Sustaining Our Natural ResourcesPlan of Work

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Clay County CES

Title:
Sustaining Our Natural Resources
MAP:
Promoting Healthy Homes and Communities
Agents Involved:
Lora Lee Frazier Howard, Alissa Ackerman, Jeff Casada
MAJOR PROGRAM 1:
Home & Consumer Horticulture
MAJOR PROGRAM 2:
Pesticide Safety – Plant Pests
MAJOR PROGRAM 3:
Help Yourself to a Healthy Home Series
MAJOR PROGRAM 4:
Natural Resources 4-H Core Curriculum
Situation:

Each decision individuals make can impact the health and safety of the family and environment. Understanding how daily choices can impact our environment is vital to conserving and preserving our natural resources and ensuring a healthy environment for present and future generations. Clay County alone has just over 300,000 acres of land with approximately 256,000 acres of forest land. Natural resources must be respected and the proper decisions be made for our future.

Long-Term Outcomes:

-Create safe home environments that promote and support the physical and mental well-being of families throughout the life cycle.


-Citizens will embrace environmental stewardship for sustainable use of Clay County's natural resources.


-Students will help prepare future teams for environmental challenges and contests as adult volunteers


-Students assist in determining future county needs and programming for natural resources and environment

Intermediate Outcomes:

-Improved safety, cost, skills related to environment of the home


-Improve one or more practices that will impact home landscaping.


-Our citizens will recognize that natural resources are a vital part of the county's economic engine and can produce both income and enjoyment. Citizens will adopt solutions to improve environmental quality.


-Participation and implementation of county environmental and natural resource events for youth will increase

Initial Outcomes:

-Increased knowledge, opinions, or skills related to the home.


-Improved understanding of issues related to home landscaping.


-Citizens will gain knowledge in the use of recommended practices to better maintain our natural resources.


-Youth will understand how the use and misuse of natural resources affect a global society and differentiate between a renewable and non-renewable resource

Evaluation:

Long-Term Outcome: Create safe home environments that promote and support the physical and mental wellbeing of families throughout the life cycle.

Indicator: number of individuals that make changes to improve natural resources. Number of individuals who report implementing a gardening technique to save money.

Method: Formal and informal evaluations, word of mouth.

Timeline: 2016-2020


Intermediate Outcome: Assess the cost saving or benefits with a new practice related to home care.

Implement a practice or demonstrate a skill that will improve the landscape.

Indicator: number of individuals who make changes for the purpose of improving natural resources or saving money related to home and home landscaping

Method: Evaluation/Word of mouth.

Timeline: 2016-2020


Initial Outcome: Families will change knowledge, skill, and opinion related to home and home landscape.

Indicator: Number of individuals that experience a change in knowledge, opinion, and skills or aspirations related to home.

Method: Formal and informal evaluations/word of mouth

Timeline: 2016-2020


Long Term Outcome: Citizens will have an increased knowledge of natural resources in Clay County

Indicator: Number of citizens that indicate that they have made changes to better protect, preserve, produce and/or promote Clay County's natural resources.

Method: Participation in trainings, workshops, contests, observations

Timeline: 2016-2020


Intermediate Outcome: Adults will be able to recognize that natural resources are a vital part of the county

Indicator: Participation in workshops and programs

Method: Program and workshop participation

Timeline: 2016-2020


Initial Outcome: Citizens gain a knowledge of how to protect, preserve, produce and promote natural resources

Indicator: Program and Workshop Participation

Method: Program and Workshop Participation

Timeline: 2016-2020


Long Term Outcome: Youth will feel a sense of belonging to something larger(a global environment)and work to prepare for the future generations to come

Indicator: Students involved in leadership roles involving agriculture, environment, and/or natural resources

Method: Surveys, follow-ups, interviews

Timeline: 2016-2020


Intermediate Outcome: Increased number of youth engaged in agriculture and environmental or natural resources events, practices, or activities

Indicator: Number of participants involved; projects, activities, or enterprises students are working on themselves

Method: Surveys, follow-ups, interviews

Timeline: 2016-2020


Initial Outcome: Students show increased awareness of how agriculture, our environment, and natural resources affect our world.

Indicator: Number of students that show change based on what they have learned

Method: Pre and Post Surveys

Timeline: 2016-2020


Learning Opportunities:


Audience: Agricultural Producers 
Activity: Private Pesticide Applicator Program
Content or Curriculum: UK Curriculum 

Inputs: Agricultural Agent
Date: Fall 2018, Spring 2019

Audience: Youth / adults
Activity: Forestry Field Day / Environmental Day Camp
Content or Curriculum: Volunteers, Field Experts, Agents 

Inputs: 4-H Agent, Agriculture Agent, leaders 
Date: Fall 2018

Audience: Youth
Activity: 4-H NRESci Academy
Content or Curriculum: Agents, Field Experts, Robinson Forest 

Inputs: 4-H Agent
Date: Fall 2018


Audience:  Women

Activity:  Keep It Clean

Content or Curriculum:  UK Publication

Inputs:  FCS Agent

Date:  2018-2019


Audience:  Home owners

Activity:  Shiitake Mushrooms

Content or Curriculum:  UK Publications, local experts

Input:  Agricultural Agents

Date:  Fall 2018 or Spring 2019



Audience:  Homeowner, Youth

Activity:  Building Bird and Bat Houses 

Content or Curriculum:  Local Experts

Inputs:  Agricultural Agent 

Date:  Spring 2019





Success Stories

Environmental Field Day

Author: Jeffrey Casada

Major Program: Natural Resources 4-H Core Curriculum

Clay County has over 300,000 acres of land with approximately 256,000 acres of forest land. Many youth across the county lack knowledge and appreciation of the surrounding environment.  In order to increase awareness, the 4-H Youth Development Agent and ANR Agent collaborated and hosted an Environmental Field Day at Big Double Creek Park in Peabody, KY.UK Cooperative Extension partnered with US Department of Forestry, Clay County Soil Conservation District, KY Department of Fish & Wildl

Full Story

NRESci Provides Numerous Learning Opportunities

Author: Alissa Ackerman

Major Program: Natural Resources 4-H Core Curriculum

Clay County is known for beautiful rolling hills, mountains, valleys and hollows. The county is located within the Southeastern Coal Field Region and nestled within the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is also located in Kentucky’s Elk Country Corridor along with several other surrounding counties. However, Clay County’s unemployment rate according the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 6.8%, while the state of Kentucky’s unemployment rate is 4.2%. Many individuals are relocating in

Full Story

Woodland Owners' Education

Author: Jeffrey Casada

Major Program: Woodland Education

According to Kentucky Agriculture Statistics, Clay County has 301,000 acres of total land mass with 263,849 acres that is forested.  Seventy percent of the forested land is controlled by private land owners. The Kentucky Division of Forestry reports that 67% of the measured timber is Grade 3 or below, and as such is not managed for either wildlife, recreation or timber activities.  With this in mind, the Clay County Extension Service hosted the 2019 Getting to Know Your Woodlands Webin

Full Story
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