Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The IINSTAR-AS project aims to engage and prepare students from underrepresented groups in Puerto Rico - including women, Hispanics, and people of afro-Caribbean heritage - for successful careers in the agri-environmental sciences. Training the next generation of leaders must engage people from distinct backgrounds and cultures, to include opportunities for future scientists and leaders that will build a more diverse, stronger workforce capable of developing innovative, resilient, and equitable solutions to global resource management challenges. The long-term outlook for diversity in the STEM workforce is closely tied to representation in the educational system. Thus, Hispanic-serving institutions, and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories, have the potential to play key roles in this transition. Two target audiences were reached by project efforts during the reporting period. The first audience is undergraduate and graduate students in the Environmental Sciences Program (ESP) at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Ages range from 18 to 30 years old. Many students come from families with exceptional financial need and first-year undergraduate students have low math proficiency levels. The second target audience is K-12 students (<18 years of age) at public and private schools in Puerto Rico, a population group with underrepresented Hispanic and afro-Caribbean ethnic minorities. Many K-12 students in Puerto Rico are economically and educationally disadvantaged due to ongoing fiscal deficits and post-disaster recovery efforts from hurricanes and earthquakes in recent years. Accordingly, IINSTAR-AS includes targeted strategies to reduce financial constraints, increase math proficiency, and provide experiential learning activities for ESP undergraduate students, as well as educational outreach activities to augment learning opportunities for K-12 students. Changes/Problems:As we initiated the project and began recruiting undergraduate fellows, we realized that our multi-level mentoring model could be expanded to not just include graduate student mentoring of undergraduates but also upper level undergraduate mentoring of beginning undergraduate students. Undergraduate students in their 3rd or 4th year of studies are closer in age to the incoming freshmen, have undergone similar experiences such as the Covid 19 pandemic during their high school years or first year at university, and are familiar with the culture and interpersonal dynamics of our department and university. Thus they have useful perspectives and skills to share. At the same time, the upper-level undergraduates also face financial constraints similar to those of the first-year students. Consequently, we decided to expand our recruitment of undergraduates to include 3rd and 4th year undergraduates in addition to those in their 1st or 2nd year. The majority of participants will still be first or second year students. A requirement for all undergraduates who participate in the IINSTAR-AS project and receive support, regardless of what year they enter, is to complete the Minor in Renewable Energy and Sustainability, which typically takes from 1-2 academic years. Furthermore, it was our intent to conduct a career development and educational training activity at Casa Pueblo during the reporting period, focused on the Solar Plant renewable energy module. We had originally scheduled this training for April 2024, but had to postpone it due to scheduling conflicts. The training is tentatively rescheduled for the second year of the project during September 2024, and as result of this change the second training that was originally planned for the second year will be delayed until the 3rd year of the project. Due to administrative processes at the beginning of the project, hiring of staff took longer than anticipated. In spite of that we were able to meet our goals for student recruitment, coordination and implementation of K-12 outreach activities, as well as experiential learning opportunities for students to conduct research with professors working in the agri-environmental sciences, and gain exposure to USDA career opportunities. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The project coordinated one-on-one mentorship opportunities and group laboratory and field-based research training experiences for 15 students who workedwith professors at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras during fall and spring semesters. For 9 of the undergraduates this was the first time they participated in research activities. They studied topics including the health of urban mango trees, the toxicity of mangenese and dietary preferences in freshwater shrimp, and population trends and conservation of an endemic, threatened mistletoe species. These opportunities helped students learn about distinct lines of agricultural and environmental research, develop practical skills,and refine their interests. For example, one student reported that "In my initial months, I was paired with a PI mentor in an aquatic lab where I now research shrimp and anthropogenic impacts in freshwater habitats." Anotherstudent, upon completing her first year,decided to rotate to a different laboratory and gain exposure to a different set of research questions and methodological approaches.A third student commented, "I was able to complete my theseis with the support of the project, which has had a very positive impact on my life, opening door to establish contacts,helping me make decisions about my future academic career, and always motivating me to aspire higher." From these research opportunities students generated seven scientific conference presentations and posters which were disseminated in one university symposium, one local conference in Puerto Rico, and one national conference in the United States, helping disseminate their findings to broader audiences. All of the students have commented that these opportunities are helping them improve their ability to communicate effectively about their science with diverse audiences. 