Progress report for LNC19-419

Summary:

The protection and preservation of rangelands is integral to key ecosystem services within the North Central Region such as biodiversity, recreation, and food and fiber production. Educating youth through a sustainable agriculture curriculum can serve as the direct link to the future sustainability of rangelands in the Great Plains and South Dakota. This project, entitled “Investigating Rangeland Systems and Practices: Enhancing Sustainable Agriculture Curriculum in South Dakota,” is focused on educating youth in grades 6, 7, and 8 about sustainable agriculture through a lens of rangeland systems and practices. Our overall objectives are to promote sustainable agriculture curriculum through educational events for teachers and 4-H Youth Program Advisors, and have educators and youth learn about sustainable agriculture through a rangeland lens. To maximize reach, we conducted workshops for teachers and 4-H Youth Program Advisors, providing educators with lesson and laboratory/field exercises that align with the Next Generation Science Standards. All lessons and laboratory/field exercises involve active learning strategies, such as think-pair-shares and small group discussions, as well as experiential and hands-on learning. We are working with ranchers to provide vlogs (video blogging) for the curriculum. Students and educators will learn about the local, national, and worldwide impacts sustainable agriculture has on people, the economy, and the protection of natural resources. This project will result in increased awareness of sustainable agriculture among youth, including challenges faced, impacts of management strategies, and career opportunities. Ultimately, this project will provide youth and, consequently, their families an objective understanding of what farmers and ranchers are doing, making them informed citizens and cognizant neighbors and future voters.

Project Objectives:

Learning outcomes: 1) teachers and 4-H Youth Program Advisors will learn about sustainable agriculture and how to teach the curriculum, 2) students will learn about sustainable agriculture, 3) students will gain awareness of careers and higher education paths in agricultural fields. Action outcomes: 1) students will share sustainable agriculture information with their families, 2) students will seek careers or higher education paths in agricultural fields, 3) the curriculum will be adopted by states within the North Central Region. Condition outcomes: 1) increased concern for the protection and conservation of natural resources, 2) increased labor force in agricultural fields.

Introduction:

This progress report includes activities to date from November 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023. Below we provide an overview of activities that occurred during Year 3 of our grant (1/1/2022 to 12/31/2022). We finished a final curriculum module by summer 2022 - Module 5: Foraging. This completes the number of modules we suggested in the original grant proposal. In addition, we completed a budget reallocation and no-cost extension (NCE) request in July 2022. The main reason for the budget request is that instead of doing stand alone workshops with teachers, we are actively incorporating the modules into Extension and outreach activities that already exist. The rationale for the NCE is to continue producing outputs for the grant. The request was approved by SARE, and included the following:

I have had success with this project and have completed the following to date: (includes activities from 11/1/2019 through 7/1/2022). Completed products and associated notes are bolded italic. Suggested changes are noted. Products that are additional to the original scope of the proposal are noted as **bolded italic.

