Youth Agricultural Education: Alcorn State University

Local youth Kendall Petersen Jr., Sekou George, Anubi Davis Kahina and Akiz Jackman of St. Croix; and Mark Saunders, Monique Fahie and Shamika George of St. Thomas; were selected to attend the VI RC&D-sponsored 2004 Sustainable Agriculture Training Insitute at Alcorn State University (ASU) in Lohrman, Mississippi. The students spent eight weeks (June 7 - July 30, 2004) on the ASU campus learning about different agricultural science fields through classroom lectures, hands-on field and laboratory exercises, and technical tours of the University facilities and surrounding famrs. Funding for the project was provided by a $50,000 grant from the USDA-FS/IITF. For more information about the project, contact the RC&D office at (340) 692-9632 x. 101, or via e-mail: faye.williams@pr.usda.gov.

Bethlehem Old Works Reservoir Emergency Watershed Protection

VI RC&D partnered with USDA-NRCS and the V.I. Department of Agriculture to design, construct and implement emergency watershed protection (EWP) measures at a severely eroded drainage area located down stream of the Bethlehem Pond dam auxiliary spillway on St. Croix. USDA-NRCS provided $298,825 in EWP Program funding, supplemented by a $38,000 Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program grant from DPNR. Funding was used to install best management practices (BMPs), including gabion baskets, erosion control mats and vegetation, to minimize soil erosion and reduce sediment and other pollutant discharges into the Caribbean Sea.

Project Design & Evaluation Training

VI RC&D partnered with the NOAA Coastal Services Center to sponsor an interactive short course to help VI management, education, & outreach professionals increase their project effectivness. The short course, held July 26-30, 2004, provided attendees with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to design and implement projects that have measurable impacts on their target audience. Over 40 participants learned about instructional design theory, needs assessment, project design, performance measures, evaluation design, project development, project implmentation and program design & evaluation. Trainees on both islands were enthusiastic about their learning experience. "Everybody in my office should attend this short course," stated one attendee. "I'm going to use the Logic Model for all my projects from now on!" Eleven (11) new members joined RC&D as a result of the training.

2004 Southeast Regional RC&D Conference

VI RC&D Board members, Dr. Louis Petersen and Errol Chichester, along with RC&D Coordinator, Julie Wright, participated in the 2004 Southeast Regional RC&D Conference, held Septebmer 22-25, 2004 in Savannah, Georgia. They attended training and information sessions and educational tours, and networked with participants from across the Southern region. The VI exhibit they presented displaying photos and information on VI RC&D projects even won thrid place in the State Exhibits contest!