Hold the Passion...

When I first began my internship I was relieved to know that I would be spending the summer doing something I absolutely loved. Kentucky 4-H and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension have always been near and dear to my heart and I feared that as I grew older I would lose the passion I have for educating and promoting positive development in the future generation. As I finished up my officer year, I was excited to be able to channel all the energy I had been focusing on bettering Kentucky 4-H to bettering myself, preparing to serve the organization in a different way, as a Cooperative Extension Agent.
Working in the Muhlenberg County Extension Office this summer has been an absolute blessing. I gained a big sister in Mackenzie, the 4-H agent, and I know that if there is absolutely anything that I need in the upcoming years that she will be right beside me through this entire journey. Planning my project has been an absolute blast as well! I have always really loved planning large scale events, so when planning this one in particular I was more than ready for all the little details that come with it. Having a Cloverbud Day Camp is a pretty large endeavor and I didn't realize that until we were far into it, but I'm not afraid of some hard work.
 Although my internship is still about a month away from ending, I'm holding the passion that I came in to this with. My main goal in anything I put my heart into, is to finish strong and this will be no different. I have met all kinds of new, amazing people in this program that I look forward to hopefully having as co-workers. This summer may be ending, but my future with Extension is just beginning. I truly believe that this summer gave me an insight into my future, and I must say I'm beyond excited to see where this journey takes me!

Summer in Review

           While reflecting on my entire summer with extension, it simply makes me smile. Working in the Knox County Extension office is a blessing, not only because it is my home county, but because of the unity of the office. If one employee or agent needs help with anything, the others never hesitate to offer their assistance. While here I have saw the staff encounter some really rough people and they continue to have the same professionalism that they always have. Knowing that each office is different, I would like to say that the Knox County office is excellent at what they do.

           My Beef Interest Day went very well. We had less people than we had anticipated to come, but the participants who did come got a lot out of the program. We had three adults and two 4H members that attended. We really targeted the new beef producers, beef producers who have children, and the local FFA chapter. With the recent retirement of the FFA Advisor, it was really hard to target this group. Either way, the one who attended was the chapter President who really enjoyed the day. We had an hour long classroom session, where we discussed anything and everything from breeds to dietary needs, diseases and even proper handling of cattle. Once we had concluded this we had an awesome lunch made for us by a local beef cattle producer and his wife. We then proceeded to my family’s farm where the younger ones fell in love with showing cattle. The adults really appreciated getting to see the proper selection of cattle and having cattle’s anatomy explained right on a cow. I believe that this fall when we begin to do some livestock club meetings we will see these eager members back to get their own animal to show next summer. The older men who came, all have plans to get a small beef cattle herd in the future. I look forward to seeing how their herd turns out in the future.

           I have learned a lot of things from my supervising agent Wayne Kirby this summer. The most important thing that he has stressed to me is to treat everyone the same. This is a very valid point that he makes. It is easy to get caught up going to big farms with new John Deere tractors and state of the art facilities and not go visit the small producers. The small producers are just as important as the large producer. The next thing that he has stressed to me is that no matter how much you dislike something you must ensure that you get that producer the proper information and help with their agricultural endeavors. Something that I dislike doesn’t mean that every producer doesn’t have to like it. You have to overcome the difference and help them just like you would someone with two hundred beef cattle. The third major thing that he has stressed to me is that you have to fit in with the people. With the very diverse culture of Eastern Kentucky, if you look or act better than them they will just write you off. I saw this in action my very first day. I showed up wearing khakis and a button down shirt tucked in with nice boots. We went to the local feed store to test the moisture content of his corn and he ask if I was from the state. I immediately knew that this is a blue jeans and polo dress code after he said that. The next thing that I was taught was you are an aid to a farmer not their boss. When they ask for help and you give recommendations you can’t get discouraged if they do not do what you recommend, it’s their choice and their money.

          

          I would like to think that after seeing the inside of extension that I would love to become an agriculture agent in the future. I believe that there is a bright future for the agriculture in the state as well as Eastern Kentucky. If we can bridge the gap between producers and the newest technologies offered that production rates and yields will soar. I look forward to seeing agriculture change in years to come.

The Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Club

If I've learned anything about Extension in my 12 weeks with CEDIK, it's that no two projects are alike. I tried to keep that in mind as I was putting together The Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Club, a Youth Engagement Leadership Program focused on entrepreneurship that would be based at the Plantory in Lexington.

It was through The Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Club that I was able to meet Anthony and William, two aspiring entrepreneurs with a real passion for making their community better.

Over the course of the program we asked big questions, like "Who, what, and where makes up your community?" I was taken aback by how well informed the boys were on issues specific to their community.