5 Core Curriculum Modules with Lessons: Module 1: Overview of Rangelands, Module 2: Rangeland Plants, Module 3: Rangeland Animals, Module 4: Soil Health, and Module 5: Foraging.
- All modules are complete.
4 Workshops for Teachers and 4-H YPAs, Total expected participants = 80.
- 1 workshop held 10/27/2021, 19 adult participants, SDSU Extension Fall Conference; Brookings, SD
- **1 pilot of the curriculum conducted with Mobridge Middle School; Mobridge, SD during 2021-2022 school year
  - 2 adults, approximately 40 youth
- 1 workshop held 5/12/2022, 24 adult participants, SD 4-H Professionals’ Spring Training; Yankton, SD
- Upcoming workshop, 7/26/2022, TBD adult participants, SD Career and Technical Education (CTE) Conference; Sioux Falls, SD
- Upcoming workshop, 11/2022, TBD adult participants, North Dakota State University Extension Fall Conference; Fargo, ND
- I anticipate doing 2-3 additional workshops and presentations from 11/1/2022 to 10/31/2023.
2 Reflection Roundtables, Total expected participants = 40 (We expect ~ 50% of educators will be available).
- Suggested change: Instead of reflection roundtables, we would like to complete surveys with teachers and 4-H advisors who attend workshops, parents who assist at Rangeland and Soils Days (see note below under Field Trips), and students who experience some SARE lessons through other outreach events.
6 Sets of Field Trips (Fall, Spring) for Educators and Students, Total expected participants = 360. There will also be 6 participating ranchers, (3 ranchers Year 1, 3 ranchers Year 2). Each ranch will conduct two field trips per year – one in fall and one in spring, for one class/school.
- 1 field trip conducted 10/15/2021 with Mobridge Middle School for the pilot
  - 4 adults, approximately 40 youth
- **1 event, 6/14-6/15/2022, Rangeland and Soils Days; Murdo, SD
  - Suggested change: Instead of doing additional field trips, we would like to incorporate some of the SARE curriculum modules into an already existing event for youth – Rangeland and Soils Days, held annually in June in South Dakota. I (K Ehlert) lead Rangeland and Soils Days and at the event we just held in June 2022, I incorporated some of the SARE lessons into my work with the “New Rangers” group of 8-10 year old kids. I would like to use some of the participant support costs to fund travel and supplies for the New Rangers group to Rangeland and Soils Days, including reimbursing for this year and next year, where it will be held in Watertown, SD.
  - Suggested change: Since Rangeland and Soils Days will be hosted in Watertown, SD (“East River”) in 2023, I would also like to work with partners such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and NRCS, the SD Grassland Coalition, and the SD Soil Health Coalition, to host another youth event “West River” sometime in 2023.
7 Video Blogs (Vlogs) Per Participating Rancher.
- Suggested change: Due to COVID, and a lack of newer cell phone technology that some producers don’t have, it has been difficult to get video blogs completed that are of high quality.
- Suggested change: Thus, we propose doing 3 vlogs per participating rancher, 6 ranchers, for a total of 18 vlogs.
- Suggested change: The budget reallocation request includes money for a contractor to go and meet with producers and film the vlogs, across North and South Dakota.
1 Journal Article. Will be submitted to a journal such as the Journal of Agricultural Education.
- This will be completed at the end of the project.
3 Extension Articles. Will be published on the South Dakota State University Extension website (extension.sdstate.edu) to highlight the project and provide a final summary to the general public.
- These are in progress and will be completed by the end of the NCE.
2 Conference Talks. Papers will be presented at conferences such as the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) and the Society for Range Management.
- 1 presentation was given 2/2021 at the Society for Range Management Annual Meeting.
- An additional conference talk/presentation will be given in 2023.

Click linked name(s) to expand/collapse or show everyone's info

Bart and Shannon Carmichael
rancherswife2@gmail.com
Faith, SD
Pat and MaryLou Guptill
pcguptill@gmail.com
Philip, SD

Involves research:

No

Participation Summary

Educational approach:

Our overall objectives are to promote sustainable agriculture curriculum through educational events for teachers and 4-H Youth Program Advisors (YPAs), and have educators and youth learn about sustainable agriculture through a rangeland lens. We have focused on workshops for teachers and 4-H YPAs. Experiential and hands-on learning are at the core of this project and will directly expose students to the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainable agriculture systems and practices.

We presented the curriculum and held workshops for teachers and 4-H YPAs will be held for science and ag teachers and 4-H Youth YPAs. Workshop attendees were given materials including modular lesson plans and when available, any materials needed to complete each activity. Lesson plans and laboratory/field exercises provide a summary of the activity and learning outcomes, and alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards and South Dakota Standards of Learning. Further information such as appropriate classroom assessment techniques (CATs) and references are outlined for each lesson. When possible, we have provided participant support costs to teachers and 4-H YPAs to offset the cost of mileage and lodging.

In our original grant proposal, we suggested an approach we called “Adopt-a-Rancher” where ranchers would develop video blogs (“vlogs”) to amplify a rancher’s viewpoint, thought processes, and daily decisions, as well as the seasonal foresight and adaptability needed to achieve sustainable and regenerative ranching practices. Vlogs were intended to “attach a face” to a person (i.e. a rancher) perhaps previously unknown to students and their families. Finally, we had proposed field trips to ranches to expose students to practical skills such as plant identification and rangeland health assessment, as well as provide the opportunity to interact directly with someone who is invested in the future of sustainable agriculture.

