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Expanded 4-H & School Enrichment(Santa Fe County)

Impact Reports | Plan Details

Plan Goals

This plan deals with Special Interest; School Enrichment; and Outreach Efforts.

Owner
Christina Turner
Related Plans
Youth Development

Impact Reports

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The Agriculture Agents were approached by the Santa Fe Public Schools After School Program Coordinator to assist in developing gardening projects in the elementary schools throughout the district. The Agents pursued a mini-grant offered through the NM Legislature that would allow funds to work with new 4-H audiences. The agents requested money to purchase supplies and materials that would get gardening projects off the ground. The grant request was accepted in the amount of $10,000.

The Purpose of this outreach project is to work with both the Santa Fe Public Schools as well as the private schools within the county to provide instruction and support in the area of gardening. The project plans to use the Junior Master Gardener curriculum to deliver hands on activities that focus on several different aspects of gardening including ornamental gardening, vegetable gardening, landscape gardening, water education, irrigation systems and methods, and environmental impacts. The project will use in classroom instruction to incorporate science, math, health, nutrition, and cultural education into the overall gardening project. The project also includes the construction of pre-fabricated greenhouses and raised beds at each site by the youth and teachers that will serve as a learning laboratory not only for youth taking part in the project but the entire school. The long term goal is that the gardening project will become a community based effort and educate not only the youth in the school but their families about the importance of agriculture to their everyday lives and the role it plays in sustaining their culture, traditions, and ultimately their future.

The goals for this project include:
• Introduce youth and teachers to basic gardening concepts
• Introduce new audiences to the 4-H program
• Introduce new audiences to NMSU and Cooperative Extension Service
• Collaborate with teachers to utilize new curriculum with their students
• Ultimately develop community gardens within the school structure


The project began in late spring of 2008, will continue through the summer of 2008 and incorporate the 2008-2009 school year. At the current time equipment and supplies have been purchased for both sights. The Extension Agents are currently working with teachers from the schools to develop a plan for the project which includes determining specific needs for each project sight. Equipment such as greenhouses and raised planting beds will be set up at each site and work with students will begin as school starts up in the fall.

The two schools that have been targeted for this project are Agua Fria Elementary and The Academy for Technology and the Classics. Both sights have dedicated audiences that will take part in the project.

The program at Agua Fria Elementary will be conducted through their after school program. During the 2007-2008 school year the program had 160 students enrolled. The program would average 100 students per day and served grades pre-k through 6th.

The Academy for Technology and the Classics plans to serve the entire school through the Project Earth class. The Project Earth class has approximately 20 students enrolled. These students are trained mentors that will in turn educate the rest of the school which has approximately 400 students enrolled. The Project Earth class also works with the summer program which serves 130 students.

It is anticipated that the gardening project will reach at least this many students through its duration.

Impacts for the project will be measured in a number of ways. Students involved in the project will take a pre and post test designed to measure knowledge gained that will pertain to basic gardening concepts. Teachers/instructors will also take a survey pertaining to their experience working with Cooperative Extension Service and the 4-H program.

The gardening project will use the 4-H model to deliver programs to each sight. The project will utilize curriculum designed for classroom instruction, interactive computer games, and hands on experience to keep students engaged in the learning process. Students will become familiar with the 4-H club model as they take part in the gardening project.

By working with Santa Fe Public Schools there is also an opportunity to collaborate with other funding agents such as 21st Century and City of Santa Fe. This can provide an opportunity to sustain the gardening project for an extended period of time.
(Progress towards the short-term objectives.)
Permalink - Posted October 15, 2008, 7:32 pm
Coordinated NM State 4-H Shooting Sports Contest in Raton, NM at the NRA Whittington Center. Senior age 4-H members participated in the event to demonstrate proficiencies in various shooting disciplines. Top placed teams qualified for the national event in June. There were 210 youth competing. (Increase of 35 4-Her’s from 2006.)

