Progress 07/01/20 to 06/30/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached by the efforts of the Sow It Forward Vertical Garden Program supported by NIFA SPECA funds was five K-8 schools in the Alhambra Elemntary School District (AESD) located in the Phoenix Metro Area of Arizona. The majority of schools in AESD are TItle 1, with 39.4% of families in the district with income below the poverty level and 46.1% of families relying on Food Stamps/SNAP Benefits (Nation Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Additionally, 78.32% of students enrolled in the Alhambra Elementary School District identify as Hispanic or Lation (AZ School Report Cards, 2021). Within the 5 target schools, Sow It Forward directly engaged 550 students in the classroom while also bringing garden-based learning to over 5,000 students on the eight campuses. Changes/Problems:2020-2021 The most substantial changes throughout the program year were due to COVID-19 safety restrictions. As AESD transitioned to virtual learning during the academic year and AZSA staff and volunteers were not able to visit schools in-person, the majority of Sow It Forward programming was adapted to a remote learning environment. AZSA hosted a virtual Introductory Workshop for educators and facilitated the eight week Farm-to-Market Curriculum live virtually for students using the AESD's district video platform. Students received hydroponic kits to learn about vertical farming at home, participated in mobile farmers markets, and were provided a cooking demonstration video from a local chef to learn how to cook with the ingredients from the farmers markets. These changes allowed AZSA to accomplish the program goals while still adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines, ensuring students, their families, and communities remained healthy throughout the year. 2021-2022 Challenges of Covid made it difficult to meet in person at the school. AZSA hosted virtual virtual Introductory Workshops for educators and facilitated the eight week Farm-to-Market Curriculum live virtually for students using the AESD's district video platform. Feedback from the educators indicated that in person training would be more beneficial. AZSA intends to be more present in the schools in the following school years while adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?While Sow It Forward provides exciting learning opportunities for students, the program also provides training and support for educators. Sow It Forward introduced educators to vertical garden-based learning and farmers market education as pathways to improve food education and food access in a low-income, Title I school district. Educators were able to leverage new knowledge to provide unique and meaningful experiences to students during a year of uncertainty. They learned how to build and maintain vertical gardens, grow food using aeroponics, and harvest produce directly from their classrooms for students. Educators were also trained in how to facilitate the Farm-to-Market curriculum, a resource they are able to use each year to engage students in vertical farming and farmers markets. The Toolkit was sharedwith all participating schools and community partners engaged in garden-based learning in K-12 schools. Additionally, AZSA produceda series of instructional videos to supplement the Toolkit and host a monthly virtual Professional Learning Community for educators to connect around challenges and successes with vertical farm to market education. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?AZSA staff reviewed the pre- and post-survey data and complied a one-pager to share with faculty, administration, staff, and families at the participating schools. The one-pager is used to connect with other schools and districts around the Phoenix Metro Area. Results from the 2021-22 academic year will are also being sharedat the Fall 2022 Introductory Workshop for new and returning educators. 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. To accomplish Goal 1, increase local food production throughout AESD, the Arizona Sustainability Alliance supplied five schools in the Alhambra Elementary School District with three vertical tower gardens each. Each tower garden stands five feet tall and produces up to 20 plants, which can include herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. In total, the three schools were able to grow approximately 180 plants to take home as fresh and healthy produce By supplying each school with the materials for growing their own food, AZSA was able to improve local food access as well as provide food-based educational opportunities. 2. To accomplish Goal 2, in addition to providing each school with tower gardens and all necessary growing materials, AZSA provided access to an experiential learning curriculum and virtual, interactive lessons on growing and maintaining a garden. Furthermore, AZSA compiled a wide variety of online garden resources for educators to enhance the quality of learning among students and to improve their knowledge regarding growing, eating, and selling healthy food. In addition, AZSA conducted pre and post surveys among the students and educators to identify additional areas of improvement. Three professional learning communities were created and run with AZSA staff, AZSA staff volunteers, and educators. The purpose of these sessions was to ensure the success of the program by troubleshooting issues with educators. The space also allowed educators to connect with all members of the program to ask questions. 3. To accomplish Goal 3, in order to improve STEM education, AZSA developed and continuously updated the Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market curriculum, which incorporated a variety of topics and concepts related to STEM such as sustainability, food systems, nutrition, botany, plant biology, ecology, farming, math, and engineering. The program materials included lesson plans and activities developed for various developmental stages in an effort to increase engagement around STEM education. 4. To accomplish Goal 4, despite COVID-19 related school restrictions, AZSA was able to increase local food access by coordinating five farmers markets at participating schools. AZSA collaborated with Sun Produce Cooperative and Blue Watermelon Project to distribute local, farm-fresh produce to students and film a cooking demonstration from a local chef using the produce from the distribution. 5. Lastly, to accomplish Goal 5, AZSA has continued to develop and update the Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market Toolkit based on the feedback from AESD students and educators. The toolkit will become digitally available to all participating schools for future Farm to Market programming.
