Tag Archives: Marion County

Opportunities to grow by planning and attending events

Posted on by | Leave a reply
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 great start to this learning experience

Posted on by | Leave a reply
A young man with a beard stands in front of a snowy forest
Back home and ready to work
Photo credit: Kieran King

Hello, my name is Kieran King, and I’m an intern with the OSU Extension Service this summer. I just finished my first year of college at OSU as a physics major, so I’m finally back home in Dallas. I’ll be working primarily on outreach for the Mid-Valley Small Farms Program with my supervisor Hayley White, as well as helping with the Olea research project.

So far, I’ve been able to work on my program’s newsletter for the month of June, where I’ve written information for farmers in an accessible format. I’ve also been working on outreach materials for the upcoming Small Farm School, as well as data entry for the Olea project. It’s been an interesting first week, and certainly a great start to this learning experience.

I don’t know the first thing about agriculture, but I decided to take this internship as a way to learn more about my community and to help the people in it. I’ve benefited from the hard work of local Polk and Marion County farmers my whole life, so it only seems fair that I put in work that might make their lives a little easier. I’ve already gained a deeper appreciation of the community in my own county through site visits to local farms. Seeing the amazing places and people in Polk County has made me excited for the rest of my internship! While I ultimately won’t end up in a public service or outreach-oriented job, it will definitely be a meaningful experience

Learning all about well water safety and planning for events

Posted on by | Leave a reply
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!

Internship helped me gain valuable knowledge through experience

Posted on by | Leave a reply
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. 

 

Learning new things every day in Marion and Polk counties

Posted on by | Leave a reply
Sophia Hampton

Hello! My name is Sophia Hampton (she/her/hers), and I’m excited to be working for OSU Extension in Polk and Marion counties with the Mid-Willamette Valley Small Farms Program. I was born and raised in McMinnville and am back in Oregon for the summer after completing my first year at Seattle University. 

 

Although I don’t have a lot of experience with farming and agriculture, as an environmental studies and public affairs double major, I’m finding my time here quite valuable. I’m learning new things every day. I’m working with my incredible supervisor, Hayley White, Extension agriculture program coordinator in Marion and Polk counties. Hayley works with the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District and on the Olea Project, an olive research project.

 

So far, I’ve been formatting the Mid-Willamette Valley Small Farms newsletter, producing content for and posting to our social media pages, creating marketing materials for various events like the upcoming Small Farm Social at the end of July, and planning an activity for the Polk County Fair in August. I’ve also had the opportunity to visit and plant strawberries at the Marion Polk Food Share Youth Farm and participate in data collection for the Olea Project at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, as well as work at the Extension table at the West Salem Farmers Market and the Marion County Fair. These experiences have been fun and informative, and I love meeting people, both those who work with Extension and those who don’t. They are so passionate, knowledgeable and generous with their time and conversations. 

Planting strawberries at the Marion Polk Food Share Youth Farm. Photo by Hayley White.

 

I don’t have a clear idea of what I would like my career to look like, but I know I want it to be related to outreach, education and environmental justice, so with this internship, I hope to gain perspective about where I might fit into those fields. Even as I’m just starting, I can feel that happening. I’m grateful to be part of the Extension team this summer, and I can’t wait to continue learning and contributing.

Bound for a career in Extension

Posted on by | Leave a reply

Hello everyone!  

My name is Alli Studnick, I am 22 years old, and from the small town of Scio, Oregon, where I live on my family’s 400-acre cattle ranch. Our ranch started in 1944, and I am a fourth-generation cattle rancher. We run about 200 head of cattle and we also raise pigs. I have “3½” horses – when you count my Shetland pony. We also have a goat, four dogs and lots of cats. 

While I am not helping my family on the farm, my hobbies include riding and competing in speed events with my horses Dalton Dixie and Romeo. In July of 2019, I was working at a farm stand and a woman walked in with a dog and asked me if I wanted her. She had found her on the side of a road and couldn’t keep her. So, I took her home, and the rest is history! Ivy is a 2-year-old Australian shepherd and she’s my best friend, we do almost everything together. She loves adventure. She rides horses, four-wheelers, riding lawn mowers, tractors, mopeds, and does everything in between. She’s such a fun dog and I am so lucky to have her.  

This June I graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in agricultural science and minors in crop and animal science. This fall I am headed to the agricultural education master’s program here at OSU to become an extension agent!

When I was younger, I was in 4-H and FFA in Linn County. I showed horses and sold pigs to pay for my horse obsession. I knew that the OSU Extension Service helped put on the fair, but I really didn’t know much more than that. When I was a junior at OSU, I enrolled in a class titled “Intro to Extension and Engagement.” During this course we learned about different programs of OSU Extension and met some of the agents in each program. After the class ended, I was hooked and knew that I wanted to pursue Extension as my career. 

Most of my life has been spent in the agriculture industry, and I’ve just been so inspired by farmers, ranchers, Extension agents for their love and passion of making the world a better place. This is why I decided to pursue a career in Extension, specifically in the agriculture field. Interacting with my community and listening to their stories, challenges, or successes in their farms and ranches makes me motivated to lend a helping hand in whatever needs they might have. Overall, I want to make a difference in every person’s life I may cross, which is why Extension is the perfect path for me!  

This summer I will be an intern with Chrissy Lucas, who is the Extension groundwater quality outreach program coordinator in the Willamette Valley. I am really excited for this opportunity to learn more about this part of Extension, and to meet the different people in the communities of Polk, Linn, Benton and Marion counties!