Progress 09/01/21 to 12/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Iowa Valley RC&D's project worked with a few different target audiences through the project. The project worked with current and aspiring growers at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm in Iowa City, Iowa, through the creation of the Reciprocal Mentorship Network (RMN) and the Career Exploration Program (CEP). This project combined the expertise of three agricultural programs at the Poor Farm: the Global Food Project (GFP), Grow: Johnson County (GrowJC), and the Land Access Program (LAP). 7 LAP commercial farmers were provided one on one technical assistance and also were provided consultations to experts of the farm. 24 GFP aspiring farmers included recent immigrant and refugee farmers from the Congo, Sudan, Central America and Mexico who speak English, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic and French. These aspiring farmers were eager to learn new farming techniques and to access resources and knowledge to launch a new farm business. 7 GrowJC apprentices who were aspiring farmers as well. These aspiring farmers were current college students or individuals making career changes and were exploring agriculture. Lastly, youth between the grades of 6th - 12th grade participated in the Career Exploration Program and Can You Dig It education sessions at the farm. Youth were part of community neighborhood associations and high schools engaged through the Iowa City and Clear Creek Amana School Districts' career exploration and agriculture education programs. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Individual commercial farmers in the Land Access Program, Global Food Project and other experienced farmers gained presentation experience and networking when they led tours and discussions about their farm operations to other members of the community. Some of the farmers also gained experience being a mentor to another farmer by sharing their experience. Project staff gained experience working with interpreters, translators, using plain language, and the power of Whatsapp to reach community members. Simple word choice and visual or audio invitations work more effectively than written event descriptions. Project staff gained experience in event planning and arranging educational materials for both adult and teen audiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results of the project were disseminated to our partners at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm including the Global Food Project, Land Access Program and with Johnson County. The results and feedback received from our participants in the workshops and youth educational sessions are being used to develop future programs and improve ongoing programs. Results and feedback from workshops are being use to develop the training curriculum for a two year fellowship program from beginning farmers. The workshop topics, trainers and more will be part of a larger series of training that participants go through each year. The feedback is also being used as Johnson County and Iowa Valley RC&D working engineering and design cultants to expand on farm infrastructure to support training and farm business development. Experience and program feedback from the Can You Dig It educational programs with community neighborhood associations and school districts are being used to design a long term career technical education CTE program for high school youth on food and agriculture. The learnings from this project are helping inform long term partnerships with the Iowa City Community School District's curriculum team. Results and findings from the reciprocal mentorship network's one one one mentorships and grower consultations have been shared with our project partners as we design future technical assistance. It was discovered that beginning farmers require guidance when deciding who or where to get consultation as they launch and grow their business. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
5 Land Access Program commercial growers will receive 120 consultations from outside advisors (Farm Service Agency, non-profit, bankers, legal, area farmers, agronomists, extension, market brokers, insurance providers, etc.) to gain mentorship and technical assistance to grow their farm businesses. [Goals 2 & 3] The Land Access Program grew to 6 commercial growers on 12 acres of land during the project. Growers received technical consultations with accountants, lawyers, marketing specialists, area farmers, loan managers and more. Growers used consultations to improve their accounting and bookkeeping processes, food safety plans, formalized their business legally instead of as sole proprietors, applied for loans and cost share, developed website and marketing materials, purchased new equipment to improve systems and expanded their sales into new outlets. 