Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Robert Marsh
Major Program: Community Engagement
Engaging with nontraditional users of extension through community development efforts can expand program outreach. Members of UK's OSHER lifelong learning institute expressed interest in working with extension to improve turf used for their croquet class. Cooperative Extension, Osher leaders, and City of Morehead Parks and Recreation partnered on an educational demonstration intended to show recommended practices on site prep, establishment, management, and weed control for bermudagrass spor
Author: Lora Stewart
Major Program: Community Engagement
After many changes in the Gallatin County Fair, the County Judge and Fiscal Court in collaboration with the Gallatin County Extension Office, decided to change the name from the Gallatin County Fair to the Gallatin County Summerfest. The format of the fair changes from carnival rides and motor sports to more family friendly activities. The SummerFest was free to everyone- there was no gate admission. This enabled more families to be able to attend. One of the main attractions at the
Author: Edith Lovett
Major Program: Community Engagement
One hundred and forty Lake Cumberland Head Start Children are wearing new shoes today, thanks to the Pulaski County Extension Service. These children are from families living in Pulaski County that are below the poverty level, (or have a physical disability) and wearing “fitted shoes” is not a priority of the parents. Although learning about good nutrition and the food to eat is important, having shoes on your
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
Major Program: Community Engagement
The success of the Cooperative Extension Service is very dependent on volunteers taking leadership roles. The Muhlenberg County Extension Council voted to facilitate a Farm to Fork event so as to highlight the local foods being produced in Muhlenberg County. A committee of council members, farmers market vendors, and members from the Greenville Tourism Commission planned, implemented, supported and evaluated the event that was held in August of 2018. Agents for Agriculture and Natura
Author: Mackenzie Pogue
Major Program: Community Engagement
The success of the Cooperative Extension Service is very dependent on volunteers taking leadership roles. The Muhlenberg County Extension Council voted to facilitate a Farm to Fork event so as to highlight the local foods being produced in Muhlenberg County. A committee of council members, farmers market vendors, and members from the Greenville Tourism Commission planned, implemented, supported and evaluated the event that was held in August of 2018. Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources,
Author: Mary Beth Riley
Major Program: Community Engagement
The success of the Cooperative Extension Service is very dependent on volunteers taking leadership roles. The Muhlenberg County Extension Council voted to facilitate a Farm to Fork event so as to highlight the local foods being produced in Muhlenberg County. A committee of council members, farmers market vendors, and members from the Greenville Tourism Commission planned, implemented, supported and evaluated the event that was held in August of 2018. Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources,
Author: Laura Maggard
Major Program: Community Engagement
Finding out the answer to a question can be just a few clicks away. With search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, individuals can look up anything they want more information on. More and more, folks go straight to the internet when they want to know something, the Lawrence County Extension Office wanted to make sure that were easy to find and available to the community. The Lawrence County Agricultural and Natural Resource Extension Agent attended a training provided by the Southeast Kentuck
Author: Joan Bowling
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Kenton County Family and Consumer Sciences Agents formed a partnership with the Life Learning Center in Covington to teach Nutrition information and hands on food preparation skills to “at risk” individuals that are facing a multitude of challenges in 2015. Participants in the program face one or more of the following; difficult family situations, criminal backgrounds, limited education, unemployment/underemployment, as well as other serious threats to homelessness.
Author: Dominique Wood
Major Program: Community Engagement
Livingston County, Kentucky, is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. Illinois borders at the North and East side of the County. The county seat is located on the south end of the county. Largely agrion, majority of the residents work outside of the county. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 342 square miles (890 km2), of which 313 square miles (810 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (8.5%) is water. The western side of the
Author: Carla Jordan
Major Program: Community Engagement
Handle with Care The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) suggests that exposure to trauma can pose negative lifetime consequences. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018 that childhood trauma such as abuse and neglect can increase risk factors such as substance abuse, mental health issues and disease. Kentucky State University recognizes the importance of creating sustainable communities. One such way is partnering with community organizatio
Author: Carla Jordan
Major Program: Community Engagement
The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) suggests that exposure to trauma can pose negative lifetime consequences. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019 that childhood trauma such as abuse and neglect can increase risk factors such as substance abuse, mental health issues and disease. Kentucky State University recognizes the importance of creating sustainable communities. One such way is collaborating with community organizations to teach resilien
Author: Linda McClanahan
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Mercer County ANR Agent has transitioned to the contact agent for extension council and marketing. In this role, meetings of the County Extension Council have resulted in new leaders, new committees, revived committees, updated by laws and more engagement from the council members. The CEC elected new officers and is working towards establishing rotation of members. In addition, the CEC was actively engaged in helping get surveys completed as a part of the community assesmen
