2018-19 Carson City Extension Stakeholder Report
Our goals for FY 2019-2020 are to expand the outreach and impacts to increasing numbers of children, their families, and residents throughout communities across Carson City. Our staff and volunteers are committed to continue 4-H youth development programs and explore expansion to provide adult programs all based on findings of a community needs assessment, which was conducted in the spring and early summer of 2019. The needs assessment will be available through an internet link whereby views and recommendations in six program areas can be identified by Carson City residents from the community, education, family and consumer sciences, government, natural resources, agricultural, and business sectors, among others. A transition occurred in December of 2018 from our Extension Educator being Dr. Lindsay Chichester to Dr. Lisa K. Taylor.
In 2018-19, ten active Carson City 4-H Clubs held their family-focused club meetings and related hands-on activities on specific project areas of Cloverbuds, sewing, dogs, gardening and nature, large livestock, poultry, rabbits, sewing, and shooting sports (2 clubs), under the guidance of 20 certified and trained volunteer leaders. Our youth gained life skills that supported their learning of how to think not what to think, one of the basic foundations of 4-H. Hundreds of traditional and afterschool youth members gained leadership, public speaking, safety, problem solving, and teamwork skills through their 4-H club experiences. Each project club included elements of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) concepts in their ongoing club work so important to the continuing education of our youth through Carson City 4-H. Carson City Extension collaborated with the Carson City School District to provide STEM programming with elementary youth in three elementary schools as part of the district’s 21st Century Learning offerings. In addition, a K-14 effort led by our Hispanic outreach coordinator has reached youth and college age students to encourage career exploration and graduation working with families to increase opportunities for all family members.
Adult Programming led by Dr. Lindsay Chichester and Dr. Lisa K. Taylor, both Assistant Professors and Extension Educators
Family and adult programming focused on areas of relevance to agriculture; food, health, and wellness; community safety; horticulture; natural resources and environment; and youth and family development. Partnerships with leader organizations such as the Carson City Weed Coalition, the Quality Assurance Alliance, and the Greenhouse Project provide unique opportunities to provide research-based education, leadership and support to a variety of community agencies and their members. Unique grant funding opportunities enabled a federally funded SNAP ED Senior Nutrition and Exercise Program to be provided in partnership with the Carson City Senior Center and the Carson City Elks Lodge #2177. In addition to Taylor serving as the city’s point of contact for the 2019 Carson City Fair at Fuji Park, she served on The Greenhouse Project Board of Directors, developed and conducted an area needs assessment with her predecessor, and supervised the work of five staff members.
Carson City 4-H Clubs 2018 – 19 led by Sandy Wallin, Community Based Instructor
Twenty-four 4-H Volunteer Leaders worked with 130 4-H youth members in ten 4-H Clubs throughout 2018-19, developing leadership and life skills in their project areas. Family-focused club meetings included hands-on activities in dog training, showing, obedience and agility; livestock breeding, raising, and showing large animals including dairy cows, beef cattle, market goats, dairy goats, sheep/lambs and swine; rabbit raising and showing; Cloverbuds; Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) projects and field trips; poultry raising and showing; 4-H Shooting Sports, including shotgun, archery, air pistol and air rifle; garden science and nature; and sewing. Participating in culminating events was high on the list of goals to accomplish throughout the year. 4-H’ers received awards for their record keeping, attendance and project work at their annual Awards Ceremony. 4-H volunteers contributed 3,440 hours for 4-H Shooting Sports leaders and 532 hours for other project areas, a value of $89,807 at the Nevada government rate of $22.61 per hour.
2018-19 4-H Highlights
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4-H Council Fabric & Rummage Sale
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Arrowhead Livestock Qualifier
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Capital City Farm Days
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Carson City 4-H Council Fabric and Rummage Fundraiser
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Carson City Fair
-Project Exhibits, Livestock Show, Dog Show, Poultry Show
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Fritsch Elementary School Ag Outreach
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Nevada Junior Livestock Show
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Nevada Outdoor Expo
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Rabbit 101 4-H Summer Day Camp
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State 4-H Expo
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State 4-H Shooting Sports Match
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Western Area 4-H Camp
Four new leaders were certified to replace retiring leaders in existing clubs or start new Carson City Clubs. Outreach for these new clubs began in February. The new 4-H Garden Science & Nature Club is led by a leader working with three families and five children. Club members developed an activity calendar for the growing season and recruiting more members. A new 4-H Sewing Club had five members who learned how to sew and select garments appropriate for their age and purpose. They completed a basic sewing project such as a pillow or skirt.
Select 4-H programs:
4-H 4 Paws Dog Club members worked on completing their Dog Project record books and portfolios in preparation for Awards Night, at which they served as Mistress’ of Ceremonies. They hold workshop meetings for the 4-H’er dog partners three times a month and a business meeting during the last week of each month. The club took on the additional responsibilities for running the Carson City Fair Dog Show and successfully challenging the Livestock show supervisors to allow dogs into Round Robin showmanship. The club partners with Carson City Parks and Recreation for use of Fuji Park Exhibit Hall for meetings/workouts. The club would find it difficult to continue without this generous support. Club members designed and put up a window display promoting 4-H during National 4-H Week at Carson City’s Cracker Box restaurant.
