Monthly Archives: July 2021

Preparing for fair, teaching young gardeners about soil in Lane County

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Hello everyone! My name is Ally Hand, and I am an intern in the OSU Extension office in Lane County for the summer. I will be working under the supervision of Elizabeth Gangwer, 4-H Program Coordinator for Lane County.  

I am originally from Bend, Oregon, but have spent the last few years in the Willamette Valley and intend to stay. I am a senior at OSU, studying horticulture with a focus in sustainable production. 

Some of my interests include gardening, cooking, baking, reading, listening to podcasts, and cross-stitching. One interest that I plan to get back into over the summer is brewing kombucha and maybe trying my hand at canning. 

As a Pacific Northwest native, you may guess that one of my interests is hiking. I visited Silver Falls State Park for the first time in June. I went during the weekend and didn’t anticipate seeing the trails packed with people. I would definitely recommend going, just expect there to be a lot of visitors if you’re going on a weekend. 

I was first exposed to OSU Extension when I was in elementary school when my grandma became a Master Gardener. Yet, I didn’t think about Extension a lot until I reached college. 

During my third year at OSU, I found out there was a class I could take called “Introduction to Extension & Engagement.” That 10-week class taught me the ins and outs of all things OSU Extension and ignited a spark inside me that hasn’t burnt out. 

During my internship I will mainly be helping out with Lane County 4-H and their Youth Fair that will be from July 20-July 25. So far, I have done quite a bit of preparation by making schedules, organizing boxes, and designing signs. I’m hoping that I also get to collaborate this summer with the horticulture and community agriculture side of Extension, as well. 

In between fair preparation I have also been planning two Junior Master Gardener camps that are  scheduled for August 9-12 and August 16-19. Teaching youth about plants, gardening, and especially soil, is a passion of mine, so I am looking forward to those two weeks. 

I started at OSU in 2016 and have my fingers crossed that I will finish up in spring 2022. My intention is to work for OSU Extension in the form of community outreach and working with farmers across the state. For now, I don’t plan to attend graduate school but I would love the opportunity to attend someday. 

I am truly looking forward to a summer filled with all things OSU Extension and all of the community connections that I make. 

Getting to work behind the scenes in Lake County Extension

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Hello!  My name is Alyson Yates, and I grew up in the high desert and sagebrush of Lakeview, Oregon.  I began my involvement in the OSU Extension 4-H program as a fourth-grader and continued to show livestock and participate in the arts throughout my time in high school.  I also traveled to National 4-H Congress in Atlanta as a part of the 2018 Oregon delegation, and during my final year, I served as an Oregon 4-H state ambassador.  While I still raise livestock, I also love to travel (domestically and internationally), spend time outdoors, paint and take photos.  During the academic year, I work as a student marketing photographer at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. I recently completed my first year at EOU, where I am studying agricultural science and pursuing minors in animal science and comparative international agriculture.  

During my junior year, I hope to study abroad at either Lincoln University in New Zealand or the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to focus on global sustainable agriculture and outreach. After earning my bachelor’s degree, I plan to earn a master’s degree in agricultural education before finding a career within university Extension 4-H program development. 

This summer, I will be an intern at the Lake County Extension office, working alongside Breann Vandenberg, the county’s 4-H youth development & family community health outreach program coordinator.  Throughout the upcoming weeks, I hope to interact with the youth of Lake County through both livestock and non-livestock projects, inform members and their parents about the many impactful leadership opportunities available through 4-H, and gain experience with 4-H program development behind the scenes.  I would also love to incorporate one of my other passions, photography, into this position, and help to cultivate the growth of fine arts programs in Lake County’s 4-H.

I believe that youth are essential to the future of agriculture in our country,  and that providing education, support, and opportunity for rural youth to thrive is possibly the most important thing that our generation can do to cultivate a future of agricultural sustainability. 

I want to be able to provide these things to the youth in my community and encourage them to grow and better themselves through many different outlets, just as I was fortunate enough to do.  Since I hope to ultimately find a career within Extension, this is an extremely valuable experience for me, and I am so excited to get started.

 

 

 

Dedicated to disaster relief and community needs in Jackson County

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Hello everyone!

My name is Kanar Shaiban. My home country is Yemen, and my family and I moved to the United States a few years ago. While they settled in Virginia, I live in Oregon. My favorite hobbies are hiking and fishing.

I am currently a senior at OSU majoring in public health with a focus on health promotion. In addition, I intend to pursue a minor in global health. I am proud to be an OSU Extension intern this summer, where I will be working under Caryn Wheeler’s supervision at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Jackson County. Caryn is an assistant professor of practice in the Family and Community Health Program in OSU’s College of Public health and Human Sciences.

My internship will be dedicated to disaster relief and community needs, and I’ll be working with those who were displaced by the Almeda fire last September. I’ll be collecting data on the unmet needs of the survivors. I’ll also create a development plan for those individuals by implementing some proposals and opportunities into practice.

Before the internship began, I had many doubts that I would be able to succeed, mainly because everything seemed hazy at first. However, I gained confidence within a week as I better grasped the Extension’s aim and objectives. Caryn, in particular, was beneficial and supportive. She provided me with direct support and coaching to assist me in achieving my goal. In the first two weeks, she organized a series of community meetings to help me gain a better understanding of the work, the community, and the organization’s partners. She helped me observe and think creatively. Without her, things would not have been the same. To me, she is a vital component of the internship’s outstanding success.