In this edition
- Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program partners with Valley High School
- Universities collaborate to train dietetic interns and improve community health in southern Nevada
- Youth Horticulture Education Program pilots curriculum, establishes partnership to benefit Clark County youth
- Extension teaches Clark County youth how to make healthy choices
- Extension urges Nevadans to test homes for cancer-causing radon gas
- Extension staff at the A.D. Guy Knowledge Center keep youth engaged
- Honors, accolades accorded to Extension, Clark County employees
About our College
A founding college of the University, we have a long tradition of excellence in teaching, research and engagement programs that benefit the health and economic vitality of Nevada. We offer programs in:
- agriculture, horticulture, rangeland & veterinary sciences
- biochemistry & molecular biology
- children, youth & families
- community & economic development
- health & nutrition
- natural resources & environmental science
Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program partners with Valley High School
Maria Chairez is the 4-H site coordinator at Valley High School, in charge of the school’s new 4-H programming.
Students at Valley High School in Las Vegas will soon be offered additional programming before and after school to help those who may have fallen behind in credits needed or are looking for opportunities for engagement. The help will be provided by the 4-H Youth Development Program, thanks to a $120,000 grant from the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program from the Nevada Department of Education.
Beginning in January 2022, Extension will base a 4-H site coordinator, Maria Chairez, at the high school. Chairez will develop and execute programming aimed at helping students catch up and enhancing educational outcomes in general, such as improving students’ grades and attendance, and reducing behavior and discipline issues at the school. By being based on campus, Chairez will get to know students first-hand and can adjust programming as needed.
In her work, Chairez will be piloting the "4-H MAGIC Program." The program, which stands for Mastery, Generosity, Independence and Community, uses six-week sessions that are designed to leverage student engagement, target academic intervention, and provide a diverse offering of enrichment opportunities to develop a community of out-of-school-time learners.
To supplement the grant, Extension has committed an additional $10,000 per year to support the program, and will also provide a variety of additional high-quality enrichment programming staffed by Extension facilitators once a week.
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Universities collaborate to train dietetic interns and improve community health in southern Nevada
At Extension's Healthy Kids Festival, UNLV dietetic interns placed with Extension help children choose healthy foods.
Preventable chronic diseases, such as heart disease, continue to be Nevada's and Clark County's leading cause of death. Nutrition education empowers people to reduce their risk of and help manage these diseases. Extension Specialists Aurora Buffington and Anne Lindsay collaborate with UNLV and other community partners to provide nutrition education to southern Nevadans.
Since 2006, the pair has provided training for about 200 interns from UNLV's Dietetic Internship Program. While training with Extension in Clark County, the interns work on projects to resolve or improve nutrition problems. As part of this effort, the interns have helped implement:
- An updated Bingocize® nutrition and physical activity curriculum for older adults in partnership with Western Kentucky University
- Virtual Extension programming to help women recover from drug addiction, and training for treatment providers on the role of nutrition in recovery
- New ways to measure and improve how facilities, such as a schools, help the people in them make healthy choices
Buffington and Lindsay also train the interns to provide health and nutrition activities for Clark County families at Extension's Healthy Kids Festival and at Hoops for Hope, a basketball camp for underserved youth by Quiet Storm Foundation. In providing the activities, the future nutrition professionals practice the nutrition and health communication skills they will need to succeed, while expanding the activities Extension provides to the Clark County community.
Youth Horticulture Education Program pilots curriculum, establishes partnership to benefit Clark County young people
Extension Youth Horticulture Education Program holds Zoom training for 125 educators at Acelero Learning.
In 2021, Extension’s Youth Horticulture Education Program began a partnership with Acelero Learning of Clark County, a Head Start early childhood service. Over the course of three sessions, the program trained 125 Acelero educators on the peer-reviewed early childhood education Learn, Grow, Eat, and Go! ™ garden-based curriculum, which was subsequently delivered to 672 students. As a result of the pilot’s success, Extension’s Program Manager Tricia Braxton Perry will present a workshop at the 2022 Junior Master Gardener National Leader Training Conference alongside Yvonne Jacob, Acelero’s director of education, disabilities and mental health. The workshop will feature how Extension directed the piloting of this curriculum in Clark County and why Acelero Learning has chosen to use it.
Extension delivered 160 prepared bags of materials to Acelero for the teachers in preparation for the training.
Program Manager Tricia Braxton Perry (left) and Horticulturist Nicole Hansen (right) deliver curriculum materials to Michael Maxwell, vice president of Clark County Acelero Learning Head Start.
