Towards a Sustainable Agriculture: An Updated Curriculum for High School Classes

Project Overview

LNC03-227
Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2003: $83,671.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2006
Region: North Central
State: Wisconsin
Project Coordinator:
Douglas Maxwell
University of Wisconsin

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Agronomic: corn, soybeans, grass (misc. perennial), hay
  • Animals: bovine, poultry, swine
  • Animal Products: dairy

Practices

  • Animal Production: grazing - rotational, feed/forage
  • Crop Production: nutrient cycling
  • Education and Training: general education and training
  • Production Systems: agroecosystems
  • Soil Management: green manures, composting
  • Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

    Proposal abstract:

    Elective agriculture classes remain a popular choice in Wisconsin and Iowa high schools. These classes now attract large numbers of students from non-farm backgrounds, and in rural areas they also include a significant portion of students from farm families. Although there are quite a few lessons and resources on sustainable agriculture that can be used in teaching (see the on-line listing of Sustainable Agriculture Resources and Programs for K-12 Youth at https://northcentral.sare.org/resources/resources-for-youth-education/ ), most are aimed at elementary students. In addition, with the exception of the UC Santa Cruz Agroecology curriculum for post secondary students, the resources are designed to teach single stand-alone lessons and do not provide an overview of sustainable agriculture concepts. The only comprehensive sustainable agriculture teaching resource for high school students was a curriculum published in 1991.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    The purpose of this project was to develop a web-based sustainable agriculture curriculum that would be easily accessible for high school teachers.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.