Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:This program opened the first Extension Unit in a Virginia Native American community at the Pamunkey Indian reservation. The Pamunkey was the first federally recognized tribe of the state. In this second year, the community expanded from 36 residents to 42 family units (84 members) who live on the reservation. We hope the experiences generated by this unit will guide the extension effort with the other new recognized tribes (six more). Changes/Problems:·Office space: due to the growth of the administrative staff, the office space will be limited to a cubicle. This reduction of space will limit to store materials and equipment · The Tribe had hired a new Agricultural Coordinator. He becomes the liaison between the Extension Unit/Extension Educator and the Chief & Tribal Council. This created a new administrate layer that prolongs the decision making. In addition, new projects can not be presented to the staff or council until the new department (Lands Department) have their action plan ready · A set of new administrative protocols have been implemented in the office. All approved projects funded with tribal money have to follow the new protocol. In the case of the Cultural Funds for Extension related projects - Heritage Farming, it was approved with $15,000. However, the projects in the proposal were revised and several were eliminated. But the budget remain the same. No guidelines on how to use the money were provided. The new protocol prevented the implementation of the approved projects and the funding expired. · All funding proposals have to be review and approved by the Tribal Resource Center (TRC) staff. After approval they are submitted for consideration to council. Council meets every other month. Because some Request for Proposals (RFPs) have a short deadline, TRC does not have time to review the proposal nor time to let the councilconsider it. For example, the Community Viability Grant from VT offered $35,000 dollars to the community. TRC has not acknowledge if the proposal was reviewed or approved and the deadline expired · New grants will not be accepted until the new office (Lands Department) is stablish. As a consequence, the new grant from Land Tenure Funds ($30,000) did not get the letter of support from the tribe. the PI of the project was not able to submit the grant request. In addition, Small Farm Outreach Program offered a $1500 mini-conservation grant to the tribe. The proposal was not authorized to be submitted and the offer was declined What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has created several opportunities for professional development for the unit and members of the community and staff. For example: · First Nations offered scholarships to attend the Native American Business Course which took place in Denver, CO (one participant) · USET offered travel support to the Climate Resilience Summit in Syracuse, NY (four members of the staff, one member of the community and the extension educator attended) · USET Community Development Unit offered travel support their Tribal Enterprise Workshop their Conference in Choctaw, MS (no attendance) · VSU - Small Farmer Outreach Program offered two scholarship to attend the · The working group of Horticulture at the College of Agriculture from Virginia Tech offered funding to attend the Food Sovereignty summit at Oneida Nation of Wisconsin (no attendance) · VSU invited to participate in the Urban Agricultural Summit at Virginia Beach. The extension educator was the only participant and he presented his projects · Cooperative of Extension - VT, extended an invitation for a member of the community to attend the FRTEP conference in St. Paul, Michigan (only the extension educator attended) · Virginia Food Work value-added workshop (only the extension educator participated) · AISES National Conference offered scholarship to attend the National Conference at Milwaukee, WI. The extension educator was awarded a Travel Award and he presented and became a mentor for undergraduate and graduate Native American students How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?By teaching classes at Virginia Tech · Workshops · Fieldtrips · Conference presentations · Professional Development Course Participation · Attendance to agricultural training · Developing and distributing pamphlets about the projects · Demonstration garden · Creation of Heritage mini-orchards at individual allotments · Attending meetings of federal and local organizations (e.g., vegetable growers, USDA, NRCS, VSU) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?· Consolidate the Natural Resources Management Plan · Elaborate a guide for sustainable agriculture in the reservation · Complete the two publications about Heirloom fruit production and Heirloom sweet potatoes · Plant 8 more mini-orchards · Rescue the genetic material of the old apple trees of the reservation · Plant a Heritage Orchard for the community · Create 12 mini-gardens at the elders residences · Establish 2 new Incubator Farmer mini-plots. One of them will test the production of berries, another will test the production of wildflower seeds. · Establish two demonstration plots growing cover crops