As a result of COVID-19, we quickly adapted to the fact that it was difficult to get students and teachers on field trips to ranches due to COVID restrictions. Further, it was also very difficult to have the ranchers themselves provide vlogs - they often had older cell phone models, so we did purchase some GoPros and associated video equipment to help with this. However, the ranchers we initially were collaborating with on the project seemed unsure of where to start with the videos. Thus, we removed the "Adopt-a-Rancher" component of the project, and instead are relying on a contractor to conduct short vlogs with producers in the North Central region. This avenue allows us to have more control over the consistency of the video footage - the quality, sound, etc. Moreover, vlogs serve as a “day in the life” for students to see and hear what a rancher does and allows students to be exposed to different ways of knowing, ultimately challenging their way of thinking and demonstrating multi-faceted problem solving. We have a goal that the vlogs will be captured spring/early summer 2023, and be ready as the final component of the curriculum by October 2023 (the end of the no-cost extension).

Instead of having ranchers directly involved in the curriculum, from a time constraint process, the grant Co-PIs led the curriculum effort. As a result, we conducted a pilot of the curriculum with Mobridge Middle School (Mobridge, SD). This allowed us to change the curriculum based on feedback from a middle school teacher and students. For example, some time estimates we had on activities were much too short, and actually took twice as long due to needing to conduct the activity with 20-25 students! We also learned from the Pilot that we needed to provide educators with more background information so that s/he felt confident presenting the material to students.

We developed five core curriculum modules: Module 1: Overview of Rangelands, Module 2: Rangeland Plants, Module 3: Rangeland Animals, Module 4: Soil Health, and Module 5: Foraging. Hands-on experiential learning is woven throughout all curriculum modules. All of the components of the curriculum modules translate well to Bloom’s taxonomy, which is a framework for categorizing educational goals, and is familiar to teachers and 4-H YPAs. To illustrate how one of our curriculum modules connects to specific Next Generation Science Standards we will focus on an example of Module 2: Rangeland Plants. Students will first learn how to differentiate between types of plants such as grasses, forbs, and shrubs. This aligns with MS-LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes and challenges students to think about how plants reproduce, what impact environmental conditions have on growth, and the effects that characteristics such as flower color can have on pollinator attraction and therefore reproduction (Performance Standards MS-LS1-4 and MS-LS1-5). Further, there will be a focus on grasses so that students learn about different photosynthetic pathways and the cycling of matter and energy flow into and out of organisms (Performance Standards MS-LS1-6).

One of the last steps of this project is to conduct evaluations with students and educators who have been exposed to the curriculum. As of 12/2023 we have evaluation data from most of the presentations and workshops we've conducted. This will give us further information on areas that need improvement, ideas for future curriculum modules, and any concepts that students had difficulty with.

Module 1 - Overview of Rangelands

Module 2 - Rangeland Plants

curriculum

Proposed Farmers/Ranchers:

3

Actual Farmers/Ranchers:

1

Proposed Ag Educators:

30

Actual Ag Educators:

67

Proposed Completion Date:

October 31, 2023

Accomplishments:

Module 2 - Plants V3 FINAL copy

Module 2 has been developed and teaches students about rangeland plants through the following activities:

Activity #1 - Dinosaur Extinction:

Students watch a YouTube video that demonstrates how dinosaurs went extinct - the collision of the astroid creates a crater and a cloud of dust. The cloud of dust blocks the sunlight from hitting the earth, resulting in plants dying because they cannot perform photosynthesis without light. Students write an acrostic with the word "photosynthesis" and demonstrate their current state of knowledge on the topic.

Activity #2 - Photosynthesis - The Starch Test:

The teacher sets up an experiment 24 hours before class, with two plants - one plant has been placed in a dark room for 24 hours and one that has been placed next to a non-shaded window. The students will take a leaf from each plant (dark, light) and place it in hot water, then drop the leaves in ethyl alcohol, which removes the green color from the leaf. The leaves are then covered in iodine solution, which is an indicator of starch. Thus, the leaf from the "light" plant will turn black because starch is present due to photosynthesis and the leaf from the "dark" plant will not turn any color, because no photosynthesis was able to occur.

Activity #3A - Range Plant Discovery Experiment Setup:

Students will divide into groups and be given plant starter pellets (like the kind you can buy to start seedlings), grass seed, and forb (flowering plant) seeds. Students are going to set up an experiment and will keep a lab notebook documenting their experimental design, process, and conclusions. Students are introduced to the terms drought and flood, and how they relate to rangeland plants. They discover differences in growth patterns between grasses and forbs. Students will rotate group members and come to water their plants and make any observations in their lab notebook.

