Progress report for YENC24-211
Project Information
The primary piece of this project is a summer internship at our
school that will demonstrate intensive high-tunnel vegetable
production. One of our research components is tracking water
input of the production in order to assess the need and potential
viability of installing some catchment on nearby buildings. While
we plan on donating the produce from these efforts, we will be
tracking the monetary value in order to demonstrate the potential
economic independence of the project. The end goal is to set up
the framework for existing infrastructure to be maintained and
utilized during the summer break at the school.
-
Offer urban based learners the
opportunity to see a working farm with its possibility for
ongoing professional opportunities and proximity to their
current lifestyle. -
Support ongoing interest with
an advanced summer vegetable production program. -
Provide examples of greater
community connections by partnering with an established food
security outreach program. -
Provide an opportunity to
volunteer in the marketplace where they can share what they
have learned and see first hand the impact of their
efforts. -
Increase the impact of our
existing program with supplementary funding for sustainability
initiatives. ( Farm to table cafe support, pollinator garden
materials, and beneficial insects.)
Cooperators
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Our project had multiple levels of participation. Firstly for our summer internship, learners reported in their exit survey that they were surprised to learn what could be done in a small amount of space in a small amount of weekly time. Some learners also gained more self confidence by participating with a social group that was new to them. We all agreed that it would have been reasonable to manage twice as much space as was available with the time that we had, but they also valued that we were able to have group discussions about our individual experiences. There is no more valuable a learning tool than the sharing of ideas. Stand out activities were tomato grafting, water calculations, and pruning methods. Both the project leader and the learners would have liked to have the program run long enough to manage more of the harvest. Production was very unusual in our vegetable crops. Trouble shooting possible results from filtered light from the shade cloth leading to slowed plant development made for good problem solving opportunities.
The largest group of learners were impacted during our farm field trip. Our lead educator was able to meet with the farmers before hand to develop a guided list of questions and three separate areas on the farm where they were to ask them. Learners expressed a shift ideas about what sustains a small farm, the role of animals beyond economics return, the challenges that may present themselves, and first hand understanding about how profitability is tracked from seed to tomato or feed to egg.
Currently we are working on our relationship between our gardening and our cafe group. They are slowly learning how to communicate what may be available from our greenhouse that can be incorporated into menu items for our weekly lunch line. The first visit from our professional chef has clearly jump started a healthier approach to food service with the addition of a "culinary corner" where farm/garden products can be showcased.
Learning outcomes from the Summer Internship portion of our grant:
In terms of reaching and engaging youth, this part of the program was a complete success. It was a refreshing change to work with teens who had elected to apply and had been awarded a position. The motivation and interest from each of them was a joy to work with. Shortly after announcing the internship, there was not a great response, but after some increased marketing to parents, we ended up with 3 applicants for every position. An unforeseen challenge was sorting through 28 applicants. This was simplified by sending blind responses to a community partner and having them narrow it down to their top 16, and then choosing from there. We had hoped that we would produce enough produce to support future summer programs. Over all we were only able to donate around a $200 value to our Let us Learn partners. From an educators stand point, the participants were able to take quite a bit away from the experience, but we wished we would have more workable space to work with. The yield was diminished, possibly due to the dense plant spacing that we chose. It was the first season growing food crops during the summer months. This coming summer we are planning on just planting sweet potatoes and pumpkins in the same space to see if they do well over the summer break. Interns all agreed that while reluctant to say so, they could have managed twice as much space with the time that we had. They also reflected that they would have liked to have been a part of more of the harvest process, so a longer term would have supported the groups learning experience.
Project Outcomes
While communicating informally about what we have been working on with our SARE grant, we have been able to make other connections around the community. We are currently talking with a local nursury about having their greenhouse manager come in and give a presentation on choosing varieties and tracking trends and costs. They are willing to support us making a field trip to their facility where our gardening group could see a large scale operation first hand. This particular nursery is interested in partnering more in the future to help learners see how things change seasonally. Our farm partners were very encouraged by the field trip and would like to make their property more accommodating. We are exploring ways to potentially have a farm camp where kids could have an overnight experience. Further planning needed.
The most memorable quote from our field trip experience exemplifies the middle school experience in a nutshell: "I used to think farmers were awesome. Now I KNOW farmers are awesome."
A spontaneous observation was made during our internship that I think really speaks to what these grants are about.
While tracking the water usage, the kids noticed that there was always a steady drip of water coming out of the building downspouts (from the air conditioning units on the roof.) After some discussion we decided to catch and measure the water output. We were able to capture nearly 20 gallons of water in the two hours that we were working. While this level of output was not consistent over the summer, we speculated that it would theoretically be enough to keep the greenhouse watered during the summer. Our math on the irrigation system had us using around 180 gallons a week at that time.
We did have a conversation about the cost of installing catchment on the building in a safe manner, and what a cost to benefit ration might look like, but it seemed to us like a viable option for sustainable design.
Another important piece of information from our field trip came from school staff. We had several learners with impulse control issues that had us reticent about the potential success of the whole trip. While we were at the farm, these particular learners were completely engaged in a positive and meaningful way. The farm itself was in its early stages and it was clear these folks were giving a lot of themselves to make the experience possible.
Quote from the operators of Box Car Acres:
"Sign us up next year!"
I absolutely feel like there is a demand for gardening/farming based internships for middle and high school aged kids. The inclusion of a stipend for that program gave us kids who were ready to get their hands dirty. This sort of thing could be expanded to multiple communities/sites across our area alone, and more involvement from working professionals could give them a better picture of what careers in Ag can look like. So many kids are given a large scale agriculture view into farming. More exposure to small working farm families, perhaps especially more experienced folks who are further along, could really showcase why they have chosen farming as a lifestyle and how it has served them.
The idea of a small farm as a multi-day camp came from our Montessori educators. They already emphasize camping as a way for middle school age kids to build community and confidence in themselves. This could be extended to some real world/hands on programming on a small vegetable/flower farm.
All we need are willing farmers and the proper facilities.