Source: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE submitted to
STRENGTHENING US AGRICULTURE WITH MULTIDISCIPLINARY INTERNATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION EXPERIENCES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1011089
Grant No.
2017-67032-26014
Project No.
TENTEN2016-06392
Proposal No.
2016-06392
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A7401
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2017
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2020
Grant Year
2017
Project Director
Willcox, A.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
2621 MORGAN CIR
KNOXVILLE,TN 37996-4540
Performing Department
International Programs
Non Technical Summary
It is imperative undergraduate students of agriculture and natural resources are able to synthesize and address complex, transdisciplinary, global challenges to become leaders in their field. One of the most complex agricultural and natural resources challenges of our time is reconciling sustainable global food security and biodiversity conservation. As educators, we must provide students effective, learning experiences to develop technical and cultural competency so they are prepared to resolve these challenges through science and extension. Our 3-year experiential research and extension project will bring together 14 students and 10 mentors to investigate smallholder farms practicing conservation-compatible adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. We will conduct projects on crops and soils; social and economic systems; and wildlife, forestry, and ecosystem services. We will use an agroecological approach that will foster systems-level thinking and develop transdisciplinary skills. Our overall goal is: develop leaders in agriculture and natural resources research and extension who can synthesize the complexity of agricultural systems to keep US agriculture at the forefront of addressing sustainable global food security. Our goal mirrors the AFRI ELI Undergraduate Fellowship goal and we will accomplish it through the following objectives: 1) Education--recruit, retain, and graduate 14 fellows who are competent in systems-level assessments of global agricultural challenges through experiential learning, 2) Research--complete 14 applied individual research projects that explore the challenge of food security and biodiversity conservation in the tropics, and 3) Extension--collaboratively with local stakeholders, design and implement extension projects based on research results.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1360640106070%
1360640308015%
1360640301015%
Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity;

Subject Of Investigation
0640 - Tropical forests;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems); 3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;
Goals / Objectives
Overall project goal: To develop leaders in agriculture and natural resources research and extension who can synthesize the complexity of agricultural systems to keep US agriculture at the forefront of addressing sustainable global food security.Objectives:Education--recruit, retain, and graduate 14 fellows who are competent in systems-level assessments of global agricultural challenges through experiential learning. Our fellows will be prepared to immediately fill, and become leaders in, research and extension positions in the US agricultural workforce or attend graduate school.Research--complete 14 applied individual research projects that explore the challenge of food security and biodiversity conservation. In a team setting and with local stakeholders, collaboratively synthesize research projects to holistically address conservation agriculture strategies using an agroecology approach.Extension--collaboratively with local stakeholders, design and implement extension projects based on research results. Our fellows will also be versed in formative and outcome evaluations to measure extension project successes.
Project Methods
After competitive selection, student fellows will be grouped in 2 cohorts of 7 and overlapping in project year 2. During Fall of their first year, fellows will be recruited and paired with 1 primary faculty mentor in the fellow's area of interest. In Spring, fellows will work with mentors individually and in groups, both in person and through electronic communications, including email and videoconferences. Fellows will gather as a cohort at UT 1 week before departure to Belize for pre-trip research instruction, teambuilding, and planning. In Summer, fellows will work with local counterparts and mentors to design and implement research projects over 6 weeks in Belize. At all times, at least 2 mentors will be present to assist fellows in the field. Fellows will return to UT for 1 week of mentoring to debrief the trip and initiate data analysis. Fellows will continue working with mentors and local stakeholders throughout the year to present results and prepare manuscripts through electronic communications. Fellows will present research results at their university's undergraduate research symposium. During their second year Summer, fellows will return to UT 1 week prior to Belize departure for pre-trip extension and evaluation instruction and planning. In Belize, fellows, mentors, and local stakeholders will discuss research results in workshop settings to conduct formative evaluations of extension projects, implement projects, and conduct outcome evaluations of the extension activities over 6 weeks in Belize. During project year 2, cohorts of fellows will overlap and this will allow for peer-to-peer learning opportunities, so the second cohort's research builds upon the results of the first cohort. Mentors will conduct a formative evaluation of the project in Belize during year 1 and a summative evaluation of the project as fellows graduate from their universities.