A program I had thought would showcase community problems, had quickly evolved into a space for youth voices to be heard. Anthony and William both hope to own a business that not only stimulates the local economy, but also provides jobs and financial security to those close to them.

For someone who loves to talk as much

as I do, I found myself doing a lot of listening. Both Anthony and William had very different but valid views on how to better their communities. Anthony was eager to provide transportation for those who did not have easy access. William focused on creating a specialty business that could bring in customers from all over the state.

On July 27th, 2016 Anthony and William will present their business plans to their friends, family, and community at the Plantory.

The Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Club taught me a lot about the strength that comes from empowering others. Just by donating our time and energy, we created an environment where youth felt welcome to share their ideas and interests. The mission statement of Extension is to "make a difference in the lives of Kentuckians through research based education." And I am pleased to say that The Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Club definitely made a difference in mine.

Wrapping It Up



Learning how to
 pressure can green beans.

Giving sample of the Big Blue Muffin
at the Farmer's Market.

In the past month, I have added a few things to my list of experiences for this summer! I was able to attend the Farmer’s Market twice and gave out samples of the Big Blue Muffin and the Blackberry Peach Crumble recipes as well as the recipes to both of those items. We also wrapped up our June program at Bryan Station High School on a rather sweet note with ice cream in a bag. The FCS agents and I also held a pressure canning class in which we taught and practiced how to can green beans in a safe way. In the middle of July, we spent a week with 8 awesome kids at the office as the SNAP-Ed and EFNEP assistants held a cooking camp. I was able to assist them all week and get to know the kids. They were eager to learn about food and loved picking ingredients such as potatoes and blackberries from the garden to use in their recipes each day. It was also an opportunity for the whole office to come together and teach a lesson about their area. We made aprons, learned about bugs, composting and grill safety, just to name a few. All of these activities have helped me gain more of an understanding as to why the people of Fayette County need to understand where their food comes from and how they can use it. Unrelated to my food frenzy project, I have been able to help at the Bluegrass Fair at the cattle and hog shows this past week, have had more opportunities to sit in on Job Club and I have one more round of 4-H camp the first week of August!


Leslie, a SNAP-Ed assistant
explaining measuring to the
 kids at our cooking camp.


I have learned so much this summer that I will use in my career and throughout my life. My project has opened my eyes to the various kinds of people and class levels in Fayette County. I have been able to help people learn about healthy eating and physical activity in nearly all of the food-centered programs I have assisted with this summer. I have enjoyed my time with the SNAP-Ed and EFNEP assistants and the kids that they serve. I did not have very much experience teaching kids younger than high school age before my internship, but now I am very confident in teaching them even more so than adults. As my internship comes to an end within the next couple weeks, I am thankful that I have had this amazing opportunity.  

Does it really have to end?

I really can't believe that 10 of my 12 weeks as an intern have went by so fast. I'm not ready for it to end! Being an intern has been an incredible experience with learning opportunities every step of the way. I get paid to do what I love, I get to work with people of all ages, and I get to experience new things! How awesome is that?
     Since my last blog post, I've had even more opportunities thrown my way. The first one being 4-H camp! I've been going to camp for the past 5 years, but this year was probably my favorite. I was able to experience more of the agent side of it- especially all of the paperwork involved. Along with that, I was able to hold the absolutely adorable screech owl that you can see in the picture! A HUGE thank you to Mitch Whitaker and Letcher County's Raptor Rehabilitation Program for coming to visit us at 4-H Camp.
     In my last blog post, I mentioned my intern project that was still being planned. On July 18th and July 19th, I was able to host a Lego Robotics Day Camp for the teens and youth of Martin and Lawrence County. Our teens went first on Day 1 and learned how to build, program, and operate Lego Mindstorms EV3 Robots. They also did so well, that together we learned how to use the touch sensor and the color sensor. Not only did they learn that day, but I did too!
     Day 2 was our "kiddos" as I like to call them- 44 to be exact. They're our 6-13yr olds and they were a Blast! My teens returned to help our kiddos and talk them through it with me. Along with my teens, I had 2 agents, 2 program assistants, 1 fellow intern, and 6 adult volunteers. It was great to see everyone working together! Our kiddos were in groups and they too learned how to assemble, program, and operate their group's EV3 robot. They did fantastic!
     SET (science, engineering, technology) is where my heart is. I absolutely love almost anything that has to do with SET or STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Therefore, along with learning with robots, our kiddos and teens learned what the 4-H STEM initiative is, what kind of jobs fall into the SET career field, and what opportunities they had in the world of SET/STEM.

