A lesson on soil and soil types at Hydromania science camp. Photo credit: Amanda Woodlee
Hello! My name is Cadence Cooley, and I am interning at the OSU Extension office in Umatilla County throughout the summer. I was born and raised in Hermiston, Oregon, and graduated from Hermiston High School this June. I plan on attending Eastern Oregon University this fall and majoring in elementary education.
Introduction and ice breaker at Camp Cloverbud. Photo credit: Shauna Newman
I have been involved in the livestock and 4-H industry, showing swine for as long as I can remember, and I participated in FFA throughout my high school years. These programs have really shaped the person I have become today. Seeing how I am going to be helping in the 4-H and Master Gardener programs, I think this will be right up my alley.
So far, I have helped mainly in setting up our Cloverbud Camp, Hydromania Camp, as well as preparing for our Umatilla County 4-H Dog Show, which will take place in a little under a week. These experiences have been so fun and very informative. I love getting the chance to make new connections with people and see how the inside of the 4-H world takes place. Not only have I learned a deeper understanding of how the 4-H and the Master Gardener programs work, but I have also learned how the people at the Extension office complete all of their tasks. There is all sorts of communication, organizing, as well as networking. I know I will learn so much more this summer and I am looking forward to all that is to come!
Hi, my name is Heidi Moran! This summer, I am an OSU Intern in Union County. I will be a sophomore at Eastern Oregon University, majoring in Elementary Education.
Before starting this internship, I didn’t know about other programs OSU Extension offered. I was surprised at how many different things our Extension office offers. I am excited to learn more about those programs and help them with their needs. This summer, I am helping with our Iron Chef cooking class and am excited to learn more about the program.
I grew up extremely involved in 4-H here in Union County and have had many incredible experiences in 4-H. I am excited to experience 4-H on a different side, working in the office and helping organize different 4-H events. 4-H profoundly impacted my life and I can’t wait to help other youth have experiences like mine.
So far, I have helped with Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, Tri-County 4-H Camp, and our Iron Chef cooking class! These have been incredible experiences and I have learned a lot through them. I have really enjoyed my internship so far and I can’t wait to see what the rest of it holds!
OSU Extension intern Brandi Vance, helping a youth learn to show a market breeding doe at a livestock showmanship clinic in Wasco County. Photo credit: Leah Lowe
Hi all! My name is Brandi Vance I am a senior studying animal science business at The University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. That may seem far away, but I actually grew up 30-ish minutes from Wasco County in Goldendale, Washington. This summer I am an intern in the Wasco County 4-H Extension Office. So far, this summer has been everything I had hoped! As someone wanting to eventually become a 4-H agent, I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with youth and their projects and cannot wait to continue.
Growing up, I was a 4-H member from a Cloverbud earning participation ribbons in cooking demonstrations to a Senior showing horses and market goats. I have always loved the agricultural and animal aspects, although I had a chance to do it all, from sewing and cooking to market animals. Being very fortunate to have the support system that I did growing up made this possible, not to mention the amazing 4-H agents and leaders I learned from. I knew as I entered college that I wanted to study animal science as well as get a little bit of the business side. I was not sure what I was going to do when I graduated, until it dawned on me at my last county fair as a 4-Her: I want to be that support system for our future youth. What better way to prepare and see what it really takes than interning at an Extension office!
So far this summer, we have met with state and district veterinarians , helped with all the entries for fair and continued all of the little preparation things that fair requires to make it go off smoothly. I even got to help at a livestock showmanship clinic that we put on for the youth to continue getting them ready for fair in August. I have also helped design a biosecurity plan for the Wasco County Extension Office to have on hand when it comes to livestock animals at the fair. I worked on our Senior recognition night flyers as well as designed some interview questions for our Junior Superintendent program. Another project that I have worked on is designing our Junior Superintendent training for youth chosen to help the Superintendents in the barns over fair.
In the coming months, I plan to organize many items for fair to help everything run smoothly. Other tasks ahead include training the Junior Superintendents as well as designing some sponsor posters to hang in our barns. I will also be attending the Wasco County Fair the third week in August and helping in many different areas, which is exciting for someone who has done many aspects of 4-H. I am thrilled to get to work with youth and be getting a close-up look at my dream job!
Hi, my name is Sofie Carlson, and welcome to my first blog post! I grew up in Vermont and went to school at St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. I graduated this past May with a degree in environmental studies and economics and now I am spending the summer as the natural resources intern for the Lincoln County Extension office. This is just the second time I have ever been out West and I am really enjoying my time here.
