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CAUSES MONTHLY

PROGRAMS

Welcome to the CAUSES Monthly. This issue celebrates our 2013 graduates and our community education programs. The dual mission of CAUSES to “…offer research based academic and community outreach programs that improve the quality of life and economic opportunity of people and communities in the District of Columbia, the nation, and the world” benefits both our students and local residents.

Our students benefit from the hands-on learning opportunities that our community education programs offer to residents in the diverse neighborhoods of the District. And our community education programs benefit from the energy and experience that our students contribute to elementary and high schools, senior citizen centers and 4H clubs.

CAUSES connects the dots – and not only between academic and community outreach programs, but across programs as well. For example, what does urban agriculture have to do with nursing? And what does architecture have in common with environmental science? This issue of the CAUSES Monthly gives many examples of these connections. The nursing profession is increasingly concerned with health prevention; healthy eating habits play an essential role in prevention; yet even the best diet is of no use if the food itself is low in nutrients. Reducing the distance and time our food travels, changing food growing methods to increase nutrient density, and redesigning neighborhoods so they include spaces for urban agriculture are important aspects of solving our public health problems from obesity to diabetes to food allergies and environmental toxin.

Please let us know how CAUSES can help to connect the dots in your neighborhood to make it more livable

and economically viable.

The Land-Grant Division of the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Science of the University of the District of Columbia (CAUSES) offers research-based community outreach, education and certification programs that improve the quality of life and economic opportunity of people and communities in the District of Columbia. Programs are delivered through five centers:

Center for Urban Agriculture and Gardening

Education;

Center for Sustainable Development which includes

the Water Resources Research Institute;

Center for Nutrition, Diet and Health which includes

the Institute of Gerontology;

Center for 4-H and Youth Development;

Architectural Research Institute.

The Centers offer such diverse services as nutrition education in schools, food safety certifications for those interested in food related careers, green business development workshops, assistance with farmers markets and community gardens, and assessment services that determine soil and water quality, lead contamination and other environmental hazards. In 2012 the five Centers offered over 2,000 programs for more than 39,000 enrolled participants, operated in over 40 DC schools and 20 faith communities, and reached over 300,000 people in all Wards of the District of Columbia. This constitutes a 40% increase of outreach activities since 2011 and exemplifies our commitment to serving the residents of the District of Columbia.

Students enrolled in the academic programs of CAUSES can earn internships and summer employment in the five Land-grant Centers to enhance their learning experience and gain marketable skills. A brief description of the programs and services offered by the five Centers as well as their reach throughout the District of Columbia follows.

For more information please visit www.udc.edu/CAUSES

VOL. 1 NO. 2

Warm regards, Sabine O’Hara Dean & Director of Land-grant Programs

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Celebrating our Graduates!

The 2013 graduating class of the UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences has much to celebrate.

Christopher Lane, graduating Health Education & Public Health major will be

attending the prestigious Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice

to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health.

The graduating seniors of the Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Science program boast a 100% internship

placement rate in the highly competitive national internship program for dieticians and nutritionists. The

program is an important step for graduates to obtain licensure in their field. The 100% placement rate is the highest in the U.S., surpassing the national average of 56% by a wide margin. UDC students were accepted into prestigious programs like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, UVA and Sodexo.

Rising senior and Environmental Science major, Kelli Webster, is already on the fast track to career success. Kelli received a sought-after internship with the Sierra Club and was invited to return after graduation.

Students enrolled in the academic programs of CAUSES can earn internships and summer employment in the five Land-grant Centers to enhance their learning experience and gain marketable skills. A brief description of the programs and services offered through the five Land-grant

Centers follows on pages 6 and 7 of this newsletter.

“CAUSES programs recognize that when we connect our students to people and places right here in our own community we give them the tools to succeed anywhere in the world.” said Dean Sabine O’Hara.

“The credit goes to our faculty members and to the program staff of our land-grant centers. They provide hand-on learning experiences that

really make a difference.”

Congratulations to the Class of 2013!

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Celebrating our Community Partners

UDC ENVIRONMENTORS CHAPTER WINS TOP NATIONAL AWARDS

Three students from the District of Columbia’s School Without Walls earned three of five top national scholarship awards at the 2013 EnvironMentors National Fair, held at the Jamie Whitten Building of the United States Department of Agriculture, Monday, May 20, 2013.

Established in 1992, the EnvironMentors program, prepares high school students from underrepresented communities for college and careers in environmental science,

environmental engineering, and mathematics. The program is offered in collaboration with the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) and links high school students

interested in environmental careers with professionals, faculty members, grad students to mentor the high school students in designing and implementing an environmental science project of their choice. The projects are submitted in different categories including aquatic research, atmospheric research, environmental health, environmental toxins plus an overall category, and a panel of judges evaluates the projects based on criteria including project design, scientific relevance, methodology, and presentation.

The University of the District of Columbia’s EnvironMentors chapter has been in existence since August 2012 and is supported by the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) and its environmental science and 4H & Youth Development programs.

“We are very proud of our EnvironMentors students and their accomplishments” said Dr. Jon Cooper, Project Specialist for Green Technology and coordinator of the UDC EnvironMentors chapter. Their accomplishments are testimony to how effective learning can be when it focuses on solving real-life problems that are relevant and make a difference in people’s lives.” The award winning projects were entitled “Noise Pollution: the Effect of Noise Pollution on Fruit Flies’ Mating Patterns”, “The Effect of Cyanobacteria in the Potomac River on Human Health”, and “The Effects of Pesticides on Indicator Species in Aquatic Environments.”

