Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Mary Dossett
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The horticulture agent was contacted by the Paducah McCracken Senior Center in McCracken County because they needed more plants for their raised beds. The agent donated a couple trays of tomato and lettuce plants to the Senior Center. The agent has helped them previously with their raised garden beds last summer with serving on their committee as president, watering, and tending to the plants. The plants were donated originally from the UK Horticulture Farm located in Lexington, Kentucky. The pr
Author: Jamie Dockery
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
AVOL Kentucky is an essential component of the Fayette County community with the goals of helping medically vulnerable people navigate to permanent and stable housing, access medical care (health screenings and preventative medications for HIV) and receive social support. Their mission is to collaborate with community partners to end HIV in Kentucky. Fayette County Extension strives to provide programming and resources, reduce barriers to healthy living, and introdu
Author: Lorin Fawns
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Drug and alcohol addiction is a growing concern across America. As we look for ways to help individuals recover, the Mason County Extension Office partnered with the local outpatient recovery center. The NEP assistant has worked with the recovery center for several years, offering nutritional education; the horticulture agent asked to partner to make it an experience that included gardening. The horticulture agent applied for a grant through the recovery garden program at the University of Kentu
Author: Evan Tate
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
Exercise and Activity for residents of assisted living centers is a necessity for good health. Residents often enjoy have day to day task and these routines can be apart of an exercise regiment that promotes mobility and wards off obesity. Additionally, assisted living centers often operate on tight budgets and are constantly looking for sources of healthy food at an affordable price.The Hancock County Cooperative Extension Service, Audubon Area Community Services and local businesses all
Author: Jennifer Palmer
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The problem was infrastructure issues as Farnsley-Moreman community garden that created unsafe gardening space at times. The community garden faced infrastructure issues that caused concern with the gardeners. These concerns were brought to my attention via calls, emails and at the garden meeting. These concerns were with the road and individuals going to the portion of the the garden that was not associated with the garden. Other issues were theft with produce. The gardeners w
Author: Sharon Flynt
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The problemResearchers at Rutgers University attested to an increasingly large body of research that demonstrates activities in horticulture can be used “as a therapeutic modality for people with physical, mental, emotional, and social disabilities, as plants are non-discriminating and non-threatening, and anyone can be successful utilizing this medium.” It was further stated that working plants and successful participation in horticultural activities “have unique qualiti
Author: Jennifer Palmer
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
The problem was lack of access to land and not having access to farming and business classes. The educational program response was overwhelming this year with increased class size and and we split the track into business track and a track focused on farming practices. The participants/target audience - Immigrant farmers that are newly arrived and farm teams that have been participating in the program since 2011. The farmers farm on multiple sites including the seventeen plots that are
Author: Holly Bowman
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
To follow Bracken County’s plan of work to improve health and well-being our office offered a Lunch & Learn Terrarium Workshop. This workshop was offered to everyone in the county at no cost. The goal was to bring the community and families together as it was held during spring break. A My Plate recipe was served while I went over the benefits of Horticulture Therapy before beginning the terrarium demonstration. I stated the stress relieving and mood benefits associated with horticultu
Author: Sarah Imbus
Major Program: Community Gardens and Horticulture Therapy
According to the USDA Farm to School Census (https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/), school gardening across the country is on the rise. Research continues to show that engaging students in gardening promotes healthier eating habits, improves mental and physical health, builds awareness in agriculture and horticulture career opportunities, builds a sense of community and belonging, and provides a safe space for hands on experimental learning (https://www.naae.org/profdevelopment/magazine/arch
