Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this grant includes members of the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona. This Nation has limited access to fresh foods, so one need is to have better access to healthy foods. The grant provided training to create a backyard farm or garden. In that way, the harvest will improve their diets with fresh produce and preserve the traditional and wild crops that are unique in the O'odham Nation. We recruited tribal members to take part in the program by having training regarding the agriculture practices of the traditional agriculture of the Nation that uses the scarce resources of rain and soil. We provide transportation and stipends to support the participants of these training that were accomplished at the end of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, we had a class on Agroecology and Tohono O'odham crop production, which was interrupted by the pandemic. We complete the course by 2021 and after then; we provide weekly training to members of the community in the different aspects of crop production with traditional crops. The participants were community members that work in the Nation's departments. Most of the participants work with the Healthy O'odham Promotion Program and some at the Ki;Ki housing authority landscape workers. Changes/Problems:The main problem of this project was the pandemic. College and the Tohono O'odham Nation were closed because of it. We started with completing the college class after the college was open for people vaccinated and wearing masks and keeping social distance. The major change of the project was that instead of having a college class (Agroecology and Tohono O'odham crop production), we changed the design of the training for the O'odham traditional agriculture into intensive workshops every one or two weeks. They were prepared to be outdoors in the open with the requirement of everybody who participated in the workshops was vaccinated and wearing a mask. Participants shared that they really like the format and it is better than having the commitment of 16 weeks for a college class. They expressed that they need flexibility and the hands-on training is very helpful. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Assistant Extension Agent/Farm Manager participated in an Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference. She was able to meet some of her colleagues associated with the University of Arizona and attended the welcome address by the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Director. During the poster session, the TOCC agriculture extension program. She participated in the FALCON meeting with posters that interns of the program presented there.Also, training on integrated pest management was provided during the project period. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The activities of the grant were promoted by disseminating the information through the newspaper and by contacting the 11 districts of the nation. The Agroecology and Tohono O'odham crop production classes were promoted to college students by email. During the second year of the grant, the extension team worked with the community members. During the first half of the fiscal year, visits promoting traditional crops occurred with youth, community members, and outside organizations. Due to the pandemic, and the closure of TOCC, visitors are not allowed on campus. Once we start able to have members of the community on campus, at least in the outdoors, and following the regulations of the college, training was provided to members of the community. The activities of this project also were shared with the district meetings when the College's annual report was provided to them. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Expanding the TOCC farm and other food options: We hired an extension agent/farmer manager assistant that was trained in the different activities on the student learning farm. The activities included preparing the new extension of the farm for the development of a new garden. We will use the water from the rain as they use it in traditional O'odham agriculture. There were amendments added to the soil as well as cover crops to make it better for crop production. We also hired interns for the program so they learn how to manage a small farm. In this way, we increase the crop production of the farm to get healthy foods that can be used in the future restaurant in Sells, Az. Later the farm was consolidated with irrigation systems such as drip irrigation the soil amendments are part of the crop rotation of the farm. Growing Beginning Farmers: We hire a project coordinator that worked in the recruitment of members of the community interested in having training by taking the Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Agriculture class during the first part of the project. There was support for transportation and stipends for the participants. During the pandemic, the activities of this class were suspended and until the Nation opened, we continue with the class. After that, we conducted the next cohort of participants on the Beginning Farmers as workshops every one or two weeks where they learn how to grow crops. Cultivating Youth from Preschoolers through Teens - We were planning to have the participation of the University of Arizona Pima County 4-H Agent, to work with preschoolers and teenagers. Then, it became clear that security clearances would be required of all adults working with the kids. This will require more time before TOCC can move forward. The youth activities portion of the grant was initially estimated to begin during the second year of the grant. However, once again, due to the pandemic, this portion of the grant was not successfully implemented.