Coming from a small town in a rural area it is no surprise that a background in agriculture has had such an integral impact on my life. Since the beginning of high school I joined the National FFA Organization and began participating in the public speaking competition Soil Stewardship. I consider this the greatest attribute in my passion to pursue soil and water conservation. Through this experience I was able to be involved in my local soil and water conservation district, learn about the local initiatives in my community that had had a statewide influence, and even meet those involved in the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. Over those four years I was given different topics about watersheds, the history of soil and water conservation, and the balance between the land and water. From high school I followed my passion into college at Texas A&M University. Since joining the Soil and Crops Science Department there have been so many opportunities I have been able to pursue. Among these include working under Dr. Cristine Morgan and Donna Prochaska with soil samples for graduate students’ research. …show more content…
Since working in a lab has become very second-nature I am not opposed to continuing testing and studying soil and water samples. I am looking for a hands-on experience to expand my knowledge and expertise. Connecting back to my start in this field, I am particularly interested in either working with local conservation districts or extension programs to help the people that keep us fed everyday: farmers. Though water is technically a renewable resource it is obvious that there is only so much that can be used by humans. I want to be a part of the process that helps keep this resource available for the generations to come. I am very passionate about helping the general public and ensuring that the resources on hand are used efficiently and managed
Zeilig, Nancy. "Colorado Foundation for Water Education." Colorado Foundation for Water Education. Version Edition 1. Colorado Water Conservation Board; National Resource Conservation Service; Wright Water Engineers, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. . I used this online book for a state perspective on the track of water conservation and the way the state plans to expand it.
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
West Philadelphia Landscape project has worked with the community for over twenty-five years to restore nature and rebuild the neighborhood through design, strategic planning and educational projects. They have worked in the Mill Creek neighborhood since 1987 and use their experiences to demonstrate how the human population can live healthier, more economic lives. The aim of the project is to make the Philadelphia community more sustainable, with the proposal to manage the area of Mill Creek in a way that would improve the local water quality. The project utilizes landscape literacy as a means to preserve the environment and develop community relations. During the twenty-five years that the project has been running, hundreds of citizens, students and even government officials have taken part in the project in an approach to restore the environment and make the community more sustainable.
According to Webster’s dictionary, agriculture is defined as the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products. Essentially, agriculture is a key element to a thriving and sustainable community for the seven billion habitants of our planet Earth. A key resource in providing life to necessary agriculture is the Colorado River. From its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California in Mexico, the Colorado River spans more than 1400 miles in its entirety. Encompassing the river, the Colorado River basin covers more than 256,000 square miles across the southwestern United States, providing valuable support to a large amount of systems (Cohen et al. V). This crucial resource supports more than thirty million people, four million acres of farmland, seven states, the two largest reservoirs in the United States, and the largest irrigation canal in the world (Water Uses). Although agriculture is still by far the largest user of water in the Colorado, more than ninety percent of pasture and cropland within the Colorado River basin receives water from the Colorado River as a supplement to support growth (Cohen et al. V). With this incredible amount of water comes a very large concern: are these water usage practices sustainable over a longer period of time? If not, how are we to combat the lasting effects set by unstainable water use?
The land-grant mission of Iowa State emphasizes students being problem solvers and researching improvement and protection of crops. The main purpose is to protect the planet by action and research so that it can be an international impact. Many articles, postings, research, and videos are shared through the Iowa Learning Farms Organization. The Iowa Learning Farms has a tremendous impact towards research and most of what the land-grant states.
...t, funding, and goals, school gardens can be poorly maintained or forgotten. Also, they may not be serving as educational tools unless teachers and administrators provide adequate instruction corresponding to the experiential learning. Without a form of guidance through their gardening observations, students may gain a sense of connection to the environment but they most likely will not develop a deep understanding of natural processes, healthy eating habits, and sustainable community agriculture. From the research, it seems a combination of both direct student experience and teacher instruction is necessary to achieve personal results as well as educational results in students. Neither can be fully effective without the other, but a balance of the two could change students' outlook on food, nutrition, and academics towards a more interconnected view of the world.
