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The title "Transforming Agriculture and Natural Resources for a more sustainable tomorrow" is challenging, but it can be achieved by following the goals and objectives of the program. We are located in a rural setting 60 miles away from the largest civilization (Tucson, AZ) and the need for sustainability is more than ever a necessity that cannot be ignored. Thus, continuation of our program is crucial at this point and time to increase curricula development and to establish the Land Grant Office for Sustainability (LGOS). These will provide the college with the tools and the resources needed to be successful. <P>
Goal #1: Provide students with a solid foundation in the natural sciences, agriculture, and Tohono O'odham ways of life. <P>
Goal #2: Establish the Land Grand Office for Sustainability with Equity, Extension and Research as the three major branches. <P>
Goal #3: Increase the number of students enrolled in the TOANR program. <P>
Goal #4: Graduate more students with a two year degree for transfer to a four year institution. <P>
Goal#5: Incorporate other grants into the LGOS as to increase resources. <P>
Objective #1: To prepare student in the creation and maintenance of sources for sustainable energy. The benefits from this program can be invaluable as many districts are exploring possibilities for farm restoration and the installation of water pumping systems powered by solar energy to provide irrigation to farming lands. <P>
Objective #2: To prepare students in the area of food security, by continuing to train youth in gardening programs. In collaboration with the Student Learning Farm Manager, students will be able to participate on this interactive program to motivate children to explore future sources of food by working their gardens. <P>
Objective #3: To prepare students in climate change, its effects and how to cope with this change. The possibilities of interaction with other disciplines will reinforce student's knowledge in applied sciences. <P>
Objective #4: To prepare students in nutrition education. Westernized nutrition has had detrimental effects amongst Native Americans as they struggle to maintain healthy diets and end up suffering from diabetes and obesity. Diabetes and Obesity are described as the main causes of deaths among the Tohono O'odham community. <P>
Objective #5: To prepare students in food safety education and distribution channels. As students prepare to enter the world of commercial agriculture, they need to have a good understanding in food safety by learning how foods are processed, inspected and packed for distribution. <P>
Objective #6: To prepare students in sustainable rural economies. Curriculum development in rural economies sustainability will benefit the TOANR program by providing students information on how to establish a farmer's market and how to start, maintain and expand a business operation.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC) has evolved as the principal center for higher education for the Tohono O'odham Nation (TON) in southwestern Arizona. Despite its short history, TOCC has grown into a vibrant educational center, offering numerous degrees, certificates, and other credentials. The curriculum is designed to help individuals fulfill their education dreams and to create a stronger, better-trained work force for the Tohono O'odham Nation. Before 1998, the year TOCC was established; students pursuing higher education were limited by financial resources and lack of transportation to travel to Tucson or Phoenix to achieve their goals in education. TOCC now offers classroom instruction, remote and online classes to the Nation's residents and those that live outside the Nation's boundaries. The vision of the Tohono O'odham Agriculture and Natural Resources program (TOANR) is to train and educate Native American students in a series of disciplines that will develop into a more complete and sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources program for years to come. By creating the LGOS, Tohono O'odham Community College will be best prepared to include a more complete curriculum that will fit the needs of the Tohono O'odham Nation. BY partnering with communities and other institutions, students can be exposed to a more practical way of learning and new methodologies to increase their knowledge in the new dicsiplines.
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APPROACH: In order to achieve these planning and evaluation goals, a model put forth by the University of Arizona's Children Youth and Families at Risk Community-Based Project Evaluation Guide will be used. The philosophy proposed in the evaluation guide is appropriate for evaluation in a Native American setting. They include: - Exemplify a community-based holistic philosophy. View a program within the context of the host community. Consider the context that allows a program to exist, and constraints that face the program. - Promote partnership with citizens. Community members are stakeholders in programs and are constantly evaluating programs in an informal way. Including their evaluation insights represents a community opinion. - Address complex conditions. Programs and program participants exist within changing environment. Evaluation must take this dynamism into consideration. - Solicit and value diversity. Most programs involve a diverse population, whether in age, opinion, social background etc. Broad perspectives provide a more balanced, representative evaluation of programs. Effective evaluations also respect rich and diverse cultural backgrounds of participants. - Instill collaboration. Collaboration between organizations, funders, researchers, program participants, and service providers help create the most effective evaluation strategy. - Combine a coherent spectrum of services. Multiple evaluation methods and tools should be utilized to assess different aspects of program effectiveness. - Are accessible and respectful of people. Evaluations should be easily understood by staff, volunteers, and program participants. Evaluators are conscientious and respectful of program participants and stakeholders. - Bolster resiliency. A reliable feedback process between implementation and evaluation encourages improvement in both and leads to enhanced program effectiveness with the ultimate goal being a more sustainable program.