Publications
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Progress 07/01/21 to 06/30/22
Outputs
Target Audience:During the 2021-22 academic school year, the target audience reached by the efforts of the Sow It Forward Vertical Garden Program supported by NIFA SPECA funds was five K-8 schools in the Alhambra Elemntary School District (AESD) located in the Phoenix Metro Area of Arizona. The majority of schools in AESD are TItle 1, with 39.4% of families in the district with income below the poverty level and 46.1% of families relying on Food Stamps/SNAP Benefits (Nation Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Additionally, 78.32% of students enrolled in the Alhambra Elementary School District identify as Hispanic or Lation (AZ School Report Cards, 2021). Within the 5 traget schools, Sow It Forward directly engaged 350 students in the classroom while also bringing garden-based learning to over 3,000 students on the five campuses. Changes/Problems:Challenges of Covid made it difficult to meet in person at the school. AZSA hosted virtual virtual Introductory Workshops for educators and facilitated the eight week Farm-to-Market Curriculum live virtually for students using the AESD's district video platform. Feedback from the educators indicated that in person training would be more beneficial. AZSA intends to be more present in the schools in the following school years while adhering to Covid-19 safety guidelines. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?While Sow It Forward provides exciting learning opportunities for students, the program also provides training and support for educators. Sow It Forward introduced educators to vertical garden-based learning and farmers market education as pathways to improve food education and food access in a low-income, Title I school district. Educators were able to leverage new knowledge to provide unique and meaningful experiences to students during a year of uncertainty. They learned how to build and maintain vertical gardens, grow food using aeroponics, and harvest produce directly from their classrooms for students. Educators were also trained in how to facilitate the Farm-to-Market curriculum, a resource they are able to use each year to engage students in vertical farming and farmers markets. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?AZSA staff are currently reviewing the pre- and post-survey data to compile into a one-pager to share with faculty, administration, staff, and families at the participating schools. The one-pager will be used to connect with other schools and districts around the Phoenix Metro Area. Results from the 2021-22 academic year will also be shared at the Fall 2022 Introductory Workshop for new and returning educators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although this is the last reporting period, AZSA intends to leveragethe pre- and post-survey results and the Farm-to-Market Toolkit to improve programming during the 2022-23 academic year as Sow It Forward expands into ten additional schools in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. The Toolkit will be shared with all participating schools and community partners engaged in garden-based learning in K-12 schools. Additionally, AZSA will continue to add to theseries of instructional videos to supplement the Toolkit and host a monthly virtual Professional Learning Community for educators to connect around challenges and successes with vertical farm to market education.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. To accomplish Goal 1, increase local food production throughout AESD, the Arizona Sustainability Alliance supplied five schools in the Alhambra Elementary School District with three vertical tower gardens each. Each tower garden stands five feet tall and produces up to 20 plants, which can include herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. In total, the three schools were able to grow approximately 180 plants to take home as fresh and healthy produce By supplying each school with the materials for growing their own food, AZSA was able to improve local food access as well as provide food-based educational opportunities. 2. To accomplish Goal 2, in addition to providing each school with tower gardens and all necessary growing materials, AZSA provided access to an experiential learning curriculum and virtual, interactive lessons on growing and maintaining a garden. Furthermore, AZSA compiled a wide variety of online garden resources for educators to enhance the quality of learning among students and to improve their knowledge regarding growing, eating, and selling healthy food. In addition, AZSA conducted pre and post surveys among the students and educators to identify additional areas of improvement. Three professional learning communities were created and run with AZSA staff, AZSA staff volunteers, and educators. The purpose of these sessions was toensure the success of the program by troubleshooting issues with educators. The space also allowed educators to connect with all members of the program to ask questions. 3. To accomplish Goal 3, in order to improve STEM education, AZSA developed and continuously updatedthe Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market curriculum, which incorporated a variety of topics and concepts related to STEM such as sustainability, food systems, nutrition, botany, plant biology, ecology, farming, math, and engineering. The program materials included lesson plans and activities developed for various developmental stages in an effort to increase engagement around STEM education. 4. To accomplish Goal 4, despite COVID-19 related school restrictions, AZSA was able to increase local food access by coordinating five farmers markets at participating schools. AZSA collaborated with Sun Produce Cooperative and Blue Watermelon Project to distribute local, farm-fresh produce to students and film a cooking demonstration from a local chef using the produce from the distribution. 5. Lastly, to accomplish Goal 5, AZSA has continued to develop and updatethe Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market Toolkit based on the feedback from AESD students and educators. The toolkit will become digitally available to all participating schools for future Farm to Market programming.
