Author: Andrea Stith
Major Program: Home & Consumer Horticulture
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Horticulture agents, headed by Andrea Stith and Amy Aldenderfer, started the Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays as an alternative to in-person horticulture lessons. The live webinars are Wednesdays at 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET and. Utilizing a volunteer scheduling website, agents, specialists and other experts were recruited to present a 30-minute lesson to the general public, with time at the end for questions. All the presentations are re
Author: Sarah Fannin
COVID-19 is an unprecedented health crisis that threatens the physical and mental well-being of everyone, but especially children. To address this issue, Morgan County Extension Agents collaborated to provide “Grab-n-Go” kits containing educational materials, instructional lessons and supplies. Offered the same days as weekly school lunch pickups, more than 2,500 packets were safely distributed to county residents outside the Extension Educational Center for a 3 month period. &
Author: Sharon Flynt
In March 2020, Kentucky Cooperative Extension began working remotely no in person meetings. Thus began the exploration of ways to engage clients in horticulture activities at home. The Scott Co. cooperative Extension Horticulture agent created video information, webinars and hands-on packets and plants to pick up at home.How to Grow an Easter Basket: A step-by-step PowerPoint video in time for the Easter Holidays, 2020.Garden in a Sack with SNAP Education Assistant - pac
Author: Samantha Anderson
With family lifestyles getting busier and COVID19 closing many places and parks, it has put a strain on many families. According to Harvard Graduate School of Education, "studies show gardens support and encourage healthful eating as a key component of children's physical wellbeing, which can aid their academic and social success, too." Through the efforts of the McCracken County Cooperative Extension Service, families in McCracken County started their own vegetable gard
Author: Stephen Lewis
2020 has been a challenging year as an emerging virus pandemic has altered the way that society has traditionally functioned. Our social norms have been turned upside down and everyday occurrences that we have taken for granted are being re-evaluated in a new light. Social distancing guidelines have put a strain on how extension agents are able to interact with their clientele, as in-person meetings have been put on hold indefinitely. Therefore, agents must come up with innovative ways to remain
Author: Chadwick Conway
Mushrooms GaloreExtension has always been a place for new innovative techniques for agriculture. Over the years, one of the most exciting and diverse crops that we have taught clients about is Shitake mushroom production. The Knott County ANR Agent has expanded his mushroom class the last couple of years to include growing other types of mushrooms such as white button mushrooms. The Mushrooms Galore Classes has been a huge success, with over 50 families attending the workshop h
Drive-Thru “Plant and Grow Container Garden Kit" Give-A-WayContinuously looking for ways to support clients' success in raising various crops, the Knott County Extension Agent for Agriculture had to take a different approach this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Agent had to get creative in order to meet the guidelines and regulations derived from the current situations. In doing so, the Agent also had to make sure that the needs and wants did not go unnoticed and with an i
Author: Lori Bowling
The Boyd County Extension Horticulture programs have increased the use of social media in the past year to reach a more diverse audience. The program started with increasing facebook posts about upcoming programs and then posting pictures of community involvement in the programs after they occurred. This resulted in an increase in interest and participation in programs. As the events of the Covid-19 crisis started to affect how the Extension service was able to continue w
Author: Amy Aldenderfer
Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays https://kentuckyhortnews.com/horticulture-webinar-wednesdays/ During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Horticulture agents, headed by Andrea Stith and Amy Aldenderfer, started the Horticulture Webinar Wednesdays as an alternative to in-person horticulture lessons. The live webinars are Wednesdays at 2 p.m. ET and 1 p.m. CT. Utilizing a volunteer scheduling website, agents, specialists and other experts were recruited to present a 30 minute
When the "stay at home" order came, the Hardin County Horticulture Agent had many classes planned for a face-to-face format. Since that was no longer an option, webinars, podcasts and Facebook posts became the norm for disseminating horticulture information to clients. For classes that had materials already purchased like "Making a Bee Hotel", the participants were given the materials to make the item and directed to a Youtube channel to receive directions on asse
Author: Catherine Webster
Community Container Garden KitsThe Simpson Co. Extension Office saw an increase in requests for information from families wanting to grow their on vegetable garden during the pandemic. Some families feared a food shortage while others wanted the assurance of a safe food supply. As a result the Extension Agents for 4-HYD and ANR worked together to create a new program to meet this need, Community Container Garden Kits. Agents recorded a video demonstrating how to grow a tomato c
The Gardener's Toolbox Series is a part of the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service’s horticulture classes to address a gardener's need for more information.The classes vary in their length and subject matter. This year topics included:Composting, Conifers for KY Gardens, Worms Eat my Garbage, Holiday Wreath Making, Veggies 101, Advanced Composting, Making a Bee Hotel, At the end of class, all attendees receive a "starter pack” of seeds, plants or
During the COVID-19 outbreak which caused schools to close their doors during the 2019-20 school year, keeping youth engaged proved to be difficult for many families. The UK Extension Service in Hardin County made a conscious effort to ease that burden by creating and making available to-go type projects in-a-bag that were accessible in our Extension Office foyer since the office was closed to foot-traffic. Three Hardin County Extension agents and two Extension program assistants re
Author: Rebecca Konopka
Extension Offers Helps Provide Access to Nutritious Foods In Carter County 17.6% of seniors and 27.1% of families with children are below the poverty level. With limited grocery stores in Carter County, many families have little access to nutritious foods. The Carter County Extension Office uses a variety of methods to help meet this community need. To encourage local citizens to grow their own food the Carter County Extension Office participates with other countie
Author: Kristin Hildabrand
The Warren County Extension Master Gardener Educational Committee identified a spring vegetable gardening program was needed in the community to assist home gardeners be more proactive about getting the garden ready for the spring season. Therefore, the Warren County Extension Agent for Horticulture offered an educational program entitled “Can you dig it? Getting the Garden Ready for Spring!” at the Warren County Extension Office facility in February 2020.During this evening program,
Author: David Embrey
Due to current events many families found themselves faced with empty store shelves in 2020. As a result many families had a new or renewed interest in home gardening. The Edmonson County Agriculture & Natural Resource (ANR) Agent and the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Agent partnered together to create a home gardening kit for families in Edmonson County. The kits contained 21 varieties of seed, seed starting trays, soil, SNAP publications on gardening, Plate it Up KY Proud
Author: Kara Back-Campbell
Normal life has changed so much in the last few months. Busy meeting rooms have went from bustling to empty. The methods often used for education have had to be adjusted for these changing times. Before the pandemic the horticulture agent had been holding horticulture classes at the local public library. The classes were held on the 2nd Friday of the month in the morning, and the class was repeated the following Monday in the evenings. Thus, allowing more people to participate. Topics ranged fro
Author: April Wilhoit
Since 2018, the Buffalo Trace Counties have hosted a Apple Tree Grafting/Pruning Workshop annually for folks to attend to learn more about selecting apple varieties, grafting techniques, pest control, and pruning to maintain good plant vigor. The hands on learning has provided over 130 folks with the opportunity to learn more about fruit tree care and production over the past 3 years. One of the attendee's that attended the 2018 session stated that their apple trees had improved