4-H Arrowhead Livestock Club. The club nominated and elected officers who then worked as a team to develop the agendas for all meetings and used leadership skills in including members in making major club decisions. Two Teen Leaders served as role models and mentored younger club members in the planning and hosting of a livestock show qualifier in April. Sixteen club members successfully raised and showed livestock at Nevada Junior Livestock Show. Also, five members showed and demonstrated care of their livestock at the 2-day Capital City Farm Days event. Nine members showed their livestock in Carson City Fair and six members showed at the Silver State Livestock Show. These club members found funding for and located awards for the Carson City Fair Livestock Show. One member provided an Ag Day program about her dairy cow and piglets at a local elementary school. As well, teen members assisted with barn management at the local Fair.
Carson City Cloverbuds Club. The club leaders developed a yearly calendar with input from their members, 5 to 8 years of age. Their Facebook page hosts upcoming meeting details and pictures from their many activities where they wear their club 4-H t-shirts. A Pajama Drive was continued as their annual community service project for local Carson kids in foster care. They hosted a Fireworks and Bottle Rockets day in July. In August the families participated in a National 4-H Science Day STEAM activity “Wired for Wind” in August, participated in a Fibonacci Day in November, learned about all kinds of calendars in January, and hosted a Garden Science Day in late May. Throughout the year, club members made items and completed project exhibits for the Carson City Fair.
4-H Carson Cluckers Poultry Club. Three new volunteer leaders were certified and have been working with 10 youth members. Monthly meetings are held at both Fuji Exhibit Hall and Extension’s Carson conference room. Members worked on project record books and portfolios. They select officers each October and develop a yearly calendar. Members are involved in obtaining and raising chickens and other poultry that they enter into area poultry shows to further their understanding of how to best show their birds. Teens assist younger members in expanding their knowledge of raising and showing their birds. They participated in the Carson City Fair and assisted with the Poultry Show. Members raised more than $9,000 for the 2018 Carson City Fair. Residents in area nursing facilities were visited by club members over the Christmas holidays. In addition, teens assisted with an agriculture presentation on raising poultry at one of the local elementary schools.
4-H Carson City Shooting Sports. Ten 4-H Shooting Sports leaders volunteered a total of 3,224 hours of instruction to a total of 48 youth members throughout the year in archery, air pistol and shotgun. Two youth members engaged in special interest presentations, which included an additional 216 volunteer instructor hours in shotgun. All clubs are led by youth leaders who conduct monthly business meetings. Throughout the year, the 4-H Shooting Sports trailer was staffed by certified 4-H shooting sports leaders to promote and teach on fire arms safety to area youth.
Capital City Farm Days. In April, more than 1000 students, pre-K through 5th grade, their teachers and parents cycled through Fuji Park Exhibit Hall and Carson City Fairgrounds stopping by 28 stations of presenters from various local agencies and non-profits to learn about agriculture in Nevada. Students learned where their food and fiber come from, how ranching and farming affect our Great Basin environment and how the environment affects ranching and farming. This year Capital City Farm Days presenters shared information on Nevada rangelands, wild horse and burros, benefits of bats and snakes, invasive weeds, the importance of branding, raptors beneficial interaction with livestock, native pollinators, bees, water, Carson River, native fish, school gardens, organic gardening, harvesting livestock for food, spinning and weaving natural fibers, mines and minerals and Moolissa the milking cow. Members from Carson City Arrowhead Livestock Club brought pigs, dairy cows and lambs to share with students and talked about what it takes to raise market animals. 4-H leaders brought, dairy, market and pack goats to show. All presenters included information on safety around their presentation topics, enhancing the knowledge students, their parent chaperones and teachers take back to their classrooms.
4-H STEM led by James Barcellos, Community Based Instructor
Literally, from its inception, 4-H has stressed Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Here in Carson City, even outside the setting of 4-H Club programming, 4-H STEM can be seen across the community. 4-H kicks off every year with the National Youth Science Day in early October. University of Nevada Extension in Carson City was part of this effort to get an estimated 150,000 kids across the country involved in the Computer Science activity centering on Coding. In conjunction with the Carson City Library and Virginia Evans who leads their Maker Space program, Extension welcomed 15 students ages 10-14 into the Library’s computer center for Code Your World. This 4-H activity integrated CS First, Google’s introductory computer science curriculum, with 4-H’s research-based youth development model, to show kids how they can use code both as a form of personal expression and as a lens to understand the world around them.
Locally, Extension partners with the Carson City School District and Valerie Dockery, director of grants and special projects for the district, to bring science enrichment to three schools through the 21st Century Learning Centers. For over a decade Extension has been a partner with the school district by bringing 4-H STEM activities to three local elementary schools: Empire, Mark Twain and Bordewich/Bray. In this endeavor, Carson City Extension also works closely with Boys and Girls Club and school sites supervisor Stephanie King to get science materials in front of students at these three after-school sites. Our goal of increasing scientific understanding, raising the fluency of scientific language and simply putting STEM materials into the hands of students at these sites has been reached by a combined total of more than 90 visits to these school sites in an academic year and reaching over 700 combined face-to-face contacts with students during the academic year.
