connecting to stem through food justice at the uncp campus ... · connecting to stem through food...
TRANSCRIPT
Connecting to STEM Through Food Justice
at the UNCP Campus Garden & Apiary
Rita Hagevik and Courtney Moore, Josh Perry, Brittany Stokes
Biology Department, UNC - Pembroke
Pembroke, NC, USA
Purposeis to raise awareness of traditional foods and native agriculture and to create a link between nutrition, health and spirituality through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education
Goals and Purpose of the UNCP Campus
Garden & ApiaryGoals
of the UNCP Campus Garden & Apiary are three fold
and include:
Education, Outreach, and Research
What does the literature say?
1. In order for AI/AN students to “see” themselves in STEM careers, traditional knowledge must be acknowledged and honored THE SAME as Western science.
2. Personal science connections are important for ALL students.
3. You need a caring committed team of individuals in STEM. Strong Native community participation (elders, parents, and community resources) is equally important.
4. Focusing on Native Science and teaching Western formal science so that students become well versed in both may be key to creating more interest in STEM fields and STEM careers within AI/AN communities (ex. gourds – native artists, native nature crafting, growing and eating foods that taste like a place, preserve seed stock and seed exchanges, ethnomedicine, ethnostoriesaround food, indigenous agriculture – indigenous techniques).
Background – UNC Pembrokea unique place in the world
• Campus Garden & Apiary is a part of the University which is the only four year public university in the US that was established for American Indians by American Indians.
• The land is connected to the Lumber River and the traditions of the Lumbee tribe. 85% of Robeson County is in agriculture.
• 85% of protected lands in the world are managed by indigenous peoples who have a unique and deep connection to the earth as a way of being.
• Connecting Western Science to Native Ways has become a priority for many governments and scientists.
Where is the Garden & Apiary
• 1/3 of an acre at the Pine Cottage facility on campus
• 9 honey bee hives
• 4 native bee houses
• 59 raised garden beds
• Herb garden, tea garden, three sisters garden, vegetables
• 3 compost bins
• Gourd/pumpkin/squash trellis
• Pollinator-Wildflower garden – sunflower and clover areas
• Managed meadow
• Blueberry/strawberry/blackberries
How is the Garden & Apiary Managed?
• Faculty advisors – Dr. Rita Hagevik (Biology-Garden/STEM), Dr. Kaitlin Campbell (Biology – Apiary), Dr. Martin Farley (Geology –Pollen), Dr. Jesse Rouse (Geography - Drones and GIS), Dr. Grant Pilkay (Biosensors, Entomology) – new faculty hires in plant biology/horticulture and in animal science in Biology Department.
• UNCP Students manage the Garden & Apiary
• Garden & Apiary Manager – Courtney Moore
• Garden & Apiary Interns – Josh Perry
• Science Education Graduate Student – Brittany Stokes
• Garden & Apiary Volunteers through UNCP Serve
Activities in the Garden & Apiary
OUTREACH EVENTS – Brittany Stokes
• HOLIDAY IN THE GARDEN – SPRINGTIME IN THE
GARDEN
• GARDEN VOLUNTEERS – UNCP SERVE
• BEE PRODUCTS FOR SALE
• POLLINATOR OUTREACH BOOTH
• BEE KEEPING DEMONSTRATIONS
• GARDEN & APIARY TOURS – TELL INDIGINEOUS
STORIES AND SHOW WAYS OF GROWING FOOD
• WORKSHOPS ABOUT POLLINATORS AND PLANTS
AND BEES THAT ARE CULTURALLY RELEVANT
Activities in the Garden & ApiaryKids in the Garden Program
Josh Perry
Establish learning
communities – scientist in
residence program
Engage students in STEM
experiences in natural
settings
Cultural connections and
focus on sustainability
Individual research
Science journals
Visit other universities
Embedded college and career
program
Science presentations and
competitions
Elementary program (4 & 5th grades) and Middle and High School program
BEEKEEPING AT THE SUMMER CAMP
Farm Tours and Interviews
Flying Drones and Aerial Photographs
The Magic of Microscopes
Regional Science Fair
Five Regional Entries (2 yrs)
Two HS 1st Place Winners (Biology)
One HS 2nd Place
One MS 1st Place Winner (Technology)
Best overall Regional Science Fair
State (NC)
One 1st Place Winner (Biology)
Students Present Their Research at Science Meetings
Scientific Meetings
Six Poster Presentations:
NC Academy of Science
2017, 2018 -One Poster each
Association of Southeastern
Biologists 2018 –
Four Posters
Edgardo Lara and Daniel Zavala, West Bladen HS
NC Academy of Science
Annual Meeting High Point Univ. 2017
Region 4 Science Fair
Research in Campus Garden & ApiaryCourtney Moore
Why are pollinators important?