Activity #3B - Range Plant Treatments and Observations:

Once the grasses have reached 2 inches tall, the students will come back to work on their experiment. Students will be tasked with subjecting their grasses and forbs to different moisture regimes - not enough, just enough, and too much to signify drought, a "normal" year, and a wet year. To mimic cattle grazing, they will use scissors to cut some of the grasses and forbs and compare that to ones that are not cut. Students will find that after a 10 day period of grazing, plants that have been grazed will have a more vigorous root system.

Activity #3C - Range Plant Discussion and Conclusions:

The teacher and students will have a discussion about the experiment they conducted and the scientific process by discussion what water regime had the healthiest forb and grass, what conditions stressed the plants, what indicators there were of stress, et.

Activity #4 - Classroom Assessment Technique:

Students will make a new acrostic using the word "photosynthesis" and expand on their knowledge. This is a great metacognitive exercise for students and provides them with the opportunity to think about how much they've learned. Teachers can also use a minute paper for a classroom assessment technique, asking students what the most important think they learned was, and what important questions remain unanswered.

Module 3 - Rangeland Animals

curriculum

Proposed Farmers/Ranchers:

3

Actual Farmers/Ranchers:

1

Proposed Ag Educators:

30

Actual Ag Educators:

67

Proposed Completion Date:

October 31, 2023

Accomplishments:

Module 3 - Animals V4 FINAL

Module 3 has been developed and teaches students about rangeland animals through the following activities:

Activity #1 - Field Journals:

Students are introduced to the idea of field journals - keeping a record of observations, like they did in the experiments in Module 2. This time, however, their observations are focused on the world around them. Old field journal entires are shown to students to decipher - in what ways is a field journal like a diary? How is it different? What is described? Further examples are shared with students of other ways scientists keep track of their work.

Activity #2 - Grassland Birds:

Now that students know what a scientific journal entry is, they will create their own journal entry after learning about grassland birds found in South Dakota rangelands. Students will be taught information on key grassland birds: the sharptail, ruffled grouse, and prairie chicken. A video is shown to students on "Audubon Conservation Ranching," to provide a further connection between grassland birds and the relationship they have with grazers, such as cattle, who help create the habitat the birds need. Students are then given a Pocket Guide to Norther Prairie Birds. They are tasked with going and observing one of the birds found in the book and creating a journal entry. Students then report out the next class period and share their observations.

Activity #3 - Ruminating on the Digestive System:

In this activity, students learn about the differences between ruminants and non-ruminants. Specifically, a cow and a horse are used, respectively. Students learn about how these animals are similar, but different, and the role digestion and absorption have in digestive systems. Worksheets help students walk through the different components of each animals digestive system and how they are different.

Activity #4 - Ruminating on the Digestive System, Continued:

Now that the students have learned about the digestive system in ruminants and non-ruminants, they will head outside or to the gym with their teacher to learn just how large these digestive systems are. Students will use chalk to draw out the stomach, small intestine, cecum, and large intestine for both the cow and the horse, but instead of drawing them all curled up on the inside of the animal like they are on the worksheet, students will uses paces to pace out the entire length of each organ - helping students to connect to how complex and large the digestive system really is!

Activity #5 - Classroom Assessment Technique:

Students will be asked to complete a 1 minute paper where they write down 2-4 things they learned about the digestive systems of hooved mammals. Students will have the opportunity to share their findings through a think-pair-share with a neighbor.

Module 4 - Soil

curriculum

Proposed Farmers/Ranchers:

3

Actual Farmers/Ranchers:

1

Proposed Ag Educators:

30

Actual Ag Educators:

67

Proposed Completion Date:

October 31, 2023

Accomplishments:

Module 4 - Soil V3 FINAL

Module 4 has been developed and teaches students about soil through the following activities:

Activity #1 - Soil Formation Factors and Soil Profiles:

Students are introduced to CLORPT - short for the factors that influence soil formation (climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time). The teacher goes over a short PowerPoint presentation to assist in his/her teaching this material. Then, groups of students are assigned one of the 5 soil formation factors and use flip chart paper to communicate to other students (flipped classroom idea), what their soil formation factor was. A handout is provided to students that helps them critically think about their own development over time - where they have lived (i.e. climate), what they eat (i.e. organisms), where on the landscape they live (i.e. relief/topography), parents (i.e. parent material), and how old they are (i.e. time). Students also discuss the difference between climate and weather, what organisms help soil develop, and how nature moves material around. Students also learn about soil profiles using a PowerPoint presentation, and then create a mnemonic device to remember the soil horizon orders.