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Several initiatives have been coordinated and implemented to generate a long term sustainable natural resource plan for the reservation: 1) Cultural Sensitive Natural Resources Management Plan · Tribal Lands Natural Resources Management Plan (NRMP). During the month of July, in collaboration leadership and the director and staff of Small Farmers Outreach program we established the guides for developing an NRMP for the tribal lands. In this meeting, we decided to invite the state USDA / NRCS, VSU, VT and Three Rivers Soil & Water Conservation District for developing the management plan. Currently, the reservation lands had been properly delineated. The USDA is updating the soil analysis of the reservation. Wetlands and vulnerable ecosystems will be marked. It has been suggested to create a buffer zone between the forest/and wetlands and adjacent agricultural lands. · Transitioning agricultural lands to wildlife habitat Initiative. I also coordinate with the cover crop specialist from Three Rivers Water Conservation District Danny Withers to visit the reservation and begin provide technical assistant to the members of the community that wants to take their lands from conventional agricultural production. The objective is to provide alternatives to improve soil health, provide habitat for wildlife and native pollinators, enhance the appearance of the landscape, and reduce mechanical and chemical weed control · Improving Native Pollinator Habitat. In collaboration with the Chief - Robert Gray, we secure a mini conservation grant from VSU. With the grant, we build and install in the reservation at the administrate buildings and in the property of a member of the community 25 raised beds with drip irrigation system. The plant material was based on shrubs and native herbaceous perennials that will support the native pollinator population of the reservation · Invasive species assessment. Several scientists from VSU, VCU, VT, USDA, and UF had been contacted to request help to develop an invasive plant species assessment in the river surrounding the reservation, the wetlands, and the forest · Tribal Soil Climate Analysis Network -TSCAN. Since the installation of the meteorological station, I have been researching a way to provide easier access to the data generated for the system so it can be used by any member of the community. I am working with NRCS and scientist from Cornell University Network for Environmentand Weather Applications (NEWA) and the Midwest Climate Hub director to explore the idea of creating an app that will provide easy access to the information. 2) Agri-business Opportunities Development: · Heritage Farming Demonstration Garden. The infrastructure of the community garden was improved by adding a new water system. The soil was amended with compost mushroom and a new lager of hardwood mulch were added. The mulch at the base of the growing rows was re-installed. Furthermore, the garden was replanted with new varieties of herbs, vegetables, and fruits. · Food Sovereignty Project. With the support of SNAP mini-grant, Virginia Cooperative of Extension, and the Indian Land Tenure Grant we began a project to take the lessons learned in the community garden into the community. This program is implementing an outreach program to encourage the members of the community to grow their own food by using raised beds and small gardens. We planted several mini-orchards, grew and shared with the community different fruit and vegetables (e.g., Swiss chard, onions, beets, lettuce, melons, watermelons, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, basil) · Specialty Crops initiative. The specialist of specialty crops from VSU (Dr. Reza Rafie) and the VT specialist (Dr. Jayest Santani) and the expert of Marketing Agricultural Products from VSU (Dr. Theresa Nartea) has been contacted to explore the idea of growing blueberries, Pawpaws, blackberries, and strawberries by small farmers on the reservation. Three people had shown interest in the initiative. These farmers will be considered as future participants of the Incubator Farmer Mini-plots program · Value Added Initiative. A member of the board of directors from Northern Neck Vegetable Growers Association invited the community to visit her large vegetable farm operation. She also offered to collaborate with the tribe in case some members will be willing to process fruit and vegetables for marketing. In collaboration with Virginia Food Works, we explored the idea of product development for the tribe. Also, determine which products will have the potential for being produced for the community and for retail. A field trip to the co-packing and commercial kitchen facility was organized and a workshop for preparing and canning blackberry jelly was planned. We also contacted Dr. Theresa Nartea (Marketing specialist) to evaluate value-added products and cost of production · Heritage Orchard. We are collaborating with The Plant Genetic Resources Unit from USDA-ARS from Cornell University, at Geneva, NY. Dr. Awais Khan donated to the unit more than a hundred apple rootstocks. The trees were planted in one-gallon containers and nurse for the fall/winter season. During the spring 2019, most of the treeswere grafted with scion wood from 18 different heirloom varieties that are suitable for the area. In association with Bill Shelton (Albemarle Ciderworks & Vintage Virginia Apples Nursery) and