30 undergraduate and graduate students participated in career development events and activities in Puerto Rico. This included a Natural Resources Conservation Service career opportunity seminar focused onwho the NRCS is and what they do, how to get involved, employment opportunities, and how to apply. Another event was a Forest Service Real Jobs Real Impacct career expo workshop. Additional, 11students participated in career development events in the United States, including the 2024 Agricultural Outlook Forumand NextGen Program activities (2 graduate and 2 undergraduates) andthe 2024 MANRRS National Conference (2 graduate and 5 undergraduate).The events in Washington, DC and Beltsville, MD represented the first opportunity for two of our students to visit the nation's capitol, and the first time for four of our students to visit a USDA facility. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? During the fall and spring semesters the project provided educational outreach tostudents from public schools in Puerto Rico. Undergraduate fellows and graduate assistants developed and taught151 educational presentations for approximately 400 K-12 students and led 6 field trips for approximately150 elementary students through Problem-Based Learning activities at three Puerto Rican elementary, middle and high schools. Presentation topics included global warming, marine life, ocean acidification and coral bleaching, coastal ecosystems and organisms, ecosystem conservation, renewable energy, microplastics, water quality, tropical forest and stream ecosystems, plant ecology and photosynthesis, soil erosion, butterflies and damselflies, and other Puerto Rican fauna, thermometers and other scientific instruments, women in science,and what scientists do. These activities enhanced youthunderstanding about and interest in food, agriculture, natural resources, and sustainability sciences, and awareness of USDA career opportunities. The field trip components provided many students with their first opportunity to visitEl Yunque National Forest andthe central cordillera of Puerto Rico and experience hands-on learning in the field. Furthermore, atotal of 171 hours of outreach and teaching experience were gained during the reporting period. 10 of the students had no prior experience teaching in a formal setting and several university students commented on the valuable communication and collaboration skills they developed. Two educational seminars were given during the reporting period. One was an webinar titled Rethinking Agricultural Waste Management: Sustainability, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy, which was attended by 27 graduate and undergraduate students and 4 faculty and staff. Thisbroadened exposure tosustainability, renewable energy, and climate changeresearch and applications occurring in other parts of the United States,and highlighted the intersection between water-energy-food systems. The other seminar was an in-person seminar about amphibians of Puerto Rico, which was attended by 10 university students and 2 faculty and staff. Subsequently, two students were motivated to conduct research in the University of Puerto Rico zoology museum. Furthermore, the project sponsored a climate change symposium with educational talks and information tables in collaboration with the UPR-RP College of Education, which was attended by approximately 140 K-12 students, 13 university students, and 30 individuals from the general public to increase learning about important topics and careers in environmental sciences. The project sponsored a farmers market at the UPR-RP College of Natural Sciences. It was attended by approximately 200 persons from the UPR-RP community. Outcomes includedpromoting farmers and artisans, local and ecologically-sustainable products, and NGOs dedicated to environmental conservation, and developing new ties between the university and surrounding community. As a result of this positive experience word has spread about thenext farmers market being planned for fall 2024. The projectset up 6 informational tables athigh schools and environmental fairs promoting undergraduate studies in Environmental Sciences, the IINSTAR-AS project, and USDA career opportunities to youth in Puerto Rico. These efforts led directly to the recruitment of two new student fellows. Notably one high school senior decided to change her plan to attend another campus and come to UPR-Rio Piedras specifically to participate in our Environmental Sciences program and IINSTAR-AS project. Results about the project launch, events, and activities have been disseminated to diverse communities of interest in Puerto Rico via several methods, amplifying the message of our project and USDA opportunities. These include the following: 10 online and print news articles by the University of Puerto Rico and major news outlets in Puerto Rico. One television interview by a major news outline in Puerto Rico. Two radio interviews with Radio Universidad de Puerto Rico. Publishing of 32 reels and 157 posts for the IINSTAR-AS Instagram profile with summaries of activities and events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we plan to do the following: Coordinate and support student participation in summer experiential learning opportunities, including undergraduate internships with USDA agencies, and graduate research experiences to gain practical training in the laboratory and field. These will occur in Puerto Rico