Clackamas County « OSU Extension Internship Program

Hello again! My name is Natalie Padilla and this summer I have had the opportunity to work as
an intern at the Oregon State University Extension Service in Clackamas County Extension office
in the SNAP-Ed, Family and Community Health program and recently even the Small Farms
program as well. I have spent this summer gaining new experiences and having the chance to
learn about so many different things! Now that September is here, I am nearing the end of my
internship and I am extremely grateful that it has been possible to do something like this.

Natalie Padilla working at the NWREC on a small project for Small Farm School. Photo: Macy Jones

As I mentioned, I am currently working with the Small Farms program. Macy, my fellow intern
at the office was given the chance to start working as SF interns this summer, which keeps us
even busier with more opportunities. We were able to finish up some of the social media posts
for the Small Farms Facebook and Instagram accounts. Once or twice a week, we go to NWREC
in Aurora to harvest Bitter Gourds and different Cucamelons. Most of what we have been
harvesting has been going to Salem Harvest, a non-profit organization who focuses on feeding
hungry families. It has been refreshing to see that what we have been harvesting is going to be
used to feed people that need it and they are not going to waste!

Not only have we been out in the field, one of the biggest things we have been working on is
preparing for Small Farm School at NWREC. SFS will host around 300 people who are excited to
learn about everything Ag related. To prepare I helped, along with Buffy Rhoades and Tanya
Kindrachuk to make around 400+ craisin oatmeal balls by hand. It was definitely an interesting
learning experience since I have never really cooked for that many people. Macy and I have also
been preparing nametags, and stuffing packets for the attendees of SFS. There have also been
some tiny side projects that we have to complete occasionally!

On the SNAP-Ed and FCH side of things, I am keeping busy as well but as my internship and
summer nears its end it is slowing down a little bit. Our last Walk With Ease class was
September 4th. It was a nice closing, and I am glad that we were able to do that bit of outreach
for people. I also helped at the OC Free Food Market on the 2nd and we have the last one to do
on the 11th.

Even though my internship is ending I am glad that it was a learning experience and that I can
say that I had the chance to help in some way. Being an OSU intern has taught me so much and
I have been able to grow through the summer and meet so many wonderful people, who have
also taught me so much.

Hi again! My name is Macy Jones and this summer I have had the opportunity to work as a
Family and community health / Small Farms Intern in Clackamas County. Throughout my
internship I have gained a better understanding of Extension and developed valuable skills that
I can take with me throughout my career.

Macy Jones working at the NWREC. Photo: Natalie Padilla

In the second half of my internship, I continued to work with Family and community health and
worked with the walk with ease program and the free food markets. We have made more
progress with walking with ease and hit the goal of walking for 30 minutes each session.
Through this program I’ve learned the importance of empathy, active listening, communication
and the meaning of community outreach. I am grateful I had the chance to build these skills. I
also attended the North Clackamas Free Food Market at the DHS office. This was a great way to
get out in the community and connect with others. One of my personal goals during my
internship was to become more comfortable with public speaking. Participating in the free food
market was a great way to practice and I have grown in my confidence when engaging with the
public.

Another exciting part of the last half of my internship was taking on a new role as a small farm
intern. In this position I was able to enhance my marketing skills by learning new tools such as
Meta business suite, Mailchimp and Canva where I was able to learn to make posts. I also spent
time at North Willamette Research Center where we did farm work and had hands-on
experience. While being on the farm I learned about soil moisture sensors and irrigation
systems and I also got to harvest a variety of cucumelons and bitter gourds. Right now, as a
small farm intern I have been helping prepare for mall farms School by making packets and
prepping name tags. All of these experiences have taught me the importance of hard work and
practical skills such as organization.

This Internship has been full of opportunities to grow, hands on learning and great experiences.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work in Extension and be a part of a great team.
Thank you to my supervisors for your support throughout these past few months!

Hi! My name is Natalie Padilla, and I am currently an intern with the Oregon State University Extension Service in Clackamas County. I graduated from high school this year and am about to enter my first year of college at Oregon State University in the fall. Currently, I am hoping to study fisheries, wildlife and conservation sciences. One of the main goals I have for this internship is to learn how to talk to different types of people and continue to pass my knowledge on to others.

