Author: Jessica Marquez
Major Program: Economic Development and Workforce Preparation - CED
(Jessica Marquez (CRD program agent) guiding student at Southern High School through activity, 2023) The problem Southern High School is a title I school that is part of the JCPS school system. It holds a diverse population of underserve students that are falling behind as reflected by the school report-card. 84% of the students are on track to graduate high-school in 4 years, thats below the state average of 90%. Only 33% of graduates are pursuing college or vocational programs compared to
Author: Bridgett Poteet
Major Program: Communications and Expressive Arts
Providing youth with the ability to enhance and develop communication skills is of great importance in Kentucky. The development of communications skills is one of the preeminent skills necessary to grow as an individual, a community member and a leader. This in turn creates a solid foundation for positive youth development (Jones, K. R. 2006)This year 181 youth participated in State Communications Day. These youth have gained knowledge in public speaking through county and area grouping contest
Major Program: Leadership
The 99th Annual Kentucky 4-H Teen Conference was held at the University of Kentucky June 13-16, 2023. The objectives of Kentucky 4-H Teen Conference are: develop leadership and teamwork skills, improve communication skills, foster civic engagement, expand knowledge and skills related to 4-H core content areas, gain club, county and state 4-H program skills, have fun, create a sense of belonging, expand social skills through networking, develop youth-adult partnerships, and become acquainted with
Author: Nat Colten
Major Program: Small Farm Management
The United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service continues to report decreases in the number of farms nationwide and within Kentucky. Studies like Farms Under Threat 2040, published by the American Farmland Trust in 2022, raise concern about farmland fragmentation and development across the country. However, the fragmentation of agricultural land can also be looked at as an educational opportunity for a majority of Kentuckians who do not operate commercial far
Author: Megan Treadway
Major Program: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
Locally grown produce can provide an important access point for fresh fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet. However, it is estimated that only 8.8% of Kentucky adults meet the recommended amounts of fruits each day and only 5.6% meet recommendations for vegetables (CDC, 2019).In response to these concerning statistics, the Area Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences creatively used the Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud (PIUKP) program to encourage the consumption of locally (and personal
Author: Danielle Kinder
Major Program: Camping
The Adventure in Learning Cloverbud Camp that was administered last year had such a good turn around that it had to be offered again. Due to the demand another Cloverbud Camp was established for Kentucky State University staff as well as the Frankfort community. The 4-H Youth Development team was ready and came together and delivered just what they wanted. This year's camp had around 28 students in the beginning, which was almost double of last year's 15 students that attended the camp.
Major Program: 21st Century Skills (Career & Workplace Development)
Kentucky State University’s 4-H Youth Development program held the 2023 4-H Ignite Conference on April 21st. The conference drew in 100 middle school youth participants, 40 volunteers, 10 chaperones, and 10 extension staff members. During the conference, the participants got the opportunity to participate in 3 of the 6 available workshops of their choosing. One of the workshops offered was a workshop based on Mental Health, which was led by one of 4-H team members. This workshop exposed th
Kentucky State University’s 4-H Youth Development Program hosted their 2023 4-H Ignite Conference on April 21st. This conference is aimed at Kentucky’s middle school youth. This year, the 4-H team decided the 4-H Ignite Conference’s model would be different than what it was in the past. In the past, the 4-H team determined the workshops, and the participants would attend the predetermined workshops, without being able to choose the workshops that interested them the most. This
Author: Brian Walker
Major Program: Science, Engineering, and Technology
The 4-H Youth Development team had there annual S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Camp this summer that targeted suburban/rural elementary age students. This was an incredible success, leaving a lasting impact on the 19 youth who were able to attend the camp. The overall goal of the camp was aimed to provide a fun and educational environment where children could explore various STEAM disciplines and develop their skills and interests. The program was desig
Author: Von Barnes
Major Program: Local Food Systems
The Habitat for Humanity Families Garden received an overhaul with the help of GE’s Local Inclusion Network Connection program in April. Three families had the opportunity to learn some “gardening 101,” such as soil composition and health, companion planting, and mapping out the sun path. The families were enthusiastic to work with three master gardeners and plant what was for some, their first edible garden. Now, they have easy access to a nutritious diet grown by th
Author: Danny Adams
Wayne County hasn't had as much interest in honeybees as some surrounding counties. A few small farmers approached the Wayne County Extension Staff about getting more information regarding care for honeybees and harvesting their honey. The Wayne County Extension Staff that consists of University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University Staff held several meetings this spring concerning the care of honeybees.Through mail and Facebook the extension office informed enthusiast about upcoming be
Author: Chandra DeRamus
Major Program: Family Development General
In Kentucky, a lot of families are faced with challenges by the increase in housing cost and food costs. Within Hardin County there about 46,708 occupied housing units in Hardin County, 61.67% are owner-occupied, while 38.33% have renters living in them. There are a total of 46,708 households in Hardin County, each made up of around 3 members. Family establishments represent 67.67% of these Hardin County households, while non-family units account for the remaining 32.33%. The median household in
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
The fourth grade students at Greenwood Elementary did a discovery walk through the Parklands of Floyds Fork this year. During that walk, they learned about nature and identified plants in the Kentucky ecosystem. One of the plants that was brought to their focus for this classroom program was the pawpaw tree. For this program, 84 students were able to taste pawpaw ice cream for the first time. The students were very excited about the opportunity to try a fruit that they had not be able
Author: Shawn Lucas
The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension program at Kentucky State University, under the direction of Dr. Shawn Lucas, first began working with Tony and Emlyn Brooks, owners of TurnerBrooks Farm in 2018. The farm has an incredible history with Tony and Emlyn farming on land that Tony's ancestors farmed while enslaved. We consulted about hemp production as well as establishment of livestock production and an educational center at the farm. Consulting on hemp continue
Author: Stefaine Back
According to 4-H.org, 4-H is America's largest youth development organization-empowering nearly six million young people with the skills to lead for a lifetime. Skills necessary for youth to become life-long leaders must include intentional life skill development. Kentucky 4-H Camping is a non-profit, self-sustaining entity with operating revenues generated from summer camping programs, environmental camping programs, extension sponsored events, camp sponsored events, and non-ex
Author: Lindsay Heyvaert
Western Kentucky University stands about 2 blocks from the Kentucky State University West Regional Office. Just over 17,500 students attend classes each day and have class hours during mealtimes. They have on-campus food options such as dining courts, coffee shops, and prepared meal stations. Aramark makes sure that these meals and snacks are easily assembled for students, but they’re not all locally sourced foods. I met with Aramark and WKU to talk about how we can support our small
Author: Jeremy Sandifer
Farming can be tough and the economics of agricultural land management can be difficult to balance against the limited availability of time and financial resources. The decision of whether and how often to apply agricultural chemicals, such as fertilizers or herbicides, can have outsized impacts on the overall profitability of small farms, particularly those operating on marginal lands. Programming efforts that address this issue have advertised and demonstrated the utility of geospatial technol
Author: William Rogers
I got the opportunity to go to Jamaica for seven days to show the college of agriculture how to use drones. So, I taught two individuals, a teacher and student worker, how to use the drones and process the data. They went on to teach twenty-five more people how to use the drones. They are seeing how many people they can get to learn how to operate the drones. Using this information they are going to research the way there beaches are changing overtime.