and the United States. Host a post-summer symposium for students to present results and outcomes of their experiential learning opportunities. Provide support for the summer 2024 mathematics immersion course for incoming first-year students. Recruit, admit, and onboard the next cohort of IINSTAR-AS undergraduate fellows and potentially new graduate student assistants as well. We anticipate up to 10 new undergraduate fellows and 1 graduate assistant. Host additional meet and greet activities with USDA agencies and personnel to promote career and internship opportunities and develop professional contacts. Continue with multi-level academic and psychosocial mentoring and evaluations. Continue with career development, educational curricula, and non-formal education activities as implemented during the reporting period. Continue with support of research training experiences for undergraduate and graduate students with professors, including integration with project Co-Directors' research opportunities. Continue with existing specialized coursework and develop new coursework for the Minor in Renewable Energy and Sustainability. Conduct an educational training activity at Casa Pueblo focused on the Solar Plant renewable energy module. Participate in USDA sponsored meetings for project directors, staff, and students. Provide opportunities for students to participate in experiential learning opportunities and activitiesrelated to sustainability and natural resource management through the RCE Puerto Rico-REDeS network. Complete hiring of the project evaluator and finalize project impact research tools and begin implementing quantitative evaluation components. Expand K-12 outreach and Problem-Based Learning activities to additional schools in Puerto Rico. Support student travel to professional development workshops, conferences, and training activities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
PROJECT SUPPORT During the reporting period we hired two full-time staff members at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (UPP-RP) for the IINSTAR-AS project, an Executive Manager and a Stakeholder Engagement Liaison. These staff members executed the day-to-day operations and implementation of project activities, such as: Recruiting and onboarding of undergraduate student participants and graduate student assistants from underrepresented minority groups. Administrative paperwork for all project personnel, participants, and activities. Contracting of professional resources for specialized coursework and coordination of career development activities. Coordination of formal educational and training activities with project participants. Coordination of non-formal education and outreach activities with K-12 schools. Coordination of student participation in USDA career exposure activities Development of partnerships with collaborating institutions in Puerto Rico and the United States for experiential learning opportunities and internships. Coordination of multi-level faculty-graduate-undergraduate academic and psychosocial mentoring. Communications about project activities, outputs, and accomplishments. A project kick-off meeting with student participants, faculty and staff, and collaborating partners from USDA agencies and non-profit organizations. These activities led to the following outcomes and impacts for university students ages 18-30: ACADEMIC FELLOWSHIPS & ASSISTANTSHIPS During the reporting period, ten undergraduate students received fellowships to pursue bachelor's degrees in Environmental Sciences at UPR-RP, and a Minor in Renewable Energy and Sustainability. The fellowships were awarded based on academic performace (minimum GPA of 3.0). 30% ofthe undergraduate fellowshipswere awarded to first generation college students, 85% of whomidentify as women. Additionally, five graduate students received assistantships to serve in mentoring roles while pursuing masters and doctoral degrees in Environmental Sciences and Biology. 100% of undergraduate and graduate participantswereof Hispanic and/or afro-Caribbean heritage.This support helped remove financial barriers to conducting undergraduate and graduate studies, allowing them to focus full time on their coursework, research, experiential learning, and outreach opportunities offered through the project. In the words of one student, the project provides "all of the tools necessary for successful professional development, including outreach, conferences, courses, research, extracurricular activities and summer internships, all without economic limitations."Another student reported that thanks to the project he has the financial support necessary to attend graduateschool and attain his future professional goals. SPECIALIZED COURSEWORK The project supported mathematics training for 67 freshman students in the College of Natural Sciences at UPR-RP in precalculus and calculus as part of a summer immersion course. Course matriculationwas paid for by the project, removing finanical challenges which often limits student participation.It also prepared them with the prerequisite math skills for subsequent coursework in Environmental Sciences and STEM degrees,helpingaccelerate the time to graduation. This directly attends to a need identified by arecent self-study of the undergraduate program that indicated math preparation as a bottleneck to students completing their degrees in four years. During the project period 14 participants also enrolled in coursework on Energy and Environment and Biogas, earning credits toward a Minor degree in Renewable Energy and Sustainability, the only one of its kind in Puerto Rico. This is providing them withspecialized knowledge and exposure to innovative technology and its applications, practical skills, anddevelopment ofinterdisciplinary perspectives about water-energy-food systems and sustainable natural resource management. Student-to-student communication about the project has led to more students enrolling in the Minor degree. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES The project supported 15 undergraduate and graduate students in research training opportunities in environmental, ecological and agricultural sciences, providing valuable laboratory and field and skills related to study design, development and implementation of scientific protocols and use of technology, data collection, management and analysis, and working in collaborative teams. A uniqueimpact of the project is thefocus on students just beginningtheir university careers, which allows them to clarify their professional interests and define specific projects for their undergraduate or graduate theses. For example, one student noted that the research opportunities have"been a steppingstone in reaching my academic and professional goals", while another indicated that "since my first year at university the project has opened doors to countless learning opportunities that I would not have had otherwise." PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING The project supported 30undergraduate and graduate students to attend severalcareer/professional development events in Puerto Rico and the United States. Thisbroadenedexposure of underrepresented groups to USDA employment, internship, and career opportunities, and provided them with practical skills regardinghow to prepare and apply tothem. These experiences have also created pipelines of direct access to USDA leadership, helpingstudents develop valuable networking, and communication skills and envisionthemselves as future leaders.For example,at the 2024 MANNRS conference, one student had the opportunity toparticipate in a discussion panel with Dr. Chavonda Jacobs Young, USDAUnder Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. He later described the experience as "unforgettable",saying, "I felt supported in my carreer by seeing other successful minorities in the field of agriculture....it motivated me to follow my dream of working with the US Forest Service." OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT Undergraduate and graduate students from Puerto Rico developed and delivered educational outreach presentations and led field trips to protected conversation areas where they usedproblem-based learning activities to engage approximately 400K-12 students fromPuerto Rican elementary, middle and high schools. These activities enhanced professional development, mentorshipand communication skills among the university students, andincreased knowledge among youth audiences in Puerto Rico about sustainability and diverse environmental topics, as well as USDA careeropportunities. For many of the children impacted by the activities, the field trips were their first time travelingfrom an urban center to visit a conserved natural area and do hands-on learning outside of the classroom. As a result of these successful efforts, teachers at the schoolshave presented new ideas for additional outreach activities to our project leadership, including developing a school garden to grow and sell food for raising funds for the school.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Campis, J. (October 2023). Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa Yosemitensis) Habitat assessment in Yosemite National Park, California. Poster presentation at Geological Society of America GSA CONNECTS, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Campis, J. (April 2024). Neurotoxicology of Manganese (Mn) in Xiphocaris elongata. Oral presentation at PR-LSAMP (Puerto Rico-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) 42nd Puerto Rico Interdisciplinary Scientific Meeting (PRISM) & 57th ACS Junior Technical Meeting, University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Rivera, A. (April 2024). Evaluando la salud de �rboles de mango en un entorno urbano. Poster Presentation at PR-LSAMP (Puerto Rico-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) 42nd Puerto Rico Interdisciplinary Scientific Meeting (PRISM) & 57th ACS Junior Technical Meeting, University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Aquino, M.F. (May 2024). Dietary preference of freshwater shrimp towards African Tulip tree. Poster presentation at Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium, University of Puerto Rico-R�o Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Villafa�e, D. (May 2024). The influence of urban elements on the condition of mango trees (Mangifera indica): recommendations for management. Poster presentation at Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium, University of Puerto Rico-R�o Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Jord�n, A. (May 2024). Population trends and conservation of an endemic, rate, and threatened mistletoe. Poster presentation at Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium, University of Puerto Rico-R�o Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
College of Natural Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-R�o Piedras. (2023). Institute for Innovation in Sustainability Training, Applications and Research in Agri-environmental Sciences (IINSTAR-AS). https://natsci.uprrp.edu/iinstar-as/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Mart�nez, D. (April 2024). Acute toxicity of manganese in Xiphocaris elongata.
Oral presentation at PR-LSAMP (Puerto Rico-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation) 42nd Puerto Rico Interdisciplinary Scientific Meeting (PRISM) & 57th ACS Junior Technical Meeting, University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
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