A girl standing behind a booth that has many interactive items and pamphlets — Natalie tabling at the First City Celebration in Oregon City. Photo: Macy Jones

Working with the SNAP-Ed and Family and Community Health has already educated me on things like nutrition, food safety and community outreach. So far, I have started being one of the leaders for the Walk with Ease program. We meet twice a week to provide information about staying healthy with arthritis, while also having dedicated time for stretching and walking. We also find time to include a Food Hero recipe to give out to participants for one of the two-day sessions. The participants can sample the dish and take home the recipe to recreate too. They are also provided with the nutritional and relevant food safety information.

Not only have I been able to help with Walk with Ease, but I have also been able to help with OC’s Free Food Markets at the DHS office. We hand out small bags highlighting different recipes, fruits or vegetables and matching spice or herb packets for recipes that month. Another opportunity we had was going to teach about MyPlate to elementary and middle schoolers at Naas Elementary School.

Our most recent tabling event was the Oregon City First City Celebration. Where Macy, I and others were able to tell observers about OSU Extension and the different programs that we offer! We had them spin a wheel and answer questions for a prize, let them take flyers and many other things. It was an overall great experience that allowed us to teach even more about Extension!

I am excited for even more opportunities to teach other people important knowledge and information.

Hi, my name is Macy Jones, and this summer I am an intern for Oregon State University
Extension Service in Clackamas County; mainly working with Family and Community Health.
This is my first time interning and so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I currently attend Oregon
State University and will be a 2nd year student studying agricultural and food business
management. I have always enjoyed having a sense of community and building relationships
with others and this role does a great job of allowing me to branch out.

Macy Jones tabling at the First City Celebration in Oregon City. Photo: Natalie Padilla

Thus far, this position has allowed me to be more active in the community and helped me start
to develop more communication skills. My position includes being a co-leader with the Walk
with Ease program, which is focused on helping older adults walk with arthritis, Tabling events,
Free Food Markets and advancing my creative and organizational skills.

The Walk with Ease program meets twice a week for about an hour and is designed to support
older adults in improving their health and physical activity, particularly those managing
arthritis. As a co-leader, I help guide participants through a variety of activities such as warm up
stretches, a group walk and cool down stretches. We’ve also integrated resources from the
Food Hero website into the program by featuring a Food Hero Monthly newsletter and
distributing an incentive item on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, we hand out a related recipe to
reinforce healthy habits. In addition to Walk with Ease, I have also assisted with the Free Food
Market, which takes place on the second Tuesday of each month. At these events, we highlight
a Food Hero recipe that participants can prepare using ingredients they receive from the
market. So far, this role has allowed me to connect more deeply with the community and
strengthen my public speaking and communication skills.

Another event I have participated in while being an intern at Clackamas County is the Oregon
City First event. At this event, I helped run the Oregon State Extension booth where I got to
inform the public about Extension and all it has to offer. Before signing up for the event, the
other intern, Natalie, and I met with each department of Extension to gather information we
could then give to the public. This was a great learning experience as before this role I was not
aware of what all Extensions had to offer. At the event, we got to pass out flyers as well as
spread the word of the different types of services not only FCH provides but also Extension as a
whole.

Overall, this internship so far has been very beneficial, and I am excited to keep learning and
advancing my skills.

Two young girls in helmets, sitting on brown horses, show off their blue ribbons behind a sign saying Clackamas County Fair 2023. — Blue ribbon winners at the Clackamas County Horse Fair.
Photo credit: Brekkan Richardson

Hello everyone! My name is Brekkan Richardson and I have the amazing opportunity of working with Clackamas County 4-H as an intern this summer! Though this position brings many new connections and responsibilities, it also brings an air of familiarity. As a former 4-H member in Clackamas County myself, I entered this internship with a slight sense of confidence. My reasoning was that even if I had to watch some YouTube videos to help me unlock the secrets of a copy machine – at the end of the day, I knew what to expect when fair time rolled around. That is until the time finally came for me to provide on-site support. This support wasn’t during swine weigh-in, beef showmanship, or even small-animal health checks but a couple weeks before these events at the Clackamas County Horse Fair. Due to the size and scheduling demands of the Clackamas County Horse Program, the horse fair happens on a separate week from the remainder of the county fair. As a 4-H member, I happily explored the other project areas at the fair. Due to the nature of scheduling, Horse 4-H had not crossed my path often. The opportunity to learn more had come around even less.

