Benton County « OSU Extension Internship Program

Hi everyone! My name is Elsa Buchholz, and I am currently going into my fourth year as an undergraduate student at Oregon State University. If everything goes according to plan, I will be graduating this coming fall. I am majoring in Public Health with an option in Health Promotion and Health Behavior, as well as a minor in Environmental and Occupational Health and a certificate in Medical Humanities. I am based in the Corvallis OSU Extension office as an intern for the Groundwater Protection Program. Although I do not have a set career path at the moment, my main passion is in environmental health. I am particularly interested in climate and reproductive health, and I want to research the intersection between the two if possible. I plan to continue my education in graduate school to explore these areas further. This internship over the summer is my first experience working with the OSU Extension Service.

Elsa Buchholz at the Tri-county business expo in Lane County — Elsa Buchholz at the Tri-county business expo with OSU Extension in Lane County. Photo: Kelci Free

This summer I hope to learn more about community outreach and the efforts that are required to make a positive impact on the health of the community and the environment. I am particularly looking forward to the opportunity to schedule, plan, and participate in my own events. While I have had the chance to help create and send out postcards for events, advertise them online, and participate in them during my internship so far, I am excited to take on the responsibility of organizing multiple events from start to finish. I have been brainstorming several project ideas that I believe will both contribute to the goals of the OSU Extension Service, as well as relate to my personal interests in the field of public health. One of these ideas is to design and implement a survey or questionnaire that gathers important information from community members. This survey would aim to better understand how people discovered the Groundwater Protection Program, and the OSU Extension Service in general, how they heard about our events, whether they had their water tested for nitrate at our events, if they received any publications on well water or septic systems, and what changes, if any, they made after attending our events. Collecting and analyzing this data would help us to better understand the impact of our efforts and identify any areas for improvement. This project would help us refine our outreach strategies, as well as ensure that we are effectively addressing the needs of the community.

Hi everyone! My name is Forrest Pratt, and I am interning with Oregon State University Extension Service in Linn and Benton counties this summer. I am working with SNAP-Ed and supporting the Food Hero program. I am a senior at Oregon State University, where I am pursuing a double bachelor’s degree in zoology and education, and I will be a student teacher in a middle school science classroom during the upcoming school year.

Forrest Pratt serves "Strawberry Swirl" at Food Hero booth at Farmers Market. Photo: Vonda Peters — Forrest Pratt serves “Strawberry Swirl” at Food Hero booth at Farmers Market. Photo: Vonda Peters

So far, I have focused on Food Hero outreach at farmers’ markets with Extension. I have also worked on a few other Food Hero outreach projects in community resource centers. Food Hero promotes accessible healthy eating by sharing recipes that are nutritious, low-cost, and easy to make. The website also has information about food safety and storage, gardening, and physical activity. We bring samples of these recipes that use in-season produce to the markets for people of all ages to try. We encourage people to try making them and to explore what else Food Hero has to offer. I love talking with the people at the markets about the recipe, the market, Food Hero, or anything else they want to talk about. My favorite part is seeing the different reactions kids (and adults!) have to trying something new.

I’ve also met with other people who work for the Extension Service in Linn County, and had chances to learn about what they do and support some of their work. I am exploring careers for myself in formal and informal education, and I am especially interested in community outreach. Interning with the Extension Service is providing me with a new perspective on what this type of work can look like. It is also offering me opportunities to practice event planning and facilitation.

In a few weeks, I will be teaching a local youth club a lesson about energy as it relates to food intake and physical activity. One of the parts of this position that I am enjoying the most is the ability to connect with a variety of people, and to promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle to many different people in my community. As the summer goes on, I am looking forward to taking on more of the planning responsibilities of our outreach initiatives and participating in more farmers’ market events.

Hi! My name is Isabella Brown, but I go by Bella. This summer, I’m interning with the Oregon State University Extension Service in Benton County, focusing on Extension Communications. I’m about to enter my senior year at Oregon State University, where I’m pursuing a degree in agricultural business and food management, which I will complete next year.

Bella Brown Running Barrels — Bella Brown running barrels at the 2022 BRN4D National Championship Finals. Photo: Julia Smith Photography 2022

I’m particularly interested in a marketing career within the agricultural sector and hope to train and breed horses on the side. I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest my whole life. As a child, I was active in 4-H in Columbia County, where I rode horses in multiple disciplines and studied hippology for a year before dedicating myself to showing horses in other associations. During high school, I spent my summers working at farm stands and farmers’ markets, selling delicious Oregon strawberries and connecting with local farmers.