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this grant includes members of the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona. This Nation has limited access to fresh foods, so one need is to have better access to healthy foods. The grant provided training to create a backyard farm or garden. In that way, the harvest will improve their diets with fresh produce and preserve the traditional and wild crops that are unique in the O'odham Nation. We recruited tribal members to take part in the program by having training regarding the agriculture practices of the traditional agriculture of the Nation that uses the scarce resources of rain and soil. We provide transportation and stipends to support the participants of these training that were accomplished at the end of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, we had a class on Agroecology and Tohono O'odham crop production, which was interrupted by the pandemic. We complete the course by 2021 and after then; we provide weekly training to members of the community in the different aspects of crop production with traditional crops. The participants were community members that work in the Nation's departments. Most of the participants work with the Healthy O'odham Promotion Program and some at the Ki:Ki housing authority landscape workers. Changes/Problems:The main change of the project during the last year was that instead of having a college class, we design the training of Tohono O'odham traditional agriculture into intensive workshops every one or two weeks. They were prepared to be outdoors in the open with the requirement of everybody participating in the workshops to be vaccinated and wear a mask. Participants shared that they really like the format and it is better than having the commitment of 16 weeks for a college class. They expressed that they need flexibility and the hands-on training is very helpful. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We shared the activities of the grant when we had meetings with the districts. They are aware of the work that we are doing in training members of the community and the Nation's departments. Also, in the Farm and Food working group, even though the meetings were via Zoom, they were informed of the activities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(1). Expanding TOCC Farm and Other Food Options - Afterleveling and contouring a one-acre section of the farm extension, consolidations of the water management systems were developed. More plumbing components that are used for the irrigation (pressure-based) systems were installed. Soil amendments were used to improve the soil condition to increase production, and compost and cover crops were used for this purpose. (2). Creating Beginning Farmers - Recruitment for the Beginning Farmers Program (BFP) has been ongoing. Due to the close of the Nation due to the pandemic, we continue working with members of the Nation's departments to increase the awareness of traditional practices of crop production. Weekly training was developed during this time where we covered several topics each week. (3). Cultivation of youth, from preschoolers through teens. Working with preschool and teens, we tried to establish collaboration with 4-H of Pima county and they were not able to support us because of security clearance issues. Then, the closure of the Nation due to thecovid restrictions did not allowus to complete this task.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this grant includes members of the Tohono O'odham Nation interested in pursuing farming as a career, or at least to earn additional income and provide healthy foods for their families. As well as keep the O'odham tradition for farming practice related to their traditional and modern crops. Supported activities will also provide TOCC students with additional sources of healthy, fresh food that has been grown without chemicals. Changes/Problems:A continued emphasis on water retention and soil building in the recent addition of the Student Learning Farm. Additional plumbing will be installed, and water harvesting will continue. Rock and berm placements continue to be installed and will assist with water flows, and two 10,000-gallon cisterns have been purchased to supplement the water supply and still require installation. This expansion will greatly expand student learning hands-on activities for interns as well as for students enrolled in Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Crop Production course. TOCC still needs to hire a Beginning Farmer Coordinator. Recruitment materials have been created and distributed. This program was offered on Saturdays to facilitate the involvement of parents and children and to eliminate transportation issues when school is in session. It will also allow students a chance to participate without interfering with their classes. Beginning farmers will expand the availability of healthy and nutritious foods for their families or become small-scale entrepreneurs earning supplemental income. Cultivating Youth from Preschool through teens - as originally designed, this program will require security clearances for all adults working with youth. The program will be a "4-H" style program with collaboration and input from the University of Arizona Pima County 4-H Agent. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Extension team has continued their efforts working with the community members during the final year of the grant. Due to the closure of TOCC, visitors were not allowed on campus. TOCC expects additional emphasis to be placed on continued efforts with the Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Crop Production class for Spring 2021. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although this past year was the final year of the grant, TOCC received a second 12-month, no-cost extension due to the pandemic. The expansion of the garden/farming projects will continue, and the Beginning Farmer Program and Youth-related activities are still expected to be implemented. However, all of this depends on the pandemic situation. Even when the conditions of the pandemic continue and the Tohono O'odham Nation is still partially open, we started bringing community members from the Nation's programs such as Ki:ki (housing authority) and the Health Department.We started the training in basic concepts of preparing the soil and seeding traditional crops. We keep all activities inopen spaces and follow the directions from the Executive mandate of using masks and keeping distance. We also require that all participants be fully vaccinated. Meetings are every two or three weeks, depending on the season.