2017 ASHS Annual Conference

As the proportion of population living in urban areas increases and students have more limited exposure to agriculture, the undergraduate horticulture program at NCA&T State University was redesigned in 2013 to offer a curriculum focused on urban agriculture supported by heavy experiential learning. This program received a $150,000 NIFA capacity building grant in 2014 to develop an on-campus urban food production platform that would support the curriculum “Urban and Community Horticulture” (UCH) and attract more students into agricultural careers. With this new curriculum, the choice was made to focus on instructional methods that would engage students in active learning strategies and help them develop the necessary understanding of plant science concepts while developing practical and critical thinking skills. The development of the Urban Food Platform responds to several objectives: support classroom instruction while allowing students to experiment and develop deeper understanding of horticulture concepts; allow students to be engaged in small-scale food production and experience first-hand the challenges of growing food; act as a recruitment tool by exhibiting what the UCH program has to offer; collect data on intensive small-scale urban food production; and establish a connection between the campus and Greensboro community by providing tours, activities and workshops, as well as food produced at the platform. In 2016, 23 raised beds of different size and a 12x25-ft unheated greenhouse were added through class work and students’ effort. The construction of the greenhouse as a semester project by students of the class HORT 410-Season Extension was a major endeavor in the fall 2016. Every week, the lab time of the class was used for implementing concepts of greenhouse construction and build the greenhouse to be used by students for their transplants needs at the platform. The new raised beds started to be used in the fall by the students of HORT 420- Vegetables for Small-Scale Production, who produced and tested different lettuce and greens for salad mixes. After several harvests, students enjoyed discussing with growers the market for their production. In the spring, our students conducted outreach activities with high school students, teachers with the County School Garden Network, as well as Earth Day using the Urban Food Platform. The development of the Urban Food Platform with students has been an outstanding opportunity to teach students problem-solving, teamwork and professional skills beyond horticulture concepts.