Environmental Horticulture
Mission Statement
The Environmental Horticulture Program provides our students with experiential learning opportunities within a progressive curriculum, linked with internships and community service, to instill the awareness and skills necessary for developing productive futures.
Program Description
This program has one full-time instructor, who is retired last June, and four associate faculty. We have seen level student enrollment, industry interest and collaboration and advisory committee involvement steadily for the past nineteen years. With over 2500 employers in Northern California and ten times that on the west coast, the demand for our students and alumni far outstrips our ability to produce them. Many students enter the workforce prior to completing the program. This fact sometimes leads to problems with enrollment in �capstone� classes, even though annual enrollments average over 450. We currently offer several avenues of education for our students. These avenues are: Certificates of Achievement - Environmental Horticulture, Nursery Technician, Landscape/Turfgrass Technician, and Crop Protection. We also have an Associate of Science Degree - Environmental Horticulture. We are actively creating an A.S. Degree in Viticulture & Winery Management and Certificates of Achievement in Vineyard Management and Winery Operations. The Viticulture and Winery Operations courses were approved by the Chancellor�s Office and are ready for scheduling in future semesters, once the AS degrees and certificates are submitted in spring 2020. The need for irrigation technicians and engineers in California has tripled in recent years due to impending retirements and decreased resources, coupled with higher demands on those resources. We are partnered with other community colleges through California Agriculture Teachers Association (CATA), working on the development of a two new Irrigation Technology Certificates-Beginning and Advanced, with the creation of additional irrigation technology, auditing, and CAD courses. We reviewed the certificate proposal at the Mid Winter Conference in December 2017 and approved it to move forward. Anticipated availability is Fall 2020. Courses currently exist, at Butte, in EH, AGS, DFT, and others to meet the requirements. This situation is similar to the increased need for PCAs (Pest Control Advisers) and CCAs (Certified Crop Advisers) seen in recent years. The additional courses to the Crop Protection curriculum have allowed our students to sit and pass Department of Pesticide Regulations State PCA and CCA exams. These successful students are accepting great internships and jobs all over the west coast in Environmental Horticulture and Production Agriculture. Our EH 66, Orchard Production and Management course, was offered in the fall semester 2017. A new fruit and nut tree orchard, in the old Organic Garden area, is in the planning stages and will assist in having quality on-campus laboratories for this class. EH 62 Weed Science and Invasive Species is being offered for the fifth time this semester, Spring 2020, and is now taught face-to-face. Another new course, EH 23 Fall Plant Identification was offered in Fall 2017 with high success and retention. We host four active clubs on campus. The Environmental Horticulture Club is the oldest club on campus. The Western Heritage and Agriculture Association is a four year old club now. In 2018 we started a Beekeeping Club to meet the extreme demand for knowledge about bees and their very necessary roll in agriculture, conservation and sustainability. The demand is so strong that we will move forward with re-kindling our Beekeeping class.
Student Learning/Administrative Unit Outcomes
It’s apparent that scaffolding assignments leads to better outcomes for our EH classes. For all
classes from the online PCA courses to irrigation to viticulture to greenhouse production,
students are finding success when starting with small projectsand over the course of the
semester combining these smaller projects into a large project (e.g., poinsettia crop scheduling
and irrigation bids).Bridging between classes is important to make connections between
subjects.
Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (Instruction Departments)
Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (All Other Departments)
We are working with our high school partners to recruit.
Strategic Direction
We are actively monitoring our students to ensure that they continue to attend and complete.
Program Review
Most of the latest Program Review recommendations have been implemented. We are continuing to work on adding more irrigation technology classes and certificates as this area of industry is in strong need of trained technicians. Currently, we are partners with California Agricultural Irrigation Association, California Landscape Contractor's Association, Irrigation Association, California Farm Bureau, several irrigation equipment manufacturers, educators throughout California, and many local industry partners to train students to fill the demand for technicians.
We are moving forward with the Viticulture/Enology and Landscape Irrigation Technician degrees and certificates, at least the parts of it that are in our control. At our last Advisory Committee meeting , there was unanimous support to complete that program as originally envisioned. If cooperation is given, we can have that entire program, complete with three certificates, in place by this fall. We were also given the green light by the Advisory Committee to complete our Hydroponic Greenhouse and the class to teach its operation. We are working on finishing the electrical installation as funding becomes available, and the course will be written soon. Students have high interest in this type of operation as it is becoming more useful and recognized world-wide. You can produce high quality food and a good income without the need for quality real estate and soil. This class will be full immedietely upon its offering.
These portions of the program are actually on hold awaiting the completion of our Departmrnt of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Farm Plan.