15 Global Food Project community gardeners will receive mentorship and technical assistance from Iowa Valley RC&D staff or Land Access Program commercial growers through a 9-month mentorship program. [Goals 1 & 2] During the project the Global Food Project had 15 of their community gardeners receive mentorship from 3 land access program farmers and 4 farmers in the community. Global Food Project developed the market garden plots during the project. Market garden plot tenants were given access to land, markets and technical assistance to support them. A farmers market was developed onsite for these market gardeners to sell their produce. Each pair of mentors and mentees were required to meet 3 times at the Historic Poor Farm, off site at another farm or at a workshop. Establish the Career Exploration Program with local teen outreach organizations to implement the five-part "Can You Dig It?" Curriculum at urban microfarms in order to motivate, educate, and inspire participants to choose careers in agriculture. The Career Exploration Program grew throughout the project to include 4 organizations that work with teens from 6th - 12th grade. The Can You Dig It program was implemented at Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC), United Action for Youth (UAY), Clear Creek Amana School District (CCA), and Iowa City Community School District. The program was hosted at the Historic Poor Farm, at neighborhood centers and in school classrooms. Iowa Valley RC&D develops the Career Exploration Program Committee and Teen Advisory Committee with 3 local teen outreach organizations and launches an urban microfarm space at each organizational host site. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] Career Exploration Program (CEP) committee meetings were held with staff and teens from 6 local partner organizations to develop garden programming and identify youth to participate throughout the project. Meetings were held in person at the Historic Poor Farm and virtually. Partners included: Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC), United Action for Youth (UAY), Clear Creek Amana School District (CCA), Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) Curriculum Team, ICCSD Lemme Elementary Before and After School Program and Anna Geyer, Farmer at Land Alliance Folk School. At 2 Teen Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings, 9 teens attended, informed schedules and activities of the Can You Dig It program. At the meetings, teens identified strengths and interests, engaging the local food system, and vegetable and animal agriculture career pathways. Teen participation helped shape the Can You Dig It Curriculum and activities. One student on the TAC said in her blog post: "I always viewed learning basic gardening/ farm skills as a necessity because I desired growing my own food and feeling the satisfaction of knowing that I took care of the plant from the beginning to the end. I learned many intriguing new things such as a potato is the seed to growing a potato, for some reason, I have never heard about that in my fifteen years of living." Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) Administration identified a desire for an agricultural program for students in the district. Students currently have to travel to the adjacent school district to participate in agriculture courses and activities. The implementation of the Ag program will be supported by staff at Iowa Valley RC&D (IVRCD). Currently the school district and IVRCD staff are in the planning phases of this project. Next steps include involvement with district staff members through engagement with the Career Exploration Program and Can You Dig It? farm education programs. Iowa Valley RC&D partners with local teen outreach partners to lead the summer Career Exploration Program, including the "Can You Dig It?" agricultural training program for 60 teenagers using the urban microfarm spaces and participation in Poor Farm activities and mentorship. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] The project greatly exceeded the goal of 60 teenagers participating in the Can You Dig It educational sessions. 531 students engaged in activities ranging from garlic planting and processing, greenhouse seeding, a tomato tasting, working in the CCA school garden. Sessions taught concepts of seasonality, plant spacing, nutrition, beneficial insects and habitats, and harvest methods and more. The Can You Dig It program has continued past the project end date. The Can You Dig It program is being implemented across the entire 6th grade in the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD). During the winter and spring of 2025 another 800 students will participate in a full day of educational sessions at the Historic Poor Farm. Also in 2025 a pilot of a CTE Agriculture Career Exploration program is being launched with 10 high schoolers from ICCSD. Develop a knowledge-sharing community amongst all scales of growers at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and the Career Exploration Program through 15 farm field days, 15 shared-learning workshops, and 18 potlucks. [Contributes to Goals 1, 2, & 3] The Historic Poor Farm has become a nexus for beginning farmer training and mentorship and coaching for existing farm business. During the project 16 workshops, 16 potlucks and 11 field days were hosted at the Historic Poor Farm. 171 people attended the workshops and field days and over 200 attended potlucks where informal knowledge sharing took place. In the middle of the season the potlucks were held near the Global Food Project plots which allowed for attendees to tour and harvest from garden plots and share in knowledge of food crops from around the world and the culinary traditions that come with crops like amaranth (lenga lenga), okra, jalapeno, white eggplant and heirloom corn. Potlucks were scheduled on Wednesday evenings to avoid conflicting with work schedules and other local social events. Attendees from Global Food Project, Grow Johnson County and the Land Access Program gathered, shared food, and built community with attendance ranging from 12-50 people at each event. The workshops and field days covered topics like crop planning and seed ordering, managing soil health, season extension with mini tunnels and caterpillar tunnels, weed control, irrigation management, seed saving and sales, succession planting, best management, farmers market table management, and wild foraging. Workshop and potlucks were held in English, French, Swahili and Arabic depending on attendance at each event.