In 2023, I was offered the opportunity to intern at UMD Extension's Baltimore County 4-H Program. This was my first internship experience, so I didn't have a frame of reference or know what to expect. My practicum site was a combination of virtual during the school year, and some weekends where I'd physically go into the office. I found this opportunity through one of my friends. His mother offered me the opportunity, and was my direct supervisor while I worked. For future SGC scholars, don't be embarrassed about seizing opportunities handed to you by family or friends if they happen to be in the fields of natural or physical science. Even if it's just them sharing experience or knowledge with you, it's still worthwhile to make those connections, because it can help you with your future career. 4-H Programs are a great way to get hands-on experience with science education and outreach and are typically looking for volunteers, interns, and employees.
While I worked at this site, our main goal was to create educational materials and activities to engage and teach people, ranging from children to senior citizens, about environmental sustainability in agriculture. Specifically, our goal was to educate the public about the facts of commercial and consumer food waste. Every year, Baltimore County 4-H is a participant in the Baltimore County Agriculture Center's Earth Day event, and my assignment was to research and create educational materials and activities. After I researched how food waste and sustainability intersect, I created a food waste brochure series, awareness stickers, children's activities, and lesson plans for schools.
As a result of working at this site, I learned a lot about the science of agriculture sustainability and food waste, but I also learned about and gained skills with science communication and education. Firstly, through my research, I learned that up to 45% of the food production in the United States is wasted. Food waste happens at multiple stages along the production and logistic chain. Taking the example of produce, before even reaching the store there is food lost in the field due to rotting or insects, food lost in harvesting, food lost in processing, and food thrown out due to not meeting aesthetic standards. Once the produce reaches the store, it has to be bought before it starts to rot, or it is thrown away. In addition, customers tend to reject 'ugly food', produce that doesn't meet arbitrary aesthetic standards. It's estimated that up to 20% of produce is thrown away or otherwise not consumed due to being aesthetically unappealing. Potential methods to mitigate food waste include more efficient farming and processing, and also public education campaigns to educate consumers that just because produce may be bruised or nonstandard, doesn't mean it isn't safe to eat or as tasty as standard food. Secondly, I gained an appreciation for the connection between education and science, and the necessity of translating research materials into a form that can be easily understood by the general public. I think a cause of the current anti-science and anti-intellectualism we discussed earlier in the series of SGC courses is that scientific knowledge often isn't translated effectively to the general public, leading to denialism. This experience has made me consider a career in science education, at least in the near term as I continue with my classes at UMD.
All in all, my practicum experience with UMD Extension's Baltimore County 4-H program was enriching, and I would recommend it to other SGC scholars.