EXTENSION TRENDS: BENEWAH COUNTY University of Idaho Extension, Benewah County • www.uidaho.edu/benewah
2019 Impact Moving to a new office allowed UI Extension, Benewah County to reach a broader audience in 2019. The new classroom allows for trainings to volunteers and community members that otherwise would not have been possible and makes it easier to offer the afterschool program that serves more than 40 youth four days a week with tutoring, mentoring, and STEM education. The afterschool program operates in a remote, rural area of the county where youth do not otherwise have access to materials or instructors.
2019 By the Numbers • 6,133 direct contacts • 1,063 youth participants • 46 volunteers • 6,675 volunteer hours • $125,202 extramural funding
Our Advisory Council Special thanks to our volunteers who help shape programming and inform the work we do for UI Extension in Benewah County: Becky Harold, Windy Sotin, Erin Reid, Sally Grant, Gretchen Aasgard, Nancy Malensky and Liesa Anderson.
UI Extension Educators Gail Silkwood 208-245-2422 gsilkwood@uidaho.edu
Chris Schnepf 208-446-1680 cschnepf@uidaho.edu
The annual Sixth Grade Natural Resource Tour is a once in a lifetime experience for youth in the St. Maries and Kootenai school districts. This overnight camping tour explores many historical and geological sites common only to Benewah and Shoshone Counties. Idaho Master Gardener volunteers provide assistance to citizens regarding home horticulture and hands-on experience in maintaining several garden areas including along Main Street in St. Maries and at the Benewah County Fairgrounds. More than 50 forest owners, loggers and professional foresters from Benewah County attended UI Extension forestry programs in 2019. Currently, one Benewah County forest owner is a certified Idaho Master Forest Steward volunteer. Idaho Master Forest Stewards provided over 1,126 hours of volunteer service in 2019.
4-H in Benewah County The Benewah County 4-H program serves over 300 youth through traditional clubs and group programming. Twenty-six volunteers oversee 17 clubs and 196 youth enrolled in various projects. The 4-H program also provided day camp programs to 161 youth in 2019. The 4-H program served as a pilot for the new Idaho 4-H electronic record books in 2019. With the technology access in the new office, 22 record book trainings were offered, necessary volunteer training was completed, and access to U of I virtual programs was offered—resources that would not have been available to many participants otherwise. The new Benewah County 4-H Ambassador program has six youth leading teen programming and promotion. The ambassadors hosted the annual open house enrollment night, participated in Christmas in St. Maries, spoke to local community organizations, created presentations about leadership, and are training to be technical assistants for electronic record books.
On the Horizon UI Extension, Benewah County hopes to engage new audiences through a partnership with The Milling Center, a new youth and family community center in St. Maries. Programs will continue to expand, and new programs will be offered through the UpRiver Afterschool program, the Kootenai School District's Afterschool program, the Annual Sixth Grade Resource Tour, and upcoming gardening, agriculture, forestry, natural resources, food preservation, youth camps, and 4-H programs.