At Gibson Farms in Siletz, collecting blueberries and blackberries to be sent to the lab in Corvallis for testing. Photo credit: Sofie Carlson
It is now Week 5 of my internship, so I am about halfway through – time is flying. As the natural resources intern, I have mainly been working with my supervisor, Evie Smith, the Small Farms and Master Gardener coordinator in Lincoln County. However, I am working in several other branches of Extension, including Sea Grant, SNAP-Ed, Agriculture and 4-H.
Here are some of the projects I am in the midst of:
– I am assisting in the composition of the monthly newsletters that Evie sends out: Small Farms TLC Newsletter, which provides relevant information for small farms and ranches in Tillamook, Lincoln and Clatsop counties, and LC Master Gardener’s Newsletter, which contains information and expertise to help our Master Gardeners (and any other readers) meet local challenges. I have never put together a newsletter before, so it has definitely been a learning process, but luckily, I have a great mentor to show me the ropes.
– I am in the process of redesigning and distributing an updated brochure for Lincoln County Local Foods that will deliver information on all of the producers in Lincoln County that are doing farm direct sales. Farm direct sales are when the farmers sell directly to you, without a middleman, by methods such as farm stands, CSAs, and dock sales. The brochure lists which farms sell at the four local farmers markets in our county, what they sell, how to contact them and when the markets are held. Last weekend I joined our FCH/SNAP-Ed Program Coordinator, Beatriz Botello, in her Cooking Matters Tour at the Newport Farmers Market, which inform people how they can use their SNAP benefits at the farmers market. It was an educational opportunity for families to learn how to budget, compare prices and shop locally.
Juntos en el Jardín: Moving compost at the community garden. Photo credit: Michael Christy
– I am collecting blueberries and blackberries at Gibson Farms as part of a larger ongoing research project that monitors a pest called spotted wing drosophila. This is a weekly task that I look forward to because I get to be outside, chat with Farmer Alan, and eat a ton of freshly picked blueberries.
– I am also assisting in the maintenance of a project called Juntos en el Jardin, which is a community garden located at the Newport Fairgrounds and this week I will be joining Angee Doerr, Sea Grant marine fisheries educator, to run her annual Shop at the Dock program, teaching families about Newport’s commercial fisheries through a tour of the port. This program is a unique opportunity to meet the fishermen and boats that we buy our seafood from. It will be running for five weeks on Fridays.
So far, this position has been valuable, rewarding and fun. It has been a great way for me to explore several future career paths while gaining new knowledge and experience. I have enjoyed working for Extension and feel very lucky to be living with family in Oregon. I am looking forward to continuing working on the projects I’ve started, making new connections, and taking advantage of my time here until I head back East. I am very thankful for this opportunity. Catch you on the next blog post!
Ashley gets splashed by day camp participants at the YMCA pool. Photo credit: Lisa Parlette
Hi everyone! I’m Ashley Armstrong, intern for the OSU Extension 4-H Youth Development program in Josephine County this summer. This fall I’m headed into my senior year at OSU, majoring in agricultural science with minors in leadership and agricultural education. I graduated from 4-H in Josephine County back in 2020, and it was actually my time in the program and my trip to 4-H National Congress in 2021 that inspired me to do the work I am now, as well as to pursue a career in 4-H after graduation. My supervisor, Lisa Parlette, has already taught me so many things that will be incredibly useful in my future regarding things like program planning and delivery.
This last week we finished up our last day camp, and while they have been incredibly fun I am glad we will now have more time to prepare for our upcoming county fair. Of the three week-long camps that we held, my favorite was the Wonder of Water. We got to learn more about the water cycle, how Grants Pass filters water from the Rogue River for us all to use at home and how water moves. Plus, we got to go swimming every day. All of our youth participants seemed to have a wonderful time, and it was amazing to get connect with them and teach.
This summer is certainly a special one for 4-H in Josephine County, and I am so thankful for all of the public support I have been seeing throughout the county with my work. Lisa, Keith Hall (the 4-H program assistant,) and I have been hard at work preparing everything for fair, and we are incredibly excited for what is in store for our 4-H’ers this year. Our goal is to keep our participants happy, safe, and learning at fair to show Josephine County that 4-H is a place for all youth to thrive, be accepted as who they are, and to learn and grow both within their projects and within themselves. As a 4-H alumni from this county, I can tell you that is absolutely what this program is all about.
See you at the fair! It’s bound to be fun for the whole herd.