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(1). Expanding the Extension Field and Other Food Options - Expansion of the TOCC West Campus extension field will create a hands-on learning environment. This effort will boost the production of healthy, traditional foods and vegetables in collaboration with other farms within the Nation. Emphasis will be placed on developing community and school gardens. Agriculture, leadership development, conservation of natural resources, land issues, and economic development are addressed by this goal. The Assistant Farm Manager / Extension Agent is directly responsible for this objective and has provided excellent technical assistance. (2). Creating Beginning Farmers - TOCC will increase the availability of nutritious and healthy food in the Tohono O'odham Nation (TON) by training community members and its own students interested in starting agriculture businesses and farms. Ideally, they will sell their produce through the restaurant and other culinary and agriculture efforts around the TON. Coordination of this effort will be the duty of a still to be hired part-time Beginning Farmer Coordinator. Issues addressed by this goal include family and consumer science, health, nutrition, agriculture, leadership, business, and economic development. (3). Cultivating Youth from Pre-School through Teens - This goal was inspired by TOCC students desiring childcare and others seeking train-the-trainer opportunities to work with younger children on agriculture topics. Initial discussions with the University of Arizona Pima County 4-H Agent and others who work with children on the TON indicated that youth programming could be combined with the Beginning Farmer's educational efforts so that parents and their children can arrive together, yet work on separate topics with occasional merged special topics. This aspect of the project will address TOCC youth programming, 4-H leadership, family and consumer science, health, and nutrition.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this grant includes members of the Tohono O'odham Nation interested in pursuing farming as a career, or at least to earn additional income and provide healthy foods for their families. As well as keep the O'odham tradition for farming practice related to their traditional and modern crops. Supported activities will also provide TOCC students with additional sources of healthy, fresh food that have been grown without chemicals.A total of 431 people participated in extension outreach and learning opportunities this past fiscal year. The breakdown included 5 extension team members, 190 students, 233 adults and 3 interns. Although fewer than the previous year, it should be noted that the College closed early in the spring semester. Changes/Problems:COVID 19 halted virtually all activities. However, farm improvements continue keeping the CDC guidelines, and a new Director of the Land Grant Office for Sustainability has been hired and is onboard. One of the problems that we have is that is very difficult to find laborers for the fieldwork. The position of Coordinator for the Beginning Farmers workshop also took several months to be filled. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Extension team has continued their efforts working with the community members during the second year of the grant. During the first half of the fiscal year, visits promoting traditional crops occurred with youth, community members, and outside organizations. Due to the closure of TOCC, visitors are not allowed on campus until further notice. In addition, TOCC expects additional emphasis to be placed on continued efforts with the Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Crop Production class for Spring 2021. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although this past year was the final year of the grant, TOCC received a 12-month, no-cost extension due to the pandemic. The expansion of the garden / farming projects will continue, and the Beginning Farmer Program and Youth-related activities are still expected to be implemented. However, all of this depends on the pandemic situation. (1). Expanding TOCC Farm and Other Food Options -A continued emphasis on water retention and soil building. Additional plumbing will be installed, and water harvesting will continue. Rock and berm placements continue to be installed and will assist with water flows, and two 10,000-gallon cisterns have been purchased to supplement the water supply and still require installation. This expansion will greatly expand student learning hands-on activities for interns as well as for students enrolled in the Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Crop Production course. (2). Creating Beginning Farmers - TOCC still needs to hire a Beginning Farmer Coordinator. Recruitment materials have been created and distributed. This program was offered on Saturdays to facilitate the involvement of parents and children and eliminate transportation issues when school is in session. It will also allow students a chance to participate without interfering with their classes. Beginning farmers will expand the availability of healthy and nutritious foods for their families or become small-scale entrepreneurs earning supplemental income. (3). Cultivating Youth from Preschool through teens - as originally designed, this program will require security clearances for all adults working with youth. The program will be a "4-H" style program with collaboration and input from the University of Arizona Pima County 4-H Agent. There will be some overlap with the Beginning Farmer program as many of the activities will be held at the same time and utilizing the same resources.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Grant activities continued during the first half of the fiscal year, however, the COVID 19 Pandemic halted virtually all progress during the second half. (1). Expanding TOCC Farm and Other Food Options - There has been turnover with the Assistant Farm Manager / Extension Agent position. However, initial progress was achieved, and approximately four community gardens were established. After an extended period with nobody in the position, the same person has returned. Major efforts have concentrated on leveling and contouring a one-acre section of the farm extension. At present plumbing and associated components for the irrigation system have been installed. This past year we included compost and planted cover crops to improve the soil. Although TOCC is closed, the Farm Manager / Extension Agent and a couple of interns continue with field improvement and planting. (2). Creating Beginning Farmers - Recruitment for the Beginning Farmers Program (BFP) was initiated during the 2019 fall semester. In the beginning, a coordinator was hired but is no longer with the program. Hiring for