Carson City 4-H Council is the driving force behind putting on the annual fabric and rummage sale. Funds from the sale assist graduating 4-H members in attaining their educational goals after high school through an annual scholarship process. 4-H’ers do not have to attend college but can use the funds for continuing education in vocational and trades. The council also awards scholarships to 4-H members to attend 4-H camps and national 4-H leadership events. Extension is also proud to be a City government partner and has had a relationship with Carson City Parks and Recreation for more than 25 years. As part of this partnership, Extension has brought STEM lessons and experiments to the Park and Rec’s summer Kids Kamp at Mills Pak pavilion. During the last summer of this involvement, Extension partnered for 16 site visits to the Kids Kamp and had 192 face-to-face contacts. University of Nevada Extension in Carson City also offered a 4-H summer day camp in cooperation with the Friends of Silver Saddle Ranch, titled Rabbits 101, that was held at Carson City’s Silver Saddle Ranch complex managed by Carson City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Youth learned important skills related to selecting, caring for, and enjoying owning their own rabbits. Extension also proudly collaborated with the local Boys and Girls Club. Working closely with Matt Sampson, Director of Operations, Extension brought science materials and experiments to informal Club visits and was involved in last year’s Summer Specialty Camp at the Club. Extension hosted two sessions of STEM lessons at the Club’s weeklong Camp focused on the environment and renewable energy. Extension had 37 direct face-to-face contacts during the sessions. The Club has also generously hosted our 4-H National Youth Science Day experiment in the past.
Carson City Hispanic Outreach led by Leticia Servin, Community Based Instructor
ALITAS (Alliance of Latinas in Teen Action and Solidarity). The middle school program focused on Latina youth leadership for 8th grade girls. Last year reaching 35 students over 14 sessions 8th Grade, Latina Youth Leadership with the goal of helping Latina teen girls understand the importance of higher education and their future.
META (Making Education the Answer). This high school leadership program educated 12 Latino students by active engagement through mentoring younger students to stay on the right path to college.
The Parent Project reached 35 parents over 10 sessions by providing strategies, tools and training to increase awareness on things (i.e. drugs, gangs, internet) influencing their teenage children. Through this program, parents reported more involvement in their children’s lives, which resulted in positives changes not only for the youth, but also for their families.
The Summer Health Program impacted 15 youth through a twice a week healthy life skills program that was held during the three summer months, June, July, and August.
On National Red Day, 10 daughters and their mothers were led through positive communication activities that stressed the
of self-care that has proven to provide long-term changes of mental strength and positive physical health.
The Home Visit Program impacted 46 families of 9th grade Carson City students wherein our coordinator visited their homes four times last year. These person-to-person contact assisted parents in navigating the school system at the beginning of a school year, helped them understand and provide input to their child’s four-year high school plan, and guided parents in securing community resources to assist the student in keeping on track to graduate on time and pursue higher education. Fifteen parents participated on a new Latino Community PTSA that met monthly to complete online leadership training and assist the Carson City Latin community in providing a supportive network for local family activities implemented in 2019.
Mariposas gathered 32 10th grade youth who had participated in past ALITAS programs that met during four afterschool sessions with the Extension coordinator to reinforce good study habits and help those not actively involved in school activities keep connected with peers and Hispanic role models.
HELP (Home Early Learning Program)/Mommy and Me had eight participants whereby the Extension coordinator made home visits to assist young parents in learning early childhood parenting strategies and preparing their children for entering Kindergarten.
The Carson City Fair led by Extension
The Carson City Fair was very successful in 2018. The grand opening included participation by Carson City Supervisors Lori Bagwell, Karen Abowd and John Barrett, followed by the Escaramusa performers and the Pony Express mounted group. There were 138 livestock entries, 108 static exhibits, 17 different performers providing daily entertainment throughout the duration of the fair, two bands (Journey Revisited and David John and the Comstock Cowboys) that provided the Friday and Saturday entertainment in the arena, a livestock show and sale, antique tractors, vintage cars and trucks, a Safety Day fair, small carnival, food vendors, a coloring contest for the kids and a large silent auction. This event would not have been possible without the support and involvement of Carson City Mayor Crowell and the Board of Supervisors, Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority, Carson City Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee, Parks and Recreation staff, more than 50 local businesses, and 100’s of 4-H families’ and tri-county community volunteers.
Special Thank You to our Carson City and its Residents
The Carson City Extension team is very appreciative of the support and partnership of Carson City, its employees and the city’s residents. We are committed to provide continuing and requested expansion of youth and adult related Extension services even though there may be need for additional supplies, travel, and other associated resources. However, our objectives are to focus on increasing delivery of quality, local Extension programs, assessment activities, and support throughout Carson City as well as securing grants and/or other funding to assist with costs for additional research, outreach, and education. Please contact us at 775-887-2252 for more information.