Progress 01/01/17 to 12/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience was14 undergraduates, 63 farmers working in and around the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize,5 staff members of Friends for Conservation and Development (local NGO), and the scientific community. Changes/Problems:We intended to return to Belize under our no cost extension with at least 3 faculty mentors and 5 student fellows. During this trip, we were going to present results at a scientific conference and make steps to continue the project with partners in Belize. Due to the pandemic, the conferernce and all of these plans were cancelled. With so much uncertianty over travel in 2021, we have decided not to request any further no cost extensions. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The professional decelopment at the conferences and meetings in 2020 were cancelled due to the pandemic. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The publcation on bats from 2020 was shared with local partners and the scientific community. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We published one paper during our final year. In 2019 we were able to export guano samples from bats for diet analysis. DNA from these samples were extracted and sequenced in 2020. Data analysis and manuscript preperation will continue after the project completion.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Shapiro, H., A. S. Willcox, E. V. Willcox, and M. Tate 2020. Can farmers and bats co-exist? farmer attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with bats in Belize. Human-Wildlife Interactions, 14(1):5-15.


Progress 01/01/19 to 12/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:We targeted 7first- and second-year undergraduate students to recruit as fellows. We intentionally kept this number low to have a 1:1 faculty mentor to fellow ratio as our intention is to recruit top undergraduates that will be able to publish their research results as the first author in peer-reviewed journals, immediately enter the workforce upon graduation, and ultimately become leaders in their fields. Fellows will be grouped in 2 cohorts of 7 and overlapping in project year 2. Our target farmer audience are the approximately 50 farmers living adjacent the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. The 40,375 acre Vaca is part of the larger 1.25 million acre Chiquibul/Maya Mountain Massif. The Vaca differs from most of the other 13 protected areas in the Massif, as it is specifically managed to incorporate some agricultural use. Farmers in and around the Vaca are switching to conservation agriculture in response to extension efforts by a local NGO: Friends for Conservation and Development. Vaca farmers primarily grow fruit and vegetable crops that are sold at local markets. Conservation agriculture extension efforts have focused on apiculture, landscape planning, integrated multi-crop farms, composting, organic farming, reforestation, and agroforestry. Changes/Problems:No major changes or problems to report. We feel we have established a strong model to train our future leaders in the grand golbal challenges to feed the world balanced with conserving biodiversity. We were dissapointed we were not selected in the 2019 competition to improve and continue our project. We intend on sumbitting again in the 2020 grant cycle. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?All 7 student research and extension fellows from cohort 2 continued to receive 1 on 1 mentoring with their faculty mentor. They also received additional mentoring from the faculty who rotated in and out over the summer during their extension projects. Mentoring topics included: scientific analysis, manuscript production and scientific writing, career advice and development, extension material design, and extension program design, among others. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated results to local farmers and our NGO partner in print and electronically. Highlights invcuded presentaitons at a Belize national biodioversity conference, a farmer field day attended by approximately 30 farmers in the Vaca Forest Reserve, and a field day for interested farmers to the governmnet tilapia hatchery. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have been granted a no cost extension and will return to Belize with several students to present at a biodiversity conference and plan potential future oppertunities with partners. We will also visit NIFA with several fellows to meet professionals and present some of our successes to NIFA. We were not successful in FY 2019 in securing a second phase of this successful project, however, we were ranked High. We intend on resubmitting for a phase 2 of this project to build on our successes.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We continued to work with our final cohort of sevenfellows to complete extension projects based on research conducted in summer 2018. The citations of presentations and publications for this work is detalied in 'products.' Highlights invcuded presentaitons at a Belize national biodioversity conference, a farmer field day attended by approximately 30 farmers in the Vaca Forest Reserve, and a field day for interested farmers to the governmnet tilapia hatchery. Our project participants continue to excel with most choosing to enter graduate school, one was awarded a Fulbright research grant to Slovenia, and several others are still working in labs on their campus. Our student at a 2-year college has been accepted into a 4-year BS program.