Publications
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Progress 07/01/20 to 06/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:During the 2020-21 academic school year, the target audience reached by the efforts of the Sow It Forward Vertical Garden Program supported by NIFA SPECA funds was three K-8 schools in the Alhambra Elementary School District (AESD) located in the Phoenix Metro Area of Arizona. The majority of schools in AESD are Title I, with 43.2% of families in the district with income below the poverty level and 50.5% of families relying on Food Stamps/SNAP Benefits (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). Additionally, 79% of students enrolled in the Alhambra Elementary School District identify as Hispanic or Latino (AZ School Report Cards, 2020). Within the three target schools, Sow It Forward directly engaged 200 students in the classroom while also bringing garden-based learning to over 2,000 students on the three campuses. Changes/Problems:The most substantial changes throughout the program year were due to COVID-19 safety restrictions. As AESD transitioned to virtual learning during the academic year and AZSA staff and volunteers were not able to visit schools in-person, the majority of Sow It Forward programming was adapted to a remote learning environment. AZSA hosted a virtual Introductory Workshop for educators and facilitated the eight week Farm-to-Market Curriculum live virtually for students using the AESD's district video platform. Students received hydroponic kits to learn about vertical farming at home, participated in mobile farmers markets, and were provided a cooking demonstration video from a local chef to learn how to cook with the ingredients from the farmers markets. These changes allowed AZSA to accomplish the program goals while still adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines, ensuring students, their families, and communities remained healthy throughout the year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?While Sow It Forward provides exciting learning opportunities for students, the program also provides training and support for educators. Sow It Forward introduced educators to vertical garden-based learning and farmers market education as pathways to improve food education and food access in a low-income, Title I school district. Educators were able to leverage new knowledge to provide unique and meaningful experiences to students during a year of uncertainty. They learned how to build and maintain vertical gardens, grow food using aeroponics, and harvest produce directly from their classrooms for students. Educators were also trained in how to facilitate the Farm-to-Market curriculum, a resource they are able to use each year to engage students in vertical farming and farmers markets. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?AZSA staff and volunteers are currently reviewing the pre- and post-survey data to compile into a one-pager to share with faculty, administration, staff, and families at the participating schools. The one-pager will be used to connect with other schools and districts around the Phoenix Metro Area. Results from the 2020-21 academic year will also be shared at the Fall 2021 Introductory Workshop for new and returning educators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As AZSA received two years of funding from NIFA SPECA, the pre- and post-survey results and the Farm-to-Market Toolkit will be leveraged to improve programming during the 2021-22 academic year as Sow It Forward expands into three additional schools in AESD. The Toolkit will be shared with all participating schools and community partners engaged in garden-based learning in K-12 schools. Additionally, AZSA will produce a series of instructional videos to supplement the Toolkit and host a monthly virtual Professional Learning Community for educators to connect around challenges and successes with vertical farm to market education.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To accomplish Goal 1, increase local food production throughout AESD, the Arizona Sustainability Alliance supplied three schools in the Alhambra Elementary School District with three vertical tower gardens each. Each tower garden stands five feet tall and produces up to 20 plants, which can include herbs, salad greens, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. In total, the three schools were able to grow approximately 180 plants to take home as fresh and healthy produce By supplying each school with the materials for growing their own food, AZSA was able to improve local food access as well as provide food-based educational opportunities. To accomplish Goal 2, in addition to providing each school with tower gardens and all necessary growing materials, AZSA provided access to an experiential learning curriculum and virtual, interactive lessons on growing and maintaining a garden. Furthermore, AZSA compiled a wide variety of online garden resources for educators to enhance the quality of learning among students and to improve their knowledge regarding growing, eating, and selling healthy food. To accomplish Goal 3, in order to improve STEM education, AZSA developed the Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market curriculum, which incorporated a variety of topics and concepts related to STEM such as plant biology, ecology, math, and engineering. The program materials included lesson plans and activities developed for various developmental stages in an effort to increase engagement around STEM education. To accomplish Goal 4, despite COVID-19 related school restrictions, AZSA was able to increase local food access by coordinating three mobile farmers markets at participating schools. AZSA collaborated with Sun Produce Cooperative and Blue Watermelon Project to distribute local, farm-fresh produce to students and film a cooking demonstration from a local chef using the produce from the distribution. Lastly, to accomplish Goal 5, AZSA has continued to develop and update the Sow It Forward Farm-to-Market Toolkit based on the feedback from AESD students and educators. Once the toolkit is finalized, it will become digitally available to all participating schools for future Farm to Market programming.
Publications
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