Purdue Extension

Spencer County

Annual Report

2018

What Does Purdue Extension Do?

EXTENSION DOES

AGRICULTURE & NATURAL RESOURCES

Extension strengthens all areas of Indiana’s agriculture. From new and aspiring farmers to multigenera-

tional experts, and small farms to commercial enterprises, we provide objective diagnostics and best prac-

tices. Building on our foundation of face-to-face instruction for Indiana farmers, we ensure Indiana re-

mains at the forefront of American agriculture with global reach.

EXTENSION DOES

4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

By teaching the value of teamwork and a strong work ethic, Purdue Extension and Indiana 4-H are pre-

paring today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders – whom we’ll all need to overcome the challenges of

the future.

EXTENSION DOES

HEALTH & HUMAN SCIENCES

Purdue Health and Human Sciences Extension provides education to people of all ages in Indiana’s 92

counties. The community is our classroom – where we bring university information to the local level and

help people strengthen families, spend smart, eat right, and live well.

EXTENSION DOES

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Since its inception in 1914, Purdue Extension has helped strengthen the entire state of Indiana and con-

tinues to do so today. Extension helps provide communities of all sizes, urban and rural, with the re-

sources and opportunities they need to succeed – from enhancing public spaces to creating positive

change.

www.extensiondoes.org

Spencer Co. 4-H Program Continues to Grow

From 2016-2018, Spencer County 4-H experienced 13% growth. This is largely

due to our expansion of programming opportunities, welcoming new after- school

programs. David Turnham Educational Center began it’s second year of hosting

an After School STEM Club and the Junior Leader Club hosted a day camp during

fall break for mini 4-Hers. Heritage Hills Middle School began a new after school

club serving middle school students with a STEM focus. This club also brought two

new volunteers, helping expand our 4-H reach. During 2018-2019 we hope to

maintain this growth and welcome our new 4-Hers into the exciting world of

Spencer County 4-H.

4-H Youth/Development

STEM Club Sparks Love of Science

An after-school STEM Club at David Turnham Education Center reached 30 youth, including 21 not previously participating in 4-H, with STEM topics and activities involving Google Expeditions, Edison Robots, Dash and Dot, Strawbees, Keva Planks, Brain Flakes,

Quiver, Ozobots, and Little Bits.

Nearly all youth participating indicated they learned something new, were more excited about

science and were more comfortable teaching oth-

ers about science.

Junior Leaders Help Fight Summer

Hunger

The Spencer County Junior Leaders received a grant

from the Indiana 4-H Foundation to help fight

summer hunger. Youth held a bake sale during project

check-in to raise matching funds. The 4-H Association

also contributed to the matching funds, leading to the

Junior Leaders funding over 80 meals this summer

and helping 58 youth have backpacks filled with food

over the weekend.

The 4-H/Youth Development

Program serves the youth of

Indiana by providing a strong

education youth development

program. This program delivers

educational experiences in a

variety of settings. Caring, capable

and contributing adults assist in the

4-H program as role models for

youth. The rich heritage of the 4-H

Program is one to be valued and

p a s s e d a l o n g t o f u t u r e

generations.

4-H Camp Brings Youth Together

Spencer County began camping with new counties

in 2018. Knox, Gibson, and Spencer Counties held

4-H Camp at the Historic Santa Claus

Campground June 12-14, serving youth 3rd-6th

grade. Roughly 120 youth participated. Youth

participated in exciting activities such as

swimming, canoeing,

tie dying, and

outdoor cooking.

4-H Camp will again

take place next year

June 4th -6th for 3rd-

6th grade students.

4-H Association Invests in

Fairgrounds Improvements

Continued improvements to the fairgrounds have

taken place over the last two years. A new PA system

was installed in 2017. In 2018 new speakers were

added in the livestock arena and midway to improve

the new system. The final phase of the system will be

in place by the 2019 4-H fair.

Spencer Co. Junior Leaders

funded 80 meals and filled

58 backpacks

School Enrichment Programs Teach Students Life Skills

Purdue Extension supports teachers who seek programs to enhance their classroom curriculum. Nearly 200 students at four elementary schools in the county participated in enrichment programs in 2017-2018 Harassment Hurts and Stop Picking on Me! helped students identify bullying behaviors and effective techniques for standing up to bullies. Captain Cash taught students basic financial management skills – earning, borrowing, spending and saving – as well as life skills such as problem solving and decision-making. Participants in My Yummy Plate learned the importance of daily physical activity and how to use MyPlate to make healthy food choices. At each session a food sample was provided for the students to taste and, on average, 65% of the students indicated they had tried a

new food during the presentations.

Health & Human Sciences

Soup for Supper Gives Busy

Families Homemade Meal Options

Purdue Extension collaborated with Heritage Hills

Middle School HEROES program to present

Soup for Supper, a program designed to provide

busy families with homemade meal options. Five

families, including 11 youth learned how to make

quick, easy homemade soups .

The Health & Human Sciences Program provides education to people of all ages in Indiana’s 92 counties. The community is our classroom – where we bring university information to the local level and help people strengthen families, spend smart, eat right,

and live well.

65% of students participating

in My Yummy Plate reported

trying a new food for the

first time

Applicators Learn New Dicamba Regulations

New Dicamba label restrictions enacted for the 2018 growing season to manage

off-target movement required anyone making applications of Dicamba products

Engenia®, Xtendimax®, and FeXapan® to attend a mandatory training session prior to

making those applications. In Indiana, Purdue Extension was tasked with providing the

trainings. Two training opportunities were offered in Spencer County in early-2018,

reaching 158 private and commercial applicators with information on

buffers, setbacks, recordkeeping requirements, monitoring weather

conditions and identifying sensitive crops. Participants indicated they

had a better understanding of Dicamba label requirements and felt better

prepared properly apply it as a result of attending the trainings.

