Engaging Young Students to Agriculture STEM through Conservation Agriculture.

Students interest to agriculture may be increased through engaging them in conservation agriculture activities right at their school’s yard. Urban conservation agriculture which has the principles of no-till, continuous mulch and diverse species done in school lawns are used to engage young students in the science, technology, engineering and math of agriculture. The term ‘oasissofa’ was used in reference to conservation agriculture for easy recall. An ‘oasis’ because it serves as a source of nutritious food for households that have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables (urban desert) and ‘sofa’ because of the size of the vegetable plots that are the size of living room sofa’s (3ft by 6ft). Teachers use oasissofa studies for teaching science courses. Students and faculty liked the growing of vegetables in schools which reconnect campus communities to Agriculture: the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math of human survival. Students gather basic soil chemical and physical properties to compare conservation agriculture plots to tilled soils. Studies on Conservation agriculture or ‘Oasissofa’ as we call it are being implemented in six high schools as an outdoor laboratory in Greensboro and Durham, North Carolina.