Publications

  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Project website: Research and Extension Experiential Learning for Undergraduates Fellowship Program https://ag.tennessee.edu/international/Pages/NIFA-Belize.aspx
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Shapiro, H., A. S. Willcox, E. V. Willcox, and M. Tate. Accepted Dec 2019. Can Farmers and Bats Co-exist? Farmer Attitudes, Knowledge, and Experiences with Bats in Belize. Human-Wildlife Interactions.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Tate, M.a, H. Shapiroa, A. S. Willcox, E. V. Willcox, and E. Butikofer. 2019. Can humans and bats coexist? Farmers knowledge and attitudes towards bats in Belize. 18th International Bat Research Conference, Phuket, Thailand. July 28?October 1, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Willcox, A. S., M. Tate, H. Shapirob, E. V. Willcox, and E. Butikofer. 2019. Understanding Farmer Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Bats in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Willcox, A. S., E. V. Willcox, J. C. Stier, D. G. Hodges, C. Ohs, D. M. Butler, M. Andreu, A. S. Kaeser, and T. Gill. 2019. Undergraduate research and extension in Belize: an agroecological approach. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Thorp, K., J. Stier, K. Leonard, J. Zobel, and M. Andreu. 2019. The efects of anthropogenic land use on surface water quality in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: J. Stier, S. Ottinger, and J. Sindu. 2019. Soil health and agricultural effects in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: S. Walker, D. Hodges, A. Franks, J. Fraizer, and M. Andreu. 2019. Planting teak in western Belize: The potential costs and returns. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: K. Rose and C. Oh. 2019. Something smells fishy: An evaluation of the water quality of tilapia farms in the Vaca Forest Reserve. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: M. Andreu, J. Fraizer, D. Mills, A. Franks, and D. Hodges. 2019. Contrasting management approaches and effects on forest structure. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: L. Vining, E. Willcox, and A. Willcox, 2019. Influence of farm structure on insectivorous bat activity in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: X. Lazaro, E. Willcox, M. Tate, L. Vining, and A. Willcox. 2019. Bat species presence and bat-related education on farms in and around the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. 12th Natural Resources Management and Research Symposium, Belize Chapter of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, Belmopan, Belize. May 28-30, 2019.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: K. Thorp, J. Stier, K. Leonard, J. Zobel, and M. Andreu. 2019. Water Quality of the Vaca Forest Reserve. Extension leaflet.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: X. Lazaro and E. Willcox. 2019. Bats of the Vaca Forest Reserve. Extension leaflet.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: G. Pilato and D.Butler. 2019. Why Intercrop? Extension leaflet.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: K. Rose and C. Ohs. Maximizing Tilapia Growth. Extension leaflet.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: K. Rose and C. Ohs. A Guide to Growing Tilapia. Extension compilation and guide.


Progress 01/01/18 to 12/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:We targeted 14 first- and second-year undergraduate students to recruit as fellows. We intentionally kept this number low to have a 1:1 faculty mentor to fellow ratio as our intention is to recruit top undergraduates that will be able to publish their research results as the first author in peer-reviewed journals, immediately enter the workforce upon graduation, and ultimately become leaders in their fields. Fellows will be grouped in 2 cohorts of 7 and overlapping in project year 2. Our target farmer audience are the approximately 50 farmers living adjacent the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. The 40,375 acre Vaca is part of the larger 1.25 million acre Chiquibul/Maya Mountain Massif. The Vaca differs from most of the other 13 protected areas in the Massif, as it is specifically managed to incorporate some agricultural use. Farmers in and around the Vaca are switching to conservation agriculture in response to extension efforts by a local NGO: Friends for Conservation and Development. Vaca farmers primarily grow fruit and vegetable crops that are sold at local markets. Conservation agriculture extension efforts have focused on apiculture, landscape planning, integrated multi-crop farms, composting, organic farming, reforestation, and agroforestry. Changes/Problems:We lost one of our fellows from the first cohort as she was accepted into a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in Swaziland. We successfully replaced the underperforming faculty member at the University of Florida with a fisheries research and extension professor from the University of Florida. This professor met further needs of our local stakeholders as they were promoting sustainable agriculture with local communities. We are entering our final year with the students. We have built a successful model and our research and extension would be welcomed by our local partners for another funding cycle. If possible, we intend to resubmit this project for continuation and expansion in 2019. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The 14 fellows worked with their faculty mentors to learn experimental design, field research methods, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. 