Theme 6: Workforce Development
The project collaborates with regional and national organizations to offer young individuals firsthand experience in environmental activities and policies. Through partnerships with community organizations like Legacy Village and the Alliance of Sustainable Farms, as well as national agencies like the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the project aims to develop workforce development opportunities for youths in underserved communities.
In collaboration with SCA, the project establishes a summer internship program and Conservation Teams program for undergraduate and graduate students from underserved communities. The Leader Teams program, a 16-week initiative, recruiting three young adults from underserved communities. The SCA internship program, will recruit two students per year for a total of two years, offering fully funded internships. The collaboration ensures students gain conservation awareness, leadership skills, and exposure to climate-related career opportunities.
Collaboration with Legacy Village Inc., a community organization in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, involves engaging K-12 students in climate literacy and community research. The collaboration aims to develop climate literacy materials, offer advanced training, and involve students in climate research. The project aligns with Legacy Village's mission of providing academic support and personal development training to underserved communities in the South Delta.
The collaboration with the Alliance of Sustainable Farms focuses on enhancing climate smart farming technologies for minority farmers in the Delta. Activities include developing training and workshops, organizing farm visits for K-12 students, implementing long-term weather monitoring, and introducing moisture control technology. The Alliance's expertise in sustainable farming aligns with the project's goals of promoting resilience to climate-related challenges in the agricultural sector.
The project also establishes a mentoring program for the post-doctoral fellow working on this project. In addition, the project offers mentoring arrangements for early career faculty members in the project.
Objectives
- Equip students and provide valuable experience in climate and conservation-related careers by developing a summer internship program and conservation teams in collaboration with the Student Conservation Association (SCA).
- Strengthen pathways to climate and conservation careers for youth and young adults from the Delta through outreach and recruitment.
- Develop training and scale-appropriate technology integration to support farmers' ability to respond to climate challenges.
- Help the early career faculty in this project to establish long-term goals for their research and plan their research agenda.
- Develop an academic pathway for students, adult learners, and working professionals to earn a recognized certification in climate literacy.
Methodology
This theme is oriented toward strengthening workforce development and resilience capacities through partnership with three organizations: Student Conservation Associates, the Alliance of Sustainable Farms, and Legacy Village. To address existing and future challenges while building workforce capacity, we have identified areas to support existing work while building additional opportunities. A combination of internships, agricultural field days, student field trips, and youth outreach is intended to both equip and connect farmers and youth with opportunities and share skills necessary to ensure a workforce ready to address the many challenges of climate change.
To ensure a well-rounded mentorship experience for early career faculty, senior faculty members from participating universities, directly and indirectly associated with the research, will play a pivotal role. Their involvement will be tailored based on their skills and expertise, offering mentorship to early-career faculty participants as they navigate the academic landscape. In addition to internal opportunities, our project's collaborations with external entities like the SCA will expose early-career faculty to national agencies. This exposure opens avenues for collaboration and research partnerships, providing a broader scope for professional development. Taken together, the educational opportunities and programs will be coordinated to develop an academic pathway towards a certification in climate literacy.
Community Garden