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The mentorship and workshop opportunities benefited growers based at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm's Land Access Program (LAP) and Global Food Project (GFP) centering a diverse field of beginning farmers including immigrant and refugee farmers from the Congo, Sudan, Central America and Mexico who speak English, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic and French. Youth programming engages teens in 6th - 12th grades, many of whom are BIPOC, from community organizations within Johnson County, Iowa. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided immense value for professional development among staff at IVRCD, Global Food Project, and growers at the JCHPF. Through implementing beginning farmer workshops, staff learned about communicating information effectively to immigrant and refugee groups particularly. This includes how to present well with an interpreter present, and using visuals and hands-on demonstrations. Growers attending the workshops reported always learning something new, even in beginner level subjects. Native Iowan growers can easily take basic knowledge of Iowa climate and common production methods for granted so it's important to be detailed when explaining things. Bringing professionals from the community to speak at workshops helped to connect JCHPF growers to mentors and resources they can utilize regularly, and strengthened collaboration with IVRCD and GFP staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have disseminated results from the activities with our partners on site at the informal potlucks, at project partner meetings each quarter and through our Grow Johnson County program's social media and newsletters. We have also shared results and impacts of the Can You Dig It educational programs with our partners at the Iowa City Community School District as we designed the 6th grade educational experience that will be in fall 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the last reporting period of our project we plan to implement the 6th grade Can You Dig It educational experience for 6th graders over 5 weeks. Over 400 students from the Iowa City School Districts will participate in the fall and another 800 in the winter and spring of 2025.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
5 Land Access Program commercial growers will receive 120 consultations from outside advisors (Farm Service Agency, non-profit, bankers, legal, area farmers, agronomists, extension, market brokers, insurance providers, etc.) to gain mentorship and technical assistance to grow their farm businesses. [Goals 2 & 3] Land Access Program growers Trowel and Error consulted with their accountant to improve their financial record keeping and bookkeeping, Nasr Mohammed working with marketing and branding specialist to develop marketing materials and website for his business, Africando Produce hired a graphic designer to develop marketing materials as well and 4 market gardeners with the Global Food Project received consultation on business establishment best practices. 15 Global Food Project community gardeners will receive mentorship and technical assistance from Iowa Valley RC&D staff or Land Access Program commercial growers through a 9-month mentorship program. [Goals 1 & 2] With the remaining funds, staff connected two pairs in the mentorship program. Both pairs were matched by language and interests, which allowed them to meet independently of project staff. Based on feedback, mentors were offered $300 for their participation and mentees $200. Requirements were reduced as well to better match availability, so participants were asked to meet 3-4 times in-person during the season. Iowa Valley RC&D develops the Career Exploration Program Committee and Teen Advisory Committee with 3 local teen outreach organizations and launches an urban microfarm space at each organizational host site. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] In spring 2024 IVRCD and Iowa City Community School District's Curriculum Coordinators began to develop and plan the Can You Dig It? program for all 6th graders in the School District. In partnership with the Curriculum Director and Curriclum Coordinators a schedule was developed for fall 2024 and winter and spring 2025 that would allow all 6th graders to participate in a full day series of sessions that Johnson County Historic Poor Farm. Iowa Valley RC&D partners with local teen outreach partners to lead the summer Career Exploration Program, including the "Can You Dig It?" agricultural training program for 60 teenagers using the urban microfarm spaces and participation in Poor Farm activities and mentorship. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] In April 2024, Iowa Valley partnered with Greater Iowa City's Youth Leadership Program to provide agriculture and environment experience at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm. The whole day included presentations from LAP commercial growers, presentation about ecosystem services on the farm, greenhouse seeding, equipment demonstrations and a presentation about the business aspects of a farm. Develop a knowledge-sharing community amongst all scales of growers at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and the Career Exploration Program through 15 farm field days, 15 shared-learning workshops, and 18 potlucks. [Goals 1, 2, & 3] 8 Organic Vegetable Production Workshops and 5 Field Days were hosted at the JCHPF. Recruitment for these events targeted participants of the Land Access Program and Global Food Project gardens. Workshops took place between Feb and June 2024 with a total of 97 attendees. Topics included: saving and selling culturally specific crop seed, weed control systems, succession planting, bug control, garden tools and knowledge, foraging weeds, and market table setup. Guest speakers were arranged for almost all workshops to expand the knowledge base of the community. Seed Saving led by Michael Washburn (Seed Savers Exchange) [Oct 10, 2023] Attendees: 10; Workshop+Field Day Michael talked about opportunities for sharing (and finding) seeds through the Seed Savers Exchange program and demonstrated equipment used for large scale seed production. Gardeners also shared some more low tech approaches to seed cleaning. Selling Culturally Specific Crop Seeds with Owen Taylor (Truelove Seeds) [Feb 13, 2024] Attendees: 9; Workshop Owen Taylor presented on Zoom about the opportunity to grow seeds for sale to Truelove Seeds. Their company, based in PA, specializes in culturally specific crops including those in the African Diaspora. Attendance included virtual and in-person audience and French interpretation. Weed Control Systems with Dan Fillius + Field Day (ISU Extension) [March 19, 2024] Attendees: 9; Workshop+Field Day Dan Fillius presented an overview of weed control methods in an organic vegetable system to a group of growers with mixed experience levels. The workshop was followed by a field day to look at machines and different plots on the property. Succession Planting led by Carly McAndrews (Trowel and Error CSA) [April 6, 2024] Attendees: 8; Workshop+Field Day Carly McAndrews presented the principles and methods for making the most of a garden space through the season using multiple plantings. Carly is a grower at the JCHPF. Bug Control in Small Spaces with Zach Couture (Global Greens) [April 13, 2024] Attendees: 9; Workshop Zach Couture presented their workshop explaining bad bugs, good bugs and animals, and methods of control for organic community garden spaces. Swahili interpretation provided. Gardener Needs - Tools, Skills, Knowledge (Global Food Project) [May 11, 2024] Attendees: 40; Workshop+Field Day Willl Kapp of Global Food Project brought "scaling up" gardeners together who are utilizing the larger growing spaces in the community garden (? acre). Foraging Edible Weeds with Hai Hyunh (Coralville Food Pantry) [May 30, 2024] Attendees: 5; Workshop+Field Day Hai led a presentation about the identification, hazards, and benefits of foraging edible weed species in a farm field setting. Market Table Advice with Molly Schintler (Echollective CSA) [June 18, 2024] Attendees: 7; Workshop Molly demonstrated how to prepare for and set-up a booth for a farmer's market to Global Food Project market growers with little to no experience selling fresh vegetables in a farmer's market setting.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The mentorship and workshop opportunities benefited growers based at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm's Land Access Program (LAP) and Global Food Project (GFP) centering a diverse field of beginning farmers including immigrant and refugee farmers from the Congo, Sudan, Central America and Mexico who speak English, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic and French. Youth programming engages teens in 6th - 12th grades, many of whom are BIPOC, from community organizations within Johnson County, Iowa. Changes/Problems:Consultation Stipends: LAP tenants require additional technical assistance to identify uses of consultation stipends. Staff plan to move unused stipend funding to offer group training and professional development for all tenants, removing the burden of seeking individual resources. Mentorship Program: Despite all parties signing an agreement, many gardeners are unable to meet the commitments of the program. Staff had to schedule, arrange interpretation, and be present at every meeting, which limits the relationship building between mentors and mentees. Next year, staff plan to have fewer participants to enable more active structure, perhaps as part of potlucks. In Y1, only mentors were paid $500 to participate, but based on feedback, staff offered $250 each to mentors and mentees in the interest of fairness. Workshops, Field Days, Potlucks: This year, two LAP tenants were asked to lead a workshop. This facilitated relationship building among tenants and gardeners. A consistent barrier for attendance at mentorship and workshop events is childcare. Having young children present at workshops makes it difficult to take in and retain information when attention is split between a speaker and active children. The potlucks this year suffered from two main problems: cancellation due to weather and a lack of clear purpose. To increase engagement in Y3, staff will work with gardeners to create focus for the potlucks, such as discussing group seed purchases or future site needs of the gardeners. Career Exploration Program and Teen Advisory Committee: Obtaining blog posts from students proved difficult (only 1 occurred). Instead, staff gathered feedback about student experiences in a google survey (3). The Teen Advisory Committee had several cancellations due to weather, and scheduling conflicts. Staff invited TAC members to 3 additional education sessions that were unattended due to summer jobs, vacations, and other commitments. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Alfred and Nasr (LAP tenants) gained presentation experience and networking when they each led tours and discussions about their farm operations to other members of the community. Communication: Staff gained experience working with interpreters, translators, using plain language, and the power of Whatsapp to reach community members. Simple word choice and visual or audio invitations work more effectively than written event descriptions. Project staff gained experience in event planning and arranging educational materials for both adult and teen audiences. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project partner, Will Kapp of IC Compassion, has coordinated attendance of Global Food Project gardeners to the workshops and potlucks. He maintains working relationships with many of the gardeners and recruits through WhatsApp, posters for events, and in-person meetings at the garden sites. The CYD website is just one of the ways program info reaches organizations and youth interested in working with us. The teen outreach partners are committed to sharing program information with teens by word of mouth. They also have printed flyers and calendars enabling teens to sign up for programs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, Project Staff will organize 7 farm workshops and field days serving the Land Access and Global Food Project participants, as well as the local farming and gardening community in the Iowa City area. Staff will arrange speakers from off-site to enrich learning opportunities for growers. 9 Potlucks will be held at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm featuring a main course provided by IVRCD, culturally diverse dishes and interpreters as needed. The mentorship program will continue with fewer participants. The Career Exploration Program will continue with feedback from Iowa City Community School District staff and other teen outreach organizations. Program staff will recruit 6 youth to participate in the Teen Advisory Committee for 5 meetings. Staff will deliver at least 5 CYD education events at rotating locations among partners, including a new partnership with the North Liberty Community Pantry in their garden.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. 5 Land Access Program commercial growers will receive 120 consultations from outside advisors (Farm Service Agency, non-profit, bankers, legal, area farmers, agronomists, extension, market brokers, insurance providers, etc.) to gain mentorship and technical assistance to grow their farm businesses. [Goals 2 & 3] One tenant requested stipend funding in Y2, in the amount of $1549. LAP tenants were reminded several times about the funding but were uncertain how to use it. Staff gathered feedback from the group on how to improve this program next year and bring technical knowledge to all growers in the Land Access Program. 2. 15 Global Food Project community gardeners will receive mentorship and technical assistance from Iowa Valley RC&D staff or Land Access Program commercial growers through a 9-month mentorship program. [Goals 1 & 2] The Mentorship Program continued with agreements signed by all participants, which asked: "Meet with your mentee at least 5 times, up to 2 hours each, through the entire growing season (March through October). Your total time together should fall within 10 - 15 hours." 5 pairs were created by contract in March 2023. The pairs included 5 Global Food Project gardeners as mentees, 2 Land Access Program mentors, and 3 local farmer mentors from off-site. Most pairs met only 1-2 times through the season, spending 2-4 hours together, and only with staff present. Feedback indicates knowledge was shared, but more structure is needed. 3. Iowa Valley RC&D develops the Career Exploration Program Committee and Teen Advisory Committee with 3 local teen outreach organizations and launches an urban microfarm space at each organizational host site. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] Career Exploration Program (CEP) meetings were held with staff and teens from 5 local partner organizations to develop garden programming and identify youth to participate.Partners included Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC), United Action for Youth (UAY), Clear Creek Amana (CCA), ICCSD Lemme BASP Before and After School Program, and Anna Geyer, Farmer at Land Alliance Folk School. CEP committee members supported youth recruitment and offered diverse perspectives on program development at 6 committee meetings. Members prioritized opportunities that provide a pathway for underrepresented BIPOC youth to get involved with the future of the food system. Partners connected us to youth with little to no farming exposure but with an interest in engaging on Ag related curriculum. Partners developed ways of welcoming these youth and helping them to feel more comfortable in this unfamiliar setting. 2 Teen Advisory Committee (TAC) meetings, with 3 teens attending, informed the schedule and structure of the CEP. At the meetings, teens identified strengths and interests, engaging the local food system, and vegetable and animal agriculture career pathways. Teen participation helped shape the Can You Dig It Curriculum and activities. One student on the TAC said in her blog post: "I always viewed learning basic gardening/ farm skills as a necessity because I desired growing my own food and feeling the satisfaction of knowing that I took care of the plant from the beginning to the end. I learned many intriguing new things such as a potato is the seed to growing a potato, for some reason, I have never heard about that in my fifteen years of living." Long term outcome: Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) Administration identified a desire for an agricultural program for students in the district. Staff at Iowa Valley RC&D (IVRCD) will support implementation of this program in the years to come. Currently ICCSD and IVRCD staff are planning this project. The next steps involve district staff members with the CEP and Can You Dig It? farm education. 