Through my internship with OSU Extension Communications, I hope to learn more about the Extension Service’s impact on the communities it serves. Although I’ve always had a personal and professional connection to the agricultural community, I didn’t grow up in an agricultural area and wasn’t familiar with the OSU Extension Service until I started school at OSU.

I’m just beginning my internship, but I’ve already enjoyed meeting various individuals and teams within communications and learning how I can contribute to marketing efforts this summer. I’m excited to dive deeper into the Extension Service’s work and help market it to the public. I’ll be working on numerous marketing projects this summer and look forward to creating some amazing content to share with all of you

A woman sit at an outdoor table covered with a black Extension Service tablecloth and gives the thumbs up sign. — Ava Cordle at the OSU Extension booth.
Photo credit: Olivia Jacobs

Hello everyone! I am already in my last week of my summer internship with OSU Extension’s groundwater protection program. I have really enjoyed getting to learn more about well water and getting to go out in the community to test water for nitrate. I have had the opportunity to grow by planning and attending events throughout the summer. It has been exciting to attend events, since I had been working on planning some of them back in May and June!

A rack of test tubes filled with water. — Testing well water for nitrate.
Photo credit: Ava Cordle

Some of the different events I went to this summer were Harrisburg Sounds of Summer, Silverton Farmers Market, the Corvallis farmers market and more! At these events we set up a booth where we offer free nitrate testing for people in the community to bring in their well water. To run a test, we take a bit of their well water and we use reagents that change the color of the water depending on how much nitrate is present. At a clinic I did at the Lacomb Grange I did 59 tests in just three hours! We also offer publications and information on well water and septic systems, and a lot of people stop by just to ask questions. Attending these events was my favorite part of the internship. I found it rewarding after spending a lot of time planning them.

Overall, some of my favorite parts about this internship was meeting and working with the other groundwater interns, talking with community members and getting to attend events all over Benton, Linn, Lane, Marion and Lincoln counties. I have learned so much about well water over the past few months. Coming into this internship I had never had well water and did not know much about the care of well water. I also gained skills in community outreach, creating flyers and postcards, and got to learn about the 4-H program by volunteering to help at Extension booths at fairs.

– Ava Cordle

A woman kneels in the grass to feed a black and white baby goat with a bottle. — Sophia Nowers feeding a two-day old baby goat on a recent farm tour. Photo credit: Teagan Moran

Hello, again. I’m Sophia Nowers, the summer intern for Oregon State University Extension Service’s Small Farms Program and Community Horticulture in Benton, Linn and Lane counties. It is hard to believe that I’m already in the last week of my internship. The past month has sped by in a blur of events and activities. I have tabled at the Benton County Fair, helped on Small Farms farm tours, gone to OSU field days, and worked with Master Gardeners to publicize some of their events and talks. Between writing up summaries of events for sharing on social media and in Extension publications, I have also been working on an article about the OSU Dry Farm Project and its community involvement through the Dry Farming Collaborative.

It has been fantastic to explore Extension this summer, especially as an OSU student in the College of Agricultural Sciences. I have had the opportunity to make so many connections with professors, researchers, and members of the community and it has given me a strong sense of what I might want to do in the future.

There have been so many highlights, from getting to bottle feed a two-day old baby goat to attending the Organic Grains & Pulses Field Day and several Master Gardener events. My favorite part of my internship was learning how Extension bridges the gap between communities and the university, connecting researchers with farmers and business owners, community members with resources about gardening and homeownership and farmers with each other. I am grateful for the opportunity to help publicize Small Farms Program and Community Horticulture’s events and activities.

The project that I am proudest of is my article about the OSU Dry Farm Project. For the article, I interviewed the lead researchers of the project, Lucas Nebert and Matt Davis, visited two of their dry farm sites, and in the process learned a lot about dry farming and its challenges in Oregon.

I am grateful to my supervisors, Teagan Moran and Brooke Edmunds, for their support and guidance this summer, and to everyone I met through this internship. I have greatly enjoyed exploring some of what Extension has to offer and realizing that there is so much more!