the Pamunkey Tribe, we acquired 60 grafted trees (18 varieties). Twelve mini orchards were planted in the community and there are a request for four more 3) Cultural Rescue and Outreach: · Ethnobotanical Garden. With the help of the Naturalist from Eco-Images from Virginia Beach we expanded the collection of plants with historical and cultural importance for the Pamunkey Indian. · Rescuing Elders apple germplasm initiative. Several of the rootstocks donated by Dr. Khan were not grafted with the idea of collecting scion wood from the oldest apple trees in the reservation. This trees belonged to elders and the trees had been growing for more than 60 years and performing reasonably · Cultural and ethnobotanical flora assessment at the reservation. The forest, fields, and wetlands of the reservation were scouted with a Botanical Expert Clay Morris and one of the Elders and Naturalist of the reservation Bonnie Sears. We were looking for plants that used to be used and were present at the reservation. Identifying the sites that need to be protected and the plants that might need to be replanted · Indigenous Crops: As a request from the Norfolk Botanical Garden, I began to document the crops grown by the Pamunkey. A non-affiliated member of the tribe offered to bring his personal collection of specimens to the reservation. I am collaborating with the agricultural coordinator and the staff of the Tribal Resource Center to have a workshop and provide historical agricultural literacy for the community.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 11/22/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This program opened the first Extension Unit in a Virginia Native American community at the Pamunkey Indian reservation. The Pamunkey was the first federally recognized tribe of the state. In this second year, the community expanded from 36 residents to 42 family units (84 members) who live on the reservation. We hope the experiences generated by this unit will guide the extension effort with the other new recognized tribes (six more). Changes/Problems:·Office space: due to the growth of the administrative staff, the office space will be limited to a cubicle. This reduction of space will limit to store materials and equipment · The Tribe had hired a new Agricultural Coordinator. He becomes the liaison between the Extension Unit/Extension Educator and the Chief & Tribal Council. This created a new administrate layer that prolongs the decision making. In addition, new projects can not be presented to the staff or council until the new department (Lands Department) have their action plan ready · A set of new administrative protocols have been implemented in the office. All approved projects funded with tribal money have to follow the new protocol. In the case of the Cultural Funds for Extension related projects - Heritage Farming, it was approved with $15,000. However, the projects in the proposal were revised and several were eliminated. But the budget remain the same. No guidelines on how to use the money were provided. The new protocol prevented the implementation of the approved projects and the funding expired. · All funding proposals have to be review and approved by the Tribal Resource Center (TRC) staff. After approval they are submitted for consideration to council. Council meets every other month. Because some Request for Proposals (RFPs) have a short deadline, TRC does not have time to review the proposal nor time to let the councilconsider it. For example, the Community Viability Grant from VT offered $35,000 dollars to the community. TRC has not acknowledge if the proposal was reviewed or approved and the deadline expired · New grants will not be accepted until the new office (Lands Department) is stablish. As a consequence, the new grant from Land Tenure Funds ($30,000) did not get the letter of support from the tribe. the PI of the project was not able to submit the grant request. In addition, Small Farm Outreach Program offered a $1500 mini-conservation grant to the tribe. The proposal was not authorized to be submitted and the offer was declined What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has created several opportunities for professional development for the unit and members of the community and staff. For example: · First Nations offered scholarships to attend the Native American Business Course which took place in Denver, CO (one participant) · USET offered travel support to the Climate Resilience Summit in Syracuse, NY (four members of the staff, one member of the community and the extension educator attended) · USET Community Development Unit offered travel support their Tribal Enterprise Workshop their Conference in Choctaw, MS (no attendance) · VSU - Small Farmer Outreach Program offered two scholarship to attend the · The working group of Horticulture at the College of Agriculture from Virginia Tech offered funding to attend the Food Sovereignty summit at Oneida Nation of Wisconsin (no attendance) · VSU invited to participate in the Urban Agricultural Summit at Virginia Beach. The extension educator was the only participant and he presented his projects · Cooperative of Extension - VT, extended an invitation for a member of the community to attend the FRTEP conference in St. Paul, Michigan (only the extension educator attended) · Virginia