Unearthing the Future by Lexicon of Food and produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions

DelVal’s story is about to reach a worldwide audience thanks to BBC StoryWorks. In the brand-new series Unearthing the Future by Lexicon of Food and produced by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, DelVal’s own Dr. Jacqueline Ricotta and Charley Silfee '25 share a first-hand reflection of the E360 program, DelVal’s role in local agriculture and the incredible relationships formed on campus.

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BBC story works featured student, charley in frame

Dr. Jaqueline Ricotta, chair of the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, responded to an email one morning to nominate DelVal for an upcoming series about the everchanging world of food systems and the people behind the latest innovations. Following Dr. Ricotta’s submission, Annavittoria Cameli of BBC StoryWorks in London thoroughly vetted DelVal through countless Zoom meetings with Dr. Ricotta, Kathy James, vice president of Marketing Communications at DelVal, and Kathy Payne, vice president of Enrollment Management at DelVal. Annavittoria and her team ultimately selected DelVal for a feature due to how we deliver our education and fully integrate the Experience360 program into our curricular and co-curricular activities.

Though not her intention, Dr. Ricotta took on a large role in the production as the featured faculty member in the episode, along with mentee, Charlie Silfee. The final product is magic. The six-minute video tells the DelVal story through Dr. Ricotta and Silfee in a highly personal and impactful way.

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About BBC StoryWorks

BBC StoryWorks is the commercial product division of BBC Studios, a global content team that embodies the BBC’s creative spark and quality to help brands connect through beautifully crafted storytelling. We tell the stories that make a difference but don’t always make the headlines. We identify the innovation, ambition, and impact of some of the most transformative endeavors shaping our world today. We offer our partners the chance to bring their experience and expertise to life. Our content appears on BBC digital platforms and on our client’s websites too. The content also appears in shorter form on the BBC StoryWorks social media accounts, like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

BBC StoryWorks  Lexicon of Food

Dr. Jacqueline Ricotta smiling in the greenhouse.
Dr. Jacqueline Ricotta

About Dr. Jacqueline Ricotta

Currently serving as the chair of the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Dr. Ricotta is a teacher, speaker, writer and food agtivist with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. She is a regular presenter at local and national conferences and seminars. 

Originally from Rochester, New York, Dr. Ricotta received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and went on to earn a master’s degree from North Carolina State University, and a doctorate from the University of Illinois, all in horticulture. Her specialization was vegetable production and pest control.

Since 2000, Dr. Ricotta has been a professor of horticulture at Delaware Valley University where she has taught courses including Botany, Sustainable Agriculture, Organic Food & Fiber, Integrated Pest Management, Commercial Vegetable Production, and Marketing of Horticultural Products. She was instrumental in bringing a certified organic section to the DelVal farm in 2004. She also helped start the Organic Farming Certificate Program (with program partner Rodale Institute as well as the sustainable agriculture systems major. Dr. Ricotta is also active with the American Society for Horticultural Science, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, and the DelVal Food Systems Institute.

About Charley M. Silfee '25

Charley M. Silfee, a horticulture major in the Honors Program graduating December 2025 with a horticulture therapy certificate, came to DelVal to continue her involvement in agriculture through first-hand experiences. During her time at the University, Silfee worked in DelVal’s greenhouses, attended LeaderShape, was president of Plant Breeding Club, was a peer mentor, held offices in Sigma Alpha, and helped plan A Day. Silfee plans to continue work with her farmette and pursue her master’s degree in secondary education to pass on her knowledge and passion for agriculture to future generations.

About DelVal

Delaware Valley University is a private, comprehensive, nonprofit university educating students with a curriculum that emphasizes and requires experiential learning. Located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, the University offers 27 undergraduate majors in business, arts and sciences, and agricultural and environmental sciences; 12 master's degrees; and a doctorate in education. Founded in 1896, DelVal has been cited by the National Society for Experiential Education as having the country's top experiential learning program, by Princeton Review as one of the best colleges in the Northeast, and by College Factual as having one of the top 20 animal science programs in the country.

 

Beyond the Feature: More of DelVal’s Agricultural Projects

Students and faculty utilize an enclosed freight container to grow vegetables vertically through hydroponics, delivering the equivalent of four acres of tillable farmland in one container.
Students and faculty utilize an enclosed freight container to grow vegetables vertically through hydroponics, delivering the equivalent of four acres of tillable farmland in one container.
DelVal’s Hope of the Harvest is a project that uses land owned by the University to grow fresh, nutritious food for local food pantries providing more than 10,000 families access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
DelVal’s Hope of the Harvest is a project that uses land owned by the University to grow fresh, nutritious food for local food pantries providing more than 10,000 families access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
Through a 2025 Healing the Planet grant from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and The GIANT company, DelVal was able to plant 16 native fruit trees on campus.
Through a 2025 Healing the Planet grant from Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful and The GIANT company, DelVal was able to plant 16 native fruit trees on campus.
DelVal’s Dr. Carla D. Garzon, holder of the K.H. Littlefield Endowed Professorship was named the hemp and specialty crop expert on the board for Pennsylvania’s new Center for Plant Excellence
DelVal’s Dr. Carla D. Garzon, holder of the K.H. Littlefield Endowed Professorship was named the hemp and specialty crop expert on the board for Pennsylvania’s new Center for Plant Excellence
Students are suited up in yellow boots and white jumpsuits for a mock disease outbreak.
DelVal is a constant participant in One Health via the annual One Health Seminar Series, One Health Week and our Mock Disease Outbreak. Students, faculty, staff and the larger community come together to discuss the interconnectivity of people and society, plants and the environment and animals.
This image is a black and white mockup of the poultry science center with front and side views of what the building will look like.
DelVal recently received a grant to build its new Poultry Science Center which will have the capacity to produce 5,000 birds every six to eight weeks, providing an on-campus farm that will meet the growing need for poultry science programs in the higher education space.
The View of the Livestock facility on campus. Cows are leaving the barn.
DelVal will soon be making renovations to its livestock facility that will increase wetlands protection, improve manure management, provide a healthy environment for the animals and the ecosystem, showcase a healthy and sustainable environment for successful cattle farming and enhance campus-wide conservation efforts.