Assessing Needs and Barriers to the Incorporation of Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change in K-12 Curriculum in the Inland Pacific Northwest.

General knowledge of the principles of sustainable agriculture and its relation to climate change is lacking within the general public despite increased awareness of food security and quality issues.  The integration of agriculture and climate change topics into curriculum may be limited by time constraints, lack of materials or comfort with existing materials, administrative support, and/or personal beliefs about these topics. The purpose of this project is to assess the current degree of and barriers to the integration of agriculture and climate change topics, materials and professional development opportunities needed to facilitate the integration of agriculture and climate change in the curriculum.  Two surveys (K-7 and 7-12 grade) were developed.  Sections focused on demographics, understanding how teachers define agriculture, current use of agriculture and climate change materials and examples, perceived barriers to integrating agriculture and climate change, and in what subject areas and grade level that these concepts should be introduced.  Surveys were distributed using a stratified sampling method based on state and school size.  Survey results will be analyzed to assess 1) how teachers define agriculture and how this impacts whether or not they integrate agriculture into their lesson plans, 2) connections between teacher/school demographics and the use of agriculture and climate change related topics, 3) the need for novel materials and professional development materials, 4) appropriate grade levels that should be targeted.