Food Work value-added workshop (only the extension educator participated) · AISES National Conference offered scholarship to attend the National Conference at Milwaukee, WI. The extension educator was awarded a Travel Award and he presented and became a mentor for undergraduate and graduate Native American students How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?By teaching classes at Virginia Tech · Workshops · Fieldtrips · Conference presentations · Professional Development Course Participation · Attendance to agricultural training · Developing and distributing pamphlets about the projects · Demonstration garden · Creation of Heritage mini-orchards at individual allotments · Attending meetings of federal and local organizations (e.g., vegetable growers, USDA, NRCS, VSU) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?· Consolidate the Natural Resources Management Plan · Elaborate a guide for sustainable agriculture in the reservation · Complete the two publications about Heirloom fruit production and Heirloom sweet potatoes · Plant 8 more mini-orchards · Rescue the genetic material of the old apple trees of the reservation · Plant a Heritage Orchard for the community · Create 12 mini-gardens at the elders residences · Establish 2 new Incubator Farmer mini-plots. One of them will test the production of berries, another will test the production of wildflower seeds. · Establish two demonstration plots growing cover crops
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Several initiatives have been coordinated and implemented to generate a long term sustainable natural resource plan for the reservation: 1) Cultural Sensitive Natural Resources Management Plan · Tribal Lands Natural Resources Management Plan (NRMP). During the month of July, in collaboration leadership and the director and staff of Small Farmers Outreach program we established the guides for developing an NRMP for the tribal lands. In this meeting, we decided to invite the state USDA / NRCS, VSU, VT and Three Rivers Soil & Water Conservation District for developing the management plan. Currently, the reservation lands had been properly delineated. The USDA is updating the soil analysis of the reservation. Wetlands and vulnerable ecosystems will be marked. It has been suggested to create a buffer zone between the forest/and wetlands and adjacent agricultural lands. · Transitioning agricultural lands to wildlife habitat Initiative. I also coordinate with the cover crop specialist from Three Rivers Water Conservation District Danny Withers to visit the reservation and begin provide technical assistant to the members of the community that wants to take their lands from conventional agricultural production. The objective is to provide alternatives to improve soil health, provide habitat for wildlife and native pollinators, enhance the appearance of the landscape, and reduce mechanical and chemical weed control · Improving Native Pollinator Habitat. In collaboration with the Chief - Robert Gray, we secure a mini conservation grant from VSU. With the grant, we build and install in the reservation at the administrate buildings and in the property of a member of the community 25 raised beds with drip irrigation system. The plant material was based on shrubs and native herbaceous perennials that will support the native pollinator population of the reservation · Invasive species assessment. Several scientists from VSU, VCU, VT, USDA, and UF had been contacted to request help to develop an invasive plant species assessment in the river surrounding the reservation, the wetlands, and the forest · Tribal Soil Climate Analysis Network -TSCAN. Since the installation of the meteorological station, I have been researching a way to provide easier access to the data generated for the system so it can be used by any member of the community. I am working with NRCS and scientist from Cornell University Network for Environmentand Weather Applications (NEWA) and the Midwest Climate Hub director to explore the idea of creating an app that will provide easy access to the information. 2) Agri-business Opportunities Development: · Heritage Farming Demonstration Garden. The infrastructure of the community garden was improved by adding a new water system. The soil was amended with compost mushroom and a new lager of hardwood mulch were added. The mulch at the base of the growing rows was re-installed. Furthermore, the garden was replanted with new varieties of herbs, vegetables, and fruits. · Food Sovereignty Project. With the support of SNAP mini-grant, Virginia Cooperative of Extension, and the Indian Land Tenure Grant we began a project to take the lessons learned in the community garden into the community. This program is implementing an outreach program to encourage the members of the community to grow their own food by using raised beds and small gardens. We planted several mini-orchards, grew and shared with the community different fruit and vegetables (e.g., Swiss chard, onions, beets, lettuce, melons, watermelons, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, basil) · Specialty Crops initiative. The specialist of specialty crops from VSU (Dr. Reza Rafie) and the VT specialist (Dr. Jayest Santani) and the expert of Marketing Agricultural Products from VSU (Dr. Theresa Nartea) has been contacted to