Author: Carla Jordan
Major Program: Community Engagement
Youth violence is a widespread public health problem that negatively affects youth, families, and communities (Center for Disease Control, 2019). Homicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24 communities (Center for Disease Control, 2019). There were 36 youth homicides in Lexington, KY in the past 3 years. Each day, about 13 youth die from homicide and more than 1,300 are treated in emergency departments for violence-related injuries communities (Center for Disease
Author: Thomas Miller
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Ballard County 4-H Program prides itself in a strong Leadership Program with intentional leadership and civic engagement opportunities and study of government. For more than 20 years, over 400 Ballard County 4-Hers have been learning leadership life skills such as understanding self, communication, listening, managing resources, team building and more. They have learned about local (county and city) government from touring city halls, the courthouse and fiscal court offices. &nbs
Author: Janet Turley
Major Program: Community Engagement
In these times of economic downturns and depressed budgets, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service in Warren County put a new spin on funding. As a result of the county growing at a rapid pace- outpacing other Kentucky county growth by 12.4% since 2010 and the 5th largest county in Kentucky, the Warren County Extension District Board decided a new Warren County Extension Office was needed to accommodate their growing Extension clientele with a priority of more meeting room spac
Author: Elisabeth Pohl
Major Program: Community Engagement
Cross Campus Engagement and Collaboration…CLD Program & Outreach Associate Lissa Pohl contacted Mary Arthur and Lynne Reiske-Kinny, faculty members of Forestry and Entomology, to gage their interest in bringing Rupert Bentley Walls, Senior Arborist of London’s Borough of Hackney to the CAFE as a guest lecturer and resource with expertise in the community engagement aspect of urban forestry initiatives. This idea was then introduced to the UFI group in September of 2017 who were
Author: Mackenzie Pogue
Major Program: Community Engagement
According to recent cost comparisons for university and college tuition in Kentucky, the average fee is over $6,000. Affording college consist of other varying expense including room and board, organizational fees, and books and supplies. A high school graduate pursuing our own prestigious university, the University of Kentucky, in state resident expenses average $30,000 annually. Here at the Extension Office employees actively promote higher education. Extension agents p
Author: Douglas Shepherd
Major Program: Community Engagement
New Livestock Events Center located adjoining the new Extension Office completed and community ribbon cutting held in September. Some one hundred+ folks attended the morning breakfast program. Facility has been used not only for loading out cattle for the beef retained ownership program, but also used by CEC for quarterly meeting, Farm Credit Ag Advisory Committee, Kentucky Junior Cattlemen's Association Board, 4H Grooming Clinic, 4H and FFA Livestock Steer Validation. Much
Author: Douglas Shepherd
Major Program: Community Engagement
Rural segment again hosted the annual Farm-City Day event, with the luncheon attendance over 250. Morning tours involved the construction site of the new Hardin County Extension Office, completed Livestock Events Center, and T&L Log and Lumber. The log and lumber stop was hosted and conducted by one of our new young beef producers that became involved in Extension as a result of the Beef IRM Farm Program. This company not only processes logs into lumber but also is exportin
Author: Meagan Klee
Major Program: Community Engagement
The mission of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment Cooperative Extension Service is to make a difference in the lives of Kentucky citizens through research-based education. Through partnership with Kentucky State University, Cooperative Extension takes the University to the people in their local communities, addressing issues of importance of all Kentuckians. It has been said that Extension is the “best kept secret” in our communities, in tha
Author: Linda Hieneman
Major Program: Community Engagement
The War Memorial Committee established a beautiful memorial site in Greenup County due to the large number of Veterans who live in the area. The site serves as a reminder to the community the importance and appreciation of veterans. The committee became older and physically unable to maintain the site and needed help. A collaboration began between the War Memorial Committee and the Greenup County Master Gardeners. The Greenup County Master Gardeners developed a landscape plan using t
Author: Karen Denniston
Major Program: Community Engagement
History and Heritage is part of what makes County Fairs awesome! The County Fair is a place to exhibit hobbies and talents. At the Bourbon County Fair the spectator gets to see community members’ culinary skills, photography skills, quilting skills, floral design skills and the list goes on and on. Bourbon County Fair exhibits have been slowly declining in numbers during the past 10 years. This year an effort was made to improve these numbers by providing more
Author: Matthew Chadwick
Major Program: Community Engagement
Extension Open HouseIn the fall of 2018, our board set a goal of having a spring opening for our new Extension campus. We took that idea to our CEC in hopes of forming a committee to assist with the opening. We assembled a team to help with day of activities utilizing our CEC. From there, we approached all of our active volunteer groups to gauge interest in setting up an educational booths. Due to overwhelming interest, we decided to convert our “Ribbon Cutting” to an “Open Hou
Author: Matthew Chadwick
Major Program: Community Engagement
New Extension Campus The Calloway County Extension Board acquired a new facility to house the Calloway County Extension service in the winter of 2017. We have assisted them in remodeling several key buildings on the property to make them functional for educational and office activities. In February we officially moved to the new Calloway County Extension Campus. The campus has 6 newly renovated “Cabins” that our clubs and group are using for their regularly scheduled meetings.