Despite my lack of equine experience, I remained confident I could navigate this unfamiliar fair with only mild confusion. This expectation proved unreasonable. Although the county and horse fair exhibitors shared their passion for their projects, the projects themselves held many differences. Having quickly discovered this, I decided to use my time at the horse fair to learn as much as possible.

Fortunately, the 4-H members seemed just as happy to answer questions as I was to ask them. On the first day on site, I was informed of the most prominent difference between most animal projects and the horse program. While most animal projects are centered around the production premise, the horse program instead follows an animal whose purpose is to perform. The differences don’t stop there, as some young 4-H members inform me later in the week. Where sheep showpeople show with a required level of physical contact, horse showmanship requires members to orchestrate their horse’s movements by halter alone. Where typically each animal enters the show ring a couple times during the fair, the horse fair has many more opportunities for members to engage in various unique competitions.

Through each class, show and barn walk-through, the 4-H members of Clackamas County happily and confidently showed off their hard work and talent. I look forward to learning more from 4-H members across Clackamas County. I hope to continue encouraging members to ask questions from our youth.

Hi everyone. Em Jones here again. I can barely believe it’s been two months since my last blog post. The summer is coming to an end with earlier sunsets as we approach the equinox, about a month away now. I’ve been so busy with my internship I’ve hardly noticed the passing days. I’ve been networking, meeting new people and making lots of friends through various workshops and activities. My main projects have revolved around Small Farm School and the Oregon Mushroom Producers Network.

A black plastic tub filled with a wide variety of mushrooms — A bountiful mushroom harvest.

The OSU Extension Small Farms program has been busy as a bee planning and preparing for Small Farm School. Several classes are filling up quickly but it’s not too late to register. It will be held on Monday, Sept. 12 at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City. Classes include topics like poultry processing, funding your small farm “dream,” and farming with climate resiliency.

We are abuzz right now with volunteer opportunities to support workshops and ensure the day flows smooth as honey. If you’re interested, please reach out to Kelly Streit. Just four hours of volunteering gets you into the Small Farm School for free!

In addition to supporting Small Farm School, I’ve also had the pleasure of facilitating the first meeting of Oregon’s Mushroom Producer Network. This group of folks includes gourmet and medicinal mushroom cultivators from across Oregon. If you or someone you know is cultivating mushrooms, please reach out to me for more details. We have an upcoming mushroom farm tour and have just begun the conversation about the purchasing power opportunities we can embark upon.

While I am sad that my internship and the summer are quickly coming to an end, I am so grateful to have participated in the OSU Extension internship program. My mentor, Heidi Noordijk, has given me a wealth of knowledge and opportunity. She is truly a resource librarian and shining example of what the Extension Service is all about. From my time at the Clackamas County Fair to participating in her IPM class, I can honestly say she truly cares about and authentically supports the farming community for the benefit of us all.

As fall approaches mushroom growing will be at a peak and this small farmer looks forward to continuing their education with Oregon State University as well as continuing to learn from and partner with the Extension Service.

Hello, my name is Cydney Stables. I am the intern for the OSU Extension Communications office, located in the Kerr Administration Building on the main Oregon State University campus in Corvallis.

Two girls are posing with a dairy cow. — Cydney Stables (right) shows a dairy cow in 4-H.

I’m from Gaston, Oregon, and I just completed my first year of college at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. I am majoring in agribusiness, communications, business administration and economics with a minor in plant and animal sciences.