Activity #2 - South Dakota Soils:

Students use several handouts that were developed for this activity, to learn about the state soil of South Dakota - the Houdek soil. A handout is provided that gives an overview and characteristics about Houdek soil, where it is found in South Dakota, and the importance it has to agriculture. A corresponding handout walks students through several questions and the end result of this activity is that students create their own Houdek soil profile, combining what they've learned about soil formation factors, the state soil, and soil horizons.

Activity #3 - Soil Glue and Soil Food Web:

In this activity, students dive deeper into one of the soil formation factors - organisms, specifically, fungi. Fungi produce a protein called glomalin, which acts as s soil glue. Using a demonstration of two different clods of soil - for example, one from a well-managed rangeland versus a field that has experienced tillage - the teacher and students walk through putting each soil in a large mason jar, on a piece of wire that is lowered into water in the jar. Students take notes and record their observations of differences they observe - which soil type has more "glue"? Why is soil glue important? Next, the teacher has a discussion with the students about different types of organisms - primary producers, decomposers, predators - and asks students to create their own soil food web. The soil food web exercise brings together ideas from Modules 1, 2, and 3 - students will draw a food web in rangeland, consider other animals that are present, and refer back to how plants use photosynthesis to create their own food.

Activity #4 - Classroom Assessment Technique:

There are two available classroom assessments for this Module. The 3-2-1 format is used for Activities #1 and #2 - students write down 3 ideas that were presented, 2 examples of how they can use their knowledge of soils, and 1 unresolved/"muddiest" point that they didn't quite understand. The teacher can review the "muddiest" point with students, to help clarify their understanding. The Focused Listening format is used for Activity #3, and has teachers select an important topic or concept that was covered. Students are asked to list important words and phases about the selected topic. Review of the findings allows the teacher to fill in any key concepts that students missed.

Pilot Meetings - Mobridge

Mobridge Pilot - In person classroom assistance

Mobridge Pilot - Fall field day

Module 5 - Foraging

1 Consultations

5 Curricula, factsheets or educational tools

4 Webinars / talks / presentations

4 Workshop field days

Participation Summary:

3 Farmers participated

67 Ag professionals participated

Education/outreach description:

-Consultations:

Ehlert K and J Bachler. Mobridge Pilot Meeting. 2021 August 30. Mobridge Middle School. Mobridge, SD.

-Curricula, Fact Sheets, or Educational Tools:

Ehlert K, J Bachler and C Wood. 2020. Module 1: Overview of Rangelands.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2020. Module 2: Rangeland Plants.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2021. Module 3: Rangeland Animals.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2021. Module 4: Soil.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2022. Module 5: Foraging.

-Webinars, talks, and presentations:

Bachler J. 2021 October 20. Mobridge Pilot - in-classroom assistance. Mobridge Middle School. Mobridge, SD.
- Direct contacts: 2 adults, approximately 25 youth.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2021 October 27. Sustainable agriculture for middle school students. South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension Conference. Brookings, SD.
- Direct contacts: 25 adults.
Ehlert K and C Wood. 2021 February. Investigating rangeland systems and practices: Enhancing sustainable agriculture curriculum in South Dakota. Society for Range Management 2021 Annual Meeting. Virtual. SRM 2021 Poster.
Ehlert K, C Wood, and J Bachler (presenter). 2022 February 4. Sustainable agriculture curriculum for middle school students. South Dakota STEM Conference. Huron, SD.
- Direct contacts: 4 adults.

-Workshops and field days:

Ehlert K and J Bachler. 2021 October 15. Mobridge Pilot field day. Mobridge, SD.
- Direct contacts: 3 adults, approximately 25 youth.
- Synopsis: Students were exposed to plant identification through hands-on learning in the field (Module 2: Plants), we discussed why rangelands are important for both livestock and wildlife (Module 1: Overview of Rangelands; Module 3: Animals), and how ranchers are good stewards of the land. We also had a demonstration of a cattle dog herding cattle, and further discussed nutrient cycling in relation to "where the dung piles are" on the landscape (Module 4: Soil).
- No formal evaluation conducted.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2022 May 15. Sustainable agriculture curriculum for middle school students. South Dakota 4-H Professionals Spring Conference. Yankton, SD.
- Direct contacts: 26 adults.
- Synopsis: Module 5: Foraging was used as a demonstration along with the presentation of the rest of the curriculum.
- Evaluation
  - General comments
    - "All of the materials are very helpful/useful."
    - "I like the variety of hands-on programming options."
    - "At this point, I feel there will be a select set of activities I definitely use. Our schools are hard to get into but also want to share with teachers."
    - "Love that the modules can be used all together or in parts! Pieces of this will work great in an existing program I have."
    - "Thank you! This was so much fun and very informational. I am looking forward to utilizing this curriculum."
  - Average score of 4.9 for the evaluation question: How would you rate your attitude toward agriculture and helping youth understand it, specifically from a sustainable lens? Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = I don't think this is important at all; 5 = I think it is very important.
  - Average score of 4.2 for the evaluation question: How would you rate your personal understanding of agriculture – from the role that plants and animals have to the importance of soil health? Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = I know very little; 5 = I live it - I farm/ranch with my family.
  - Average score of 3.5 for the evaluation question: Do you plan to incorporate one or more of either the modules or an activity from a module into your 4-H programming? Scale of 1 to 4: 1 = Not going to because I'm not interested or don't feel it is important; 4 = I am very interested and feel it is important to incorporate.
Ehlert K. 2022 June 14-15. South Dakota Rangeland and Soils Days. Murdo, SD.
- Direct contacts: 4 adults, 8 youth.
- Synopsis: Students learned plant identification through hands-on learning in the field (Module 2: Plants), we discussed why rangelands are important (Module 1: Overview of Rangelands), and how ranchers are good stewards of the land. We also spent time talking about how rangelands provide multiple uses, including wildlife habitat (Module 3: Animals). Further, students learned a little bit about soil and how soil is living (Module 4: Soil).
- No formal evaluation conducted.
Ehlert K, J Bachler, and C Wood. 2022 July 26. Sustainable agriculture curriculum for middle school students. South Dakota Career and Technical Education (CTE) Summer Conference. Sioux Falls, SD.
- Direct contacts: 6 adults.
- Synopsis: Module 5: Foraging was used as a demonstration along with the presentation of the rest of the curriculum.
- Evaluation
  - General comments
    - "I like the foraging concept and would like to add that."
    - "The modules will be great to integrate to build literacy and grow interest."
    - "I will incorporate much of this into my 7th grade ag class."
    - "I like the hands-on activity provided. It would be great to provide more resources to get teachers in the range."
  - Average score of 4.8 for the evaluation question: How would you rate your attitude toward agriculture and helping youth understand it, specifically from a sustainable lens? Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = I don't think this is important at all; 5 = I think it is very important.
  - Average score of 3.8 for the evaluation question: How would you rate your personal understanding of agriculture – from the role that plants and animals have to the importance of soil health? Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = I know very little; 5 = I live it - I farm/ranch with my family.
  - Average score of 4 for the evaluation question: Do you plan to incorporate one or more of either the modules or an activity from a module into your 4-H programming? Scale of 1 to 4: 1 = Not going to because I'm not interested or don't feel it is important; 4 = I am very interested and feel it is important to incorporate.
Ehlert K, G Villmow, and J Bachler. 2022 July 27-28. Rangeland: why is it important? South Dakota State University Dakota Dreams Camp. Brookings, SD.
- Direct contacts: 1 adult, 95 youth (middle school age).
- Synopsis: Students listened to a presentation about rangelands - where we find them, why they are important (Module 1: Overview of Rangelands) for both livestock and wildlife (Module 3: Animals), learned a few different rangeland plants (Module 2: Plants), and had fun learning about rangeland foraging (Module 5: Foraging).
- Evaluation
  - General comments
    - "You guys did a great job, hope to join your class later in life!"
    - "Thank you! I am Native American so it was really fun."
  - Average score of 4.1 for the evaluation question: The people teaching us were engaging. Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree.
  - Average score of 3.6 for the evaluation question: I liked learning about rangeland and the Native American historic uses of rangeland plants. Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree.
  - Average score of 4.2 for the evaluation question: I learned about rangelands in South Dakota and how important they are. Scale of 1 to 5: 1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = Strongly agree.

-Upcoming Outreach:

2023 June. Rangeland and Soils Days. Watertown, SD.

Key areas taught:

Overview of Rangelands - where they are in the world, why they are important
Rangeland Plants
Rangeland Animals
Rangeland Soils
Rangeland Foraging

Key practices changed:

Investigating Rangeland Systems and Practices: Enhancing Sustainable Agriculture Curriculum in South Dakota

Project Information

Cooperators

Research

Education

Project Activities

Educational & Outreach Activities

Participation Summary:

Learning Outcomes

Project Outcomes