explore the idea of growing blueberries, Pawpaws, blackberries, and strawberries by small farmers on the reservation. Three people had shown interest in the initiative. These farmers will be considered as future participants of the Incubator Farmer Mini-plots program · Value Added Initiative. A member of the board of directors from Northern Neck Vegetable Growers Association invited the community to visit her large vegetable farm operation. She also offered to collaborate with the tribe in case some members will be willing to process fruit and vegetables for marketing. In collaboration with Virginia Food Works, we explored the idea of product development for the tribe. Also, determine which products will have the potential for being produced for the community and for retail. A field trip to the co-packing and commercial kitchen facility was organized and a workshop for preparing and canning blackberry jelly was planned. We also contacted Dr. Theresa Nartea (Marketing specialist) to evaluate value-added products and cost of production · Heritage Orchard. We are collaborating with The Plant Genetic Resources Unit from USDA-ARS from Cornell University, at Geneva, NY. Dr. Awais Khan donated to the unit more than a hundred apple rootstocks. The trees were planted in one-gallon containers and nurse for the fall/winter season. During the spring 2019, most of the treeswere grafted with scion wood from 18 different heirloom varieties that are suitable for the area. In association with Bill Shelton (Albemarle Ciderworks & Vintage Virginia Apples Nursery) and the Pamunkey Tribe, we acquired 60 grafted trees (18 varieties). Twelve mini orchards were planted in the community and there are a request for four more 3) Cultural Rescue and Outreach: · Ethnobotanical Garden. With the help of the Naturalist from Eco-Images from Virginia Beach we expanded the collection of plants with historical and cultural importance for the Pamunkey Indian. · Rescuing Elders apple germplasm initiative. Several of the rootstocks donated by Dr. Khan were not grafted with the idea of collecting scion wood from the oldest apple trees in the reservation. This trees belonged to elders and the trees had been growing for more than 60 years and performing reasonably · Cultural and ethnobotanical flora assessment at the reservation. The forest, fields, and wetlands of the reservation were scouted with a Botanical Expert Clay Morris and one of the Elders and Naturalist of the reservation Bonnie Sears. We were looking for plants that used to be used and were present at the reservation. Identifying the sites that need to be protected and the plants that might need to be replanted · Indigenous Crops: As a request from the Norfolk Botanical Garden, I began to document the crops grown by the Pamunkey. A non-affiliated member of the tribe offered to bring his personal collection of specimens to the reservation. I am collaborating with the agricultural coordinator and the staff of the Tribal Resource Center to have a workshop and provide historical agricultural literacy for the community.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Members of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Native American Agri-Business Training. With funding from First Nations, Dr. Orozcowas able to attend a training in agri-business initiatives at Denver, Colorado. During the 3 days training, he was able to network with different Native American Organizations and learn how to develop business plans for some of our projects at the reservation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A progress report of the project has been submitted to the Tribal council and to Director of the Virginia TechAmerican Indian & Indigenous Community Center. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The projects initiated in Year 2 will be continued in order to meet the three goals of the project. In addition, In collaboration with the director of the center (Dr. Edward M. Speavak, Ph.D.), we are trying to coordinate the creation of an agreement and make our small pollinator garden can become a sister garden with that one from Saint Louis WildCare Institute. I am working with the farmer who received thePamunkey's Small Farmer Grant. We will use his farm and system as part of our on- site workshops to share increase agricultural literacy with our community members and local farmers. We are talking with area 4-H agents to use the information ffrom the Weather stations to develop science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) educational programs. In addition, we are contacting the director of Smart Farming Project at VSU (Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences) to establish a collaboration to explore the development of a way to maximize the use of the data generated by the sensors. On May 30, 2019, we will be demonstrating to farmers and members of the community how to diversify their farm by growing a profitable sweet potato crop. The project aims to recruit members of the community who are interested in moving away from conventional agriculture of field crops (e.g., soybeans and corn) to more sustainable and lucrative crops. Thanks to the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, we got funding from the Indian Country Extension Fund (ICE) to develop a series of Small Incubator Farm