Presented 4-H Shooting Sports clinic at Lincoln County Ag. Days in Capitan, NM. Ag. Day is a multi-agency school field day focusing on introduction fifth graders to agriculture and its contribution to our live. Approximately 250students from Capitan Schools attended.
Coordinated the planning of NM State 4-H Horse School. 221 4-H members and leaders from New Mexico participated. The objective of the school is to assist 4-H members with their horsemanship skills as well as give the opportunities to learn more about the horse by attending equine related workshops. Leaders participate in sessions as well to take the program to their home counties and develop similar type educational events. Further introduced animal ID act through workshop by New Mexico Livestock Board and career development workshops. Evaluations indicated that audience was very favorable to the new focus. Received sponsorship of school from Horseman’s Supply and New Mexico Livestock Board.

Coordinated the planning of NM State 4-H Livestock Schools. 300 Four H members from Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico participated. The objective of the school is to assist 4-H members in learning about their livestock projects thru a variety of teaching methods. The methods range from hands on sessions to classroom type workshops. 4-H members and leaders learn showmanship, ethics, feeding and overall management of their projects. The educational curriculum is offered to 4-H participants in the following species of beef, dairy cattle, sheep, swine and meat goat. Received sponsorships from Southwest Dairy Producers, Ranch-Way and ADM Feeds.

Coordinated 16 agriculture and natural resources related contests for NM State 4-H Conference. 4-H members from across New Mexico participate in contest events geared to test senior aged 4-H member’s subject member’s knowledge. Over 300 4-H members participated in these related contests.

New Mexico State 4-H program serves as a co-sponsor to the Youth Hunter Education Challenge. Here youth from across the state experience challenge through a series of events to show their combined knowledge and skills in archery, muzzleloader, hunting, and orienteering. This specialist assisted with conducting the contest. Approximately 120 youth participated.

Conducted a safety shooting clinic at the Double H Ranch Conservation Day near Datil, NM. Conservation Day is a multi-agency school field day focusing on introduction fifth graders to wildlife management, waterfowl, water use, fishing, archery and shooting sports. Over 167 students from 7 schools in Catron, Socorro and Valencia Counties attended. Other participating agencies were: NM Game and Fish, US Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Coordinated NM State 4-H Shooting Sports Contest in Raton, NM at the NRA Whittington Center. Senior age 4-H members participated in the event to demonstrate proficiencies in various shooting disciplines. Top placed teams qualified for the national event in June. There were 210 youth competing. (Increase of 35 4-Her’s from 2006.)

Presented 4-H Shooting Sports clinic at Lincoln County Ag. Days in Capitan, NM. Ag. Day is a multi-agency school field day focusing on introduction fifth graders to agriculture and its contribution to our live. Approximately 250students from Capitan Schools attended.
Coordinated the planning of NM State 4-H Horse School. 221 4-H members and leaders from New Mexico participated. The objective of the school is to assist 4-H members with their horsemanship skills as well as give the opportunities to learn more about the horse by attending equine related workshops. Leaders participate in sessions as well to take the program to their home counties and develop similar type educational events. Further introduced animal ID act through workshop by New Mexico Livestock Board and career development workshops. Evaluations indicated that audience was very favorable to the new focus. Received sponsorship of school from Horseman’s Supply and New Mexico Livestock Board.

Coordinated the planning of NM State 4-H Livestock Schools. 300 Four H members from Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico participated. The objective of the school is to assist 4-H members in learning about their livestock projects thru a variety of teaching methods. The methods range from hands on sessions to classroom type workshops. 4-H members and leaders learn showmanship, ethics, feeding and overall management of their projects. The educational curriculum is offered to 4-H participants in the following species of beef, dairy cattle, sheep, swine and meat goat. Received sponsorships from Southwest Dairy Producers, Ranch-Way and ADM Feeds.

Coordinated 16 agriculture and natural resources related contests for NM State 4-H Conference. 4-H members from across New Mexico participate in contest events geared to test senior aged 4-H member’s subject member’s knowledge. Over 300 4-H members participated in these related contests.

New Mexico State 4-H program serves as a co-sponsor to the Youth Hunter Education Challenge. Here youth from across the state experience challenge through a series of events to show their combined knowledge and skills in archery, muzzleloader, hunting, and orienteering. This specialist assisted with conducting the contest. Approximately 120 youth participated.

