The Land Grant Office for Sustainability at the Tohono O odham Community College

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Jasmin Chandler
6 years ago
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1 The Land Grant Office for Sustainability at the Tohono O odham Community College Empowering people for a sustainable life in the Sonoran desert Adrian Quijada, Mario Montes-Helu, Teresa Newberry & Casey Kahn-Thornbrugh. Tohono O odham Community College, Sells, Arizona

3 Tohono O odham Nation and LGOS location HERMOSILLO Al Jazeera Press

4 Purpose The Land Grant Office for Sustainability (LGOS) at the Tohono O odham Community College (TOCC) is to ensure that the principles of sustainability, both modern and those rooted in Tohono O odham Himdag, are committed to by TOCC and are integrated into the academic life and all activities within the college.

5 The Tohono O odham Himdag, way of life, tells a person how to interact with the environment, what foods to eat, and how to work with the community, thus maintaining a balance with the world.

serving minorities. the Endowment Interest from USDA 6. In 2010 TOCC receives its first Research award from USDA/NIFA 2.

In 2006 TOCC established the Agriculture Extension Program with funding from USDA/APHIS 5.

6 Historical Background 1. In 2003 the Office of Civil Rights and the US Department of Education approved TOCC as a Tribal College, an institution serving minorities. the Endowment Interest from USDA 6. In 2010 TOCC receives its first Research award from USDA/NIFA , TOCC becomes a Land Grant Institution 3. In 2005 TOCC receives its first Equity award from USDA 4. In 2006 TOCC established the Agriculture Extension Program with funding from USDA/APHIS 5. In 2006 TOCC receives its first distribution of 7. In 2011 at the FALCON Conference USDA/NIFA recommended the establishment of the Land Grant Office 8. In 2012 the Board of Trustees approved the use of part of the Endowment funds to fund the LGO Director position.

7 Land Grant Office for Sustainability (LGOS) Organizational Chart FY Board of Directors President IR&D Finance & Administration Education Juana Jose Student Services. LAND GRANT OFFICE FOR SUSTAINABILITY Project Director Casey Kahn-Thornbrugh Endowment, Extension, Equity, Research Programs USDA/NIFA Endowment Annual ~$90,000/yr USDA/NIFA Equity Formula Funding (4yr) ~$100,000/yr USDA/NIFA Extension Formula Funding (4yr) ~$100,000/yr USDA/NIFA Research Competitive grant Ending 2013 ~$200,000/2yrs EPA Eco Ambassador EPA Funded Ended July 2014 ~$75,000/yr NASA-Haskell- TOCC-WETCC- KIKSAPA ~$100,000/3yrs spread among partners Project Director Salary Casey Kahn-Thornbrugh EcoAmbassador-Principal Investigator salary supplement David Stone LGOS Vehicle Project Director salary Casey Kahn-Thornbrugh ANR Faculty salary Mario Montes-Helu LGOS activities Life Sciences & TOANR support ANR student internships Faculty/student professional development Student Learning Farm Manager salary Clifford Pablo Ag Extension Vehicle Ag Extension in the communities & K-12 schools ANR student internships Solar demonstration TOCC Solar project Pisinemo community EcoAmbassador-Principal Investigator salary David Stone Student Assitant Richard Pablo Student workers Glass clean-up Glass crusher-supplies CO2-negetive building material Presentation to EPA in DC 7-week Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) (2 from TOCC) GIS-Remote Sensing K-12 Teacher training on the TO Nation

8 Objectives 1. Learning from elders on aspects of Tohono O odham Himdag. 2. Applying these aspects of Tohono O odham Himdag in sustainability planning. 3. Educating TOCC students and local communities about sustainable ways of life. 4. Organizing sustainability colloquia and presentations on campus and in the communities. 5. Examining on sound and sustainable institutional practices. 6. Fostering collaboration at Tohono O odham Nation, and external partners in sustainability.

9 Current Activities 1. The LGOS and TOCC faculty are incorporating sustainability into their curricula of the Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) program. 2. The LGOS is also fostering the diversification of the ANR program by supporting the hiring of an Agroecology specialist. 3. Currently the LGOS enjoy the participation of TOCC faculty in the fields of Plant Biology, Ethnobotany, Agroecology & Soil Science, and Wildlife Conservation & Management. 4. Other activities of this team include the development of grants proposals to support the educational objectives of the LGOS and TOCC.

10 Personnel and TOCC collaborators Clifford Pablo Casey Thornbrugh Teresa Newberry Adrian Quijada Mario Montes-Helu David Stone & Richard Pablo

11 SPECIFIC PROJECTS AND COLABORATIONS

12 USDA-NIFA Equity Program

13 USDA-NIFA Extension Program

organizations committed to culturally relevant,

14 Farm and Food Working Group Our Mission The Farm And Food Working Group is a collaboration of individuals and organizations committed to culturally relevant, sustainable agriculture, including promoting healthy living and eating

15 USDA-NIFA Research: Solar Project

16 EPA Tribal ecoambassador Program THROW SIFT CRUSH

17 EPA Tribal ecoambassador Himdag Ki: (Tohono O odham Cultural Center) Project PAVERS AND BLOCKS MADE WITH RECYCLED GLASS, CaCO 3 & WASTE STEEL DUST

18 Future directions Partnerships with other tribal community colleges, universities, and sustainable stakeholder organizations. Current collaboration initiatives: University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University & the Tohono O odham Community Action (TOCA). Please contact us to explore venues of collaboration!

19 Our Challenges We are still without policy for sharing, disseminating and data management in research (i.e. No institutional review board). We require the implementation of a community-based Participatory research protocol. Until we are able to develop our institutional research capacity for our TOCC-LGOS, access to funding for the purpose of research will be limited.

20 Coming soon!

21 FWS Questions?

ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS STRATEGIC PLAN P age 75 Years of Locally Led Conservation

ARIZONA ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS STRATEGIC PLAN 2017-2020 1 P age 75 Years of Locally Led Conservation 2 P a g e 75 Years of Locally Led Conservation OUR MISSION To support Conservation Districts