USVI Schools Launch STEAM Farming Program With Federal Grant Support

Four schools in the US Virgin Islands are introducing students to farming and food production through a STEAM-based agriculture program that combines classroom learning with hands-on gardening.

The Virgin Islands Women in Agriculture Association is running the initiative at Church of God Holiness Academy and Ay Ay Academy Home School on St. Croix, and Yvonne E. Milliner-Bowsky Elementary School and the Seventh-day Adventist School on St. Thomas. Students from kindergarten through eighth grade are learning to grow cucumbers, celery, beets and tamarind while studying nutrition and agricultural careers.

The program uses farming to teach science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Students measure garden beds using mathematics, study soil through science, and document observations through writing. Each participating school has received curriculum materials, mini-greenhouses, raised-box gardens and farming equipment purchased with grant funds.

The project is supported by a $59,149.86 federal grant from the US Department of Agriculture's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, awarded to the V.I. Department of Agriculture. The USDA describes the initiative as "Building Youth Capacity for Sustainable Food Security Through S.T.E.A.M. Integration."

Virginia Islands Women in Agriculture Association Founder and Executive Director Diana Collingwood launched the organization in 2021 to build a sustainable agricultural community with women and young people. Collingwood said the work aims to "expose our youth to the wide range of lucrative STEAM careers within the agriculture industry" and help them understand "the process from farm to table, to community health and well-being."

The program culminates this week with three days of Agriculture Literacy events running through September 30. Interactive sessions at the four schools will feature farmer and horticulturist Jeannette Fabio, DJ Carmen Ponce and youth leader Naomi Douglas, alongside program coordinator Joshua-Porter. Students will explore plants, food, farming and agriculture careers through activities designed to deepen their engagement with the subject.

The curriculum materials were developed by Virgin Islands educators following a National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference held in Providence, Rhode Island from June 22 to 25. The materials are now available to teachers throughout the territory. VIWIAA also created a child-friendly coloring and activity book featuring the four crops, production methods, nutrition information and healthy recipes that students can use to share what they have learned with their families and communities.