Progress 04/01/20 to 09/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems in their future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects 4-7 students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. Over the five-year grant period, 80 Occidental students applied for the internship. Twenty-five (25) of the 80 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (31%). Of those who applied, 53 candidates were interviewed and 28 were accepted and invited to participate in the program, including 16 from underrepresented groups (57%). All 28 summer internship students successfully completed the program and presented at Occidental's Summer Research Conference. Changes/Problems:The Urban Ag Summer Internship ran smoothly for all five (5) years of the program, even considering the major challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first summer. One very positive change is that due to the program's success and visibility within the Occidental community, the Urban & Environmental Policy Department was able to secure donor funding to continue the program into the future, allowing for six (6) student interns to participate in summer 2025.Due to the consistent positive feedback on the program from both students and urban farm partners, the program model will be continued as is, with minimal changes moving forward. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Occidental's Urban Agriculture Summer Internship provided students with opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The orientation introduced students to harvesting, GAP, pruning, transplanting, mulching, composting, and regenerative agriculture practices. The 8-week hands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and participants in community programs. Students also learned through establishing new on-farm systems such as windrow composting, hügelkultur beds, and drip irrigation. Additionally, the Summer Research Conference gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted via UEPI's food program and internship websites, the UEPI newsletter, and the annual department open house, which features student work and informs students about upcoming opportunities. For the last two years of the grant, the program was also highlighted at Occidental's Alumni Day, where Urban Ag Summer Internship participants shared about their experiences with Oxy alumni during a visit to the campus garden. Additionally, evaluation results were shared with Food Studies faculty, other students, and staff at Occidental's Food Systems Working Group meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Over the course of the five-year grant period, the following progress was made toward project goals and objectives: 1) Prepare for Internship Program: Coordinated with urban farm internship sites each year to host experiential site visits during the orientation course, and to develop individual student work plans, schedules, etc. Four to six urban agriculture sites participated in the program each year, with a total of nine urban farm partners over the course of the grant period. These included: Alma Backyard Farms, The Growing Experience, Cottonwood Urban Farm, Urban Homestead, Black Thumb Farm, Crop Swap LA, Uncommon Good, Community Services Unlimited, and Avenue 33 Farm. Set up all administrative systems and processes, including the student application process and "Request for Applications" (RFA): The application process was aligned with Occidental's other summer internship opportunities and integrated into the application system. It was revised each year to reflect the participating farms, schedule details, and other program information. 2) Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program: Promoted the internship opportunity each year via email listservs, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct outreach during food studies classes. Collected 80 student applications over the course of the grant using systems established during the first year of the program, interviewed 53 students, and selected 28 students to participate in the program. Conducted the two-week orientation course each year, which included class discussions, readings, guest speakers, and site visits to each of the urban farms, where students participated in lessons and hands-on activities to reinforce the skills and concepts they learned in the classroom. Placed students at the urban farm sites (listed above) for an 8-week full-time internship. Held weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort to provide ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance for the duration of the internship. These meetings were held in the Occidental student garden where the cohort pitched in to support other student workers to maintain Occidental's compost hub, which is a partnership with LA Compost (a local organization) and Occidental's dining program. Worked with students in groups and one-on-one to prepare for their "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentations. Over the five summers of the grant, all 28 students successfully presented their projects and findings at the conference. 3) Conduct Evaluation: Developed all evaluation tools, including surveys, interview questions, and the participant database. Collected all student participation, survey, and interview data using the database, surveys, and interview questions created in the first year. All student interns participated in exit interviews and students and supervisors completed the program evaluation surveys. Each year at the beginning of the fall semester, evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff during a meeting of Occidental's Food Systems Working Group to gather feedback and suggestions for the following year.
