EXTENSION TRENDS: BONNEVILLE COUNTY

2022 Impact

The QuickBooks for Farming and Ranching class debuted online in 2022. Farmers and ranchers got assistance with setting up their financial records from the comfort of their own home. The weekly Eastern Idaho Pest Alert Newsletter (April-Oct.) expanded its reach and information to area gardeners. Educator Ron Patterson continued the Idaho Home Garden tips class as a source of real-time, emerging issues assistance to local gardeners with semi-monthly (Feb.-Oct.) online classes. The Idaho Master Gardener classes in Bonneville County were all offered online with hands-on labs during the growing season. Thirty Master Gardeners completed their training.

2022 By the Numbers

• 14,106 direct contacts

• 5,315 youth participants

• 103 volunteers

• 4,103 volunteer hours

• $110,725 extramural funding

Our Advisory Council

Special thanks to our volunteers who help shape programming and inform the work we do for UI Extension in Bonneville County: Kathy Duplessis, Danae Schoenborn, Diane Skoy, Marnie Spencer, Donna Whitham, Mark Whitham, Wendy Radford, Catherine Dudley, Karen Foster, Brian Andersen, Matt Jones, Dayna Jones, Bryon Reed, Stan Boyle, Mark Wilson, Steven Boyle, Wendy Horman, Joy Boyle, Heather Rutledge, Emily Fitzpatrick, Cassie Adams, Cassie Humrickhouse, Molly Brinkerhoff, Jan Prudent, Sherry Glick, Aliece Rasmussen, Vikki Gerdes and Linda Beckstead.

UI Extension Educators

Leslee Blanch

208-529-1390 lblanch@uidaho.edu

Ron Patterson

208-529-1390 rpatterson@uidaho.edu

Paige Wray

208-529-1390 pwray@uidaho.edu

Health and wellness was a focus of family and consumer sciences programming in Bonneville County. Participation in regularly scheduled virtual fitness programs increased. Educator Leslee Blanch provided new wellness topics to the community, including gluten-free/plant-based cooking demonstrations, American Red Cross Healthy for Life series, Dealing with Difficult People, and Carbohydrate Control: A Healthy Eating Pattern. New community partnerships were formed with the Department of Corrections, GEO Reentry Services Connection and Intervention Station, Club Inc. transitional housing, and YMCA. Wellness classes were provided to the Department of Labor, Idaho State University Friends for Learning, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center outpatients, and youth and special-needs programs.

4-H in Bonneville County

The 4-H program in Bonneville County has a strong volunteer base that is growing every year. This makes it possible to include and involve more youth and project areas throughout the county. Educator Paige Wray provides opportunities for volunteers to learn how to get started and best practices for working with youth and running a 4-H club in quarterly volunteer trainings. Teen leadership and STEM, including animal science, have been a big focus for the 4-H program this year. With the help of three AmeriCorps volunteers and three community grant program coordinators, Bonneville County 4-H expanded its day camp, in school, afterschool, and outreach offerings to reach new audiences. 4-H youth were given hands-on experiences such as learning about and practicing artificial insemination, coding a Lego robot and using science in the kitchen.

On the Horizon

Wray will continue to meet the needs of Bonneville County and its youth through quality programming in STEM, teen leadership and healthy living throughout the coming year.

Patterson will work with Extension specialists to develop a farm business management program for online delivery. This program will grant access to local producers at times when a strictly local class will not be large enough to justify.

EXTENSION TRENDS: BOUNDARY COUNTY

2022 Impact

Due to the absence of a county agriculture educator, FCS/4-H Educator Amy Robertson created the Advanced Master Gardener program to help fill the educational needs of Boundary County. This program consisted of 12 volunteer participants. There were several continuing education trainings offered throughout the year as well as many volunteer opportunities. These volunteers helped teach classes to the general public, manned booths at public events such as the farmer’s market and the county fair and helped with other needs in the county.

2022 By the Numbers

• 3,893 direct contacts

• 2,396 youth participants

• 91 volunteers

• 1,995 volunteer hours

• $80,657 extramural funding

Our Advisory Council

Special thanks to our volunteers who help shape programming and inform the work we do for UI Extension in Boundary County: Joan Poppino, Andrea Fuentes, Shirley Anderson, Lauren Kuczka, Wally Cossairt, Kimberly Cushman, Laci Click and Tiffani Beggerly.

UI Extension Educators

Amy Robertson 208-267-3235 amrobertson@uidaho.edu

Chris Schnepf 208-292-2525 cschnepf@uidaho.edu

Another successful program was the continuation of virtual food safety and food preservation classes that had been implemented in 2021. Boundary County partnered with Owhyee County to offer monthly classes on a variety of food topics. These classes had statewide attendance as well as some participants from other states as well as a few other countries.

4-H in Boundary County

There were 227 youth participating in the traditional 4-H program in Boundary County who exhibited their projects at the 2022 county fair. For the 2021-22 school year, UI Extension partnered with BCSD 101 to host a full-time AmeriCorps member. This person focused on providing STEAM education to students at three elementary schools and 4-H Friday Friends during the school year.

A $60,000 grant was received from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to implement programming to help fill in the gaps with learning loss due to COVID-19. Two part-time robotics instructors were hired, and robotics curriculum and materials were purchased. Five-week robotics sessions were provided to every K-5th grade class in Boundary County, and several out of school programs and summer programs that also included many homeschool youth.

4-H Friday Friends celebrated its' 15th year of all-day programming for elementary-age children on Fridays during the school year. This program saw participation from many community visitors including the library, sheriff’s office, and others. This program received $10,000 in grants in 2022, allowing enrollment rates to stay affordable for Boundary County families who had children participating in the program.

On the Horizon

Boundary County, along with two other rural counties in Idaho, are part of a three-year Idaho Children's Trust Fund grant. Funds will be used to implement a free 10-week parenting education program for families with youth ages 5-11. As part of this grant, a parenting education curriculum will be created, designed to meet the needs of rural families in Idaho.

UI Extension, Boundary County was also successful in receiving a second year of grant funding from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and will be using those funds to continue robotics programming for youth ages 5-13. They will be utilizing a variety of programs including LEGO robotics, KIBO, Sphero BOLT, Robot Mouse and drones.

Boundary County 4-H received a Think Make Create Trailer in the fall of 2021. This trailer has been used quite a bit by 4-H Friday Friends and spent a week at the Boundary County Fair. The goal in 2023 is to partner with the schools and other organizations such as scouts and the Boundary County Library to expose more youth to the STEAM curriculum and materials housed in the trailer.