Department Goals
Future Development Strategies
Strategy 1 - Hire a full-time tenure track faculty for Environmental Horticulture
The only full-time faculty member and Chair of the Environmental Horticulture Program is retiring in June 2020. Eventhough the retirement notice met the early deadline, 12 September 2019, this position was not prioritized for re-hire by district leadership. This decision leaves this program without faculty leadership and puts greater burden on existing Agriculture staff and the Agriculture & Environmental Sciences Department Chair to assume duties on top of what they are already responsible for - probably without any additional compensation or re-assign time.
Initiatives
- Modeling Sustainability
- Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Goal Achievement
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
- Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
Supporting Rationale
The Agriculture & Environmental Sciences Department has suffered through several years of being under staffed, both by full-time faculty and technicians. After finally getting back to our full faculty level this past fall, we are again facing being understaffed for 2020-2021.
The retiring faculty member has usually been the sole representative of this school at California Farm Bureau as well as serving on three to four local high school Agriculture Advisory Committees. Who will assume those duties?
The additional burden of duty to whoever becomes our next Department Chair, in a few months, is daunting.
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: Yes
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: Yes
Supports PLOs: Yes
Supports ILO - Think Critically: Yes
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: Yes
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: Yes
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Strategy 2 - Reinstate Ag Staff Technician positions to 100% contract
Increase the Agriculture and Environmental Sciences staff positions (1st - Environmental Horticulure Technician and 2nd - Farm Manager) to 100%, 40-hour work week contracts and pay.
Our programs have an additional need for secretarial support as well.
Initiatives
- Modeling Sustainability
- Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Goal Achievement
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
- Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
- Enhancing a Culture of Equity and Inclusiveness
Supporting Rationale
Agriculture does not stop at 5pm or take weekends off. It is critical that our Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Department staff members get their salaries and work time increased to 100% since their services are critical to the success of the faculty, students, and entire Agriculture Department. When equipment breaks down, staff mechanics must be available to fix and maintain it, so classes and labs can use it.
The Environmental Horticulture Technician helps to set up laboratory exercises, procures materials and maintains inventory to support the labs, along with having the duties of maintaining the greenhouses and nursery. She supports many activities across this campus that are not part of our course schedules as well.
The Farm Technician/Manager works to maintain the farming operations, outside of what the students can accomplish during lab work. His work helps to keep our field laboratorioes in good condition and available for quality 'hands on' learning for our students. He is also tasked with much of the maintenance of our Wildlife Refuge, especially the riparian corridors.
These are the key support personnel that allow our departments to continue to run smoothly. Faculty don't have the luxury of switching lab activities at the last minute because a piece of equipment is down or crops were not planted, irrigated, fertilized, or sprayed.
We all have to pay the price of inconvienence and lost learning opportunities as a result of their reduced work contracts.
They have to pay the price of deteriorated morale, smaller pay checks and decreased retirement benefits.
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: Yes
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: Yes
Supports PLOs: Yes
Supports ILO - Think Critically: No
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: No
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: No
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Strategy 3 - Student Assistant Budget
The amount of physical labor needed to maintain our facilities is out of bounds with the time allocated to our technicians to do so.
Initiatives
- Modeling Sustainability
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
- Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
Supporting Rationale
The majority of our courses have extensive laboratories each week in our nursery, greenhouses and field labs. This all needs consistent maintenance, that our technicians (on reduced contracts) struggle to keep up. With instructor demands and the aging of our physical facilities demanding more time, it helps immensely to have a couple paid student assistants working alongside our technicians.
Our plant sale revenues only facilitate paying one twenty hour per week assistant.
Federal Work Study students are usually not Horticulture/ Agriculture majors, so when the work gets hard, they dissapear leaving us without help that we planned for in our work schedule.
Having a District supported budget for paid student assistants that we can choose, based on major and proven performance would improve efficiencies vastly.
Allowing our students to experience a paid job not only helps them to take care of their bills, but to do so within their chosen field, therby giving them the experience many of them need to aquire permanent jobs outside of Butte College.
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: No
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: No
Supports PLOs: No
Supports ILO - Think Critically: Yes
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: Yes
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: Yes
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Strategy 4 - Fixing/upgrading classroom technology
our technology is old and out of date. the overhead projector shakes and the image shakes which is annoying for students
Initiatives
- Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Goal Achievement
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
Supporting Rationale
Our computer, projector, speakers, etc are old and do not function well
They need replacing in order to facilitate better student learning and success.