Publications
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Progress 04/01/24 to 09/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems in their future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects these students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. During the fifth and final year of the program (reporting period #5), 18 Occidental students applied for the internship. Thirteen (13) of the 18 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (72%). After interviewing 10 candidates, 6 were accepted and invited to participate in the program, including 5 from underrepresented groups (83%). In the summer of 2024, all six (6) students successfully completed the program. Changes/Problems:Like the previous year, the 2024 Summer Internship Program ran smoothly for both students and internship host sites. There were no major changes or problems. During the fifth and final summer of the grant program, all six students completed their 10-week urban ag internship successfully presented about their experiences at Occidental's Summer Research Conference. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Like the previous year, the Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship provided opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The orientation introduced students to harvesting, GAP, pruning, transplanting, mulching, composting, and regenerative agriculture practices. The 8-week hands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and participants in community programs. Students also learned through establishing new on-farm systems such as windrow composting, hügelkultur beds, and drip irrigation. Additionally, the Summer Research Conference gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted via UEPI's food program and internship websites, the UEPI newsletter, and the annual department open house, which features student work and informs students about upcoming opportunities. Once again, the program was also highlighted at Occidental's Alumni Day in May, where Urban Ag Summer Internship participants shared about their experiences with Oxy alumni during a visit to the campus garden. Evaluation results were also shared with Food Studies faculty, and with other students and staff at Occidental's quarterly Food Systems Working Group meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the last reporting period, the following progress was made toward project goals and objectives: 1) Prepare for Internship Program: Coordinated with urban farm internship sites to host experiential site visits for the 2024 intern cohort, as well as individual student work plans, schedules, and logistics. Six (6) urban agriculture sites participated in the program; Urban Homestead, Black Thumb Farm, Crop Swap LA, Uncommon Good, Community Services Unlimited, and Avenue 33 Farm. Revised internship application to reflect the 2024 farms, schedule, and program information. 2) Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program: Promoted the internship opportunity via email listservs, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct outreach during food studies classes. Collected 18 student applications using systems established during the first year of the program, interviewed 10 students, and selected 6 students to participate in the program. Conducted the two-week 2024 orientation course including class discussions, readings, guest speakers, and site visits to each of the urban farms, where students participated in lessons and hands-on activities to reinforce the skills they learned. Placed students at the urban farm sites (listed above) for an 8-week full-time internship. Held weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort to provide ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance for the duration of the internship. These meetings were held in the Occidental student garden where the cohort pitched in to support other student workers to maintain Occidental's compost hub, which is a partnership with LA Compost (a local organization)and Occidental's dining program. Worked with students in groups and one-on-one to prepare for their "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentations. All six (6) students successfully presented their projects and findings at the conference on July 31, 2024. 3) Conduct Evaluation: Collected all student participation, survey, and interview data using the database, surveys, and interview questions created in the first year. All student interns participated in exit interviews and students and supervisors completed the program evaluation surveys. Evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff during the first weeks of the fall semester to gather feedback and suggestions.
Publications
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Progress 04/01/23 to 03/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems in their future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects these students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. During the fourth year of the program (reporting period #4), 13 Occidental students applied for the internship. Six (6) of the 13 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (46%). After interviewing 10 candidates, 6 were accepted and invited to participate in the program including 4 from underrepresented groups (67%). In the summer of 2023, all six (6) students successfully completed the program. Changes/Problems:As described in the previous section, the 2023 Urban Agriculture Internship went well and did not run into any major challenges. After participating for several years, urban farm partners and Occidental staff are oriented to the various components and flow of the program, and all went smoothly. At the beginning of the summer, each intern worked with their supervisor to develop a "learning agreement" that outlined their learning objectives, any special projects they will work on, as well as their weekly schedule. These learning agreements have been a helpful addition to the program to support students and partners to communicate their goals and expectations and stay on track over the course of the summer. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Like the previous years, the Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship provided opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The orientation introduced students to harvesting, GAP, pruning, transplanting, mulching, composting, and regenerative agriculture practices. The 8-week hands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and participants in community programs. Students also learned through establishing new on-farm systems such as windrow composting and hügelkultur beds. Also like the previous years, the Summer Research Conference gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted via UEPI's food program and internship websites, the UEPI newsletter, and the annual department open house in September, which features student work and informs students about upcoming opportunities. Additionally, interns spoke about their experiences in the program at Occidental's Alumni Day in June. Evaluation results were also shared with Food Studies faculty, and with other students and staff at Occidental's quarterly Food Systems Working Group meetings. Highlights and takeaways from this year's cohort willbe incorporated into the final year's outreach and programming. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The 2023 Summer Internship Program ran smoothly for both students and internship host sites. Due to the program's continued success, achieving the goals will mean continuing this established program with minor updates to reflect current events and/or new partners. We anticipate that in 2024, like this year, class meetings, discussions of course material, and guest lectures will take place in an Occidental classroom and/or the campus garden. Students will participate in site visits to each urban farm to gain hands-on training and experiences, work as full-time interns for eight (8) weeks, and then present on their experiences at the Occidental Summer Research Conference in the last week of the program.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the last reporting period, the following progress was made toward project goals and objectives: 1) Prepare for Internship Program: Coordinated with urban farm internship sites to host experiential site visits for the 2023 intern cohort, as well as individual student work plans, schedules, and logistics. Six (6) urban agriculture sites participated in the program; Urban Homestead, Black Thumb Farm, Crop Swap LA, Uncommon Good, Community Services Unlimited, and Avenue 33 Farm. Revised internship application to reflect the 2023 farms, schedule, and program information 2) Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program: Promoted the internship opportunity via email listservs, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct outreach during food studies classes. Collected 13 student applications using systems established during the first year of the program, interviewed 10 students, and selected 6 students to participate in the program. Conducted the two-week 2023 orientation course including class discussions, readings, guest speakers, and site visits to each of the urban farms, where students participated in lessons and hands-on activities to reinforce the skills they learned. Placed students at the urban farm sites (listed above) for an 8-week full-time internship. Held weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort to provide ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance for the duration of the internship. These meetings were held in the Occidental student garden where the cohort pitched in to support other student workers to maintain Occidental's compost hub, which is a partnership with LA Compost, a local organization, and Occidental's dining program. Worked with students in groups and one-on-one to prepare for their "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentations. All six (6) students successfully presented their projects and findings at the conference on August 2nd, 2023. 3) Conduct Evaluation: Collected all student participation, survey, and interview data using the database, surveys, and interview questions created in the first year. All student interns participated in exit interviews and students and supervisors completed the program evaluation surveys. Evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff during the fall semester to gather feedback and suggestions for the following summer.
Publications
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Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems in their future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects these students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. During the third year of the program (reporting period #3), 13 Occidental students applied for the internship. Eight (8) of the 13 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (58%). After interviewing 10 candidates, 5 were accepted and invited to participate in the program including 3 from underrepresented groups (60%). In the summer of 2022, all five (5) of the selected students successfully completed the program. Changes/Problems:As described in the previous section, the 2022 Urban Agriculture Internship did not run into any major challenges. The greatest improvement to the program was that the full orientation was held in person for the first time. In 2021 the outdoor field trips were conducted at the urban farm sites and group meetings were in the Occidental garden, however this year, we were also able to hold the classroom portion of our orientation in person instead of over Zoom. This helped the students to engage and interact with each other as well as the course material and added to the overall success of the program this year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Like the previous year, the Urban Agriculture Internship provided opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The orientation introduced students to harvesting, GAP, pruning, transplanting, mulching, composting, and regenerative agriculture practices, as well as related policy issues. The 8-week hands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and participants in community programs. Students also learned through establishing new on-farm systems such as windrow composting, hugelkultur beds, and poultry care. Also like the previous year, the Summer Research Conference gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted via UEPI's food program and internship websites, the UEPI newsletter, and the annual Urban & Environmental Policy (UEP) department open house in September, which features student work and informs students about upcoming opportunities. Evaluation results were also shared with Food Studies faculty, and with other students and staff at Occidental's quarterly Food Systems Working Group meetings. Highlights and takeaways from this year's cohort will also be incorporated into following year's outreach and programming. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The 2022 Summer Internship Program ran smoothly with very few glitches for students and internship host sites. Due to the program's success, achieving the goals will meancontinuing this established program with minor updates to reflect current events and/or new partners. We anticipate that in 2023, like this year, class meetings, discussions of course material, and guest lectures will take place in an Occidental classroom and/or the campus garden. Students will participate in site visits to each urban farm to gain hands-on training and experiences, work as full-time interns for eight (8) weeks, and then present on their experiences at the Occidental Summer Research Conference in early August.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the last reporting period, the following progress was made toward project goals and objectives: 1) Prepare for Internship Program: Coordinated with urban farm internship sites to host experiential site visits for the 2022 intern cohort, as well as individual student work plans, schedules, and logistics. Six (6) urban agriculture sites participated in the program; Urban Homestead, Black Thumb Farm, Alma Backyard Farms, Uncommon Good, Community Services Unlimited, and Avenue 33 Farm. Although there were only five student interns, two of the sites (Urban Homestead and Black Thumb Farm) did not have the capacity to manage a full time intern, so one student split her time between the two sites. Revised internship application to reflect the 2022 farms, schedule, and program information 2) Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program: Promoted the internship opportunity via email listservs, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct outreach during food studies classes. Collected 13 student applications using systems established during the first year of the program, interviewed 10 students, and selected 5 students to participate in the program. Conducted the two-week 2022 orientation course including class discussions, readings, guest speakers, and site visits to each of the urban farms where students participated in lessons and hands-on activities to reinforce the skills they learned. Placed students at the urban farm sites (listed above) for an 8-week full-time internship. Held weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort to provide ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance for the duration of the internship. These meetings were held in the Occidental student garden where the cohort pitched in to support other student workers to maintain Occidental's compost hub, which is a partnership with LA Compost, a local organization, and Occidental's dining program. Worked with students in groups and one-on-one to prepare for their "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentations. All five (5) students successfully presented their projects and findings at the conference on August 3rd, 2022. 3) Conduct Evaluation: Collected all student participation, survey, and interview data using the database, surveys, and interview questions created in the first year. All student interns participated in exit interviews and students and supervisors completed the program evaluation surveys. Evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff during the fall semester and feedback and suggestions for the following summer were noted.
Publications
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Progress 04/01/21 to 03/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems in their future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects these students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. During the second year of the program (reporting period #2), 18 Occidental students applied for the internship. Six (6) of the 18 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (33%). After interviewing 11 candidates, 7 were accepted and invited to participate in the program including three (3) from underrepresented groups (43%). In the summer of 2021, the seven (7) students selected completed the program successfully. Changes/Problems:The 2021 Urban Agriculture Internship program went very smoothly and the program was able to overcome several of the challenges posed the previous year. Though two of the students selected for the internship in 2020 had to drop out for reasons related to the pandemic, this year's larger cohort made up for the numbers, getting the program back on track. This was possible because three of the four participating urban farms agreed to host an "intern team" of two interns instead of just one, which worked well for both interns and host sites. As described in the previous section, though two urban farms had to drop out of the program, two other farms joined, so there have been a consistent number of urban farm partners throughout. The greatest improvement in the program from the summer of 2020 to 2021 was the ability to visit farms in person during the orientation. These experiential learning opportunities engaged students, encouraged peer-to-peer learning among the cohort, and introduced students to a variety of skills and techniques that can be difficult to grasp via remote learning. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Like the previous year, the Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship provided opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The orientation introduced students to harvesting, GAP, pruning, transplanting, mulching, composting, and regenerative agriculture practices. The 8-week hands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and participants in community programs. Students also learned throughestablishing new on-farm systems such as windrow composting and hugelkultur beds. Additionally, the Summer Research Conference gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted via UEPI's food program and internship websites, the UEPI newsletter, and the annual department open house, which features student work and informs students about upcoming opportunities. Evaluation results were also shared with Food Studies faculty, and with other students and staff at Occidental's quarterly Food Systems Working Group meetings. Outreach for the following year will include highlights from the first year's cohort. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Due to the success of the 2021 Summer Internship Program, activities in the next reporting period are expected to be largely the same as thisreporting period. However, we are hopeful that the entire orientation will be conducted in person. Next year, class meetings, discussions of course material, and guest lectureswill hopefully take place in an Occidental classroom and/or the campus garden. Like this year,students will participatein site visits to each urban farm to gain hands-on training and experiences, work as full-time interns foreight (8) weeks, and present on their experiences at the Occidental Summer Research Conference.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the last reporting period, the following progress was made toward project goals and objectives: 1) Prepare for Internship Program: Updated the "Orientation Course" syllabus and curriculum to include experiential site visits to each participating urban farm. Coordinated with internship hosts on schedules, logistics, and individual student work plans. Four (4) urban agriculture sites participated in the program; Urban Homestead, Alma Backyard Farms, Uncommon Good, and Community Services Unlimited. Unfortunately the Growing Experience could not host an intern in 2021 because they are losing access to their land, which is owned by the Housing Authority and is slated for development. The owners of Cottonwood Urban halted operations for the season for personal reasons and also had to pull out of the program. On the other hand, Uncommon Good (who could not participate in the first year due to COVID restrictions) rejoined the program. Community Services Unlimited, who has operated a small urban farm for over 15 years and runs a community market, also joined the program. Revised internship application to reflect the 2021 farms, schedule, and program information. 2) Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program: Promoted the internship opportunity via email listservs, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct outreach during foods studies classes. Collected 18 student applications using systems established the previous year, interviewed 11 students, and selected 7 students to participate in the program. Conducted the two-week 2021 orientation course, including class discussions, readings, guest speakers, and site visits to each of the urban farms where students participated in lessons and hands-on activities to reinforce the skills they learned. Placed students at one of four (4) urban farms (listed above) for a full-time 8-week internship. Held bi-weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort to provide ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance for the duration of the internship from Occidental staff and faculty in addition to the mentorship provided by onsite supervisors. Worked with students in groups and one-on-one to prepare for their "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentations. All seven (7) students successfully presented their projects and findings at the conference on August 4th, 2021. 3) Conduct Evaluation: Collected all student participation, survey, and interview data using the database, surveys, and interview questions created the previous year. All student interns participated in exit interviews and students and supervisors completed the program evaluation surveys. Evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff during the fall semester and feedback and suggestions for the following summer were recorded. Food Studies faculty are exploring the possibility of aligning participation in the internship with requirements for the Food Studies Minor.
Publications
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Progress 04/01/20 to 03/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project is Occidental College students who show an interest in entering the fields of food studies, agriculture, or food systems intheir future careers and/or graduate level studies. The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship Program selects these students each year through a competitive application process, with priority placed on students from underrepresented groups, including students of color and first generation college students. During the first year of the program (reporting period #1), 17 Occidental students applied for the internship. Five of the 17 applicants were members of underrepresented groups (29%). After interviewing 11 candidates, 6 were accepted and invited to participate in the program including 2 from underrepresented groups (33%). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home order beginning in March of 2020, 2 students dropped out of the program or selected to defer until the following year. In the end,4 students successfully completed the program in the first year. Changes/Problems:The primary problems faced in the first year of the Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship program at Occidental College were impacts fromthe COVID-19 pandemic. After working with the College to develop strict COVID-19 safetly protocols for outdoor internships, it was possible for students to participate inthe 8-week internship in person, but the orientation course had to be conducted remotely. Additionally, 2 of the 6 students selected for the program had to drop out or defer for the summer and 2 host sites also pulled out of the program for the first year. This worked out logistically because there were still 4 students and 4 host sites.In subsequent years of the program, we will invite additional students to participate to make up for the low numbers in the first year. Some urban farm host sites have already agreed to take on more than one intern, if needed, so we are not concerned about placing additional interns. We also plan to reach out to additional urban farms who may be interested in joining as internship partners. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Los Angeles Urban Agriculture Internship provided opportunities for training and professional development throughout the program. The 8-weekhands-on internship trained students in skills necessary to operate an urban farm, distribute agricultural products, and serve customers and communities. For example, in response to the high food insecurity brought on by the pandemic, one farm organization hosted bi-weekly food givaways serving over 200 families at each event. The Summer Research Conference also gave students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and present their takeaways and findings to faculty and peers in a professional setting. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Student experiences and other results of the internship program were highlighted viaUEPI's food program website, shared at a Food Studies faculty meeting, and also shared with other students and staff at Occidentals quarterly Food Systems Working Group meetings. Outreach for the following year will also include highlights and quotes from the first year's cohort. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Activities in the next reporting period are expected to be largely the same as the first reporting period. The primary exception is that we anticipate the the orientation course will be conducted in a hybrid format. Class meetings, discussions of course material,and guest speakers will be conducted via Zoom, but we are hopeful (depending on COVID-19 restrictions) that it will be possible to have in-person site visits so that students can gain hands on training and experiences at each urban farm host site. Additionally, we expect to have 6-8 students participate in the program to make up for the low number in the first cohort.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The following section elaborates on the accomplishments achieved during the first reporting period according to the program goals, objectives, and activities. 1)Prepare for Internship Program finalize the "urban agriculture orientation course" curriculum and syllabus: The orientation courseis a combination of classroom discussions, guest speaker presentations, and urban agriculture site tours (conducted virutally in the first year due to COVID-19 restrictions). coordinate with internship hosts on schedules, logistics, and individual student work plans: Four urban agriculture sites participated in the program; Cottonwood Urban Farm, Urban Homestead, The Growing Experience, and Alma Backyard Farms. set up all administrative systems and processes, including the student application process and "Request for Applications" (RFA): The application process was aligned with Occidental's other summer internship opportunities and integrated into the application system. developing all evaluation tools, including "program evaluation" and "past participant" surveys, interview questions, a participant database, and any other administrative systems required to collect identified evaluation data. After establishing systems and developing tools, data was collected on the first cohort of students. 2)Conduct Urban Agriculture Internship Program promote the program and RFA: The program was shared widely with Occidental students via email listserves, the UEPI website, promotional flyers, and direct promotion during food studies classes. collect and review applications, and select a cohort of 6-7 interns each year: 17 applications were received, 11 interviews were conducted, and 6 students were accepted into the program. (2 students later dropped out or deferred due the COVID-19 pandemic). conducting the 2-week orientation course: The orientation course, begining in June of 2020, was a few months into the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. The course had to beconducted remotely via Zoom, which meant that instead of visiting urban farms in person, students participated in virtual farm tours. place students at internship host sites: Four urban farms participated in the program (listed above). One farm ,Uncommon Good,had to drop out due to COVID-19 restrictions, and another, GrowGood,was unable to participate due to internal restructuring at the organization. Because the vast majority of urban agriculture tasks and activies take place outdoors and could be conducted safely following strict COVID-19 safety protocols, all interns were able to participate in in-person internships. holding bi-weekly check-in meetings with the intern cohort: To provide extra support to students during the pandemic and create an added sense of community with amongpeers despite being remote, we held group check-ins every week instead of every other week. providing ongoing mentorship, support, and guidance throughout the duration of the internship: Occidental staff, faculty, and internship hosts provided ongoing support, guidance, and mentorship throughout the duration of the internship. Additional attention was given during the pandemic to ensure that students were receiving the support they needed to be successful in their internships. preparing students for the "Undergraduate Summer Research Conference" presentation: Students were given clear guidelines for their presentations along withsupport via regular weekly group meetingsandone-on-one check-ins in preparation for their Summer Research Conference presentations. All 4 students successfully participated in the research conference. 3)Conduct Evaluation collect all participation, survey, and interview data according to the project timeline: All participating students completed program evalutation surveys and exit interviews and internship supervisors also completed evaluation surveys. share evaluation data with Food Studies faculty each fall so that feedback can be incorporated in time for the following program year: Evaluation data was summarized and shared with Food Studies faculty and staff and feedback was collected for the following year.
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