Sprouts, Soil, and Worms

Project Overview

YENC10-025
Project Type: Youth Educator
Funds awarded in 2010: $2,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2012
Region: North Central
State: Missouri
Project Manager:
William Polansky
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture
Project Co-Managers:
Christopher Murakami
Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture

Annual Reports

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Education and Training: participatory research, workshop, youth education
  • Soil Management: earthworms, soil analysis, soil microbiology
  • Sustainable Communities: urban agriculture

    Proposal abstract:

    The Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture (CCUA) is a not-for profit organization in Columbia, Missouri that educates the public about urban food production through a number of programs. The proposed funding will assist us in expanding our school outreach programming. To date our outreach has included lessons on composting and sprouting, the installation and improvements of school gardens and field trips to our urban farm and demonstration garden.

    The goal of our programming is to incorporate sustainable agriculture into science curriculum and classroom practices. For the purposes of this grant, CCUA is seeking to expand its programming by delivering three lessons: From Seeds to Sprouts, The Life of Worms and Soil Testing. CCUA staff and volunteers will conduct the lessons in elementary school classrooms and hopefully train teachers to integrate in the materials into ongoing learning experiences. Our budget allows each lesson to be taught in ten different elementary school age programs. Assuming an average class size of 20 students, this project will impact 200 students in 2011; with ongoing effects into the future, as teachers will continue to use the materials and curriculum we provide in future classes.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.