Plots. The goal of the project is to help leaders of the Pamunkey Community to develop commercial agricultural plots that can motivate other farmers to consider crop diversification and farming as a mean of self-reliance. In this pilot program, we will encourage the commercial production of sweet potatoes. The scientists from University of Florida Aquatic Weed Management (Dr. Lynn Gettys) and from VCU (Center for Environmental Studies) was contacted to request help on the development of an inventory on invasive plant species on the forest and wetlands of the reservation. We will continue trying to collaborate with this institution and personnel. We are continuing to collaboratewith the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research Extension Center (Dr. Michael Schwarz; Dr. Jonathan van Senten, Stephen Urick), VSU Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (Dr. Bryan Nerrie, Dr. David Crosby, Dr. Louis Landesman, and Chris Mullins), The School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences from Auburn University (Dr. David Cline), and AU Dept. of Horticulture (Dr. Jeremy Pickens) to identify projects that can help the community to revitalize the use of their aquatic resources, protect the fisheries, and to expand the use of their fish hatchery. I am collaborating with Dr. Esther McGinnis (Director of the Extension Master Gardener Program at North Dakota State University) in developing a Master Gardeners Program for Native American Communities. We are working with VSU Urban Agriculture specialists (e.g. Dr. Leonard Githinji, Chris Mullins, and Dr. Theresa Nartea) to collaborate on the development of projects that will benefit the community (e.g., community gardening, value-added products, aquaponics). We have work on funding proposals. We havedeveloped a great relationship with members of the VT American Indian Studies Program (e.g., Dr. Samuel Cook, Dr. Mae Hey). As a result of this collaboration, we are developing proposals to fund different initiatives that will help with the cultural rescue and outreach in the community. We submitted a proposal to BIA last year, another to the Pamunkey Tribal Council and another to the Community Viability Funds at VT. In collaboration with the Indigenous Community Liaison at American Indian Studies (VT), members of the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, VA Cooperative of Extension, and Pamunkey Tribal Council we are working on developing a project to increase agricultural literacy in the reservation. Also, we are proposing to implement a program for best management practices to increase agricultural production and protect the environment. Finally, increase cultural rescue and outreach by developing educational materials for the tribe.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this past year, several projects were created: 1)Ethno-botanical garden Project. With a small grant provided by the Forestry Department - VA Forest Landowner Education Program, a smallEthno-botanical garden was constructed. The garden consisted of 10 raised beds and 12 rows (60 feet long). In the garden, we are growing some of the plants that the tribe used to use. Also, these plants grow naturally in the forest of the reservation. The project was aiming to rescue some of the ethnobotanical forest resources of the tribal lands, learn their uses, and re-familiarize the members of the community with them. We organized a field trip in the forest of the reservation to identify plants and their value. Another collaboration was established with a former researcher of the Powhatan Indians and with the help of some Pamunkey elders, Ms. Erin Morgan developed a booklet about medicinal plants of the Powhatan Indians. Kelly Worrell from Worrell books agrees to help with the design and illustration of a Pamunkey coloring book on ethno-botanical plants of the tribe. 2)Community garden. The tribal council approved the creation of a demonstration garden located in between the administrative buildings. The garden displays an array of BMPs such as the use of mulch, compost, drip irrigation, raised beds, companion planting, heritage crops, Native American crops, pollinators, ornamental plants, and herbs. 3)Pollinator Garden. With the support of The Small Farmers Outreach Program Grant from Virginia State University (VSU), we constructed a pollinator garden using native plants. The garden consisted of 25 raised beds. The goal of the project was to beautify the community while promoting the establishment of environments friendly to Native Pollinators. 4)Native American Nutrition and Health Conference. The University of Minnesota provided me with a scholarship to attend this conference.This conference brings together tribal officials, researchers, practitioners, and others to discuss the current state of Indigenous and academic scientific knowledge about Native nutrition and food science and identifies new areas of work. 5)Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program. I submitted a proposal for the annual FRTEP at Tulsa, OK. The proposal was accepted and allowed me to share my experiences with approximately 30 FRTEP representatives from around the country. I also did a small workshop to show the techniques that I am using for developing the booklet on Ethno-botanical plants used by the elders. 