Conducted a safety shooting clinic at the Double H Ranch Conservation Day near Datil, NM. Conservation Day is a multi-agency school field day focusing on introduction fifth graders to wildlife management, waterfowl, water use, fishing, archery and shooting sports. Over 167 students from 7 schools in Catron, Socorro and Valencia Counties attended. Other participating agencies were: NM Game and Fish, US Fish and Wildlife, US Forest Service and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
(Progress towards the short-term objectives.)
Permalink - Posted February 7, 2008, 9:28 pm
(From Youth Development)
The agriculture agents have worked with the Santa Fe Children's Water Festival for the past couple of years in an advisory capacity. The goal of the water festival is to deliver water education programs to 4th grade students throughout the Santa Fe area by means of an interactive field trip as well as follow up evaluations.
This year the Ag agents developed a water education workshop to present during the festival. The workshop focused on water as it relates to agriculture. The information was delivered in a Jeopardy style game where students competed on teams using responders to answer questions. Students then reviewed the correct answers and explanations for these answers. Over two days the agents reached over 200 4th grade students and their teachers.
As a result of the game the agents pursued further funding to expand youth water education. A grant proposal was submitted to the Southern Regional Water Coordination Project. The grant was awarded and the project, now entitled "Water Ripples" received $12,000 to develop a youth water curriculum. The agents will work collaboratively with New Mexico State University, Louisianna State University, and University of Kentucky to develop both a computer based as well as a non-computer based curriculum to be delivered to students throughout the 13 state southern region. Work will continue throughout the next year on this project.
(Progress towards the short-term objectives.)
Permalink - Posted October 11, 2007, 11:57 pm
Kid & Kows & More is an educational program designed to teach youth about where food and fiber comes from and for them to understand the importance of agriculture to their local communities. This program was once again offered to 500 fourth grade students from the Santa Fe area elementary schools as well as to 300 fourth grade students from the southern Santa Fe County and Torrance County elementary schools. The Agents secured funding to offset the cost of transporting the youth to the Santa Fe County Fair Grounds and the Moriarty Civic Center where the educational programs were conducted. The youth were rotated through the various stations where they learned about vegetables production and marketing, field crops, ranching, water quality and conservation, bees and apple production, the dairy industry and also got to see and pet some live farm animals.
The program information was presented by representatives from various organizations including, Cooperative Extension Service, Cowbelles, New Mexico Apple Council, Edgewood Soil and Water Conservation District, Farm to Table, Moriarty FFA, and the Southwest Dairy Producers.
The agents also noticed a slight decrease in the number of participants in the past couple of years, particularly at the Santa Fe sight. This was due to transportation conflicts that had to be resolved last minute. As a result the agents re-organized the program this year offering longer workshops and incorporating a lunch break. The new schedule alleviated transportation issues and offered the students more time to spend at each workshop. The presenters had more time to deliver their information. The students and teachers responded positively to the change and participation increased from the previous years.
(Progress towards the short-term objectives.)
Permalink - Posted October 11, 2007, 11:30 pm
The chick embryology project is among the favorites of teachers for school enrichment projects in Santa Fe County. As spring approached schools from across the county were targeted to conduct this project in the classrooms. The response was overwhelming and materials for the 21 day project were booked solid for the next 5 months.

The lesson included the 4-H agent presenting approximately four lessons to each of the sites throughout the duration of the project. Eggs were placed in incubators and educational display boards as well as supplementary handouts were placed at each site. During routine visits, the 4-H agent would candle the eggs and listen to heart beats with the students as well as discuss the developmental stages of the embryo.

A total of over 300 youth from three different school districts from throughout the county took part in the project. The agent conducted the project in grades ranging from first grade through fourth grade. This included seven first grade classrooms that were “spanish speaking only”. Curriculum for the project was translated into Spanish to meet the needs of these students. This included handouts as well as an in depth display board.
The satisfaction of this project by both teachers as well as students was overwhelming. Requests for the project have already been made for next year.
(Progress towards the short-term objectives.)
Permalink - Posted October 11, 2007, 11:23 pm
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