Sustainable Agriculture Mobile Learning Lab

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Crop Production: cover crops, no-till, nutrient management
• Education and Training: youth education
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, drift/runoff buffers, grass waterways, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, riverbank protection, soil stabilization, wetlands
• Soil Management: organic matter, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life

Manitowoc County Soil & Water Conservation Department (SWCD) developed and piloted a mobile sustainable agriculture education program to help youth understand connections among farming, soil health, conservation, and water quality. Youth explored how practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage, perennial vegetation, grassed waterways, nutrient management, and other agricultural best management practices can support productive farms while reducing erosion, nutrient loss, and impacts to local water resources.

The project emphasized hands-on, inquiry-based learning. SWCD purchased and piloted rainfall simulators, soil health assessment tools, slake test equipment, watershed models, and field investigation supplies at schools, community events, and working farms. Youth compared runoff and infiltration under different land-management systems, investigated soil properties, practiced soil sampling, explored the 4Rs of Nutrient Stewardship, observed conservation practices on working farms, and connected land management with downstream water quality. More than 300 youth participated over the life of the project. Through these experiences, students demonstrated increased awareness of agricultural conservation practices and greater understanding that land-management choices affect soil health, erosion, runoff, nutrient movement, and water quality.

Pilot experiences also informed development of a more complete educational program. SWCD developed or refined eight hands-on sustainable agriculture investigations and activities with Hosting Guides that allow teachers, farmers, conservation professionals, and other facilitators to lead the experiences. The Land & Water Connect Us website and an immersive 360°/VR farm experience were also developed to extend learning beyond individual events and make agricultural experiences accessible when farm visits are not practical. The Mobile Learning Trailer experienced manufacturing and build-out delays, but educational programming continued while the trailer was being developed.

The project demonstrated that portable, hands-on agricultural investigations can make complex soil and water concepts visible and understandable while providing a flexible alternative or complement to traditional farm field trips. It also demonstrated the value of offering multiple ways to access agricultural education—on farms, in classrooms, at community events, through digital experiences, and through a mobile learning lab.

Educator adoption is already occurring. Two Rivers High School educators have incorporated Manitowoc County-specific agriculture, geology, conservation, and water-quality information into their curriculum and plan to continue hands-on programming annually. UW–Green Bay Manitowoc Campus educators continue to incorporate agricultural conservation tours and demonstrations into student learning. Local farmers gained experience using rainfall simulators and other hands-on tools to teach youth and community members, and expanded Hosting Guides were developed to support future facilitators. SWCD is also working with Valders School District to incorporate the Mobile Learning Trailer once it is operational. Youth and parent adoption of specific sustainable agriculture practices was not measured as part of this project.

Overall, the SARE-supported project helped turn an initial mobile-learning concept into an ongoing, locally relevant sustainable agriculture education program. Additional grant and community support secured during the project has allowed the initiative to expand beyond its original scope and created a foundation for continued youth, educator, farmer, and community learning.

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:

1. Purchase and equip the lab.
2. Develop at least 4 lesson plans with feedback from local teachers.
3. 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.
4. Collect data and feedback to evaluate the learning lab.