1997 Annual Report for EW97-007
Sustainable Agriculture Youth Education: Professional Dev. for Youth Program Leaders and Educators
Summary
Objectives
1. Build the capacity of educators to teach sustainable agriculture to youth and to their peers.
2. Strengthen institutional support and leadership of Cooperative Extension, Agriculture Education, Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Montana Department of Agriculture and others needed for those teaching sustainable agriculture.
3. Design and test a model "continuum of learning" in sustainable agriculture.
4. Disseminate the continuum of sustainable agriculture learning materials and the community-based train-the-trainers model that will result from this project.
Abstract
The Professional Development for Youth Program Leaders and Educators project is developing methods of teaching sustainable agriculture and systems thinking using new community-based collaborative approaches to educating leaders and educators of youth. The three-part program is based on the interaction between its two human components and their mutual creation and use of resource technology.
1) The Leadership Team is an umbrella group of eight state-level administrators of youth programs representing state and federal agencies and institutions, as well as two private, non-profit organizations and Montana agricultural producers. To learn about teaching sustainable agriculture concepts, the Leadership Team recruits Educator Teams to test concepts in actual learning environments. The Leadership team defines the scope of the program, provides training and institutional support for the community-based Educator Teams.
We need to take this kind of program to all of Cooperative Extension.
Mike Cavey, State Cooperative Extension 4-H Leader, Montana State University
2) The first set of 5 Educator Teams, each made up of at least four educators, community members and youth, worked together to design and test learning materials through projects that explored Sustainable Agriculture concepts. These teams successfully blazed the trail to help the educators and youth understand the interconnectedness of people, community, environment and agriculture; engage educators and youth in systems thinking, community action, and collaborative learning; and catalyze new partnerships between educators, community members and organizations, farmers, ranchers, and youth. The network has expanded to include 12 Educator Teams across Montana. These educator teams are presently building on the work of their predecessors. Experienced teams play a key role in training the new teams and recruiting educator and community project leaders. The success and challenges experienced by the teams feeds directly back to the Leadership Team, which then refines the program, creating a working model that can encompass the diversity of sustainable agriculture education.
What surprised me the most was student and community interest in the project and how it could open positive communication between the school and community. It was also nice to see these groups get more interested in the lifelong learning process that occurs with an interest in gardening. The project has taught me that youth education is an all- encompassing area that does not stop at the school door. I hope that members and students of our community have learned the value of community projects and volunteering and continue to volunteer for worthwhile efforts in the future.
Nathan Beckwith, Victor High School Science Teacher
The whole system of our gardening project never occurred to me, or how it related to our community. I never thought about what we were doing at that level; I was concentrating so hard on the sustainable gardening activities -- it is so much more gratifying to see what we have accomplished by stepping back and looking at the whole picture.
Lori Davis, Gallatin Gateway Youth Community Garden Coordinator.
3) The third major component of this project is the creation of a Sustainable Agriculture Continuum of Learning. The Continuum is a dynamic method of learning that lends itself to Sustainable Agriculture education and is complemented by resources all participants bring to the table. The continuum of resources is a diverse collection of people, teaching tools including lesson plans, study materials, case studies, hands-on projects and links ranging from local to global resources. Educators and students will be able to pick and choose from the continuum once it is available on the project website in 2000. The website being developed will have a range of resources easily sortable according to an educator or student interest, need, knowledge and skill to suit their individualized educational needs. The Educator Teams are adding resources to the web site, and will eventually post their lesson plans and results of their projects, thereby becoming part of the Continuum of Learning.
The Continuum of Learning has been a creative and innovative approach to making a difference in the lives of people. The changes that we all observed in individuals involved, all the way from the Leadership Team to the community members and local youth, has been a tremendous success.
Van Shelhammer, Leadership Team Member, MSU Agriculture Technology Professor
Potential Benefits
The benefits of this program are already being realized, and we anticipate more next year. The program is:
· Developing a working model that can be used nationally to integrate sustainable agriculture into mainstream thinking among agricultural educators of youth. Bringing sustainable agriculture into mainstream agricultural education (4-H, FFA, Agriculture Education) is occurring within an atmosphere of respect that allows for honest exchange of ideas. Will Kissinger, Deputy Director of the Montana Department of Agriculture says: The use of the Leadership Team concept has greatly helped to bring together statewide organizations to advance sustainable agriculture.
· Helping youth develop successful and sustainable economic enterprises. The members of the Montana Worm Ranch sell all the products they can produce. The Golden Triangle Crop Diversifiers have identified a market niche that their soil-testing service may be able to fill. Nathan Beckwith of Victor’s Operation Green Thumb team says: The project has helped educators use sustainable agriculture ideas by showcasing a successful school-based enterprise that could be modeled in other communities.
· Helping community groups leverage funds for sustainable agriculture education projects. The Helena Community Garden was awarded a $750 grant of seed and equipment from the National Community Gardening Association. Victor’s Operation Green Thumb was recognized for their Native Plant work and awarded a scholarship for one of the members of the team to attend the Natural History Center’s summer camp. Several teams are also funded, or are seeking funding, from the School To Work program.
· Broadening the definition of what constitutes agriculture in Montana, and helping educators and youth understand the role sustainable agriculture plays in their community's economy. Team projects include aquaculture, vermiculture, horticulture, native plant production, weed control, grazing, restoration and soil testing. All members of this program, as well as the communities involved, are learning just how diverse and far-reaching sustainable agriculture and systems thinking are.
· Bringing information about sustainable agriculture education to the web. When the Continuum of Learning site is operational, educators will have access to all of the resources it contains. Heidi Brewer of the USDA says “as the Continuum of Learning is placed on the Web, communities, educators and youth across the country can involve the systems thinking approach in their communities, as has been done with the great projects developed here in Montana.
· Testing a model for supporting community-based education and knowledge development, resulting in institutional change. In the process of creating the sustainable agriculture learning continuum, the Educator Teams will learn about sustainable agriculture and ways to teach it. Rather than "those who know" training "those who don't," the educators are teaching themselves and each other through the materials and methods they are assembling. Furthermore, by being community-based, Educator Teams can respond directly to the needs and interests of their local youth, educators, and community.
This summary was prepared by the project coordinator for the 2000 reporting cycle.