This project is designed to meet new demands for trained technicians to support the new and growing wine industry in Yavapai County and throughout the Southwest United States. As a result of the project, the first Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Viticulture and Enology degree program in Arizona is being created. Three partner high schools are delivering viticulture courses onsite, providing opportunities for high school students to earn up to 12 college credits while still in high school. The learning environment is being revitalized through the use of teaching laboratories that provide real world, experiential education. Vineyards, including a one acre plot at the college and three 1/3 acre plots at partner high schools, serve as teaching laboratories. A Enology Laboratory is available to students to conduct wine testing and experimentation. The success of the program is being determined by evaluating progress toward meeting measurable objectives related to enrollment; retention; student success (measured by student learning outcomes); and changes in knowledge experienced by high school and post-secondary teachers after training.
Intellectual Merit: The project is advancing knowledge and understanding about growing techniques that contribute to successful grape growing in the high desert regions of the Southwest United States. This knowledge contributes to the overall understanding of sustainable agriculture and natural resource conservation specific to this ecosystem. Development of curriculum, designed to utilize multiple modalities, provides quality teaching materials for use throughout the region. Community college faculty and high school agriscience instructors from around Arizona gain new knowledge about viticulture and enology and industry practices that result in improved teaching practices across the state. Internships and trainings that increase the technical knowledge and skills of secondary and post-secondary agriscience teachers are also provided.
Broader Impacts: The project exposes high school students, through dual enrollment, to college-level agricultural science classes because early exposure to college-level courses is known to increase high school graduation and college enrollment. The project thus creates a career pathway that is resulting in more rural students becoming trained in agriscience technology. The curriculum, enology laboratory, and on-campus vineyards provide the college and partner high schools with resources that are useful across multiple disciplines in food and agricultural sciences and thus enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for many students. The Viticulture and Enology program is responsive to the needs of a new, emerging regional industry in the region. Students gain skills needed to successfully compete for employment, while providing a well trained workforce to the industry. Furthermore, the project is a foundational piece in the creation of the larger Southwest Wine Center, and therefore, leverages the knowledge discovery, information-sharing, industry collaboration, job creation, and economic growth for wine making in Arizona and the entire Southwest region.
Outcomes report The focus of the Growing Our Own project was to lay the foundation for the Southwest Wine Center. The merit of this project was guided by three goals: 1) Meet new demands for trained agriscience technicians to support the relatively new, and growing wine industry in Yavapai County, Arizona, and throughout the Southwest United States. 2) Improve student success through implementation of active, collaborative instructional approaches that incorporate hands-on educational experiences through the use of teaching laboratories. 3) Improve quality of agriscience instruction provided at secondary and community college levels by providing internship opportunities and teacher training. In order to meet these goals the following objectives were established: 1) Build and launch the curriculum for courses that will comprise the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Viticulture and Enology; 2) establishing teaching laboratories (vineyards and an enology lab) to enhance the educational experience and competencies; 3) modifying certain courses for delivery through multiple modalities; 4) develop a college/career pathway for high school students interested in agriscience education; and 5) providing technical training to community college faculty and high school agriscience teachers. Based on the objectives the project had the following outcomes. Curriculum Development: Yavapai College developed six additional courses in enology and launched an Associates Applied Science in Viticulture and Enology. In addition, four courses were modified into multiple modalities that enable both secondary and two-year postsecondary students to access lecture material, video demonstrations, and other supplemental materials online at any given time. In addition a pathway from secondary to postsecondary was created through dual enrollment courses. Teaching Laboratories: Through the project, four teaching vineyards were established. One at Yavapai College’s Verde Valley campus and three at collaborating high schools. These laboratories provided hands-on application for agriscience concepts related to both plant science and viticulture. An enology laboratory was also established on the Verde Valley campus. The enology laboratory allows students to perform tests and experiments on grapes and grape juices. Specific labs were built into sections of a general chemistry class to provide discipline specific applications related to the students program of study. These labs included, but were not limited to, determination of volatile acid concentration, malic acid, fructose & glucose concentrations, titratable acid, SO2, VA and wine pH. This laboratory also allowed students to develop and reinforce scientific competencies associated directly with courses and industry standards. Faculty Internships: Yavapai College faculty and staff participated in multiple week and two-week long internship at local vineyards and wineries to increase their knowledge of real world industry practices. Through the internships, agriscience/viticulture faculty developed relevant and industry current skills associated with establishing and maintaining a vineyard. These included; plant science concepts directly related to cultivation of grape vines and included skills in planting, trellising, pruning, harvesting and integrated pest management. These skills and competencies established through the internships were transferred directly to the classroom and more importantly the students. This will allow our students to be better prepared for current industry practices both in theory and in hands-on skill development. In addition, these internships allowed faculty to network for potential internship/practicum opportunities for our students. Teacher Training: A three-day viticulture/enology seminar was held for 14 secondary school agriscience teachers from throughout the state of Arizona. The focus of this seminar was to advance their knowledge of viticulture science and industry/workplace standards and competencies. Topics covered included viticulture science, establishing a vineyard, maintaining a vineyard and vine propagation.
