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<p>JACKSON TWP. &#8212; A new research project is studying the effectiveness of a program that brings young people to the farm to learn skills that may later translate into jobs.</p><p>The Dream Green Farm, a partnership between Luzerne Intermediate Unit and The Lands at Hillside Farms, provides a paid employment transition opportunity to youth with disabilities with a post-secondary goal of employment.</p><p>The program has been in existence since 2009, with the assistance of a $99,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. A cooperative effort, the program has grown from humble beginnings to a self-sustaining operation, beneficial to both its young participants and the nonprofit landmark.</p><p>Now, a Misericordia University Occupational Therapy research project is studying just how well the program is meeting its goals.</p><p>Anthony Grieco, executive director of the LIU, believes the result of that research will reflect what he says he already knows &#8212; providing opportunity for students of the LIU to get field experience will increase the likelihood they will be productive and employable in the long term.</p><p>From growing vegetables to marketing them, about 30 students gain a better understanding of the value of hard work, the meaning of money and the benefit of following through with a positive effort.</p><p>On a recent day, Brandon Dewey, 17, Dallas, prepared a portion of the 412-acre Dream Green Farm Program&#8217;s farmland for planting its most popular crop &#8212; garlic. Josh Lockavich followed closely behind, dropping bulbs in the holes and covering them with loose soil.</p><p>Dewey said the opportunities for learning and developing marketable skills are vast.</p><p>&#8220;Our boss teaches us a vocabulary and a word of the day. We have to learn things like planting and tilling. There are so many things to do here,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He also said, of marketing goods at the Wilkes-Barre Farmers Market, &#8220;We learn people skills there &#8212; and math &#8212; because you have to count cash and give people their change.&#8221;</p><p>The program goes beyond simply teaching students how to plant and harvest crops. Both students and mentors treat the experience as a real-life working farm where an agricultural skill set, people skills and overall understanding of the farming process are learned.</p><p>The holiday season provides opportunity for students to participate in sales of holiday wreaths, complete with berries and bows, Christmas cactus plants and dried flower arrangements.</p><p>About 30 students ranging in age from 16 to 21 participate in the program, which grows not only plants, but character and confidence.</p><p>The relationships among the participants, LIU, The Lands at Hillside Farms and the university have expanded this season with the start of the two-year, faculty-student research study titled &#8220;Effectiveness of a Transitional Agricultural Training Program for Adolescents with Autism and Development Disabilities Based on Outcome Measures.&#8221;</p><p>Six university students, all of whom volunteered for the study, will collect data as part of the five-year academic program&#8217;s curriculum.</p><p>Assistant professor of occupational therapy Jennifer Dessoye said a positive outcome of the program would be to create an array of programs similar to the Dream Green Program across the region and nation, allowing other students with special needs to access the benefits of a horticultural transitional program.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jared Molusky, 19, of Hanover Township, and Bill Stoss, 19, of Trucksville, clean one of the animal pens at The Lands at Hillside Farms as part of the LIU 18 Dream Green Farm program. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL083014GreenGuide212.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jared Molusky, 19, of Hanover Township, and Bill Stoss, 19, of Trucksville, clean one of the animal pens at The Lands at Hillside Farms as part of the LIU 18 Dream Green Farm program. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader file </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Farming program aims to help students with disabilities prepare for workforce</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Misericordia University students study Dream Green Farm Program at The Lands at Hillside Farms