Author: Sherri Broderick
Major Program: Community Engagement
Gallatin County Cooperative Extension Service, the City of Warsaw, and Gallatin County Tourism collaborated to host the third annual Peony Spring Festival in downtown Warsaw in the Courthouse Square.The Gallatin County Cooperative Extension Service organized and created a fun, free, educational event to local community members. Peony Festival activities included a 5K, horse and carriage rides, Queen City Riverboat rides, antique tractor show, an inflatable fun zone for the kids, live music, vend
Author: Linda McClanahan
Major Program: Community Engagement
Livestock are a major part of the agricultural economy in Mercer County. As such, livestock shows in our county are usually some of the largest in the state. In addition, community and economic development is a driver in programming conducted through the Mercer County Extension Office. The Mercer County Fair & Horse Show, the oldest continuous running county fair in the United States, has livestock shows including dairy, sheep, pig, goat and beef. The ANR agent works
Author: Luciana Hockersmith
Major Program: Community Engagement
Often times the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service is described as the best kept secret; Marketing and promotion of Extension programming, resources, and news releases is the best way to increase awareness of the variety of services offered.The Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences has been conducting daily radio programming since 2006 on WHBN 1420 AM the local radio station giving news releases, programmatic updates, and tips for families. The FCS newsletter is another means of c
Author: Luciana Hockersmith
Major Program: Community Engagement
One of the largest County Fair Floral Hall events in the state, Mercer County utilizes almost 100 volunteers to manage and conduct a open floral hall event serving more than 200 exhibitors and displaying more 1000 exhibits every year. Over the years, incremental changes have led to increased satisfaction with both volunteers and participants engaging with the Mercer County Floral Hall Experience.
Author: Bethany Wilson
Major Program: Community Engagement
Since 2000, the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) Program has been offered to Pulaski County and surrounding counties. Master Gardeners are required to volunteer hours of service back to the community or in efforts that help Cooperative Extension. Over the course of this fiscal year, the Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners have volunteered almost 1270 hours of community service. Using hourly wage data from the Independent Sector, this amounts to roughly $
Author: Kelly Mackey
Major Program: Community Engagement
In the fall of 2018, our board set a goal of having a spring opening for our new Extension campus. We took that idea to our CEC in hopes of forming a committee to assist with the opening. We assembled a team to help with day of activities utilizing our CEC. From there, we approached all of our active volunteer groups to gauge interest in setting up an educational booths. Due to overwhelming interest, we decided to convert our “Ribbon Cutting” to an “Open House” style even
Author: Kelly Mackey
Major Program: Community Engagement
The Calloway County Extension Board acquired a new facility to house the Calloway County Extension service in the winter of 2017. We have assisted them in remodeling several key buildings on the property to make them functional for educational and office activities. In February we officially moved to the new Calloway County Extension Campus. The campus has 6 newly renovated “Cabins” that our clubs and group are using for their regularly scheduled meetings. Our groups are assign
Author: Lorilee Kunze
Major Program: Community Engagement
In order for the Horticulture Program and the Master Gardener association in Bullitt County to meet the organizations objective of assisting “in explaining, advocating and promoting past, present, and future extension programs to the public”, to earn the funds to support said objective, and to make new and lasting connections with members of our community, the Bullitt County Horticulture Council and Master Gardener Association collaborated to create an annual “Garden Art
Author: Sarah Imbus
Major Program: Community Engagement
On May 8, 1914, the Smith-Lever Act was signed into Congress to provide practical application of research knowledge and giving instruction and practical demonstration of practices in agriculture (and other related subjects) to connect with individuals in communities as an outreach of Agriculture research. Recently Extension celebrated its 150th anniversary as a Land Grant research college. President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862 to give land for public colleges with focus on agriculture
Author: Sherri Broderick
Major Program: Community Engagement
Gallatin County Cooperative Extension Service, the City of Warsaw, and Gallatin County Tourism collaborated to host the third annual Peony Spring Festival in downtown Warsaw in the Courthouse Square.The Gallatin County Cooperative Extension Service organized and created a fun, free, educational event to local community members. Peony Festival activities included a 5K, horse and carriage rides, Queen City Riverboat rides, antique tractor show, an inflatable fun zone for the kids, live music, vend
Author: Kevin Lyons
Major Program: Community Engagement
Agriculture provides almost everything we eat, use, and wear on a daily basis. But too few people truly understand this contribution. Each American farmer feeds more than 165 people. As the world population soars, there is an even greater demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States. The local field day was held to recognize the abundance provided by Monroe County producers, and to raise awareness of the importance of agriculture in our everyday lives.The following prese
Author: Vicki Wynn
Major Program: Community Engagement
The responsibility for raising a well-educated and civic-minded generation of children cannot rest solely with schools. The Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association (KEHA) is a volunteer organization that works to improve the quality of life for families and communities through leadership development, volunteer service, and education. In Marshall County, KEHA members make a difference by teaching second-graders the importance of good manners, hand-written thank you notes, and honoring our veter
