College awarded grant for Sustainable Agriculture Education
10/19/2012
Edmonds College has been awarded a $900,000, three-year grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) for the Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAgE) Collaborative.
In partnership with Skagit Valley College, Seattle Central Community College, and Washington State University, Edmonds CC will lead the SAgE Collaborative in preparing students for emerging green careers in sustainable agriculture and related environmental fields.
With a focus on agricultural best practices within urban, suburban, and rural landscapes, the SAgE Collaborative will:
- develop new and improve existing innovative community college curriculum,
- offer field-based research and real-world service and internship opportunities,
- design education and career pathways from secondary school through two- and four-year institutions,
- establish a metro and rural student farm in cooperation with farm partners, and
- expand the collaborative throughout Puget Sound to demonstrate a bioregional model for sustainable agriculture education and community development.
Jason Niebler, SAgE Collaborative project director, envisions the development of agriculture programs that “are founded on the principles of agro-ecology and engage students in creative solutions to environmental and socioeconomic problems through the lens of sustainable food systems and production.”