A smiling young woman in a gray shirt and khaki pants reaches over to touch plants. — Sophia Nowers on a recent farm tour.
Photo credit: Teagan Moran

Hello, my name is Sophia Nowers, and I am the summer intern for Oregon State University Extension Service’s Small Farms Program and Community Horticulture in Benton, Linn and Lane counties. I am a rising junior at OSU, where I am majoring in agricultural sciences. I hail from Alaska and love seeing all the different crops that can be grown in the Willamette Valley. In my internship, I work with OSU Extension faculty in the Small Farms Program and in Community Horticulture to publicize Extension activities, build small farm community networks and support Extension events in Linn, Lane and Benton counties. Most of my time is spent touring Master Gardener projects, interviewing farmers, researchers and volunteers and writing articles about OSU Extension events and programs.

I just started the fourth week of my internship and highlights so far include helping at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture Open House, touring the Benton County Master Gardeners’ demonstration garden at the Benton County Fairgrounds, and getting to see Commonplace Farms’ operation near Corvallis. It has been eye opening to see the research being done by OSU Extension and how it translates into useful knowledge for farmers, gardeners and the community.

My big project has been writing an article about the Dry Farming Accelerator Program for publication by OSU Extension. It has been fascinating to learn about the dry farming research that is being done at the university and how it is being shared in the broader Oregon farming and gardening community. The program brings together small farmers and hobbyist gardeners from across the state to do dry farm trials of tomatoes, squash and corn and share their dry farming experiences. It is great to see how the program combines research and community building, and it has given me some great ideas for my agriculture thesis!

In the rest of my internship, I am looking forward to seeing some local small farms, learning more about the Dry Farming Collaborative, tabling at the Benton County Fair and interviewing more Master Gardeners about their projects and activities. OSU Extension does so much in so many areas that there is always more to learn. I love how its work intersects with public health, environmental issues, water management and so much more. I can’t wait to get out there and learn!

A young woman in a berry colored Six Flags sweatshirt smiles from a hammock — Ava Cordle relaxing before work
Photo credit: Ava Cordle

Hello everyone! My name is Ava Cordle and I am a second-year student attending Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend, studying environmental science with an applied ecology option. I grew up in Albany and therefore have good knowledge of the Willamette Valley. I am excited to work with OSU Extension groundwater protection education in the Well Water Program this summer and learn how to ensure well water is safe.

So far, I have started this internship working remotely in Bend but have taken a dive into the world of well water. There have already been many eye-opening moments for me as I have not experienced owning and taking care of a well and there is a lot to it. I have learned a lot about what effects nitrate can have and how important it is to check your well water regularly to stay safe. I have been spending a lot of time setting up our summer community outreach calendar with events like farmers markets all around Benton, Linn, Marion, Lane and Polk counties.

Free nitrate screening at the Aumsville Saturday Market on July 15 at 9:00. — Nitrate screening for well water in Marion County

I am very excited to see what I will learn more throughout this internship and all the people I will meet. I currently do not know what I want my career to look like. I feel this internship will teach me a lot and hopefully show me what I am interested in or not interested in for a future career. If you are interested in getting your well water tested, we will be having lots of booths this summer. I hope to get to meet some of you and make sure your drinking water is safe!

A man in an orange shirt sits under a canopy at an outdoor table, surrounded by signs and papers about well water testing. — Ahad Aziz stresses the importance of well water testing at the Independence Farmers Market in September. Photo by Morgan Neil of the Polk Soil and Water Conservation District.

This summer, I was given the opportunity to integrate public health initiatives into the OSU Extension Well Water Program with Chrissy Lucas in Benton, Linn, Lane, Marion and Polk counties. I was fortunate enough to interview several healthcare professionals, public health and environmental science professors and groundwater experts to learn more about the intersectionality of health promotion and disease prevention. I was able to interact with individuals from several different county health departments, the Oregon Water Resources Department, and professors at the Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University who specialize in science implementation, public health policy promotion and control interventions.

To help bring more awareness to the Well Water Program I collaborated with the different Extension Service offices and with campus resources to design and display posters and encourage the public to get their well water tested. I also helped with the Be Well Project study in Jackson County and sent out many letters and postcards to the five counties about upcoming nitrate screening clinics.

With my internship coming to an end, I’m writing a final report for Chrissy and the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area Committee on how information relating to nitrate and other contaminants in domestic wells can be shared with other healthcare professionals. What I have learned is that well owners who perceive themselves as having more control over the problems within their wells are more likely to test and perform well maintenance.