6 of our 14 fellows have participated in international scientific conferences including the Society for American Foresters, Pathways to Success: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management, The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, American Society of Agronomy 2018 meeting, and the North American Society for Bat Research Annual Symposium. 6 of the 14 fellows have worked with the mentors and local NGO partners to transform their research into extension materials and programming. These included brochures, fact sheet, white papers, a farmer field day, and an article published in a Belezian agricultural trade journal. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Six of the research projects were presented as posters at the international conferences listed above. These posters have also been shared with local NGO partners in Belize who will use the data in agriculture and natural resources outreach activities. The mentors presented a poster at an international conference on pedagogy and the benefits of undergraduate research using an agroecological approach. We have also maintained and updated a project website that gave weekly updates from fellows when we were in the field. We have also been featured in University of Tennessee, NC State, and University of Florida newsletters and social media. We successfully hosted a farmer field day in Summer 2018 with approximately 50 attendees on soil health. We published an article on the project in the Belize Agricultural Report and an interim research report to our local NGO partners. Published extension materials included a project brochure, posters, and multiple fact sheets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have impemented a survey to measure the research and extension skills of our first cohort. We will survey the second cohort in fall 2019 and combine the results to measure the effectiveness of our program. We will continue to work with the fellows to present and publish their ressearch. The second cohort of fellows will conduct their extension work in Belize in summer 2019. We intend to reapply to this USDA NIFA program in spring 2019 to build upon our past successes and continue conducting applied conservation agriculture research in Belize.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We recruited our second cohort of 7 undergraduate research fellows. These fellows worked with their faculty mentors to design and implement a research project in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize over 6 weeks in Summer 2018. These fellows are currently working with their mentors to analyze data, write and give scientific presentations, and draft reports and manuscripts. We retained 6 of 7 fellows from the first cohort who conducted extension activities based off there 2017 research. These fellows worked with faculty to independently and collaboratively produce printed extension materials and facilitated one farmer field day. These fellows also engaged in extensive peer-to-peer mentoring to assist the second cohort of fellows to implement their research projects, building off 2017 research. Within the first cohort of 7 fellows, 5 have graduated their undergraduate university, successfully attaining bachelor of science degrees. Of those 5, the 2 who graduated in Spring and Summer 2018 are currently enrolled in MS degree programs at the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee. Of the 3 who graduated December 2018, 1 is starting a research associate position at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the other two are actively seeking employment or graduate school.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sarah Ottinger, John Stier, Sindhu Jagadadamma, and Sean Schaeffer. 2018. Tropical Soil Health and Agricultural Effects in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. Environmental Quality Section of the American Society of Agronomy 2018 meeting.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hannah G. Shapiro, Adam S. Willcox, Amanda S. Kaeser. in review. Farmer attitudes towards wildlife and forest management in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. Human Dimensions of Wildlife
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Project website: Research and Extension Experiential Learning for Undergraduates Fellowship Program https://ag.tennessee.edu/international/Pages/NIFA-Belize.aspx
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Weekly student fellow blog: https://ag.tennessee.edu/international/Pages/Summer-2018-Belize-NIFA-Program.aspx
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Laura Vining and Emma Willcox. 2018. Influence of Farm Structure on Insectivorous Bat Activity in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. North American Society for Bat Research 48th Symposium, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Adam Willcox, Mallory Tate, Hannah Shapiro, Erin Butikofer, Emma Willcox. 2018. Understanding Farmer Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Bats in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. North American Society for Bat Research 48th Symposium, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hannah Shapiro, Adam Willcox, Amanda Kaeser. 2018. Wildlife Attitudes of Farmers in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. The Wildlife Society 25th Annual Conference, Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Adam Willcox, Emma Willcox, John Stier, Donald Hodges, Cortney Ohs, David Butler, Amanda Kaeser, Michael Andreu, Tom Gill. 2018. Developing the Next Generation of Systems-Level Conservationists through International Undergraduate Research and Extension. The Wildlife Society 25th Annual Conference, Cleveland, Ohio.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Kaeser, A., H. Shapiro, E. Becker, D. Butler, and A. Willcox. 