Planting seeds of innovation: Mercyhurst nets $400,000 PDE grant to expand STEM & Vine

Amy and students

Mercyhurst University’s innovative STEM & Vine program, launched in 2022, was designed to make STEM education more meaningful and accessible to young learners by linking scientific concepts to students’ local environment. Now, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s PASmart initiative, the program will expand into the 2025–26 academic year.

STEM & Vine is based in North East and integrates computer science and STEM education with the region’s agricultural identity—particularly its well-known grape vineyards. By teaching STEM through this local lens, the program makes abstract concepts more tangible and relevant to students.

Dr. Amy Burniston, the program’s principal investigator and associate professor of Biology and Education at Mercyhurst, highlighted the impact of this approach: “Thanks to PASmart’s support, STEM & Vine has helped students connect with STEM in ways that reflect their everyday lives and surroundings. We've seen stronger student engagement, more community involvement, and a growing number of educators equipped to teach STEM effectively.”

She added, “Receiving $400,000—and being the only university in the region awarded this grant—underscores the success and importance of our work. We’re proud to be planting seeds of innovation that will continue to grow far beyond this funding.” (Check here for a complete list of grantees.)

Through the program, 350+ K-8 students in the North East School District (NESD), many from underserved populations, have the opportunity to analyze soil composition, extract grape DNA and determine local grape lineage, grow food from seed through hydroponics, and preserve their crops through traditional canning methods. They have also reared trout eggs in their classrooms and released those trout in a local watershed while analyzing watershed quality and potential impacts of industry and agriculture. Coding and robotics units highlight local industry and the ingenuity of modern farm equipment, such as the grape picker.

Key features of the program include:

  • 12-week afterschool CS/STEM program aligned with state standards and NESD curriculum.
  • 4-week summer learning lab that features “Field Fridays” to bring STEM to life in locations around Erie County that include environmental exploration, agricultural tours, as well as coding and robotics instruction.
  • Community sessions that provide contextual, hands-on STEM activities, agricultural and related industry tours, farm-to-table meals, and more—all with stakeholder collaboration.
  • Events involve Mercyhurst faculty from Education, Biology, Geology, and Physics, and more than 30 community partners: Wabtec, Erie Insurance, Burch Farms, Penn State Grape Research Extension Center, Erie County Conservation District, PA Fish and Boat Commission, North East Township and Borough, and McCord Memorial Library among them.

“Despite our best efforts, the U.S. continues to lag behind other aspirant nations in our students’ acquisition of STEM skills,” Burniston noted. “Research indicates that unless grounded in the students’ current knowledge base, STEM activities, at best, fail to be of value and, at worst, paint unrealistic pictures of how STEM is applied in the real world.”

She said Mercyhurst focused on North East because it is rich in STEM applications but underserved in opportunities for STEM education to impact workforce development and regional innovation.

PHOTO: Dr. Amy Burniston leads discussion as students prepare for annual trout release.