Progress report for YENC24-222
Project Information
A mobile learning lab, equipped with hands-on activities, games, soil analysis supplies, rain simulators, and watershed models, will engage rural youth in understanding the importance of sustainable farming methods and their relation to improved environmental and economic outcomes. Manitowoc County Soil and Water Conservation Department (SWCD) will visit rural middle and high schools with the interactive lab. By targeting rural schools, we can reach youth who are likely to live or work on farms in the future, empowering the next generation with sustainable farming knowledge, and creating a ripple effect that positively impacts the community's approach to farm management.
Goals:
- Establish a mobile learning lab to introduce youth to sustainable ag practices.
- Provide hands-on, engaging learning experiences to promote land stewardship and encourage conservation practice implementation on the farm and at home.
Objectives:
- Purchase and equip the lab.
- Develop at least 4 lesson plans with feedback from local teachers.
- Provide a minimum of 100 middle & high school participants with learning experiences that demonstrate the connection between conservation BMP’s and improved soil health, water quality, and farm productivity during 4 classroom & 1 on-farm workshops.
- Collect data and feedback to evaluate the learning lab.
Cooperators
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation summary:
We continued to focus on developing engaging content, purchasing hands-on learning resources, and piloting them in 2025, reaching 242 students at community events, farm tours, and in high school classrooms. Our on-farm event was rescheduled for Spring 2026. Key highlights of our outreach and activities include:
- Partnership Development: We established a partnership with Ryan Sullivan of Sullivan Family Farms, who will host an on-farm experience for approximately 100 rural youth. His farm demonstrates sustainable practices such as rotational grazing, composting, and no-till farming, making it an excellent venue for students to learn about soil health and sustainable agriculture. Ryan has also engaged in training related to soil microbiomes, enhancing the educational value of the experience.
- Collaboration with Seven Rivers Soil Cooperative: We collaborated with this producer-led group to facilitate hands-on learning experiences for students. They have provided access to cover crop, buffer, and no-till samples for our tabletop rainfall simulators, allowing students to compare these practices with conventional tillage. Additionally, Seven Rivers farmers have expressed their willingness to engage with students, sharing their experiences in sustainable agriculture. They assisted with a booth at Twin Elm farm in June 2025 during Breakfast on the farm, leading tabletop rainfall activities and answering questions from youth and their parents.
- Resource Acquisition: We procured the necessary supplies for our mobile learning trailer, including tabletop rainfall simulators, slake tests, soil health assessment kits, watershed models, shovels, and compaction probes. These tools have been piloted at Breakfast on the Farm, four environmental science classes at Two Rivers High School and farm tours. Instructors and Seven Rivers members provided positive feedback on their effectiveness in teaching soil health analysis. We will continue to use these tools this spring and summer.
- Pilot Activities: Our team successfully piloted the rainfall simulators at two "Breakfast on the Farm" events, engaging with 100 youth who learned about soil erosion and water infiltration through hands-on comparisons of different agricultural practices. Additionally, small groups of high school students from Manitowoc participated in farm tours in 2024 and 2025 where they examined various best management practices and their impact on watershed health and agricultural sustainability. Resource Conservationists utilized the soil health field kits with students during the cover crop plot tour stop, led soil health surveys and demonstrated the rainfall simulators. They also piloted them at Two Rivers High School, helping to connect sustainable land management with better water quality outcomes.
- Trailer Design and Planning: The trailer design and layout for the mobile learning lab is complete and bids are in. We needed to raise additional funds for the trailer which delayed the purchase and build out. Funding has been raised and we are able to move forward with the purchase and outfitting of the trailer. Despite not having a physical trailer, mobile learning took place. SWCD Surveys among teachers aimed at understanding how they envision utilizing the mobile learning service, revealed interest in in-class presentations and equipment loan programs.
- Challenges Addressed: Scheduling on-farm learning has been a challenge due to Middle and High School students' schedules. Classes are typically 50-60 minutes which makes day-long or multiple hour-long events difficult to plan. My maternity leave also heightened the need to push back the on-farm visit from fall 2025 to spring 2026. Despite these challenges, we have successfully partnered with Lincoln High School, UW Green Bay Manitowoc Campus, and a local farm to host an afternoon sustainable ag and water quality experience in May 2026 with approximately 80 students.
In terms of outreach, we are actively documenting insights from these activities. We plan to submit an application to present at the Land & Water WI state-wide conference and feature the mobile learning trailer activities in SWCD newsletters and future communications with local educators. These upcoming presentations will further highlight our initiatives and findings, as well as provide a step-by-step guide to duplicate the initiative in counties across WI.
- Other
Learning Outcomes
Students who participated in our farm tour as a pilot program, gained awareness about cropland and structural best management practices that increase production and protect the environment. This was the first time participants saw practices such as harvestable buffers and WASCBs, first-hand.
Students were able to articulate that land management choices impact local water quality. They could identify practices, such as using cover crops and reducing tillage, that build soil health and protect water.
This is the first year of our 2-year grant and SWCD decided to trial a farm visit on a small-scale before the multiple school visit in fall 2025. Our goal is to work with a minimum of 100 students.
Project Outcomes
We are developing a library of lesson plans and equipment ready and available for SWCD and community use. We also worked with local farmers to develop their capacity to use hands-on equipment such as rainfall simulators and slake tests to educate youth and community members.