4. Iowa Valley RC&D partners with local teen outreach partners to lead the summer Career Exploration Program, including the "Can You Dig It?" agricultural training program for 60 teenagers using the urban microfarm spaces and participation in Poor Farm activities and mentorship. [Goals 1, 3, & 4] 71 youth participated in Can You Dig It? Programs hosted at Grow Johnson County and offsite at 2 micro urban farm sites and 2 other partner locations. Partners included: UAY, Lemme BASP, NCJC, CCA, and Coralville Food Pantry. Youth activities were garlic planting and processing, greenhouse seeding, a tomato tasting, and transplanting at the CCA school garden. Events took place between Oct 2022 and July 2023, teaching concepts of seasonality, plant spacing, nutrition, and harvest methods. 5. Develop a knowledge-sharing community amongst all scales of growers at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and the Career Exploration Program through 15 farm field days, 15 shared-learning workshops, and 18 potlucks. [Goals 1, 2, & 3] 4 Organic Vegetable Production Workshops and 2 Field Days were hosted at the JCHPF. Recruitment for these events targeted participants of the Land Access Program and Global Food Project gardens. Workshops took place between Feb and July 2023 with a total of 29 attendees. Topics included: Crop Planning, Seed Ordering, Managing Soil Health, and Q&As with two LAP growers (Nasr and Alfred). Their sessions included an option for Arabic or French interpretation and tours of their plots. 2 Potlucks were held in 2023. The first (May 25th) was hosted by project staff. The second, held Aug. 3rd, was hosted by Global Food Project gardeners. Best attendance results when potlucks are held in the garden area where people are comfortable meeting already.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:In the first year of this project, the mentorship and workshop opportunities benefited growers based at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm's Land Access Program (LAP) and Global Food Project (GFP) centering a diverse field of beginning farmers including immigrant and refugee farmers from the Congo, Sudan, Central America and Mexico who speak English, Spanish, Swahili, Arabic and French. Additionally the Career Exploration Program efforts included partnerships with community-based organizations working with BIPOC youth leaders including G!World and United Action for Youth. Teen leaders with the Public Library and rural Clear Creek Amana School District were engaged in farming education through the Can You Dig It? experiential learning curriculum. Changes/Problems:Consultation Stipends: Land Access Tenants expressed a desire to shift funding for consultations into another form of technical assistance. Staff will continue to explore reallocation based on tenant needs and are collecting data around interest in funding specialized workshop trainers, an equipment share program or expanding stipends available to garden mentees. Mentorship Program: The mentorship pairs, left mostly independent, did not spend their full 20 hours together as intended (the highest amount was 9 hours). Next year, Project staff plan to more actively manage the structure of these relationships by facilitating 4 meetings throughout the season and encouraging shorter meetings between those. This will allow staff to ensure participants are getting the most value from the program. Staff anticipate mentorship funding from year 1 will be shifted into years 2 and 3 of the program. Career Exploration Program and Teen Advisory Committee: Due to staffing issues, the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) will no longer be participating in the grant as one of the micro urban farm host sites. ICPL will continue to assist in recruitment of additional partners to participate in the Career Exploration Program. Iowa Valley RC&D will bring Clear Creek Amana(CCA) into the role of the 3rd urban micro farm site. CCA will be a natural fit as our partner as there is the Agriculture teacher at the highschool level. Since ICPL will no longer be participating we intend to ask our Teen outreach partner at Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County to step in and take on a larger role to serve as the primary teen outreach coordinator to help facilitate some of the outreach activities and recruitment for the Teen Advisory Committee. Workshops, Field Days, Potlucks: No major changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Project staff has gained experience developing and delivering farm-based educational content through workshops and CYD curriculum. The Organic Vegetable Production Workshops created an opportunity for staff to strengthen their knowledge of farming practices by developing lessons that break down complex processes. Due to the diversity of gardeners at the Global Food Project, all the workshops were attended by at least one non-English speaking grower requiring an interpreter. Staff have learned to use Plain Language guidelines and heavily visual lessons to ensure understanding across all participants. Interpretation requires significantly more time, so staff have learned to reduce the session content and allow more time for interaction. Staff have also learned more about the scheduling needs of the gardeners and accommodated