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Agroecological Project Progress Report

The document is a progress report from five students detailing their contributions to local agricultural projects. They planted crops and performed maintenance at a university garden, farm, and home garden over several months. Their goals were to promote agriculture and show it can be done with limited resources. COVID-19 restrictions limited their time at sites. The report documents their activities and concludes their service helped develop an understanding of agriculture's importance.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
18 views23 pages

Agroecological Project Progress Report

The document is a progress report from five students detailing their contributions to local agricultural projects. They planted crops and performed maintenance at a university garden, farm, and home garden over several months. Their goals were to promote agriculture and show it can be done with limited resources. COVID-19 restrictions limited their time at sites. The report documents their activities and concludes their service helped develop an understanding of agriculture's importance.

Uploaded by

api-550745418
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce

English Department

Date: May 17th, 2021


To: Professor Pier A. Le Compte Zambrana
From: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles, Alberto C. Pagán, María J. Paz Ruiz, Daniela
Quiles Méndez, and Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual
Subject: Progress Report about our contribution to “Huerto Atabey”,
“Productos Montemar”, and the creation of a home garden.

Introduction

The elaboration of this group work consisted of making a progress report that details
each one of the particular activities that each member of this team carried out. First, a summary
will be presented that aims to show the strategies that were considered to assertively accomplish
this work. In fact, it is the project background, work planned, and work completed sections that
have the objective of precisely explaining the logistics that was finally implemented to meet
all the criteria and requirements of this work. Then, we will be presenting the goals and
limitations that we were able to identify as a group while we were completing our tasks; this in
order to present a general panorama of the expectations proposed to be fulfilled in this project,
and to highlight the limiting factors that influenced the execution of our work. Subsequently, a
future projection is presented that attempts to establish an idea of the importance of continuing
with this type of pro-environmental activities. The summary concludes with the purpose of
presenting the general details that, below, will be precisely explained and justified with
appendices that present evidence on: service log, minutes, images of the completed work and
finally the individual reflections of each member of this group. Without any more preamble,
we present the report that shows the progress of this agroecological work.

Project Background

The Technical Writing course (ENGL 4021) is a prerequisite course for all
undergraduate students from the Biology Department in the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce.
In this course, the students learned the essential technical writing techniques and the different
formats to be used when writing a technical document. As part of the requirements of this
course offered by professor Pier A. Le Compte, students must complete a minimum of four
hours of community service at an agroecological farm or create a home garden during the
semester, as well as writing a progress report that contains a correct application of the technical

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skills learned during the semester to make our experience known. Therefore, Mariliz M.
Oliveras Febles, María J. Paz Ruiz, and Daniela Quiles Méndez attended “Huerto Atabey” at
the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce. Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual visited “Products
Montemar” and Alberto C. Pagán created an at home garden.

Work Planned

During the semester these were the activities performed to complete the project, which
was carried out from January to May 2021.

April-May: All the members completed the minimum service hours.


May 6th: A Google Drive document was created to gather all the documents.
May 15th: The document was revised, and all the errors were corrected.
May 17th: Submission of the final project.

Work Completed

The students of the group #3 participated in some tasks that were arranged to complete
the goals on each farm or at the home garden. To accomplish these goals, we did the following
tasks:

I. Planting
A. María J. Paz Ruiz and Daniela Quiles Méndez planted sweet pepper and Dahlia
flowers at “Huerto Atabey”.
B. Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles replanted the plants in the tires, that way the students
could take them home for the summer.
C. Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual planted palms trees at “Productos Montemar” farm.
D. Alberto C. Pagán planted bean seeds in his home orchard.

II. Maintenance
A. Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles watered all the plants at “Huerto Atabey”.
B. Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles cleaned the garden with a rake and removed all the weeds.
C. Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual removed the weeds at “Productos Montemar” farm.
D. María J. Paz Ruiz cleaned out the old soil from a tire to use as a new planter.
E. Daniela Quiles Méndez used a hoe to create a space for a new tire planter.

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F. Alberto C. Pagán watered his crops twice for thirty days.

Goals

By going to the Atabey Garden, “Productos Marimar” and creating a home garden, our
goal was to promote the importance of agriculture as an irreplaceable part of society. In addition
to that, we want to emphasize that it is not necessary to have a lot of materials or have extreme
skills to be able to do our part and help to continue developing agriculture.

Limitations

The main limitation for this project was COVID-19. Due to the pandemic the time that
the students could spend at “Huerto Atabey” was very limited. Also, there was a limit of
students that could go in one day, making it very difficult to attend the orchard. Another
limitation is that the farms are very far away and the students most of the time faced
transportation issues.

