1 A Curriculum for Initiating Personal and Community ChangeGrowing Your Future A Curriculum for Initiating Personal and Community Change Aaron Gronseth Michele Leininger Kelly McDowell David Nelson

2 A question to consider:What strategies can we use to encourage partnerships to work with community

3 Goal Through a community garden curriculum, adolescent participants will develop an orientation to the future by focusing on the community environment, personal skill development, and health

4 Study Aims Implement a summer curriculum using a community garden project Test the effectiveness of the curriculum Develop youth-focused strategies to promote advocacy for healthy lifestyles in Milwaukee

5 Background Multiple sectors of the community need to be engaged and working together – Community Engagement in Research (CEnR) Include individual community members, but also community-based organizations, schools, researchers and even the media The ecological systems theory recognizes that individuals are shaped by multiple factors including beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of family, friends and the community context where the person lives

6 Community Model Ecological Systems Theory – Davison and Birch, 2001

7 Background Milwaukee ranks fourth highest among US cities for childhood poverty Due to multiple factors, health disparities in Milwaukee are greater than in the rest of the state. 29% of low-income children between 2 and 5 years and approximately 28,000 youth are overweight or obese in the city More needs to be done to reduce and prevent childhood obesity and to improve the health of the community

8 Background The eight UNCOM partner agencies, all located within the city of Milwaukee, serve a diverse population. Over 900 staff members and over 3,000 volunteers at the eight partner agencies provide vital services including early childhood education, family support services, after-school and summer programs Last year, the UNCOM agencies served more than 41,000 youth and 21,000 adults UNCOM agencies strive for positive change in these challenged Milwaukee neighborhoods.

9 Methods Community-Industry-Academic PartnershipProject Development -- $800 idea Pilot project Multiple forms of engagement Iterative process Nominal group voting Locations and recruitment

10 Methods “Making the beds…” Pre and Post DesignDemographics – food questions from YRBS Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale – Youth (NEWS-Y) My Concerns Survey Growing Your Future Survey 12 week gardening and “Future Orientation” curriculum Post Test and Qualitative Listening Session

11 methods Gardening Future Orientation1 Introduction and Expectations Measurement 2 Gardening Basics Understanding the Built Environment 3 Soil, Plants and Conservation Community Aesthetic 4 Rain Barrels and Water Career Goals 5 Group Model Building Group Model Building 6 Nutrition Session Number 1 Personal Development and Customer Service 7 Food Preparation Marketing, Product Placement and Business Plan 8 Nutrition Session Number 2 Lifetime Fitness and Health 9 Group Messaging Session Group Messaging Session 10 Nutrition Session Number 3 “Imagine Your Community – Stop and Go” 11 Harvest Time “What This Summer Meant To Me” – Look to the Future 12 Ending the Garden Season Wrap Up and Follow Up

12 Curriculum Life Skills & Personal DevelopmentWisconsin Beverage Association Career Goals Self Presentation Customer Service Marketing Product Placement Business Plans

13 Curriculum Health & Wellness Lesson Plan Development-Snackingkidshealth.org, healthy corner store initiative, nutrition lessons Discussing why we snack and what choices we make Evaluating commonly available snacks Activity Involvement by the Wisconsin Beverage Association

14 Results -- DemographicsVariable Result (N=38) - PRE Result (N=25) -POST Age Range= 13-17 Mode=13 Race African American = 65% Caucasian/Hispanic=30% Other (Native American or Hawaiian Pacific Islander=5% African American = 64% Caucasian/Hispanic=36% Gender Female = 60% Male=40% Female = 56% Male=44% Juice Consumed 2 servings per day 2.5 servings per day Fruit Consumed 3.16 servings per day 2.92 servings per day Green Salad Consumed 1.76 servings per day 2.16 servings per day

15 Results – demographics cont.Variable Result (N=38) PRE Result (N=25) POST Carrots Consumed 1.4 servings per day 1.76 servings per day Other Vegetables Consumed 1.8 servings per day 2.36 servings per day Soda Consumed 3.04 sodas per day 2.60 sodas per day Days per week active for 60 minutes 5.6 days physically active for 60 minutes or more per week 4.68 days physically active for 60 minutes or more per week Hours of TV Time per day 4.28 hours per day 4.16 hours per day Hours of Video Games per day 3.60 hours per day 3.20 hours per day Involvement with Number of Teams 2.44 per week 2.36 per week