6)Pamunkey's Small Farmer Grant. I collaborate with a local farmer on his grant application for a VSU Small farmer Outreach Program. The grant was based on building a food forest on Native American Land with an integrated rotational paddock system for livestock and was recently awarded. 7)Weather Station.The NRCS and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) initiated in 2018 a pilot project to distribute 30 SCAN stations across Indian Country (nationally).Sincethe Pamunkey is the only Federally Recognized Tribe in the state of Virginia, we qualified to apply for the grant. The proposal was accepted and we received a Soil-Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) weather station. NRCS organized a workshop on how to install the station and more than 30 USDA, NRCS, USDA officials, and university researchers attended the 3-day meeting. This system will allow us to network with other automated soil and climate monitoring stations distributed across the U.S. The equipment will provide soil and climate information. Also, it will support natural resources and conservation activities locally. 8)Virginia State University Collaboration. We agreed to collaborate with the VSU Small Farmers Outreach Program on a series of agricultural workshops for the year 2019. Pastured Poultry. The first workshop took place on March 16, 2019. We have 22 participants with 25 percent represented by youth. Square Foot Vegetable Production. In our demonstration garden, we are setting up a project to show small farmers how productive a small area can be if properly managed. This workshop will take place on April 26, 2019. Cultural Fund Sponsorship. Last year, a proposal was submitted to the Pamunkey Tribal Council for requesting funds to support the different projects in the community. The Council decided to provide a small grant from the cultural fund. With this funding I am working on the Ethno-botanical Garden Project and the community Garden project (both already explained), and the Heritage Orchard. For the Orchard project, I been researching which varieties of fruits are more suitable for this area. Base on my research and after consulting with some nurseries and fruit experts of the region, we created an inventory of fruits, nuts, and berry varieties. Currently, we have 15 varieties (30 trees) of heirloom apple varieties that perform well in zone 7 (Cold Hardiness and Heat Index wise). The trees will be planted near the administrative buildings of the reservation as a demonstration orchard. In collaboration with Appalachian Fruit Research Station USDA, WV and Dr. Awais Khan from Cornell University (Apple Germplasm Repository, Geneva. NY); we got 120 dwarf rootstocks which are growing in containers and will be used to graft the apples that we already got.Also, we are working with several researchers and plant collectors (e.g., Tom Brown, Jon Cawley, Dr. Khan) who are devoted to rescuing the Native American Apple selections (e.g., Junaluska, Buff, Mattamuskeet). The goal is to include into our heritage orchard several specimens of these varieties who were selected and cultivated by Native Americans of the region. Value Added Initiative. Last year we demonstrate that the tribal lands are capable of growing more than 65 different species, varieties, cultivars of vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, and herbs. We begin to look for ways to conserve some of the harvests not only to be provided to the community but also to research potential value-added enterprises for the Pamunkey. We are working with a commercial/community facility (Virginia Food Works) and the local Extension Agent to create a series of workshops to teach the community members how to preserve the harvest of their gardens/farm and also, how to develop a product for retail. Native American Agri-Business Training. With funding from First Nations, I was able to attend a training in agri-business initiatives at Denver, Colorado. During the 3 days training, I was able to network with different Native American Organizations and learn how to develop business plans for some of our projects at the reservation. Local vegetable and fruit grower's collaboration. I became a member of different vegetable growers' associations. As a member, I being able to attend their meetings, help with the logistics of some of them, and being available for helping with materials in other languages (e.g., Spanish), and making myself available as a translator. This collaboration is being instrumental on getting support from different organizations to our projects. For instance, one of the vegetable grower invitee members of the community to tour their operations. Another producer and nursery owner is very interested in helping with the Heritage Orchard and will provide us a great discount on Heirloom varieties suitable for the community. Family Nutrition Program's Community/School Garden. In collaboration with VA Family Nutrition Program, I did apply for a mini-grant to support the community garden in the reservation. The objective of the program is to strengthen collaborations within units/districts, increase visibility of VCE, and expand the production of fresh fruits and vegetables for the community. Submitted by Dr. Warner Orozco Extension Educator Pamunkey Indian Tribe King William, VA