Future Projections

This experience has fulfilled its objective of impacting on the importance of promoting
agricultural habits, at the level of recognizing that these learned skills must be perfected, in
order to be able to extrapolate and apply them even in the garden of our home. In this way,
instead of making a progress report, the idea would be to be part of the progress by contributing
with actions that promote agricultural activities. It would even be an objective to find a way to
involve more members with precisely this type of environmental projects, by guiding in order
to educate on the importance of retaking these practices that are sorely lacking in Puerto Rico,
as in other countries in the world that have a consumer economy rather than a production one.

Conclusion

The purpose of this progress report was to document the work done by the members of
this group regarding the community service hours required for it. Of the five members, three
went to Atabey Garden at the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce, one made his own vegetable
patch, and one went to the “Productos Montemar” farm. The work period was from April to
May, and the tasks performed included planting/plowing, garden cleaning, weeding, watering,
sowing, composting, seedling creation and chopping. Engaging in these activities provided

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insight about the importance of agriculture and the benefits that are obtained by practicing it.
The members helped with the development of the “Coalición Estudiantil Pro-Agricultura”
(CEPA) and “Productos Montemar” projects. Each project is currently under development,
looking to positively impact this vital part of society and its economic and environmental
growth.

Appendix A

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Service Log of the group members: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles, Alberto C. Pagán, María J. Paz
Ruiz, Daniela Quiles Méndez, and Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual

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Appendix B
Minutes of the group meetings.

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Appendix C

Photos of the members: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles, Alberto C. Pagán, María J. Paz
Ruiz, Daniela Quiles Méndez, and Rosenid K. Quiñones working in the orchards.

Figure 1: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles refilling the water bottles of the tree at “Huerto Atabey”.
Yarimar Aponte López took the photo.

Figure 2: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles cleaning and watering the pumpkin plant.
Yarimar Aponte López took the photo.

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Figure 3: Mariliz M. Oliveras Febles raking the leaves at “Huerto Atabey”.


Yarimar Aponte López took the photo.

Figure 4: Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual planting palms trees at “Productos Montemar” farm.
Gabriel O. Olivero Mangual took the photo.

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Figure 5: Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual removing weeds at “Productos Montemar” farm.


Gabriel O. Olivero Mangual took the photo.

Figure 6: Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual sifting compost at “Productos Montemar” farm.


Gabriel O. Olivero Mangual took the photo.

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Figure 7: Daniela Quiles Méndez pouring soil into a pot to plant sweet pepper seeds at
“Huerto Atabey”.
María José Paz Ruiz took the photo.

Figure 8: Daniela Quiles Méndez using a hoe to create a space for a new tire planter.
María José Paz Ruiz took the photo.

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Figure 9: María J. Paz Ruiz planting Dahlia flower seeds at “Huerto Atabey”.
Daniela Quiles Méndez took the photo.

Figure 10: María J. Paz Ruiz cleaning out the old soil from a tire to use as a new planter.
Daniela Quiles Méndez took the photo.

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Figure 11: María J. Paz Ruiz (left) and Daniela Quiles Méndez (right) chopping yuca
harvested in the vegetable patch.
Professor Pier A. LeCompte Zambrana took the photo.

Figure 12 - 13: The left shows the selection of bean seeds for cultivation, while the right
shows the result of having wrapped the seeds in a paper towel and sprinkling them with water
to facilitate their hatching.
Alberto Pagán took the photo.

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Figure 14 - 15: On the left, seeds are shown hatched after six days providing water once a
day; on the right, it is shown that the hatched seed was grown in 10 plastic containers with
soil: 5 of the containers had openings at the base and 5 containers had no opening at the base.
Alberto Pagán took the photo.

Figure 16 - 17: On the left, the germination of the crop is shown after 5 days of having
grown and every day water was poured into it twice; while the right shows the germination of
the seeds after 10 days.
Alberto Pagán took the photo.

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Figure 18 - 19: On the left, the germination of the crop is shown after 15 days of having
grown it; while the right shows the germination of the seeds after 20 days.
Alberto Pagán took the photo.