Additionally, in the fall of 2021, the program partnered with the Nevada Youth Network to educate youth at the Sherman Gardens Youth Center about the joys and benefits of gardening. Approximately 20 youth 5 to 17 from the Nevada Youth Network have benefitted from the partnership.
"We are so grateful to have been able to have this program for youth in our underserved community,” Gloria Flores, Nevada Youth Network manager, said. “I don't think this community usually has access to programs of this type. The staff was wonderful, the children were observed to enjoy actively participating and learning, and the programming was an excellent addition to our program. We are very grateful!"
Program Manager Tricia Braxton Perry engages a group of youth on the joys of gardening.
Horticulturist Nicole Hansen teaches a student how to hold seeds and seedlings to plant.
Extension teaches Clark County youth how to make healthy choices
Produce Pick of the Month students display their Choose My Plate placemats.
Extension's Health & Nutrition Program has been busy educating Clark County youth through two unique programs. During the second phase of the “I Am a Seed” pilot program, 29 children, ages 4-5, and six teachers benefited from the program at the SNAP-Ed-eligible preschool site, Kids R Us. The curriculum is a comprehensive nutrition-garden education curriculum for early childhood settings. It features:
- Outdoor kitchen areas
- On-site food gardens for growing fruits and vegetables
- Nutrition education, food systems and physical activity that highlights Native Americans
- “Yoga-like” techniques to assist children with relaxation activities that teach them emotional self-regulation
The Produce Pick of the Month program is being implemented in 26 schools in Clark County, with some receiving in-person learning and some learning virtually. In total, the program's five instructors will deliver the program to nearly 2,300 students.
Students eat string cheese during their Produce Pick of the Month class.
Extension’s Produce Pick of the Month is a series of nine monthly nutrition lessons designed to promote fruit and vegetable consumption among second- and third-grade students. The lessons are based on the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Pick a better snack™ lessons, but they have been modified to align with the seasonality and availability of produce in Nevada.
During the 2020-2021 school year, the program's instruction in Clark County schools was conducted virtually. Despite that challenge, more than one-third of students reported an increase in the cups of fruit and vegetables they eat each day in pre- and post-tests. The results also showed a significant increase in eating healthy items, such as salad, fruits, vegetables and milk, and a significant decrease in consuming unhealthy items, such as cookies, burgers and candies.
Extension urges Nevadans to test homes for cancer-causing radon gas
Long-term radon test kits are available at Extension’s Lifelong Learning Center.
Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that is colorless, odorless and tasteless. It comes from the ground and can accumulate in homes, raising the risk of lung cancer. In Nevada, one in four homes tested show radon concentrations at or above EPA action level.
According to experts, living in a home with radon concentrations at the action level poses a similar risk of developing lung cancer as smoking about a half a pack of cigarettes a day.
In recognition of this danger, Governor Sisolak recently proclaimed January as Radon Action Month, and as part of Extension’s Radon Education Program, throughout the month of January and February, Clark County residents can pick up free short- and long-term test kits to identify if radon problems are present in their homes.
More information and a list of test kit locations can be found on the Radon website.
Extension staff at the A.D. Guy Knowledge Center keep youth engaged
100 Black Men of Las Vegas providing Thanksgiving gift cards to Marble Manor families at the A.D. Guy Knowledge Center.
Extension offers afterschool activities for youth at Extension's A.D. Guy Knowledge Center, including STEM projects, art, games, workforce readiness and homework help. On average, 12 to 25 youth attend daily.
In November, youth attended a movie night and enjoyed watching Monster’s University, snacking on popcorn and hanging out with friends.
Additionally, community partners 100 Black Men of Las Vegas gave 40 $50 gift cards from Smith’s and Walmart to Marble Manor residents for Thanksgiving, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority sponsored a Marble Manor family for Christmas, delivering gifts to their home.
Honors, accolades accorded to Extension, Clark County employees
Aurora Buffington.
Aurora Buffington received the western region and national Past President’s New Professional Awards from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She was also a panelist for the Food Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Nutrition Incentives webinar series hosted by the National Nutrition Incentive Hub Technical Assistance Center.
Robin Marx-Mackerley, Teresa Byington, Sarah Wright and Cathryn Peshlakai published a book, Making Space for Preschool Maker Spaces, and Marx-Mackerley and Peshlakai presented on a national webinar about it.
Robin Marx-Mackerley.
Teresa Byington.
Sarah Wright.
Cathryn Peshlakai.