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Pamunkey Indian Tribe Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The extension unit organized two field trips to visit Seafood AREC facilities in Hampton VA, and another to Garners' Produce Farm in Warsaw, VA. In the first trip, one of the members of the council attended the field trip and in the second, 6 people attended. What the participants observed and learn from the trip created a lot of excitement for future projects on the reservation How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Extension Educator is housed in the Tribal office and is in constant communication with the Tribal Leadership. The Educator meets regularly with various Tribal committees as well as local Tribal members. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The Extension Educator will continue to work with Tribal members and other stakeholders to assess the Tribal land resources and management towards an end goal of developing a sustainable land management plan. Work will continue with individual tribal members to explore various agri-business opportunities including with the fish hatchery. Work will continue on developing educational outreach resources that can identify and interpret Pamunkey native plants and their uses.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The Extension Educator for this project is a strong advocate of developing a network which will support the unit in accomplishing three goals (a, b, and c) selected by the tribe: Culturally and Environmental Tribal Land Management Plan Program: Professors and staff from St. Mary's College of Maryland who work on Indigenous Cultural Landscape for other Native American Communities had been contacted. This group will be working on the reservation during the Spring and Summer 2018 and the Extension Agent will collaborate with them. In collaboration with the tribe, a series of contacts and follow up meetings had been scheduled with EPA (Washington D.C.) and USDA - NRCS from the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as from the main office at Washington DC. As a product of these communications, the Pamunkey's Reservation is being considered for the allocation of a weather station and members of the staff are participating in capacity building for waste disposal Faculty from Virginia Tech (Cooperative of Extension) and the Department of Horticulture were contacted to request support for developing the human capacity for using the weather station data Faculty has taken a series of training to cope with the environmental needs of the community. These training include Community Water Quality Assessments course and Pesticide Management and regulations Faculty from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), University of Florida (UF), Auburn University (AU) to develop an assessment of native and invasive species of plants at the reservation In Collaboration with Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center (VA Seafood AREC), and with the support faculty from Virginia State University (VSU), a grant proposal was developed and submitted requesting funding for a revitalization of the hatchery, developing an educational program, and proposing the expansion of the use of the facility Joining Pamunkey's Natural Resources Working group Agri-business development Vegetable, Berries, and Specialty Cut Flowers: A series of events and conferences had been attended to continue the development of technical and logistic support with major players in the agricultural industry from the state. For example, VSU, VT, Northern Neck, Henrico, Virginia Growers Associations, and Virginia Tech specialty groups. Industrial Hemp: In collaboration with VT and Waynesboro Nurseries we are exploring the possibility of participating in a variety trial of Industrial Hemp varieties Berry production and research: VSU and VT AREC are considering to collaborate with the Tribe to set up a berry variety trial. Aquaponics: VSU Aquaculture Department and VT - Seafood AREC, and AU are collaborating with the unit to get funding and set up an aquaponic facility for researching alternative crops, demonstration and training. In addition, a field day for the Pamunkey community at VSU Aquaculture facility is being programmed. Vegetable production: Attendance at conferences and meeting with local vegetable growers (e.g. Henrico, Northern Neck) and a visit to a farm is helping to become familiar with the potential market for this Agro-industry. This spring the establishment of a demonstration garden where fruit, vegetables, herbs, and flowers will be grown. The members of the community show a lot of interest in the development of this garden. The garden will serve as an educational tool for sustainable agriculture. Also, as a pilot project for the potential agricultural business. Cultural rescue and outreach Development of an academic relationship with VT American Indian Studies at Blacksburg. Collaboration ethno-botanical researcher and author of plant booklet and with a children book author and publisher to develop a head start preschool curriculum - Plants used by the Pamunkeys. Joining Pamunkey's Cultural Working Group The Number of farmers and youth served: 18 members of the community, 149 direct contacts and 109 indirect contacts.
Publications
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