Final report for YENC23-195
Project Information
This project will support students in learning about sustainable agricultural practices in urban environments. They will work to build raised bed gardens, research best practices including composting and interplanting crops, and make management decisions that balance ecological principles, agricultural production, and social benefits. The crops grown in these raised beds will be donated to the local community food pantry and our school lunch program. Students will manage the planting, tending, harvest, packaging, and distribution of these foods. In addition, they will create informational materials and training workshops for community members about the sustainable agriculture practices used in our school gardens.
- GOAL: Increase student knowledge of sustainable agricultural practices used in small-scale urban settings such as raised beds through student-led experiences and management of raised bed gardens. OUTCOME: At least 30 students will be engaged in the planning and implementation of this raised bed program.
- GOAL: Create educational programming to be presented to the community about how to use sustainable agricultural practices to develop food sovereignty while growing their own food crops. OUTCOME: At least 15 community members will attend workshops facilitated by students about sustainable agriculture and implementing their own raised bed gardens.
- GOAL: Donate produce to the food pantry and school cafeteria to support healthy, sustainable food choices in our community. OUTCOME: At least 100 pounds of produce will be donated in the first year of this project's implementation.
Cooperators
- (Educator)
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
We have completed our first season of the community garden, which we planted in March 2024. We attended weekly farmer's markets to distribute produce to the community. We had 3 different flyers distributed throughout the farmer's market season. We have also conducted tours for others that have visited our school. We interacted with approximately 45 community members at each farmer's market. We attended 12 markets throughout the summer.
We exceeded the amount of produce yielded from the garden that we set as our goal due to an outstanding cabbage crop. We had about 50 heads of cabbage, weighing 2 pounds each. In cabbage alone, we surpassed our goal. We also had lots of tomatoes, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and more!
- Host webinar or in-person workshop
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge of sustainable practices
Composting practices
capacity for community engagement
Students learned more about sustainable agricultural production, and how to communicate their knowledge with others via community discussions and educational flyers. They commented on feeling more connected to their food supply and learning more about the growth cycles of various plants.
We utilized lesson plans from the Ag in the Classroom matrix for agriculture education lessons.
Strengths - The curricula and lessons plans are aligned with standards to help with partnering with elementary school teachers and classrooms.
Project Outcomes
One success was that after the community garden was started at the high school, the elementary school asked our students to help elementary students start two raised bed gardens at the elementary school.