Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target beneficiaries for the HSI grant goals are current Bergen Community College students majoring in horticulture, culinary arts, and all disciplines of STEM. We also reach out to dual enrollment high school students and younger high school students not yet in dual enrollment. A major focus of the activities is also targeted towards students with disabilities. Changes/Problems:After evaluating the summer program, we identified an opportunity to accommodate more students by splitting the program into two cohorts. Each cohort will comprise 16 students, and the program duration for each cohort will be three weeks. As a result, we can serve a total of 32 students over a six-week period. Additionally, one of our CO-PIs separations from the grant lead to the appointment of another faculty as the new Co-PI. Other Products Turning Point Summer Interns In summer 2023, four neuro-diverse students gained valuable hands-on experience through unpaid internships in hydroponics farming, where they cultivated plants using innovative nutrient-rich water systems. Their responsibilities included setting up and maintaining the systems, monitoring plant health, and tracking growth cycles, providing them with a unique and enriching experience. Scholarships: Sixteen students were given $2,174.35 scholarships each to pay their tuition for 9-credits of the pre-college summer coursework. Non-Formal Education Activities: Transfer & Scholarship Workshops to BCC STEM students. USDA Exposure Activities: USDA Agricultural Forum Trip: Four students were chosen to visit the USDA headquarters in February for the Agricultural Forum and learned a great deal about agriculture in the U.S. and the NextGen program. Washington D.C. High School Presentations: Presented information to Applied Tech High School students. Meeting with their faculty to create events, field trips, and workshops for the upcoming year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Working with the Rutgers Faculty BCC createdtraining materials and developed workshops for high school teachers to incorporate agricultural topics within their lesson plan. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Public Relations materials: Trifold HSI brochure, summer program flyer, all posted in the STEM center, HSI HUB and various other locations at the college camous; distributed at two open houses to high school students and parents, HSI Earth Day sponserhip and table, and via social media posts. An article was published in the BCC campus newsletterhighlightingh the goals, activities and oppurtunities available to the students through the USDA Grant program. Efforts were also made through presentations to the STEM club and STEM Students Scholars Honors Reseach program. A webpage for the grant is also under works. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?AS Agricultural Business and Food Systems concentration Articulate this concentration to Rutgers Newark new Agricultural Business and Food Systems 4-year degree. Articulate a Agribusiness certificate program where student will be explore many business models within the field of Agriculture. Students will complete the certificate with an achievable business plan with an added value. This certificate will be credited and transferable with our partner at Rutgers Newark. Advisory Council: Assemble an advisory council featuring a diverse group of stakeholders, including local industry executives, restaurant owners. 4-year Institution; Rutgers Newark, SUNY Stonybrook. K-12 partners Plant-Forward Pre-College Summer Experience Summer 2025: 16 high school students will earn 9 BCC college credits with free-tuition scholarship. 6-week program offers food safety and preparation, basics of culinary arts and horticulture with a focus on hydroponics. Will include 3 workshops from Rutgers in career explorations, graduate student presentation, and horticulture therapy workshop. Outreach to HS dual enrollment students: Includes visits to local high school dual enrollment faculty and students to promote our HSI activities. Field Trips: Our field trips and workshops will include visits to nearby farms, botanical gardens, and food processing factories, agricultural research centers. Hands-On Workshops: We will organize two workshops; one for students to demonstrate the benefits of plant grafting, soil management, and green house techniques. Another workshop for high school teachers to incorporate these benefits into their lesson plans. Internships & Employment Opportunities for Underserved Populations: Partner with Goya, Uniliver, Mon Delice, Mano-Y-ola. HACU. Teacher Training Workshops: Created training materials and developed workshops for high school teachers to incorporate agricultural topics within their lesson plan.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: Objectives 1.1: Plant forward pre-college summer program for High School Students: 16 High School students embarked on a 6-week, 9 college credit culinary journey, learning the art of food preparation and production, while also building a community garden and utilizing hydroponics to grow fresh, sustainable ingredients. Including 3 workshops from Rutgers in career explorations, graduate student presentation, and horticulture therapy workshop. Outdoor Community Garden: An outdoor garden has been enhanced with 10 raised beds and a spacious in-ground trellis system, providing a comprehensive grow area for 4-H club members to enhance and nurture their horticultural skills. Clubs: Partnered with the 4-H club to offer a Bergen County college collegiate chapter for college students and a high school program for K-12 members. Outreach to HS dual enrollment students: Visited 14 high schools in Bergen County to discuss dual enrollment partnerships. 88 high school students attended the information sessions regarding dual enrollment and HSI Grant activities and offering for them. Teacher Training Workshops: Created training materials and developed workshops for high school teachers to incorporate agricultural topics within their lesson plan. Transfer Articulation Agreement with Rutgers University: Completed articulation agreements for two horticultural courses, HRT-102 Plant Science and HRT-232 Plant Propagation that will fully transfer to the Rutgers Horticulture and Turf Management degree program. AS in Culinary Arts with a Concentration in Plant-Forward Culinary Arts: Syllabus, recipes, and course content were created. Outline of new plant-forward coursework has been completed. First Year Experience Instructor Seminar: Led a seminar to inform twenty-one Freshman First Year Experience Instructors on the HSI grant overview and opportunities for students and faculty. Demonstrated traditional, hydroponic, and aquaponic growing techniques. Articulated a Success 101 for Freshman seminar. Goal 2:2.4 4-H Club: Spring 2024 started with preparing and founding of a new campus club for college students on the BCC campus. The 4-H club is focused to promote awareness about environmental and agricultural issues and to help students gain leadership experience. Some of these same students will then start and lead high school 4-H clubs. This club will bring awareness around agriculture, urban/suburban farming, environmental and natural resources conservation. Completed Four Agricultural-Themed Videos: We produced four agricultural-themed videos, covering topics such as the 16-points overview of hydroponics, a statistical pH germination rate exercise, and the history of hydroponics and passive hydroponic systems. The purpose of these videos was to engage 150 students and attract them to the diverse field of horticulture. As a result, three students changed their majors to horticulture, and one secured an internship at a local farming company.
Publications
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