Second Quarter 2022 Impact Report

SECOND QUARTER 2022

CLARK, CRAWFORD, AND EDGAR COUNTIES A snapshot of April, May, and June 2022

Think Global, Act Local Illinois Extension embodies the land grant mission of University of Illinois, providing applied research and education to address societal grand challenges and local issues.

Community Support strong and resilient youth, families and communities

CONNECT WITH US uie-cce@illinois.edu Clark: 217-826-5422 Crawford: 618-546-1549 Edgar: 217-465-8585 @uiextensioncce

Economy Grow a prosperous economy

@uimastersCCE @ClarkCountyIL4H

Environment

@CrawfordCountyIL4H

Sustain natural resources in home and public spaces

Food Maintain a safe and accessible food supply

@EdgarCounty4H go.illinois.edu/WhatsCooking

Health Maximize physical and emotional health for all Photo above: Clark County Shooting Sports Air Pistol members left to right Tyler Shaffer, Caiden Garner, Dylan Daugherty, Bricyn Cassagne, Michael Cervantes, Gabe Cervantes, and Adam Morgan.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

University of Illinois | U.S. Department of Agriculture | Local Extension Councils Cooperating University of Illinois Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment.

MASTER GARDENERS & MASTER NATURALISTS

Call us with your garden or landscaping questions The Master Gardeners have responded to many questions in the past few months. Here are some of the topics: needle drop on a blue spruce tree best ground cover to plant under solar panels how to amend soil PH for blueberries preventing deer from eating hostas tomato plants turning colors possible Emerald Ash Borer damage

Master Gardeners & Master Naturalists

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DIRECT CONTACTS THIS QUARTER

12 EVENTS THIS QUARTER

help to identify a plant tomato bacterial wilt oak tree problem

Every bloom matters to pollinators There has been a lot of emphasis in the last decade on

A busy three months

helping pollinating insects in any way we can. Farmers have taken land out of production and devoted it to pollinator plots, and gardeners have increasingly been planting swaths of their yards dedicated to pollinators. If you want to help but do not have the space or time for an entire garden, you can grow a pollinator pocket.

In addition to their regular monthly meetings, Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists have been busy cleaning flowerbeds in the county, removing wild garlic mustard from a park, helping

Pockets are small gardens scattered throughout towns

students plant flowers, touring local

and neighborhoods that provide a food source for

gardens, and completing continuing

pollinating insects. To see an example, drive by the

education.

Farm Bureau building at 210 West Washington Street in Paris. The Edgar County Extension Master Gardeners planted a trial pollinator plot last summer with plants donated by members.

for more information on pollinator pockets, visit online go.illinois.edu/pocket

VOLUNTEERS ARE THE HEART OF THE PROGRAM Our Master Gardeners volunteer many hours and complete continuing education regularly. They respond to questions on garden or landscape issues, lead programs in schools, create pollinator habitats, and provide general public education on choosing plant varieties, conserving water, pest management, fruits and vegetables, tree care, and composting.

NUTRITION & WELLNESS

Wright told the group how her grandmother and aunt taught her to cook, which translated into the job she enjoys today. Participants learned about reading recipes, the proper way to measure flour, food thermometer basics, and why one must knead bread.

Each family had a table to mix their bread dough, involving all members.

Macke asked guests to complete a personality questionnaire upon arrival.

Using fun animal names to describe the

For the love of food and family

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DIRECT CONTACTS THIS QUARTER

22 EVENTS THIS QUARTER

Using bread making to bring generations together Baking bread uses all senses; the smooth dough, the burping bubbles, the smell coming from the oven, the

different traits, participants discussed the best ways for people to work together based on these traits. Then they divided into partners and answered a series of questions about dreams.

Finally, families were asked to come up with 100 dreams when they returned home and work on finding people who

crusty brown top, and the wholesome taste bring about

would encourage them to achieve their

good feelings of togetherness.

dreams.