16 Results – Grow Your FutureStatement Average Response Average Likert* Score- PRE Average Likert* Score POST “I have clear career goals” Agree 1.72 1.28 “I know what employers look for in an employee” 1.65 1.56 “I know what it means to provide good customer service” “I can recognize a business plan” 2.20 2.08 “I know how to create a business plan” Unsure 2.64 2.40 “I know the difference between a weed and a non-weed” 1.84 “I know how to cook nutritious meals” 2.00 “I can describe where food comes from” 2.31 1.88 “I can read a food label” 1.64 “I know the definition of a food desert” 2.34 2.12 “I know what it means to have good health” Strongly Agree 1.34 1.40 1=Strongly Agree, 2=Agree, 3=Unsure, 4=Disagree, 5=Strongly Disagree

17 Results – My concerns PreNumber (N=38) Percent Skills to get a job 17 45% Their Anger/Temper 16 42% Having enough money 15 39% Their Body 14 37% Their Vision Their Stomach 13 34% Getting into College Their Hair 12 32% Acne

18 Results – My concerns - POSTNumber (N=25) Percent Skills to get a job 10 40% Eating too much junk food 9 36% Getting into College 8 32% Their Anger/Temper 7 28% Getting career counseling Having enough money Going to school 6 24% Pressure to get good grades Family using drugs/OH

19 Results – News-Y -- SignificanceIncreased awareness of types of homes p=.012 Decreased awareness of a lack of services p=.030 Females increased awareness of safety issues p=.001

20 Implications and lessons learnedNeighborhood centers & the bottlers association relationship was successful and productive Participation was good and youth were interested Involvement of the distributors was a welcome experience Youth met new people Toured the distributors companies Experienced business planning and product placement. Exposed to employment options Recognizing each site is unique – not “one size fits all” Different resources Levels of experience differ Exposed to opportunities offered through visits to other centers Poverty rates and cultural settings also differ *Through the tours of the bottling plants were exposed to employment options about which they would not likely have known without this opportunity

21 Implications and lessons learnedYouth learned about nutrition, Increased willingness to try new foods Enjoyed the recipes and cooking. Traveled to the farmers’ market in Madison All heightened their awareness of the challenges faced by urban youth. Life parallels to gardening Value of hard work Things work in cycles Sometimes things (like weather) are beyond control Success often reflects interdependence

22 Challenges Start-up was slow. – issues with IRBCoordination among the sites was challenging. Summer heat and draught were challenges for any gardener. Getting raised beds and soil took longer than expected.  Youth’s familiarity & experience with healthy cooking was more limited than expected.

23 Challenges Families often did not have many of the basics of cookingYouth had limited exposure to fresh vegetables. Protecting the food and plants from being stolen was an issue Heightened awareness of the need for food around the neighborhood centers. Distributor mentors were generally not experienced in working with urban youth and needed to experiment with effective ways to communicate. The sales aspect of the program was not equally appealing. For some sites, giving the food away was more appropriate

24 Plans for 2013 Action Date Finalize Remaining Budget 4/9/2013Action Date Finalize Remaining Budget 4/9/2013 Confirm w/Distributors & Nutritionist 4/12/2013 Get checks to Centers for Supplies Plant seeds indoors 4/19/2013 Approx. Prepare gardens & plant outdoors 5/1/2013 Discuss project w/potential participants 5/15/2013 Consent 2013 GYF participants wk of 6/17/13 First Session & Pre-surveys 1st Nutrition Session wk of 7/8/13 Skyline Youth Farmers Market - Starts wk of 7/15/13 Group Model Building wk of 7/22/13 2nd Nutrition Session wk of 7/29/13 Possible Field trip wk of 8/5/13 Last Session & Post-surveys wk of 8/12/13

25 Thank you! David Nelson, PhD [email protected] Michele LeiningerKelly McDowell

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32 A question to consider:What strategies can we use to encourage partnerships to work with community