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: No
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: Yes
Supports PLOs: Yes
Supports ILO - Think Critically: No
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: No
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: No
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Strategy 5 - Facility improvements
Irrigation and greenhouse repairs
Initiatives
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
Supporting Rationale
The irrigation systems in the EH area are very old and need replacement to serve our students and staff needs better. if we add a water filtration system it would stop emitters from plugging and allow for remote irrigation, that in turn would eliminate special trips to the college to irrigate.
Our buildings are in need of some repairs as well, the coverings have a limited lifetime and have surpassed it
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: No
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: Yes
Supports PLOs: Yes
Supports ILO - Think Critically: No
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: No
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: No
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: Yes
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Strategy 6 - Secretarial Support
Additional secretarial support is needed for our growing Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Department.
Initiatives
- Enhancing a Culture of Completion and Goal Achievement
- Supporting Student, Faculty and Staff Success
- Maximizing Resources to Support Student Learning
Supporting Rationale
As we have added new Courses, Certificates and Programs to our department, many of which are supported with grants, the need for help with the paperwork has grown too. Additional secretarial support would help expedite P.O. payments, budget transfers, travel paperwork and other necessary documentations.
Supporting Rationale Alignment
Supports the College's Strategic Direction and Priorities: Yes
Supports Program Review Recommendations: No
Supports Course level SLOs: No
Supports PLOs: No
Supports ILO - Think Critically: No
Supports ILO - Communicate Competently: No
Supports ILO - Engage Collaboratively: No
Supports ILO - Work Effectively: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Credentials: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Transfer: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Time to Degree: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Employment in field of Study: No
Supports Meeting Vision for Success Goal - Reducing Equity Gaps: No
Requested Non-Financial Resources
EH 26 (Landscape Planning and Design, EH 38 (Greenhouse Production) and EH 74 (Irrigation System Design) would benefit from the use of a computer lab during the crop scheduling exercises and the design exercises. Use of CAD software would allow successful students to attain valuable and sellable skills that are required for these jobs. This would enable all students to be on their specialty software programs at the same time for more efficient use of instruction.
The number one request of our industry partners and Advisory Committees is to expose students to 'Precision Agriculture'. These instruments, sensors and applications, even if donated, need computer lab space to teach them and the computers need enough software bandwidth to run them.
As our Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Department programs expand, we have experienced some minor difficulties finding classrooms in which to teach.
Current Financial Resources
We do make some money with the plant sales from the nursery operations. Any monies made from the income account go right back out to support materials, equipment and especially student assistant labor to keep this department afloat. The small portion of our budget for student asistants ( $1100) was cut in 2009 and did not come back, so any paid student assistant payroll must come from revenue accrues from plant sales.
The District budget allocated from year to year has never met the needs of this program. We have used Perkins funds, along with the District funds to get us through about 4/5ths of each year. We have calculated the enology classes and wine sales could provide additional revenue to our program, making it a self-sustaining program and have changed from organic to sustainable practices in the vineyard to increase yield, thereby increasing revenue.
Our industry partners have previously wanted to host a fundraiser for the winemaking program in years past, which we feel would reap great benefits, however this program has not come to fruition yet. When we submit the Viticulture & Winery Management AS degree this spring, perhaps this can be done next fall.
We anticipate decreased plant sales the next few years due to the Camp Fire. Many of our best customers were Paradise, Magalia and Concow residents.
Augmentation Requests
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Environmental Horticulture/Agriculture & Environmental Sciences | Personnel | $0.00 | $13,581.00 | ||
| Restoring all staff members in the Agriculture Department to 100% funded positions. | There are two classified staff that support all of the agriculture programs and labs, along with many cross-campus duties. Two have not been restored to full salaries since the cuts ten years ago. This has detrimental impacts to morale as well as unavailability of those staff certain hours per week as they don't get paid to be here all week. Many times, we need their help and expertise when they are not here. This leads to frustration of faculty and loss of student learning and success in many instances. |
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| 2 | Environmental Horticulture | $12,000.00 | $0.00 | |||
| Irrigation equipment | We need to perform irrigation repairs and add a new system to our new greenhouse |
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| 3 | EH | Equipment | $7,500.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Portable sprayer | We need an air blast sprayer for applications on the farm and for teaching students how to calculate application rates and speeds for an air blast sprayer. The tank on our old sprayer is rusting out and it utilizes older technology that our students will probably never see in industry. |
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| 4 | Environmental Horticulture | Facilities | $12,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Irrigation control systems | The irrigation controller at the vineyard is no longer working and the citrus block has never had one which is creating all kinds of issues. Facilities has asked that we update our equipment so that we can more efficiently irrigate and monitor our water usage to meet State mandates. With these new systems our students will be able to have a better learning experience by being able to use modern technology to monitor and track our irrigation patterns. |
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