2018. Sustainable Intensification Through Community-Based Conservation in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize. First International Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition Conference. Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Shapiro, H., A. Willcox, A. Kaeser, E. Willcox, T. Gill, J. Stier, D. Butler, D. Hodges, L. Vining, L. Watine, S. Ottinger, A. Franks, M. Andreau, D. Mills, S. Teman, J. Frazier, E. Becker. 2017. Strengthening Global Conservation Through Undergraduate Research. Pathways Conference, Estes Park CO.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Technical Report to local NGO partners: Shapiro, H.G., Ottinger, S.L., Becker, L.M., Frazier, J., Franks, A., Willcox, A.S., Butler, D., Stier, J., Hodges, D., & Andreu, M. 2018. Research in the Vaca Forest Reserve, USDA-NIFA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Becker, E., Butler, D. 2018. Using intercropping as a land management strategy for the Vaca Forest Reserve. Spotlight on Student Research. SUNY-ESF; Syracuse, NY.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Becker, E. 2018 Using Intercropping as a Land management Strategy for the Vaca Forest Reserve. Senior Capstone Presentation. SUNY-ESF; Syracuse, NY
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Trade journal publication: Becker, E., Ottinger, S. 2018. Sustainable Management for the Vaca Forest Reserve Series, Article 1. Belize Ag Report. Belize.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Frazier, J., Franks, A., Andreu, M., Hodges, D. 2017. An Assessment of Forest structure with Belize's Vaca Forest Reserve. Poster session presented at: Society Of American Foresters Conference; 2017 Nov. 15-19; Albequerque, NM
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Franks, A., Frazier, J., Andreu, M., Hodges, D. 2017. Agroforestry Alternatives in Belize: Evaluating the Potential of Teak. Poster session presented at: Society Of American Foresters Conference; 2017 Nov. 15-19; Albuquerque, NM
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Frazier, J., Mills, D., Andreu, M. 2018. Contrasting Management Approaches and their Effects on Forest Structure. Poster session presented at: Society of American Foresters Conference; 2018 Oct.3-7; Portland, OR
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Frazier, J., Franks, A., Andreu, M., Hodges, D. 2018. An Assessment of Forest structure with Belize's Vaca Forest Reserve. Poster session presented at: SFRC Research Symposium; March 23rd; Gainesville, FL
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Ottinger, S., Stier, J., Schaeffer, S., & Jagdamma, S. 2018. Tropical soil health and agricultural land use change in Belize. University of Tennessee Undergraduate Research Symposium.


Progress 01/01/17 to 12/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems:Onefaculty mentor from the University of Florida did not provide adequate mentoring of his fellow and was not present in Belize to mentor his fellow. One of the UT faculty mentors worked with this student to realize her project. Additionally, we added a graduate student working in Belize to the mentor team to assist with the summer mentoring. We have since removed the underperforming faculty mentor from the University of Florida and replaced him with another faculty mentor from the University of Florida. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The seven fellows worked with their faculty mentors to learn experimental design, field research methods, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Threeof ourseven fellows have participated in international scientific conferences including the Society for American Foresters and the Pathways to Success: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Three of the research projects were presented as posters at the international conferences listed above. These posters have also been shared with local NGO partners in Belize who will use the data in agriculture and natural resources outreach activities. We have also maintained and updated a project webpage that gave weekly updates from fellows when we were in the field. We have also been featured in University of Tennessee, NC State, and University of Florida newsletters and social media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will recruit and train the second cohort ofseven fellows. These fellows will develop and implement their research projects in Summer 2018. Our first cohort ofseven fellows will work as a team and with their faculty mentors and local NGO partners to develop several extension projects based on research results. These extension projects will be implemented in Summer 2018. The first cohort will also continue to work with their mentors to produce reports for local partners, manuscripts to be submitted for peer review, and presentations at scientific conferences. Our first cohort will also help us to train the second cohort of students on research methods and design so that the new 2018 research compliments the 2017 research.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We recruited our first cohort of seven undergraduate fellows. These fellows worked with their faculty mentors to design and implement a research project in the Vaca Forest Reserve, Belize over six weeks in Summer 2017. These fellows are currently working with their mentors to analyze data, write and give scientific presentations, and draft reports and manuscripts. We are currently recruiting our next cohort ofseven undergraduate fellows.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Two research posters presented, 2017 Society of American Foresters annual conference, November 15-19, 2017, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: One research poster presented, 2017 Pathways to Success: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management, September 17-20, 2017, Estes Park, Colorado.