     What I want to do after I graduate college changes about every week. However, the thought of eventually becoming a 4-H agent has never left my mind. This summer has made me fall in love with 4-H and UK CES even more. Watching youth learn something new, or teens exhibiting leadership skills, or even seeing a kid at Wal-Mart that remembers you're the girl from 4-H is truly a blessing.
    

I just hope that one day I can impact youth as much as they continue to impact me. I'll forever be thankful for my summer spent as the Martin County 4-H Intern. It has been incredible! 

-Bre Howell

Martin County 4-H Intern

"Fair Days!" Aka Project Based 4-H Summer Day Camps

     When tasked with researching, planning, implementing, and evaluating a project this summer I was more than a little stumped. My internship is in a community that I was not familiar with nor did I know hardly anyone in the community. How could I possibly pick something to do to benefit a community that I knew so very little about? Within my first week of working at the LaRue County Extension office though, I knew exactly what I would be doing.  LaRue County is a rural community located in Central Kentucky. It is the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln and home to a 2 week long county fair, week 1 and week 2 separated by a whole month. There are very few summer programs for youth to be involved in and this sparked the idea for my project. The first week of fair holds the joys and wonders of the carnival rides, sheep show and rabbit show. The second week of fair entails the truck pull, all other livestock shows (including chicken), and all 4-H exhibits. Normal participation in the second week of fair has been on a steady decline for the past several years and Misty (LaRue County 4-H agent) was looking for a way to boost participation, to encourage youth to enter items into the floral hall. From this, combined with information given about the county in the county profile, we decided my project would be to plan and host various day camps different weeks of the summer that would educate the youth on relevant and interesting topics but would also allow them to complete different projects that could be entered into the fair.

     We set up 3 different day camps, the first to be centered around forestry and the outdoors. Here, youth learned to identify several native Kentucky trees and collected leaves from 10 of them to complete a first year leaf collection. The second day camp youth learned about soil, plants, how to make plants thrive in containers, decorated their own containers and planted a couple of tomato plants and various annual flowers. The third and final day camp was centered around crafting. Youth were able to make a basket, design and paint a canvas, make two scrapbook pages, and designed a thank you card while also learning about the importance of sending thank you cards. All of these days went off without a hitch and seemed to be enjoyed by all the youth who attended.
     Never before I have asked a nine year old for serious response on how well they like a program but I did after each of these events. All of the events were rated on average at a 3.5/4 or higher. The youth brought in several of their completed projects and remissness together on the fun times they had while completing the projects.
     Real life application of this project comes in many lessons. First, no matter how much you think you have prevented a group of young kids from keeping a mess, they will find a way to make a mess. Second, the amount of resources and people willing to help make these days as educational and exciting for the youth is amazing. I will fully admit that I did not and still do not know everything about the topics discussed in these day camps. But, with the help of the local conversation office, Department of Forestry, 4-H club volunteers, and the extension staff, the youth learned lots of juicy information and walked away with more knowledge and exciting projects than I ever thought possible.
     Waking into the LaRue County Extension office on May 9th, I never thought I could have pulled off planning three, six hour days camps. I did not know the supportive community, the volunteers, or the youth. Now, after ten weeks, I can say that while LaRue County might be a sleepy, little, rural town, it is rich and thriving with supportive parents and grandparents and excited youth who love doing hands on activities and learning new information.

Finishing Strong

I only have two weeks left of interning, two weeks! When I first began, I knew it would be a long summer full of work, but also lots of fun. Now here we are at the end and I feel like I've just started. Summers in Extension, I've come to learn, are some of the busiest times of the year. In Estill County, July is one of our busiest months. It may be the end of the summer, but our work is nowhere near done.

We begin July with a holiday, but that doesn't mean that Extension takes time off. In Estill County, county fair was just beginning. The fourth of July was used as a day to get our fair barn ready for all of the entries that came flooding in the next day. Tuesday was entry day and we had over 900 entries in 4-H alone! Needless to say our fair barn was filled. During county fair we had a variety of livestock shows, including our beef show, cupcake wars, and even a talent contest. It was certainly a busy week!

The week before county fair was a fun-filled week as well. We began by taking a group of our kids to Louisville to blow their own glass ornament at Flame Run and to visit the American Printing House for the Blind Museum. The rest of the week was spent conducting workshops for county fair. Over the course of the week 9 separate workshops were held in our office. This made for lots of fun, lots of fair entries, and lots of clean-up so that we could get set up for the next workshop. Extension is non-stop!

After surviving those weeks and the past few conducting my summer feeding program we are now getting ready to for summer to wind down. We still have a cooking camp to come as well as open houses for our local schools and the finale of the summer feeding program. We will also be welcoming our new FCS agent at the beginning of August. So little time and so much to do!