our Environmental Science class and Alternative Energy class. These students have produces 21 research posters and a solar powered greenhouse. All of this research and the resulting projects will create a campus that encourages STEM learning and create a model for sustainability on our campus that honors the Anishinaabe culture. Our accomplishments this year: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and for traditional harvesting by Fond du Lac Band members. Environmental Science investigated the diversity, density, and health of the surrounding campus forest. Eleven research projects were produced by the students. In partnership with University of Minnesota's Cloquet Forestry Center the silviculture graduate students surveyed the campus forest. The project by the graduate students produced a forestry stewardship plan. All of the student produced research information will be used by student, staff, faculty, and community members to make informed forest management decisions. Environmental Science students produced a research poster on current wildlife biodiversity on campus. Two student projects centered around trail needs on campus and sustainable substrate options. Both of these projects will be used in future committee meetings to help design a multi-use trails on campus. Fond du Lac Resources management, University of Minnesota's Cloquet Forestry Center, FDLTCC Faculty and Staff participated on the Forestry committee. This committee has advised on creation of a long term ecological research project on campus. FDLTCC Science faculty are creating a new course called Environmental Science and Sustainability. This course will use all the current projects created through campus sustainability to enrich STEM learning. FDLTCC camps such as the Scrubs (targeted at youth interested in medical fields), Nandagikendan (Seek to Learn) Academy, and college student orientation have incorporated the gardens, bee yard, and trails as part of their camp activities. These camps served 107 students ranging from high school to college age. Goal 2: Build capacity for offering sustainable agriculture class During Earth Week outreach centered on the importance of pollinator gardens. Seed bombs were created and distributed by FDLTCC students throughout the campus. In collaboration with our Northeastern Beekeepers Association partners, FDLTCC hosted a "Bees and More Symposium". Speakers from the University of Minnesota's Bee Squad, Boreal Natives, Fond du Lac Resources Management, and NE Beekeepers Association spoke to 158 participants during the one day event. Topics included planting for pollinators, beekeeping 101, herbal uses of honey, economics of beekeeping, and the latest research on bee health. The FDLTCC garden committee, composed of faculty, staff, Fond du Lac community members, and Elder, met to discuss the opportunities for gardening on campus. Two pollinator gardens were created near the bee yard. These gardens will be used as campus as well as community outreach sites. A hugelkultur garden was installed on campus. The hugelkultur garden is a type of garden that used woody biomass as a way to create soil, retain moisture, and maximize surface volume for planting. Raised vegetable gardens were planted by the FDLTCC dorms. Harvesting and preserving of garden vegetables and honey will be used as educational outreach on sustainability, nutrition, and organic agriculture. All food stuffs harvested will be used in educational outreach and to provide food for campus feasts and dorm residents. A College for Seniors ( a community class for senior citizens) class of 10 participants toured the campus gardens, greenhouse and bee yard to learn more about sustainable living. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. The Alternative Energy class created a solar powered energy system for greenhouse. The solar power will run the greenhouse ventilation which includes roof vents and fan.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The Capacity Building in STEM Programming for Sustainability is focused on Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) students and faculty. This program is targeted to give our students a chance to do hands-on STEM projects while investing them in the future of a sustainable campus. The Capacity Building in STEM Programming was able to use the sustainability initiatives as a tool for different courses to give their students a hands-on, practical application project. This year the program had 117 students directly involved in STEM projects. The courses that faculty used the sustainability initiatives to enhance STEM learning was Environmental Science, Geospatial Technologies, Environmental Ethics, and Alternative Energy. Approximately 400 students were educated about our sustainability initiatives through two education awareness events at FDLTCC. The Fall quarter's Sustainability Week and Spring quarter's Earth Day All Week gave a chance for our students to display their research posters and sustainability demonstrations to share with the whole college community the work that is being done on campus. Our program is also bringing in local community members as advisors and partners on the various sustainability initiatives that the campus is pursuing. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The partnership with the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College gave faculty a chance to connect with community and University experts on bee ecology. The skills and knowledge gained by attending meetings and the University of Minnesota Bee Lab workshop will allow faculty to share their gained expertise with our college students and greater community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The 2015 FDLTCC Environmental Institute Report Card highlighted the campus sustainability initiatives. This publication was handed out at workshops, community events, and to college and community leaders. FDLTCC also hosted two college events that provided educational outreach on sustainability efforts at the college as well as issues globally. Over 400 college students and community members participated in the fall 2014 Sustainability Week and the spring 2015 Earth Day All Week events. Both of these events featured speakers, student research posters, and multi-media displays on campus sustainability initiatives. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The second full year of our Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming will see a growth in interdisciplinary faculty and student work on campus sustainability issues, more on the ground projects, and greater community outreach. In 2015 -2016 the work done on this grant by our students will be showcased during our Sustainability Week and Earth Day celebration. These educational outreach events are targeted to both our campus, tribal, and surrounding communities. We will also produce a 2016 Environmental Institute Report Card that will highlight all the work being done on campus. Our plans for this next year include: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and traditional harvesting.. . Partner with Cloquet Forestry Center and Fond du Lac Band Forestry Division to bring University of Minnesota and tribal researchers to meet with students, faculty, and staff to discuss best practices for our campus. . Create a forestry management committee to start a consensus on a forestry management plan . Continue the involvement of students in gathering data and conducting research on the current condition of our campus forest and wildlife diversity . Add additional wildlife habitat improvements such as bird feeders and bat houses Goal 2: Build capacity for offering sustainable agriculture class . Finish setting up the greenhouse to be fully functional for classroom use . Start plants for campus gardens. Gardens will include pollinator, butterfly, vegetable, and traditional plants. . Start a composting program . Start a gardening committee to help guide garden creation on campus Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. . Work with our alternative energy program to create solar powered venting for the greenhouse . Work with our facilities management to create informational posters on current and future energy saving initiatives. . Work with our community partners to increase tours of our solar powered projects
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our first year of the Capacity Building in STEM for Sustainability Programming has been a huge success. We have provided hands-on practical application experience to over 117 college students in four different courses. These students have produces 20 research posters and 8 maps and a solar powered apiary. All of this research and the resulting projects will create a campus that encourages STEM learning and create a model for sustainability on our campus that honors the Anishinaabe culture. Our accomplishments this year: Goal 1: Manage our campus forestry for sustainability, wildlife biodiversity, and for traditional harvesting by Fond du Lac Band members. . Environmental Science students and the Geospatial Technology students investigated the diversity, density, and health of the surrounding campus forest. Two research projects and eight maps were produced by students. Students started a tree herbarium project for the campus. All of the student produced research information will be used by student, staff, faculty, and community members to make informed forest management decisions. . Environmental Science students produced five research posters on current wildlife biodiversity on campus and research on how to improve biodiversity. One student built bat houses that have been installed around campus. . Two student projects centered around trail needs on campus and sustainable substrate options. Both of these projects will be used in future committee meetings to help design a multi-use trails on campus. . Fond du Lac Resources management and Fond du Lac Band community members will be included on our forestry management committee to ensure that the community benefits from our forestry management plan. The committees for this plan will be starting fall of 2015. Goal 2: Build capacity for offering sustainable agriculture class . The campus has added a greenhouse to increase our ability to start plants for our campus. . Our Geospatial Technologies students created maps to identify optimal garden space on campus. Students produced nine research posters on the feasibility of different gardens on campus, the need for a campus farmers market, and the importance of local, fresh foods. . Working in partnership with the Bimaaji'idiwin Garden students have been able to tour and participate in agricultural outreach. Goal 3: Use renewable energy within each aspect of the outdoor learning space. . Our new apiary was designed by the Alternative Energy students at FDLTCC. They investigated the best designs and then installed the solar powered electric fencing necessary to protect the beehives from natural predators. . Our solar powered bee yard has been shown by the Northeastern Minnesota Beekeepers Association as an example of how to incorporate solar power into a fencing design.
Publications
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