2024 Poster Session
Taking Place in Historic Bear Down Gymnasium - Wednesday, July 31st at 4:30pm!
Here's a listing of current posters you can engage with at our 2024 Poster Session
Still looking to take part? There's still time to submit a poster for our session. To do so, continue to this link.
Name | title | abstract |
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Amber Dalke | The Rangelands Partnership: Innovation through Collaboration | The challenge of finding good information to support rangeland management is a longstanding problem. There are many great resources sprinkled on different Extension websites and agency databases, but this also means stakeholders must visit multiple websites to find the right information. This prompted a group of rangeland professionals, agricultural librarians, and technology experts from 19 Western and Great Plains land-grant universities to initiate an organization which became the Rangelands Partnership. Members share local and regional rangeland resources on the Partnership’s website, Rangelands Gateway (https://rangelandsgateway.org/). In addition to over 25 thousand resources in the database, the Partnership also works together to create innovative programming to reach the rangeland community. Working together, we have built a strong network that creates new, cutting-edge, and much needed educational rangeland resources including RangeDocs (an innovative online tool that provides page-level search results from key rangeland documents), technology trainings for rangelands professionals, and a virtual fence user guide. The Rangelands Partnership works together to create exciting new rangelands tools and forward-looking programming, and ultimately make a positive impact on the rangelands we all love. |
Amy Parrott | Arizona Military Teen Adventure Camp | Arizona MTAC brings military youth together with 4-H youth leaders, 4-H Youth Development experts, and Veterans of Foreign Wars volunteers. Our camp model is designed and implemented by teens for teens. We will utilize high adventure activities to encourage personal leadership, promote positive pro-social behaviors, and create engaged citizens that answer a call to action upon returning to home communities. Youth will participate in team-oriented activities including kayaking, ropes/challenge courses, blacksmithing competition, backcountry hiking, shooting sports (archery, rifle, and pistol), and bushcraft survival skills. |
Anita Thompson | Building a Successful Seed Library for Rural Communities | Seed libraries have been a popular way to share heirloom seeds throughout multiple communities. They can be difficult to start and maintain in rural areas where access to the libraries can be measured in miles instead of street blocks. Additionally, legal requirements have changed to protect seed librarians from legal issues and heirloom seed prices have increased significantly. This poster will discuss tips and resources to help build and support a long term seed library using information gathered from two UArizona Cooperative Extension Libraries at county offices, and three rural libraries that host seed libraries. |
Anne Gondor | Innovation in Meeting the Law and Policy needs of the Natural Resource Users Community | The overarching goal of the Natural Resource Users Law & Policy Center (NRULPC) is to help landowners, farmers, ranchers, and small-scale mining operators solve legal and regulatory issues related to using the land, allowing them to be more productive and profitable, while also meeting environmental standards. The NRULPC addresses underrepresented legal and policy needs of natural resource communities in the arid West, catalyzing an innovative collaboration between stakeholders and Cooperative Extension while promoting understanding of the cross-cutting issues. NRULPC is currently working to grow Cooperative Extension’s capacity for natural resources law and policy analysis. Natural resource governance is inherently complex and multidisciplinary; in this domain, the Center conducts public-facing applied research with a core educational element. This focus aims to foster wise resource stewardship. It also furthers Extension’s mission: improving lives, communities, and the economy, thus taking the science of the University to the people of Arizona. |
Ashlea Gideon | Pima County 4-H Ranch Education Program | The Pima County 4-H Ranch Education Program is in coordination with Pima County as well as the county 4-H program. The objectives are to provide hands on ranch experiences for youth in rural and urban areas of Pima County who may not have the opportunities or resources to connect to ranch life. Members participate in hands on activities such as gathering cattle on horseback, weaning calves, vaccinating cattle, pregnancy checking cattle, monitoring range lands, identifying native and invasive grasses, etc. Members of 4-H and FFA have also been able to purchase calves as part of their livestock projects. They will raise the calf starting the beginning of June through the Pima County Fair during the end of April where they will then show and auction off the steer or heifer. This program has allowed youth to find their passions in ranching and give them a tie to the land and animal agriculture. It teaches the youth responsibility, time management, money management, and gives them an understanding of where their food comes from, from farm to table. The Ranch Education program has been hosting these events at Bar V Ranch in Sonoita, AZ for over a year. Ranch education will continue to grow in Pima County as we promote events. |