Intergenerational participants had the chance to

Once the bread loaves were baked,

experience these senses during Illinois Extension's For

families could taste them and take the

the Love of Food and Family event. Four families, consisting of parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren, learned from Nutrition and Wellness Educator Mary Liz Wright the lost art of breadmaking.

rest home. Each group was sent home with recipes to try and was encouraged to take photos while completing the

While the dough was rising and baking, participants

activities and share them on social

discussed personality traits, interacting with others, and

media.

personal and family dreams with Tiffany Macke, community and economic development educator.

WHAT'S THE ANSWER TO TOO MANY LEFTOVERS? PICKLING! The United States wasted $408 billion worth of food in 2019 - more than a third of the total U .S. food supply.

What's the answer to too many leftovers? Pickling is a process of preserving food, allowing you to keep perishable food for months. In early June, Illinois Extension provided a demonstration on quick refrigerator pickles for people at the Martinsville Fair.

4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Camp Planet Energy One can often find youth at the local libraries during the summer. Partnering with libraries and other community organizations helps Illinois Extension reach more young people because we meet them where they gather to learn, grow, and play.

One engaging program we offered through the Marshall Public Library was Camp Planet Energy, where participants could explore topics on renewable energy. They built windmills and

354

Partnerships in DIRECT CONTACTS THIS the community QUARTER reach more youth

18 EVENTS THIS QUARTER

waterwheels to learn about wind and water energy. They even harnessed the sun's power and made s'more in a solar pizza box oven.

Health Jam has a fun name. Its participants have a fun time too! Martinsville Elementary students in grades 4-6 participated in six weekly sessions with staff from Illinois Extension.

Youth learn about healthy lifestyles, good nutrition, physical fitness, and health-related careers during the program. They even participated in a virtual Walk Across Illinois and logged minutes for miles to earn a cook 4-H drawstring backpack.

THREE EXTRAORDINARY HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Illinois 4-H volunteers empower and prepare youth for success as the program relies on over 6,000 volunteers to fill key leadership and mentoring roles.

Dale Cash (left) from Edgar County, Joe Stephenson (right) from Crawford County, and Gerald Forsythe (bottom) from Clark County were all inducted into the 4-H Hall of Fame in 2022 for their selfless dedication to Illinois 4-H.

4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

4-H

4-H builds good leaders by giving them safe environments to practice all the skills needed to be successful leaders.

4-H'ers in Clark and Crawford counties held carnivals this year for the public and 4-H families. Each club was responsible for creating an activity or game with prizes for participants to play.

Crawford County had over 150 people in attendance and some of the activities included disc golf, a dunking booth, face painting, and Plinko. Clark County participants awarded the favorite game trophy to the Clarksville Co-Eds 4-H club.

Learning just like the big kids, 5-7-year-old Cloverbud members in Crawford County enjoyed a two-day mini-camp at the fairgrounds. They celebrated National Pollinator Week by planting a pollinator plot at the fairgrounds and making seed packets to take home to grow their own gardens.

They worked in the project areas of food science, visual arts, wildlife and natural resources, horticulture, and animal science.

4-H'ers in Edgar County had the chance to be creative at an acrylic paint pour class hosted at the Link Art Gallery in Paris.

These 4-H'ers can enter their paintings in the Visual Arts category Chalk/Carbon/Pigment Division A in the summer show if they want.

This class was just one of many opportunities this quarter for youth to show their creative side.

Just look at those "hands to larger service"! Nearly 160 4-H members, families, and volunteers worked the Edgar County 4-H Association's annual BBQ pork chop fundraiser. They served 1,330 meals (that's 2,660 pork chops)!

4-H provides opportunities for members to work as a team to improve their community, and in the process, they learn to be independent and generous.

CREATIVE YOUTH Participants of the LEGO Creative Sessions in Crawford County were met with a new challenge every month when they arrived at the Palestine Public Library. The local 4-H program coordinator posed problems to the youth, who always came up with creative solutions. In this photo, they created a boat that could actually float.