by hosting workshops on evenings and weekends. CYD lessons afforded the opportunity to engage local school staff, and staff members at community partner site locations to oversee the completion of projects and events. Project Staff improved community-building through individual meetings with each community partner organization to learn about the goals, their unique site accommodations, and the interests and capacity of the youth that participate in their programs. Staff gained valuable experience in developing educational lessons and content that connects youth to where their food comes from while introducing them to careers in agriculture. IVRCD staff improved skills in providing technical assistance centering youth interests (in planting plans, infrastructure designs, and soil health guidance) for each urban microfarm location. Project Partner Meetings: In the first year project partners attended Quarterly Partner Meetings with IVRCD and GFP staff to outline shared goals, plan upcoming events and align around project measurement. Additionally, youth partner organizations were engaged in individual planning meetings and group planning meetings to help clarify roles in CEP and determine youth engagement strategies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project partner, Will Kapp of IC Compassion, has coordinated attendance of Global Food Project gardeners to the workshops and potlucks. He maintains working relationships with many of the gardeners and recruits through WhatsApp, posters for events, and in-person meetings at the garden sites. The CYD website is just one of the ways that our program info is able to reach organizations and youth that might be interested in working with us. The teen outreach partners are committed to sharing program information with teens by word of mouth. They also have printed flyers and calendars so that teens are able to sign up for programs they are interested in participating in. https://www.growjohnsoncounty.org/canyoudigit What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, Project Staff will organize 6 farm workshops and field days serving the Land Access and Global Food Project participants, as well as the local farming and gardening community in the Iowa City area. 5 Potlucks will be held at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm featuring culturally diverse dishes and interpreters as needed. Staff plan to gather feedback from Reciprocal Mentorship Program participants to identify ways to improve the efficacy of the program. This will be completed by email and in-person interviews. New mentorship pairs will be established for 2023, including new GFP gardeners that are increasing the scale of their gardens. In year 2, Career Exploration Program Committee members will meet to discuss programming format, content, and engagement for the CYD curriculum. Members of the committee will recruit teens to establish the Teen Advisory Committee. CYD programming will continue to engage students and other growers in hands-on farming education. With the help of the Career Exploration Program and Teen Advisory Committee, staff will expand the curriculum to include 2 more components that highlight the activities and skills that youth are interested in learning about. Additionally, the planned urban microfarm site at Tate High School will be established.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments under Objectives 5 Land Access Program commercial growers will receive 120 consultations from outside advisors (Farm Service Agency, non-profit, bankers, legal, area farmers, agronomists, extension, market brokers, insurance providers, etc.) to gain mentorship and technical assistance to grow their farm businesses. [Contributes to Goals 2 & 3] In Year 1, consultation stipends were requested by and awarded to two Land Access Tenants. Participating tenants have received consultations for farm business taxes and LLC structure from a local tax advisor. The majority of stipend reimbursement requests occur during winter months when growers have time to invest in self or business improvements. Project staff held individual meetings with each tenant to discuss their farm's goals for 2023 and a needs analysis for how project staff could support their farm goals. Tenants indicated a need for more guidance on weed control and animal intrusion control methods as well as marketing strategies and business loan or grant opportunities. 15 Global Food Project community gardeners will receive mentorship and technical assistance from Iowa Valley RC&D staff or Land Access Program commercial growers through a 9-month mentorship program. [Contributes to Goals 1 & 2] The Reciprocal Mentorship Program was established in early 2022. Four mentor and mentee pairs were created by contract in March 2022. These pairs included 5 Global Food Project gardeners as mentees, 2 Land Access Program mentors, and 2 local farmer mentors from off-site of the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm (JCHPF). Most pairs met 2-4 times through the season, spending between 4 and 9 hours together in total for each pair. Topics discussed among the pairs included: cut flower practices, business planning, season extension, greenhouse seeding, field planning, soil health, and weed control. Reciprocal Mentorship Program participants independently managed their meetings and discussions after their initial meeting. Iowa Valley RC&D develops the Career Exploration Program Committee and Teen Advisory Committee with 3 local teen outreach organizations and launches an urban microfarm space at each organizational host site. [Contributes to Goals 1, 3, & 