For my service learning this semester I worked on Prairie Roots Farms alongside Abby and occasionally one of her two sons. It was an eye opening experience to say the least, working on an organic farm. It was surprising how much I learned about the world by never even leaving the county and I learned even in seemingly developed areas, there are corners of it that operate by farming more than just corn. When I thought of organic farming, I thought of normal industrial farming on a scale that was much smaller and without the use of pesticides. Although I was right about the smaller scales, there was a lot more work to it than I had initially expected. Since I worked there later in the fall, most of what we did was preparing for the next season, but we still had to remove tomato vines, remove and
Ever since I was little, I have loved nature and the creatures that roam in its confines. So to anyone who truly knows me, an environmental studies pathway does not come as a surprise whatsoever. What I like most about this field is the combination of data and action. It allows for warnings and solutions to issues that affect people, animals, and the planet. Knowing the discourse community, a group of people sharing the same communication style to convey information to reach a goal, for this discipline allows me to find the accurate and relevant information to thrive in this area of study.
Outdoor work has always been important to me, both on the farm and off it. As someone who enjoys working with my hands to accomplish something that is challenging and productive, horticulture was a natural field for me to look into as a career. Horticulture requires both physical strength and mental ability that is practical and based on solving a real-life problem, rather than simply being an intellectual exercise or on arbitrary conditions. Horticulture as a term is a rather broad definition of a variety of careers and activities; is it merely backyard gardening or is it biological research culminating in genetically modifying plants for the advancement of our economy and well-being? The answer is honestly both, and in this aspect, horticulture is a rare field of study offering both simple (on the face of it, at least) manual labor and incredibly advanced research and study careers. Horticulture is also rare in that it has ties to both age-old practices and traditions of gardening and plant production and new-age philosophies of environmentalism, research, and science. People have been cultivating plants for decoration and sustenance for millennia, and horticulture is the best term to describe these activities. However, horticulture is also the best description of the work done by scientists, researchers, and educators to advance our knowledge of both how plants grow and develop and how the world can utilize these properties. With that being said, to learn more about careers in horticulture the following research paper will describe the definition of horticulture, the education and qualifications necessary, and the specific careers available in horticulture.
Select one of the following soil problems: lead, pesticides, erosion, flooding, brownfields. Find a rule/law/policy that addresses this problem. Using credible research, write a description of the soil type or specific problem, what is being done and why it makes a difference in the soil. How does the rule/law/policy protect the soil (expected and reality)? Where can this type of problem be found?
Residents of Southern or Coastal California may not realize the extensive issues that dry climate has caused on one of the state’s most profitable industries. Agriculture is not just a way of life in California’s Central Valley, it is the way of life for most, in some shape or form. For instance, the Central Valley accounts for just under two percent of the country’s cropland. However, money wise it produces nearly half of the nation’s fruit and nuts (Nijhuis 1). As a result of the drought, water given to farmers to water crops has been reduced. On the contrary, the water being taken from farmers is not going to city use but for environmental use. Water being directed for environmental use can be defined as water that is used to sustain certain ecosystems, national parks, forests, and wetlands. Up to 4.4 million acre-feet of water goes to environmental use annually, meanwhile farmers are being forced to sell dried up fields and find a new way of living. Another issue is that both the people and farms are receiving less water than the state has contracted that they would receive. The state has been truthful to environmentalists however, by providing them with the full amount of water contracted. While conditions have worsened for the agricultural aspect of California, farmers are finding relief in pumping groundwater
Hence, after working for seven years, I returned to the school to gain more contemporary insight in this field. Today, I am a Civil and Environmental Engineer with a MS in Water Resources Development (WRD) from Bangladesh, and I am pursuing a second master’s in Environmental Studies from FIU. With a suite of technical, ecological, and sociological tools in hand, my hope is to focus these skills by pursuing a PhD in Natural Resource Science and Management. In am interested
home farm. Reducing soil erosion is one of the most important practices on my home farm.
Soils may be formed in place from rock or formed in weathered rock and minerals that have been transported from where the original rock occurred. Soils may be formed in place from rock or formed in weathered rock and minerals that have been transported from where the original rock occurred. are natural media for the growth of plants. They are mixtures of fragmented and partly or wholly weathered rocks and minerals, organic matter, water, and air, in greatly varying proportions, and live more or less distinct layers or horizons developed under the influence of climate and living organisms.
Also, when I was a counselor at the Ecotarium in Worcester Massachusetts, my fellow counselors and I tried to show the campers why preserving the environment is so important. We did this by showing them that the vast majority of our resources, including medicine, wood for houses, and food, come from nature. We showed them how fragile many animals are to changes in the environment. Part of Ecotarium is dedicated to rehabilitating and caring for animals that have been injured in the wild. The campers enjoyed working with the animals and began to realize that many of the causes for the displacement of these animals stemmed from the loss of their habitat due to human intrusion. I feel that incorporating the importance of environmental preservation at a young age is crucial because it well help to establish environmentally-friendly habits.