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CAUSES IN THE COMMUNITY

The University of the

District of Columbia’s College of Agriculture,

Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences

(CAUSES) joined with ReGeneration House of Praise

Church to install a small portable greenhouse, called a Hoop House, in

Southeast Washington, DC. The project, funded through a grant from Wells Fargo Corporation, expands

the church's ability to grow food and host hands-on education and job training events.

"We were able to grow well over 600 lbs of food in our church garden - our Garden of Eden," says

Pastor Cheryl Mitchell Gaines. "This simple moveable Hoop House, and the new growing techniques

we will be able to showcase there, will dramatically increase our capacity to provide fresh, nutritious

food to our neighbors. More importantly, what we are learning from CAUSES will turn our efforts from

feeding people to teaching them how to feed themselves through lucrative business ventures based on

urban agriculture and food production. "

And growing food is just the beginning.

The vision that Pastor Gaines has for her Garden of EDEN –

Everyone Deserves to Eat Naturally -- is that EDEN will serve as a

centerpiece for economic empowerment.

Project EDEN of ReGeneration House of Praise is located at 3754 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., SE

Washington, D.C. 20032 http://www.thechurchinthefield.com/eden.shtml

202-574-1610

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The community garden and farmers market at THEARC, located at 1901 Mississippi Ave., SE in Ward 8 will look different this year. The new addition is a so called Hoop House; a small movable greenhouse built by the University of the District of Columbia College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) with a grant from Wells Fargo. The hoop house will expand THEARC's initiatives to combat public health problems through healthy, locally grown food. The new hoop House will also host job training events and hands on instruction on effective food production methods.

“Urban Agriculture is an important element of the new green economy," says Dr. Sabine

O’Hara, Dean of CAUSES. "With such a large share of the population living in urban centers,

we have to rethink our food system, where and how we grow things. To provide high

nutritional value to our urban populations we have to reduce transportation and grow more

food right here in our urban neighborhoods. This offers opportunities for lucrative

business ventures as well".

THEARC is located at : 1901 Mississippi Ave., SE Washington, DC 20020

202-889-5901

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Center for Nutrition, Diet and Health

Total number of participants served in 2012: Direct Contacts: 266,175 Enrollment: 31,031

The Center for Nutrition, Diet and Health (CNDH) encompasses programs that improve the health and wellness of DC residents by focusing on preventive health though good nutrition, age appropriate diet, exercise and sound food preparation and food processing skills.

Specific programs offered through CNDH include:

DC Professional Food

Managers/Food Handler

Certification Program

District of Columbia Water Blind

Taste Testing Research Project

Expanded Food and Nutrition

Education Program (EFNEP)

DC Faith Communities Served include:

Saint Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church

Union Temple Baptist Church

New Samaritan Baptist Church

Temple of Praise Church

Temple of Praise’s New Day Women Transitional Home for Homeless Women

Greater First Baptist Church

ReGeneration Church In The Field

Miles Memorial CME Church

Unity Baptist Church

Matthews Memorial Church

DCPS Schools Served include:

Bancroft Elementary

Barnard Elementary

Brightwood Education Campus

Bruce-Monroe Elementary

Burrville Elementary

CW Harris Elementary School

Drew Elementary

Ferebee-Hope Elementary

Garfield Elementary

Hendley Elementary

Institute of Gerontology

Total number of participants served in 2012: Enrollment: 741

The Institute of Gerontology is a separate entity within CNDH that focuses specifically on the health and wellness of older populations in the District of Columbia. Specific program include:

Senior Companion/Respite Aid

Bodywise program

In Home Helper Program

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Architectural Research Institute Total number of design and construction projects completed in 2012: 58

The ARI collaborates closely with the District Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHC) to design and/or renovate buildings that serve low income communities and residents. The ARI also provides a real life classroom for UDC Architecture students.

Specific initiatives include:

Building Rehabilitation

Green Building Codes

Urban Planning

Building Health, Lead Abatement and Mold Removal

Construction Project Management

Washington Parks and People

Earth Day Event

Staff members from the UDC CAUSES Centers for ‘Urban Agriculture’ and ‘Sustainable Development’, and Environmental Science Professor, Tom Kakovitch, constructed raised bed gardens, removed invasive plant species, and launched a water-testing experiment at Marvin Gaye Park in NE Washington DC. The Earth Day event was sponsored by ‘Washington Parks and People." Lending their support and labor to the event was United States Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno from the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and members of her staff.

Center for 4-H and Youth Development

Total number of participants served in 2012: Direct Contacts: 16,771

Enrollment: 7,692

Specific programs offered include:

4-H Clubs

4H Living Interactive Family Education (4-H LIFE)

4-H International Networks

4-H Summer Camp

4-H STEM

EnvironMentors Program

Life Smarts Consumer Education for Teenagers

Operation Military Kids

DCPS Schools Served include:

Janney Elementary

Malcolm X Elementary

McKinley Technology High School

Theodore Roosevelt

Calvin Coolidge

Columbia Heights High School

Eastern High School

Cardozo Senior High School

School Without Walls Senior High School

Woodrow Wilson High School

Washington Math and Science Technology PCHS

The Center for 4H &YD provides programs focused on improving life skills, academic skills and support for young people between the ages of 5 and 21 through its nationally recognized 'train the trainer' approach that works with volunteers to meet the needs of children and youth in the District of Columbia.

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CAUSES Dean, Sabine O’Hara, plans to launch similar projects and partnerships throughout the District of

Columbia. Community partnerships have a double benefit according to O’Hara. "They improve the quality of life and

create economic opportunities for residents of the District of Columbia and they are real-life learning opportunities for

our students."