Region 11 Week 2
This week was both busy and exciting as we continued planning for our many youth nutrition programs to take place throughout the summer. We were able to start branching out and getting involved in the communities of Linn and Benton counties.
On Monday, we had the chance to meet with Marion Chamber Director of Member Service to finalize details about the Power of Produce (PoP) Club that we will start implementing into the Uptown Marion Market in a few weeks. We have already planned a few activities to get kids excited about nutrition. At the market, PoP Club members will have the opportunity to plant their own seed, use a blender bike to make salsa, and make fruit & vegetable art. The first Uptown Marion Market will be held Saturday, June 12th at the corner of 8th Avenue and 12th Street in Marion, IA. We hope you can make it!
On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to help out with the first-grade field trip to Rodgers Park. We held a breakout session to help teach the students about watersheds, the water cycle, and water conservation. We used a model of a watershed to explain how clean water can become contaminated when pesticides and fertilizer are not used correctly, when factories do not dispose of their waste correctly, or when floodwaters help aide in water contamination. We also utilized an apple to represent the amount of water we can consume compared to the total amount of water on Earth.
On Thursday, we had the opportunity to meet with Iowa State University Vice President for Extension & Outreach, John Lawrence. We shared information about the projects we will be completing this summer. He wished us luck and is highly anticipating learning more at our final presentation.
We are so excited to finally start implementing all of our planning and preparation into our programs and communities. Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend and see you next week!
– Tatum and Maelyn