During Summer 2025, faculty in the Goodnight Family Sustainable Development Department hosted a “Research Experience for Undergraduates,” or REU, experience entitled “Local Agriculture Research and Learning Experience in the High Country: Nutrient Cycling and Phosphorus Focus.” Students who participate in REU programs have the opportunity to build knowledge and skills, conduct research and scholarly work with mentors, and learn about career opportunities. Led by Drs. Anne Fanatico and Matt Ogwu, the REU at App State is a 10-week, full-time experience in community-based agriculture, microbial research, and sustainable farming and gardening. Students Knox Tant (Bard College at Simon's Rock) and Ismael Tambo (Washington State University) worked in convergent science, an integrative approach to maintaining healthy soil in crops, developing ecological poultry feeds, and reducing food waste. Tant and Tambo also worked with local farmer and educator Jay Bost of Laughing Springs Farm & Botanicals, with High Country Food Hub, and with a broader cohort of REU students at nine different institutions on a group project. Appalachian State University is part of a multi-institutional National Science Foundation (NSF) grant project, “Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS),” that works to reduce human dependence on mined phosphorus, reduce pollution, and improve sustainability in agricultural and food systems. The STEPS Center and REU program are based at North Carolina State University, and Appalachian State’s Research Institute for Environment, Energy, and Economics (RIEEE) leads an integrative approach for this project.
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