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Market Vendor Series Helps Sellers Sell

The five-session Market Vendor Series provided producers of fruits,

vegetables, eggs, meats and other locally-grown and/or produced food

products sold at farmers’ markets and other direct-to-consumer venues with

information to help them improve their bottom line. Participants learned about

business planning, marketing, display and set-up, and food safety regu-

lations. Seven local producers participated in the series, all of whom indicat-

ed they increased their knowledge of the topics presented and felt better

prepared to plan, market and sell their products.

“Lettuce” Eat Healthy Teaches

Students Gardening and Nutrition

Childhood obesity, poor nutrition choices, lack of

physical activity, and a lack of food production

knowledge are all issues facing youth in Spencer

County and across the nation. “Lettuce” Eat

Healthy, a program developed and presented by

the Spencer County Office team, addresses these

issues by providing third-graders a fun,

educational opportunity that stresses the

importance of a healthy diet and gives them the

opportunity to grow and eat their own fresh

v e g e t a b l e s .

The program,

now offered in

four elementary

s c h o o l s ,

reached over

1 6 0 t h i r d -

g ra de rs i n

2018. While many of the students had prior

vegetable gardening experience, for a few, it was

their first time gardening. For many, it was also

the first time trying radishes, fresh spinach,

onions, or lettuce.

The Agriculture and Natural

Resource Program provides

educational programs and non-

biased information to improve the

quality of life by enhancing

economic well-being, improving

farm and business financial

security, and developing and

enhancing agricultural, horticultur-

al, and leadership skills.

SW Indiana Wheat Variety Trials Provide

Wheat Growers with Unbiased Results

Producers rely on unbiased, university research when

making decisions on their farms, including seed variety

choices. To help address this need, Purdue Extension

Educators conduct wheat variety trials in Southwest Indiana

each year. In 2018,

identical trials were

conducted in Dale

and Vincennes and

featured 20 varieties.

20 wheat varieties, replicated 4

times, in two locations

2018 Yields ranged from 69 to 97

bushes per acre.

Growing Together Farmers’ Market Gives Free Produce to Children

A Purdue Extension-Spencer County collaboration to increase the availability of healthy foods to families with low income resulted in being awarded a “Growing Together” grant. The partnership between Master Gardeners, the Purdue Extension Nutrition Education Program and Ag and Natural Resources resulted in free weekly Farmers’ Markets for children attending the summer feeding programs hosted at Rock-port Elementary, Chrisney Elementary and David Turnham Education Center. Grant funds were used to plant and maintain the school gar-dens at each location and to purchase materials to conduct the market. Each market was set up to educate children on nutrition and/or gardening and included taste testing opportunities, planting seeds to take home, and learning about insects and other plant related topics. Children were also encouraged to visit the garden, touch the plants, look for insects and to notice the growth of vegetables. During the eight week project, over 350 children attended the markets and approximately 300 pounds of produce

was given to children attending summer feeding.

Nutrition Education Program

Summer Feeding Program Serves

Over 2,600

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) ensures

that low-income children continue to receive nutritious

meals when school is not in session. In conjunction

with the Tri-State Food Bank, North Spencer School

Corporation, St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Lincoln

Heritage Public Library, Spencer County Community

Foundation and Dale Presbyterian Church, we

operated summer feeding programs at Chrisney

Elementary School and David Turnham Education

Center. Both sites offered fresh food, provided with

funding from the Tri-State Food Bank, on three days

each week between June 4th and August 2nd (25 days

of service.) A total of 2,613 meals were served! The

success of this program continues to be related to the

dedication and strong working relationship between

community partners.

Bag of Blessings Ministry Distributes Weekend

Food Backpacks

The Bag of Blessings Ministry is a community based, community

funded backpack program for students in need in the North

Spencer School Corporation. This program, in which Purdue

Extension is a partner, provides “backpacks” of food to children for

weekends and school breaks. Food is obtained from the North

Spencer Community Action Center and Bread of Life Ministry

Food Bank and dedicated volunteers from local churches stuff

“backpacks” that are delivered to the schools and distributed to

children identified by school staff. At this time, 52 backpacks are

distributed each week during the school year. In the schools

served by this program, there are 256 children who are eligible

for backpacks. Efforts

moving forward will be

focused on funding and

community involvement

to be able to increase the

number of children

served through this

program.

Community Wellness Coordina-tors in the Nutrition Education Program (NEP) work on policy, systems and environmental changes to improve nutrition and health in l imited resource communities. Our statewide initiatives concentrate on NEP’s five focus areas: diet quality, physical activity, food security, food safety and food resource

management.

Nutrition Education Program Assistants provide programming that is fun, hands-on, and easy to understand. The highly interactive lessons help participants plan nutri-tious meals, be active, handle food safely, spend food dollars wisely, and improve food purchasing and

preparation skills.

“Making the healthy choice, the easy choice.”

Nicholas Held—nheld@purdue.edu

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Community Development

County Extension Director

Jennifer Mayo—allen393@purdue.edu

4-H/Youth Development

Holly Simpson—simps111@purdue.edu

Health & Human Sciences

Erin Meyer—meyer258@purdue.edu

Community Wellness Coordinator

Danica Williams— will1179@purdue.edu

Nutrition Education Program Assistant

Martha Lopez—lopez188@purdue.edu

Nutrition Education Program Assistant

Pat Cochenour—pcocheno@purdue.edu

Office Manager

Contact Us:

Purdue Extension-Spencer County

1101 E. CR 800 N.

Chrisney, IN 47611

Hours: 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, Monday-Friday

Phone: (812) 362-8066

Fax: (812) 362-8071

Website: www.extension.purdue.edu/spencer

Office Staff