Reproduction of flowering plants
Our food supply:
Every third bite you eat can be attributed
directly to a pollinator, mainly bees
Many crops depend solely on bees for
pollination e.g. almonds, apples, oranges,
cherries, grapefruit, tomatoes
Wildflowers (ecosystems depends on it)
Research in the UNCP Garden & Apiary
•Native bee biodiversity• Floral resource use• Twig nesting bees• Change over time• Habitat use
•Honey bee research• Bee health• Pollen collection• Parasites• Pollen in Honey
Garden= 14 sampling points
UNCP
Lawn= 14 sampling points
UNCP
Four Citizen Science Projects
• Public participation to answer scientific questions or to gather data
•All age groups
•Will involve: People who want to help!
•May involve• Smart phone technology• Submission of images or data• Communication directly with scientists• Training in identification• Little time or lots of time
Value of Citizen Science
•Gets people outside
•Conservation
•Scientific literacy
•Demystifies science
•Encourages inquiry
• Interaction with scientists
•Culturally Relevant and Place-Based
Native Bee Housesnative bee network (crownbees.org)• Set out bee houses
• Document location
• Identification stickers
The Great Pumpkin Project
• http://studentsdiscover.org/lesson/the-great-pumpkin-project/
•Documenting insects and microbes of cucurbits (squashes, cucumbers)
• Focus on bacterial wilt disease
• Inspection for beetles and diseases, 10 minute observations
The Great Pumpkin Project
The Great Pumpkin Project
Bumblebee Watchbumblebeewatch.org
Xerces Society
Upload photos of bumble bees to start a virtual bumble bee collection;
Identify the bumble bees in your photos and have your identifications verified by experts;
Help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees;
Help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees;
Learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts; and
Connect with other citizen scientists
Why Important?
• All minority groups are underrepresented in STEM careers.
• AI/ANs are numerically and systematically underrepresented.
• Only one in 150 students who graduate with a Bachelor’s
degree in science and engineering is AI/AN (National Science Foundation,
2010 and 2011).
• In 2012 only 48 doctorates in the engineering and science
fields were awarded to AI/AN doctoral students. The
numbers are decreasing (0.3% to 0.5% previous 20 years).
• Indigenous peoples are the caretakers of the Earth. To
advance changes in employment in the United States and in
Native Nations, more AI/AN students will have to go into
STEM fields.
Traditional Ways of Knowing and STEM
• Develop Indigenous culturally-based STEM curriculum
that use an American Indian tradition as a focal context.
Ex. The snow snake curriculum was the result of a very
thoughtful collaboration between the people of the
White Earth Nation and the University of Minnesota.
• Tell Native stories about food, farms, flowers, and
pollinators. Incorporate coding activities like code a
story.
• Continue to conduct interviews of farmers and use aerial
photographs to use maps to tell stories –story maps.
AcknowledgementsAll the elementary, high school and middle school students
Faculty: Dr. Martin Farley, Dr. Kaitlin Campbell, Dr. Grant Pilkay,
Dr. Jeffery Warren, Dr. Debby Hanmer, Dr. Lisa Kelly, Dr. Ben Bahr,
Krissy Smith
Undergraduate Students: Courtney Moore, Brandon Le, Brandon Herron,
Ronald Woodson, Sally Conner, Abigail Canela, Joshua Perry, Cody
Eubanks
Staff and Graduate Students: Brittany Stokes, Anastasia Oxendine
Local Farmers, Beekeepers, Community Leaders: Connie and Millard
Locklear, Appin Bees, Ed Hunt, Project ACCESS, Myia Reyes, Mary Ann
Jacobs, Rita Locklear, Dr. Connie Locklear, School System Partners
Primary Funding: Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, Duke Energy,
UNC-Pembroke, BIOTECH Center at COMtech, Robeson County Farm
Bureau, Bayer Bee Care, BASF
Rita Locklear
Questions?
Contact Information:
Rita Hagevik -
Facebook: @UNCPCampusGarden
Instagram: uncpcampusgarden
Twitter: @UNCPGarden
http://serve.uncp.edu/agency/detail/?agency_id=27454
https://www.uncp.edu/departments/biology/campus-garden-apiary
https://www.uncp.edu/departments/biology/campus-garden-apiary/kids-garden-
program