Human Sciences
- A member of the First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Pleasant attended a ServSafe class in January 2021 taught by Sara Sprouse. In June, the individual completed the process of having the church kitchen certified and contacted Sara for a food safety training for volunteers. (The volunteers serve a spaghetti dinner in conjunction with the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, a major Iowa event.) Thirteen community members attended the training. There were many positive comments about the class and participants indicated they had learned strategies for providing safe food to the public. Sara now has a request to do another training for more members.
- Human Sciences Extension and Outreach delivers ACT: Raising Safe Kids, an interactive violence prevention program developed by the American Psychological Association for parents of young children. One of the advantages of this program is that the materials are also available in Spanish. This past spring Rosa Gonzalez, a family wellbeing specialist, and Michelle Schott, Polk County family life extension educator, offered the nine-week series virtually to eight Spanish-speaking parents/caregivers in Des Moines. In evaluations, participants indicated they had learned how to calm themselves when they are angry, so their children can learn to control their own anger. They also indicated they had learned to find ways to discipline their children other than hitting or spanking.
4-H Youth Development
- The Plant the Moon Challenge is a global science experiment and project-based-learning challenge to see who can grow the best crops using lunar or Martian regolith simulants. The team-based learning opportunity, with primary, secondary, college, and professional divisions, kicks-off in late February 2022 with experiments being conducted in March through April. Youth will partner with a current research scientist to design and execute their experiments. Iowa State University graduate students in plant science fields will communicate virtually with the teams they mentor to provide guidance throughout the program. The challenge is designed as a support to NASA’s Artemis program to connect space science and planetary research with down-to-earth concepts to introduce students to genuine, rigorous academic research. Teams must prepare and submit a report for NASA scientists by the end of April, and a closing symposium and awards ceremony will be held in May.
- Over 75 school core team members and 4-H staff attended the SWITCH Conference at Iowa State on October 14. They learned to connect their School Wellness Policy with their SWITCH goals and experienced the PE, lunchroom, and classroom module activities. They participated in hands-on workshops and other activities and heard from panelists who have been involved with SWITCH. Core teams left with action plans on how to implement these activities in their programs beginning in January 2022.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
- The Integrated Crop Management Conference returns December 1-2, ready to provide agribusiness and producers information and research updates on the past growing season and tools to prepare for 2022. Now in its 32nd year, the annual event is hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State. This year’s conference will feature 34 workshops to choose from.
- “Lead Like Someone Left the Gate Open” is the theme of the fifth Annual ISU Extension and Outreach Women in Ag Leadership Conference. The event will be held November 29-30 at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center in Ames. Attendees will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with Iowa’s own world-class agricultural speaker, Jolene Brown. She’ll take conference participants through a special leadership journey with three presentations to help build a solid business foundation, while using personal passion and purpose to motivate and celebrate agrarian roots.
Community and Economic Development
- On November 19, the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning Program will celebrate its 25th anniversary in Ames. Since its inception in 1996, the program has assisted more than 250 communities. At least two dozen of those communities gained so much from their first experience that they chose to go through the program a second time to tackle additional goals for their transportation system. Ninety-eight percent of communities that participate in the program complete at least one project. Many additional projects have emerged from the visions developed in collaboration between the designers and community members. Ten communities have been selected for the 2022 program.
- CED is now piloting Grant Writing 201, a program for people who already have some grant writing experience but want to improve their skills and knowledge. Focus areas include identifying/documenting need, partnering with other organizations, budgets, evaluation, and finding grants. Jane Goeken and Lindsay Henderson will conduct Grant Writing 201 in Jefferson on November 15. The program is sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach Greene County and Grow Greene County. CED continues to offer Grant Writing 101. The three-hour, beginner-level program is intended for representatives of nonprofit organizations, local governments, and schools. The workshop covers topics such as challenges of seeking and using grant funding, project planning, identifying potential funders, parts of a grant application, and tips for success. Jane Goeken will present Grant Writing 101 in Lyon County on November 18.