Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Mary Dossett
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Garden Tour for Potting Shed Garden Club at The Nuckolls Barn Need: Due to the Covid19 pandemic we have had to halt programs because of state-wide guidelines. Since we have just started to schedule programs, we figured having programs outside would be the best way to stay safe since Covid is still present in our area. We have also been hard at work at the barn so we wanted a way to showcase our work to the public. Preparing the grounds: An extension staff at our offi
Author: Mary Dossett
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Donated Food from Raised Wicking Bed at the Extension Office Need: The pandemic has caused many residents in the county to become out of work and thus making it harder to provide for their family. Local food pantries are overwhelmed with the number of residents needing help feeding their families. The horticulture assistant wanted to help feed residents and supply them healthy options. Impact: At the Barn located next to the McCracken County Cooperative Extension Office we ha
Author: Stephen Lewis
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The idea of attending summer school used to be a dreaded thought amongst school students, but to this group of homeschooled kids, it's a chance to learn about the natural world during its most active time of year. Mizizi Homeschool cooperative, is a collective of homeschooled students that meet twice a week to engage in learning activities, while having the chance to socialize with other children. This summer they participated in a 6 week Urban farming and outdoor education program at Louisv
Author: Chadwick Conway
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Part of a strong vibrant welcoming downtown is landscaping and art beautification for folks to feel a welcoming vibe when visiting a city. In spring of 2020 the Appalachian Artisan Center in downtown Hindman contacted that Knott County Extension Agent for Agriculture/Natural Resources, to help with an urban garden design, resources, and garden expertise. The vision was to add to our current Mail Horse art feature downtown to add signage, flowers, and garden space to intensifying and
Author: Lori Bowling
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Karen's Place Maternity Center is a recovery center for expectant/young mothers. Many of these ladies are learning how to cope with everyday life issues while recovering from substance abuse as well as learning how to take care of their babies/children. One important lesson they learn through the Snap Ed program is how to have a healthy diet and the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables. The horticulture program reinforces this by teaching simple gardening skills so tha
Author: Sarah Imbus
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Teaching youth living in our urban communities about traditional agriculture, the science of where our food comes from, and basic cooking skills is one of the core goals of the Campbell County Cooperative Extension Service that was identified from our county assessment report. 4-H youth development agent, agriculture agent, horticulture agent, and nutrition education assistant teamed together to host a 4 day youth program for 15 youth from Newport Brighton Center. These youth are participa
Author: Lorin Fawns
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Container Gardening and Healthy Eating is a program offered to a low-income area of Mason County. Classes have been provided to families at the community center in years past. Still, due to Covid-19 and space restrictions, it was decided to offer the program virtually with supplies delivered to participants if they lived in the housing areas and supplies were available for pick-up for the general public who participated. The program involved the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
Author: Sarah Imbus
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Third grade students at Woodfill Elementary in Fort Thomas, KY have sparked an interest in learning more about food production, farmers market, and basic economics so that they can put forth their knowledge with a grade wide cumulative school project: Access to local, affordable, fresh, nutritional food to everyone in our communities and families. Currently the school has 8 raised beds which have been used for programming related to plant botany, plant life cycle, and pollinators utilizing
Author: Carrie Spry
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
In February of 2021, a former Clark County Homemaker reached out to the Extension office wanting help with container vegetable gardening. This particular resident had recently moved into a senior living facility and was looking for ways to engage and interact with the other residents. She had grown a vegetable garden her entire life and new the bonding that could happen with neighbors when produce was shared. She had hopes that growing vegetables at this facility would help bring the residents t
Author: Laura Rogers
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Classes teaching the technique of planting and producing vegetables at Sky Hope Recovery Center, Pulaski County. The recovering women from addiction planted a raised bed garden under the supervision of Beth Wilson, UK Horticulture Agent for Pulaski County, and Laura Rogers, Kentucky State University Small Farm Agent. The garden's produce was harvested and weighed; then, they took the vegetables into the kitchen to add to the menu for the evening meal—increasing the confidence of the re
Author: Anthony Tackett
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Master Gardeners continued to develop new outreach opportunities at the Bizzy Bee community gardens. The Bizzy Bee urban gardens are located at a local adult day care and retirement center. The original intent of this project was to act as a therapeutic garden for the residents of the center to provide additional sensory stimulation and physical activity. The garden has been expanded each of the last several years to include different activities and plantings. Volunteers
Author: Laura Maggard
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The Lawrence County Health Department, JJ Jordans Geriatric Center, and the Lawrence County Extension Office applied for a $10,000 community garden grant specifically to be utilized at the local nursing home. The grant was award and all parties quickly got to work. All 3 parties met to discuss what exactly the goal was of the community gardens, staff at JJ Jordans said that during the pandemic residents became agitated and confused over not recieving visitors and the other regulations that were
Author: Bethany Wilson
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
In Pulaski County's 2018 Community Assessment, substance abuse treatment ranked as important to very important to the 609 respondents. Sky Hope Rehabilitation Center is a 100-bed facility for women with drug addictions. Pulaski County has a large drug abuse problem. Gardening has been shown to have many positive effects on humans. There are physical, cognitive, social, and psychological benefits such as improvement in self-esteem, alleviation of depression, increased strength and stami
Author: Nicole Breazeale
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Community gardening is defined by its shared nature, meaning that residents come together to grow food or flowers. Gardeners also generally live in the surrounding area. Research has documented the many benefits of community gardening, including routines of wellness, socializing, leisure, and community building – not to mention the biopsychosocial benefits linked to community gardening as a radical social action, a way to improve life chances, and a holistic therapeutic practice (McG
Author: Sarah Imbus
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Three years ago, program Director, Amy Sammons, of Mentoring Plus located in Newport Kentucky, reached out to Campbell County Extension Horticulture agent for resources. After initial meetings and conversations, an organic partnership blossomed, and plans were drafted to implement a youth program for at risk youth in the urban sector of the county that would meet their mission, which is to empower disadvantaged youth and their families to fu
Author: Benjamin Prewitt
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
I was recently given the opportunity to help with a Raised Bed Garden Project at the Whitley County Health Department. Our local health department wanted to provide community members a chance to see fresh, local produce being grown at their office location. After contacting several community leaders and local businesses I was able to provide the materials to construct six (6) different Raised Bed Gardens, including the soil and plants to grow inside them. &