Figure 20 - 21: Both images show different results at 30 days: on the left, the crops already
transferred to the plot of land in my home garden are shown, while on the right, the 5
containers that lacked openings at the base are shown with the withered crops.
Alberto Pagán took the photo

Appendix D

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Self-Reflection of the project

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Common questions

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The students' experience highlights the importance of integrating practical application with theoretical knowledge to enhance learning outcomes. Through their hands-on activities at "Huerto Atabey" and "Productos Montemar," students could apply the technical writing skills learned in class to real-world scenarios, such as creating detailed reports and documenting tasks . This practical engagement provided insights into the agricultural sector that theoretical learning alone might not offer . It demonstrates that bridging the gap between theory and practice not only reinforces learning but also fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for comprehensive educational development .

The project's success heavily relied on individual contributions, as each member carried out specific tasks crucial for the overall progress. For example, María J. Paz Ruiz and Daniela Quiles Méndez focused on planting activities like sweet peppers and maintaining new planters at "Huerto Atabey," while Rosenid K. Quiñones Mangual contributed by planting palm trees at "Productos Montemar" . Alberto C. Pagán's commitment to creating a home garden highlighted the project's adaptability to diverse contexts . These individual tasks collectively met the project goals of promoting the importance of agriculture, showing that individual agency within a structured team effort is essential in accomplishing complex projects .

The progress report was structured to include sections like project background, goals, work planned, and work completed, which provided a clear framework for documenting both achievements and challenges. This organization helped in detailing the logistics and activities undertaken to meet the project objectives . By including sections on limitations and future projections, the report effectively communicated the challenges faced, such as COVID-19 restrictions, and proposed future engagement strategies . Visual evidence and detailed appendices further reinforced the accomplishments, making the report comprehensive and informative .

The project management strategies were effective as they ensured the successful completion of both the agricultural tasks and the technical documentation required by the course. By meeting specific deadlines like the submission on May 17th, and organizing the work through tools like Google Drive for documentation, students maintained clear and constant communication . They effectively allocated tasks according to each member's strengths and schedules, which allowed for efficient resource use despite the pandemic-related limitations . This strategic planning and execution met both the practical and technical criteria of the course, showcasing effective project management .

The project was designed to highlight the critical role of agriculture by actively engaging students in real-world agricultural activities. By participating in tasks such as planting, maintenance, and composting, students were exposed to the practicalities and challenges of agricultural work . The project's goals also emphasized on education, aiming to shift perceptions from a consumer-centric view to one that values production and self-sustenance . This was aimed at fostering a deeper appreciation for agriculture's societal importance and encouraging sustainable practices, which are often overlooked in consumer economies .

The students demonstrated their technical writing skills by preparing a detailed progress report that provided a comprehensive overview of the project. The report included sections such as project background, goals, limitations, and future projections . They ensured accurate documentation of their activities through a service log, minutes of their meetings, and self-reflections, as well as visual evidence through photographs . This structured approach reflects the teaching of organizing complex information effectively and communicating it clearly, which are key components of technical writing .

Individual creativity played a significant role in accomplishing tasks by allowing students to adapt and improvise solutions for various challenges. For instance, Daniela Quiles Méndez created new planter spaces and utilized existing resources creatively to plant sweet peppers . Alberto C. Pagán showed innovation in his approach to planting seeds at home, adjusting methods to improve germination rates, such as experimenting with different container designs . These examples underscore how creativity enabled students to think beyond standard practices, optimizing their efforts and finding efficient ways to meet project goals within the constraints they faced .

The project aimed to influence community engagement by involving students directly in agricultural practices that they could share within their communities. By documenting their activities and reflecting on the experience in progress reports, they contributed to raising awareness about the importance and accessibility of agriculture . The development of skills such as gardening and maintenance empowered students to act as advocates for sustainability, encouraging their peers and community members to incorporate similar practices into their daily lives . The project also sought to challenge consumer-based mindsets by demonstrating how environmental consciousness can be integrated into everyday activities .

The main limitation faced by the students during their project was the restricted time and number of participants allowed on-site due to COVID-19 constraints . To overcome these challenges, they coordinated their activities so that each member could effectively utilize the allowed time on site . This included sharing tasks like planting, watering, and maintaining gardens among members who could attend on different days, ensuring that the project continued to progress despite these restrictions . Transportation issues were another challenge, managed by planning trips efficiently and potentially reducing unnecessary visits .

Future implications of the project include a continued effort to engage more people in agricultural activities, thereby spreading awareness of agricultural importance beyond immediate academic requirements . The project emphasized that learned skills needed to be perfected and shared, suggesting ways to involve more community members in pro-agricultural activities, enhancing the educational and participative dynamics of such projects . Ultimately, the progression aims to shift perspectives in society from purely consumer-based to more production-oriented, lea moving towards sustainable practices .

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