Closer to Home: HSI grant funds urban sustainable agriculture and ecosystem science

USA Today

25-04-2025

Closer to Home: HSI grant funds urban sustainable agriculture and ecosystem science
Seeking more resources for her students, Arizona State University (ASU) professor Heather Bateman submitted an application for the Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) 2024 Education Grants Program of the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Creativity and innovation are essential in food and agricultural sciences education, and the grant program delivers that, Irma Lawrence, national program leader for NIFA's Division of Community and Education says.
Bateman's proposal, 'Growing Gardens, Growing Minds: Experiential Learning in Urban Sustainable Agriculture and Ecosystem Science,' resulted in a grant of almost $400,000 as one of 21 projects awarded across 10 states.
Other awarded institutions include Texas A&M University, Metropolitan State University of Denver and the University of New Mexico. Approximately 600 HSIs represent about 5 million students, Lawrence says.
'The need for food increases as the global population increases,' she says. 'We need more students to be involved and trained as professionals in food, agriculture, natural resources and nutrition sciences by offering classes where there weren't any.'
Hands-On Work
Bateman is a senior sustainability scientist and professor in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State's nearly 10,000-student Polytechnic campus in Mesa, Ariz. Her grant application noted that urban and exurban areas are the fastest-growing ecosystems on Earth.
'Building sustainable agriculture systems to support these populations will require a workforce skilled in innovation and critical thinking to build equitable solutions,' she wrote.
Bateman relishes mentoring students to achieve those goals. 'I watch them mature and develop as scientists as they work in open spaces outside,' she says. 'They ask questions about reducing water use, and about how to grow native plants that are good for hummingbirds, bees and for our food supply and well-being.'
Under the grant, students participate in experiential learning in biology, agriculture, natural resources and social-ecological systems from first year to graduate level.
The grant program will include underrepresented students conducting research with faculty mentors. 'This program will leverage garden and greenhouse facilities and campus partnerships,' Bateman says.
Learning What Plants Do
Most of the grant funding will support the Polytechnic campus, which has established raised garden beds and will create indoor vertical gardens. At ASU's 3,500-student West Valley campus in Glendale, Ariz., Ken Sweat, a teaching professor at the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences in its School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, is also excited about the possibilities.
'Each part of the grant is uniquely crafted to meet needs and requirements of both campuses,' he says. 'We've wanted a garden at this campus for 20 years and planted our first few raised beds in September 2020 on a shoestring budget. Learning 'what plants do' in a garden teaches things students can't quantify on paper.'
A fall 2024 ceremony celebrated the formal opening of the garden, says Rae Stusen, an ASU West Valley environmental science major who helped lead funding and research for the gardens.
Stusen and fellow supporters wrote the proposal that initially established the four-bed garden. 'Our group meets to discuss watering schedules, maintenance, inventory and characteristics of the plants,' Stusen says.
The new grant will allow for more garden beds, along with hosed plumbing for watering.
With a nod to Indigenous science, Sweat says principles of holistic and ancient Ayurvedic medicine, which originated in India and is also practiced in many Latin American countries, will be utilized in teaching, including the use of products mainly derived from plants.
One project under consideration: 'Looking at the full life cycle of a plant such as holy basil (kapoor tulsi), we'll ask, 'Can you actually grow it and harvest enough seeds so that you do not need to buy more to start the next crop?''
This spring, Stusen and team plan to grow 'the Three Sisters' — corn, squash and beans — an ancient planting system used by some Native American communities because the crops work in harmony to help each other thrive and are considered to be physical and spiritual sustainers of life.
'We want to educate others about farming practices prior to the establishment of ASU,' Stusen says. 'We'll grow peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard greens, radishes and carrots, and not just for students. When we have higher yield, we'll reach out to surrounding residents in need.'
Lawrence hopes the grants 'inspire more people to get engaged, and to be more productive and intentional about the way we produce food.'
'We're planting seeds of knowledge and nurturing minds to flourish and grow,' she says.