4] Project staff identified three Career Exploration Program Committee partners in Year 1 and established 2 urban microfarms. The farms were launched with partnering organizations and include raised garden beds at both the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) and Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (NCJC). Program staff is committed to establishing the Teen Advisory Committee in year 2 with help of partners that have been identified. Staff provided technical assistance in the design and planting plans for each urban microfarm plot and hosted events with youth to plant, harvest, and clean up beds. At the ICPL plot, two planting dates occurred for cold season crops and warm season. At the NCJC plot, youth learned about the difference between annual, biennial, and perennial plants when planting strawberries in the early spring. Iowa Valley RC&D partners with local teen outreach partners to lead the summer Career Exploration Program, including the "Can You Dig It?" agricultural training program for 60 teenagers using the urban microfarm spaces and participation in Poor Farm activities and mentorship. [Contributes to Goals 1, 3, & 4] The Can You Dig It? (CYD) program was established in year 1 of the grant, including the creation of a unique logo and associated webpage hosted on the Grow: Johnson County website. CYD is a no-cost farm and garden experience designed for youth and teen groups and organizations who are eager to connect with food and community. CYD Events are held at the JCHPF or offsite at a community garden, urban microfarm, or school garden. 15 teen education events occurred in collaboration with Iowa City Public Library (ICPL), United Action for Youth, and G!World. Events were held at the JCHPF and offsite at the urban microfarm locations with ICPL and NCJC. The microfarm sites enabled staff to engage over 30 youth in food production through hands-on activities. Overall, CYD programs reached 65 youth, where they learned the basic principles of sustainable agriculture and applied the skills at the microfarm plots. Over half of these participants were BIPOC students. Over 12 adult community staff members engaged in the program. The CYD curriculum currently includes 3 lessons: 1. Seeding with Ease, 2. Planting, Sowing and Growing in the Garden, and 3. Harvest Celebration. The Grow webpage hosts all three lessons as downloadable, printable PDFs. https://www.growjohnsoncounty.org/canyoudigit IVRCD has supplemental Curriculum Kits created through a separate project that supported this program. Curriculum Kits are moveable trunks on wheels outfitted with printed handouts of the CYD curriculum, two additional books on gardening education, a L.E.D. grow light kit, potting soil, trays and pots for seed starting, trowels, and magnifying glasses to help get people started in hands-on seed starting activities. Outreach efforts for the program focus on BIPOC youth (Black Indigenous People of Color). In addition to racial barriers, many of these youth also face barriers being economically disadvantaged. This program provides opportunities for socially disadvantaged youth that are curious about careers in agriculture but lack the resources to get involved or might not believe an agricultural career is "really for them." UAY is a non-profit organization that supports youth from all backgrounds with a focus on BIPOC youth that are economically disadvantaged. They plan programs and excursions that encourage healthy risk taking and exploration for youth. G!World is a program that focuses on mentorship and empowerment of BIPOC girls ages 12-18. Both of these organizations work closely with the youth we're targeting in this project. Develop a knowledge-sharing community amongst all scales of growers at the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm and the Career Exploration Program through 15 farm field days, 15 shared-learning workshops, and 18 potlucks. [Contributes to Goals 1, 2, & 3] During the reporting period, 4 Organic Vegetable Production Workshops were hosted at the JCHPF. Recruitment for these events primarily targeted people involved with the LAP and GFP programs. The last workshop of the year was led by a local farmer from off-site. Each workshop was immediately followed by a field day to allow participants to get technical assistance in their garden plots or tenants to show their practices to those interested. For each workshop, staff arranged an appropriate language interpreter as needed. Workshop topics, dates, and attendees are listed below. Seed Starting Methods [April 23, 2022] Attendees: 5 Weed Control [June 4, 2022] Attendees: 12 Irrigation Water Management [July 14, 2022] Attendees: 10 Low Tunnels/Season Extension [Aug 11, 2022] Attendees: 18 Project staff hosted 5 potlucks at the JCHPF. The beginning and end of season events were held in the barn due to cold weather and early sunsets. The middle of the season they were held near the Global Food Project plots which allowed for attendees to tour and harvest from garden plots and share in knowledge of food crops from around the world and the culinary traditions that come with crops like amaranth (lenga lenga), okra, jalapeno, white eggplant and heirloom corn. Potlucks were scheduled on Wednesday evenings to avoid conflicting with work schedules and other local social events. Attendees from Global Food Project, Grow Johnson County and the Land Access Program gathered, shared food, and built community with attendance ranging from 12-50 people at each event. Events dates: 5/18/2022; 6/15/2022; 8/17/2022; 9/14/2022; 10/12/2022
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