another coordinator, although difficult, is ongoing. The BFP was held on Saturday to avoid transportation issues. The extension team took the lead working with the enrolled TOCC students for the lab portion of the Agroecology & Tohono O'odham Crop Production during this program. Due to the pandemic, all remaining classes were canceled. (3). Cultivating Youth from Preschoolers through Teens - Once on board, the Beginning Farmer Coordinator will be responsible for steering this portion of the grant forward. After conversations with the University of Arizona Pima County 4-H Agent, it became clear that security clearances would be required of all adults working with the kids. This will require more time before TOCC can move forward. The youth activities portion of the grant was initially estimated to begin during the second year of the grant. However, once again, due to the pandemic, all activities were curtailed, and it is hoped that this effort can be reimplemented after the pandemic is over. Representative activity examples include the following: On 11/05/2019 there was acollaboration meeting between TOCC Extension and the University of Arizona Extension to help TOCC implement a 4-H program. During this meeting we gathered information and our questions were answered on how to set up this program for the Beginning Farmers Program. Six extension members attended the meeting. On 10/17/2019. Three extension team members attended the FALCON conference held in Denver. The conference offered professional development sessions and networking opportunities. The extension team was invited to participate in the meeting for the project directors. During the student presentation session, the extension team viewed the research project the students were working on at their college institution. On11/12/2019 at the There was a Tucson Indian Center Leadership classpresentation.This presentation was scheduled with the Tucson Indian Center Leadership class to recruit students for the Beginning Farmers program (BFP). The Agriculture instructor gave a presentation on the Agroecology & Tohono O'odham Crop Production class and the BFP. The Extension manager presented on the traditional seeds and gave an overview of the TOCC extension program. At the end of the presentations, students were provided with more information on the BFP. On 01/25/2020 Tucson Indian Center Leadership classbegan.The Agroecology & Tohono O'odham Crop Production class started and the lab portion was led by the Extension team. They were in charged of the hands-on part of the class. On 02/27/2020, There was a presentation from theAjo Farmers' Market Promotion group. The Extension team participated in the planning meeting to provide input on creating a Farmers' market on the reservation. The meeting took place at the Wisag Kos Mascamacud campus.The future farmers'market would sell healthy foods and benefit all community members, producers, and buyers.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience for this grant includes members of the Tohono O'odham Nation who are interested in pursuing farming as a career, or at least for extra income and/or food savings. The activities supported also will benefit Tohono O'odham Community College students by providing additional sources of healthy, fresh food that has been grown without chemicals. During this period, we spent most of the time setting up for the coming year, as planned for this period of the grant. However, we were able to offer an all-day Produce Safety Training Alliance Grower Training course that attracted 12 community members who identified as Beginning Farmers and Ranchers. Two student agriculture interns also participated, as did our new Assistant Farm Manager/Extension Agent and Farm Manager/Extension Agent. The latter two and the 12 community members all received Produce Training certificates. We are training people in Produce Safety in part so the college can buy food from them in the future to support the culinary program and associated restaurant. Changes/Problems:We haven't hit any major problems, but we have had a few issues that have put us a bit behind schedule. We have not yet hired the Beginning Farmers Program Coordinator, so we haven't been able to do quite as much preparation for some of these programs as hoped. We are still on track for offering the Beginning Farmers Program in the spring of 2020, but we may need to scale down a bit on the extent of our youth program offerings. That will depend in part on whether our collaborators, mainly Cooperative Extension employees with the University of Arizona, will still be able to help us out now that we've decided to offer this training on Saturdays instead of the weekday evenings we had originally discussed. Similarly, the hiring of the Assistant Farm Manager/Extension Agent didn't occur until January, so we lost a semester of work that had been planned for the expansion of the farm. In addition, the ongoing preparatory work on the new Extension Field has revealed that the area is a magnet for horses that wander the Tohono O'odham Nation. The field is fairly close to the TON's main town of the population center of Sells, and some people use horses for transportation. The Farm Manager/Extension Agent is planning to put up a temporary fence using existing materials, although we will have to purchase cement and pay for additional labor. The Extension team is also planning to lean on compost and manure rather than cover crops to improve the soil in time for spring planting, although the team will also be planting winter wheat as a cover crop that can be harvested. We are slightly behind schedule on setting up the water supply systems as well, again partly related to the delay in hiring the Assistant Farm Manager/Extension Agent. During early September wemet with a consultant from the Watershed Management Group to discuss options, so we expect that aspect of the project to get underway soon. Given these issues, we are planning to request a no-cost extension so that we can use these funds over three years instead of two. This will help account for potential delays in getting the farm up and running, and could also give us the opportunity to have the Beginning Farmers Program Coordinator carry out plans to gather data on the needs of beginning farmers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Assistant Extension Agent/Farm Manager participated in a 2019 Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference on July 6 and 7. She was able to meet some of her colleagues associated with the University of Arizona, and attending the welcome address by the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Director. During the poster session, TOCC ag extension program presented their poster titled: Preserving Wihog (mesquite) through modern and traditional practicesand seed-saving collection. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Assistant Farm Manager/Extension Agent has been instrumental in helping to disseminate information about the values of growing traditional crops to youth, community members and professionals throughout the Tohono O'odham Nation, as described in more detail below in the sections on efforts, activities, events and services. As for the Beginning Farmers program, we have been sharing at a variety of meetings the upcoming plans for the spring 2020 training of local farmers via the Agroecology and Tohono O'odham Crop Production course. We already have several people sign up to receive notices about the program thanks to these efforts, even though we have not yet begun promoting it in the districts and as advertisements in the local newspaper. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1. Expanding TOCC farm and other food options. Regarding the Farm Expansion plans, the team has decided to lean on compost for soil improvement options in order to speed up the potential use of the fields. However, the team will also be planting winter wheat as a cover crop that can be harvested. Water harvesting options have been researched, and rocks have been moved to the area near the farm to help channel inflow onto the field. Berms have been constructed to direct the flow in a gentle way onto the active fields, using a system involving overflow. A gabion will be installed under a fence to also help catch some of the water before it escapes the campus so it can be used to support edible trees near the farm. Also, suitable locations have been identified for the water-harvesting cisterns and plans are underway to make those purchases. 2. Growing Beginning Farmers. We just received approval from our TOCC Board of Trustees for the hiring the Beginning Farmers Program Coordinator, so we hope to have someone on board for this program soon. In the meantime, the Project Director and/or Agriculture Instructor are planning to prepare promotional materials to advertise the opportunity. We will also be submitting an ad for the local newspaper, The Runner, and, if possible, visiting with leaders of the Tohono O'odham Nation's 11 Districts during the fall to make sure people from every district are aware of this opportunity. We have decided to offer this program on Saturdays for two reasons: We believe more people who currently work full-time will have the option of participating if we offer it on Saturdays. Even students might find this more useful because it won't conflict with other courses. Transportation options are much better on Saturdays. From Monday-Thursday, all of the college's vehicles are occupied with other runs to get students back and forth. This will relieve us of the effort to hire an additional driver as well, as TOCC has been finding it challenging to find candidates for driving positions. Cultivating youth, from pre-schoolers through teens. We will continue to meet with our UA collaborators in coming months to put these plans into place in time for the spring 2020 program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We met most of our goals we had designated for the first year of this program. Details are provided below. 1. Expanding TOCC farm and other food options. We hired an Assistant Farm Manager/Extension Agent in January and she has been undergoing training since then. She also has been involved in a variety of activities in training others, as described in more detail below. The Extension team has been working hard on preparing the new Extension Field for planting. For the first phase, they have focused on leveling and contouring a one-acre section. They have also surveyed the land for irrigation purposes, including setting up some rock work to guide inflow of water into the garden, with another area set up for overflow. Currently they are exploring which soil improvement options or combination are most suitable, such as adding compost and/or manure and employing cover crops. In addition, the new assistant has helped prepare and launch five community gardens in Pisinemo Elderly Center, Big Fields, Crow Hang, and the Tohono O'odham Nation Behavioral Health Care facilities. 2. Growing Beginning Farmers. The Beginning Farmers Program Coordinator job description is currently being reviewed by college administrators, and we hope to have someone in place by the end of October. In the meantime, the Agriculture Instructor and Farm Manager/Extension Agent have been discussing the best way to offer this program. Given challenges of transportation issues, as all the TOCC vans are currently employed for transporting students throughout the week days, we have decided to offer this opportunity mainly on Saturdays. It was agreed that this would also be the best way to recruit Beginning Farmers and Ranchers who are serious about farming rather than just hoping to get their tuition covered for a science elective. We have already had a couple of people express interest in this opportunity. With the decision made to run the program on Saturdays, we can begin the effort to advertise the program and recruit candidates. 3. Cultivating youth, from pre-schoolers through teens. We have held several meetings with potential collaborators with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Services to move forward on the portion of the grant involving offering programs for youth. While the Beginning Farmers Coordinator will lead the effort on managing the youth programs and related activities, we will be taking additional steps to move this forward while we wait for the person to be hired. Our timeline for this grant indicates that the Youth Programs activities is concentrated in the second year of the grant, which has only just begun.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Preserving Wihog (mesquite) through modern and traditional practices and seed-saving collection. 2019.2019 Arizona Cooperative Extension Conference. Tucson, AZ.
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