A big shout out to Chrissy, my fellow interns Briauna Herrick and Kelci Free, Nicole Mason, the office specialist in the Extension office in Benton County; and many others for their enthusiasm and for helping me grow. Before this summer, I think I had gone to only one farmers market, but with this internship, I was able to visit many farmers markets, meet a huge variety of people that I probably would never have interacted with and I gained valuable knowledge from their experiences.

This summer I’ve had the pleasure of working for the OSU Extension Small Farms Program with Teagan Moran in Linn, Lane, and Benton counties. Most of my time was spent helping organize our Military Veteran Farm Tour Series and attending farm tours of the Willamette Women’s Farm Network (WWFN).

Two women in gray t-shirts and jeans stand next to each other, arm in arm, under a tree. — Crystal Kelso (right) with Teagan Moran, small farms coordinator in Benton, Lane and Linn counties.

I got to experience what it looks like to start out with a sheep farm using movable electrical fencing powered by solar panels, a dry farm that grows flowers and veggies alongside raising goats and poultry (and sampling some of the best goat cheese ever!) and wandering around a medicinal herb farm that has a roadside veggie stand and sells herbs to local businesses.

I’ve met some amazing people and forged some long-term connections that I hope will carry over into both my personal and professional life. The farmers on these tours are thoughtful and caring about the land and their crops and animals. One thing they all had in common was the desire to connect with each other and give back to the community in a way that is sustainable and fulfilling. I think the overall theme was that these farmers are not doing this to get rich, but to feel good about what they are doing.

I have two more veteran farm tours to go to and will finish updating the agritourism farms list before I complete my internship. After that, I will stay on as a part-time student employee in the Small Farms Program while I finish my last year at OSU and receive my bachelor’s degree in horticulture/ horticulture therapy. Wherever this path leads me, I am thankful for the time, experience and connections I’ve made with this internship. Having such a great mentor in Teagan to intern with has been super helpful, and she has been great about getting me connected to as many people as possible to help further my experience and career. Thanks again for the opportunity!

Hi guys, I’m Briauna and I interned with the OSU Extension Groundwater Protection and Education Program in Benton County. As I wrap up my summer internship I looked back and realized how fast it all went. It seems like I just started this internship and as I write this blog post it is my last full week. Over the summer I was able to learn so many new things through the Well Water Program and other programs within Extension. In June we prepared for all the nitrate screenings we had planned for the summer. It consisted of a lot of cutting and stamping postcards, sending out press releases, and advertising through social media.

A woman crouches down to pick blueberries to collect in a white bucket. — Briauna Herrick picking blueberries on a farm visit.

Throughout the summer I worked on a handful of different projects, one of them being research on county websites for well and septic information and another was working on the newsletter archives in the Extension Small Farms Program website. I also got to help with the Be Well project based in Jackson County. We sent out a lot of letters that we stuffed, sealed and stamped. I am really surprised I made it through the summer without getting a paper cut! Once the clinics started it just kept getting busier from there. In between the busyness of nitrate screenings, I had the opportunity to go to Blueberry Field Day at the OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora to learn more about the research being done there. I also helped at county fairs, and I even got to go on a farm visit with Lane County’s small farms Extension agent, Mellissa Fery.

I enjoyed getting to visit many different towns in the Willamette Valley where we held our screenings–I don’t think I have driven up and down I-5 so much in a span of three months. It was fun getting to spend a few hours in towns I hadn’t been to before and getting to know some of the people in the communities. Later this week I am holding a nitrate screening at my family’s farm in Springfield. I have been looking forward to testing water in the area I grew up in and getting to share what I have learned with my family, friends and close neighbors.

Over the course of my internship, I got to meet a lot of people and enjoyed learning from their experiences. Everyone I met involved with Extension was kind and always welcoming. I enjoyed working with Chrissy, Kelci, and Ahad over the summer and was able to learn from all of them. I am thankful for this opportunity to work with Extension and for everything I have learned over the past few months. Thank you to the people I met along the way and for this opportunity to grow.

OSU Extension Internship Program

Category Archives: Benton County

OSU Extension intern seeks to make a positive impact on community health

Intern explores careers with OSU Extension

OSU Extension Communication intern looks at community impact

Opportunities to grow by planning and attending events

Extension is a bridge from the OSU campus to communities

Exploring Agriculture and Community in Linn, Lane, and Benton Counties

Learning all about well water safety and planning for events

Internship helped me gain valuable knowledge through experience

Thankful for the experience and connections I’ve made through this internship

Thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow

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