I plan to pursue a master’s in agricultural communications upon completing my undergraduate work. After that, I hope to obtain a job in agricultural public relations, working as a spokesperson for the agriculture industry or as an educator for Extension.

So far, this internship has given me insight into the vast future career opportunities I may have in Extension and communications. One of the greatest experiences I have had thus far was the opportunity to tour county Extension offices across the state.

In late May, I traveled with the communications’ news and public issues team to Pendleton, where we began our tour of offices from there.

We visited with faculty and staff in the Extension offices in Umatilla, Sherman, Wasco, Hood River and Clackamas counties.

Then at the beginning of June, I went with colleagues in Extension Communications to the Extension office in Tillamook County, where we met the staff and discussed communications resources on the Extension employee intranet and media outreach. On our way back to Corvallis, we stopped at the Extension office in Yamhill County, which is one that is very familiar to me. My mom works there and I’ve helped around the office in previous summers as a volunteer.

These trips opened my eyes to the breadth and depth of what Extension truly does. Growing up a part of Extension through the Oregon 4-H program, I had no idea how many opportunities OSU Extension offers for communities. In addition, I learned first-hand from faculty and staff about their successes, challenges and failures.

Hood River Extension office research orchard

The trip was an immersive experience. Not only did I get to see Extension employees in action, but I also had the opportunity to experience the diversity in agriculture across the state.

I learned about programs of SNAP-Ed, Strong People, Master Gardeners, Open Campus, Juntos and more. All of which are great community outreach opportunities that benefit individuals in countless ways.

I want to thank all of the employees from the county offices we visited for being so welcoming and kind.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of this internship learning opportunity has in store.

Hi, I’m Em Jones (they/them), a small farmer in northeast Portland’s Cully Neighborhood. My partner and I propagate a variety of heirloom vegetables using regenerative practices. We recently started a mushroom farm focused on plastic light operations that leverage local waste streams for substrate. Aside from a growing business, pun intended, I am a full-time student in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. I am on track to earn bachelor’s degrees in horticulture and sustainability.

Em Jones poses for a picture with a newly planted flower — Em Jones

I’m excited for this summer as it’s my first time being an OSU Extension Service intern! I’ll be working for Multnomah and Clackamas County supporting the Small Farm School, scheduled for Sept. 12. It’s a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge on the dynamics of running an urban farm while assisting others in the learning process. The event supports beginning and intermediate small-scale farmers with a variety of educational workshops. Perhaps you’ll join us or invite someone you know for Small Farm School. If the event is not applicable to you, feel free to access our variety of resources through the OSU Extension website that you might find more beneficial.

As an OSU intern, I’ll support access to information via our website page, as well as connect with community members to support the Small Farm School. I’ve recently been building relationships with local farmers through my new business. There’s a great community of like-minded individuals that are localizing our food systems and working to improve the land.

My personal goal is to increase access to sustainably grown, healthy, affordable food for my community. I seek to dismantle current systems of oppression that plague our food systems. Unfortunately, mass produced agriculture continues to be exploitative to farm workers and the land. That type of agriculture is mining, not farming, and my goal is to interrupt it. Instead, I focus on no-till, no-chemical farming that builds up the soil.

Blue oyster mushrooms in a small jar on top of a table — Blue oyster mushrooms in a small jar

I hope to share my knowledge and skill-set with other small farmers, as well as to learn from them so we can grow our regenerative farming practices together. Community resilience is created through the open sharing of knowledge and resources, something OSU Extension continually contributes to. We are stronger together and better suited to fight climate change, racial injustice, and to improve our systems to reflect an equitable society. I look forward to furthering my goals and the mission of OSU Extension during my internship.

OSU Extension Internship Program

Category Archives: Clackamas County

OSU Extension intern wraps up a summer of service and skill building

OSU Extension intern bridges family health and farming in Clackamas County

Helping communities and gaining skills with Extension

OSU Extension intern builds community one step at a time

Taking time to learn

Looking forward to learning from and partnering with Extension beyond my internship

Traveling across Oregon to learn from Extension County faculty and staff

Increasing access to sustainably grown, healthy, affordable food to the community

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