Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is increasing demand for…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is increasing demand for sustainable food production and landscape management in urban and suburban areas that allows public and private green spaces to perform ecosystem services, mitigate climate change, and provide food for increasingly food-insecure communities. Current options for training in horticulture and landscape management in southwest michigan are sparse and do not offer skills-based education that focuses on sustainable practices. Kalamazoo valley community college, drawing on existing programs in sciences, agri-foods and trades, gleaning input from industry partners, and building upon the interdisciplinary approach of the health-food-sustainability cluster of programs housed at its bronson healthy living campus, proposes a new certificate and degree program in sustainable systems for horticulture, agriculture, and urban landscapes. Grant funds will support a program director position, to be filled by a PHD or masters-level agriscience expert, who will work with anindustry consultant, an industry advisory group and kvcc administration and faculty, to develop curriculum materials and pilot-test them in 3-5 noncredit workshops, then shepherd the program through the college's approval process, recruit an initial cohort of 25 students, and offer inaugural year of programming. Content will align with requirements of an existing state landscape management apprenticeship program, and use kvcc's urban and suburban campuses as lab space. Project success will be evaluated formatively through regular progress reports and partner feedback, and summatively through student learning outcomes measures: changes in knowledge, program completion, and job placement and retention. Following successful completion of the grant-funded project, the college intends to permanently add the program.