Ashley Dixon-Kleiber | Child Care Health Consultants Serving Arizona Children: How Does This Fit in Extension? | Finding a childcare provider for your child that is trustworthy and provides a safe and optimal environment while you are away at work is a difficult endeavor. Child Care Health Consultants (CCHC) work to optimize the number of providers that do just that by serving hundreds of Arizona’s child care providers to improve the health and safety of their sites throughout the state; this service is offered from this University of Arizona Cooperative Extension team supporting child care providers in Gila, La Paz, Pinal, Mohave, and Yuma Counties as well as sites on Cocopah Tribe, Gila River Indian Community, Hualapai Nation, and Colorado River Indian Community. Through this program child care providers are empowered to provide the best care possible through the services they receive; specifically helping to improve 16 different health and safety related capacities. CCHCs support this effort by 1) conducting a health and safety assessment, 2) creating an action plan with specific goals, and 3) supporting these identified goals to improve the overall health and safety of the individual site needs. This support is done by way of individual or group trainings, observations and modeling, and direct education with the children/staff in the respective site. Generally, our focus is assisting to create a routine that includes best practices that are taken from Caring for Our Children, a book of national health and safety standards that acts as a guide for best practice in early care and education programs. Finally, CCHCs partner with school director/staff, Quality First coach, and other specialists as well as community resources to provide as much support to improve or sustain quality care for the children around Arizona. |
Ben Downer | Maximize Your Program's Reach: Leveraging the Cooperative Extension Website to Engage and Convert Participants | What if you could get your program in front of 2,000 people every day? By creating a program webpage on the Cooperative Extension website, you gain access to this audience and have a central location to share your program’s story, impact and engagement opportunities that all of your social media and promotional materials can point too. Join the Extension Marketing Team as they walk you through new features on the Cooperative Extension website and outline the support available to you to develop, launch and maintain a webpage that converts interested individuals into active participants. |
Betsy Greene | Sharing horse care knowledge in culturally applicable methods to engage Native American tribal communities to proactively contribute to their horses’ best lives | The horse is culturally significant to many Arizona Native American tribes, but tribal acceptance of outside educational resources requires an established relationship with the tribal communities. Arizona Cooperative Extension has worked to become a trusted resource. Extension has recognized that hands-on training and direct, small-group conversations are more effective for conveying knowledge and ensuring its practical application in daily horse care. Additionally, preservation of tribal traditions, land, and the active involvement of their youth are central to tribal values. Educational strategies were adapted to tribal needs, utilizing a variety of teaching methods while acknowledging tribal culture. Multiple educational topics and formats were delivered to Apache, Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai, and other tribal communities. These incorporated vital hands-on education in biosecurity, horse handling, nutritional needs, vaccinations, and overall horse stewardship education. Methods included: 1) acknowledging existing tribal horse practices and traditions while delivering educational materials using innovative teaching methods and integrating relevant science; and 2) building tribal participants' confidence to apply learned skills to their own horses. While most extension programs can be evaluated with Likert scales and written feedback, this is not the case for tribal communities. Traditional paper or electronic survey methods to evaluate impact are not effective, therefore, qualitative data was collected through group discussions and storytelling at the end of workshops. Stories illuminated the successes, barriers, implementation, outcomes, and lessons learned, thus providing contextual information about program impact and actions taken to improve horse welfare. Between 2021-2023, educational workshops reached over 500 tribal community members, providing 80 hours of hands-on training and lectures on biosecurity, nutrition, health, and horse stewardship. Fifty percent of participants of multiple workshops indicated they have implemented practices learned, and 100% indicated the information was valuable. Extension and tribal collaborations have since resulted in over $450,000 (USD) in grant funding to further expand educational tribal partnerships, including initiating programming for Gila River, White Mountain, and Tohono O’odham tribes. Arizona Extension has responded to the tribal community's need for more interactive and hands-on training. Access to equine knowledge/skills has empowered the critically underserved tribal communities, giving them confidence to apply better care for their horses, thus improving the quality of life for tribal horses. These efforts highlight Extension’s work to respect tribal commitment to preserving their land and culture, while educating tribal members to help their horses live their best lives. |
Caroline Werkhoven | 4-H Youth Camp Counselor Training | Maricopa County 4-H hosts an annual 4-H Camp for youth ages 9-14 at James 4-H camp on Mingus Mountain. To ensure the safety and well being of the campers, we offer a leadership opportunity to teens, ages 15-18, to apply to be a camp counselor. If successful, counselors gain skills and experience in being a role model, leading recreational activities, resolving conflicts, and time management among other things. They are the important ingredient for a successful camp. This poster will demonstrate the trainings they complete and demonstrate the vital role they have in nurturing the next generation, promoting community engagement, and instilling values that contribute to a healthier, more inclusive society. |
Christopher Jones | Biochar demonstration kiln: a pilot extension program | Biochar is charcoal used for land applications. Agent Jones had a 4’x4’x2’ metal kiln custom built, and has conducted 9 live demonstrations, and 8 classroom, webinar and conference presentations since March 2022, with a total audience of 370. Demonstration participants learn about building a portable flame cap kiln for demonstrating how to make biochar. Details such as burn permits, fire safety, a water source, and lighting and quenching the fire are discussed. Emerging markets for biochar include: 1) An organic soil amendment that improves water and nutrient availability for agriculture, horticulture, and wildland restoration; 2) Contaminant adsorption for stormwater systems, dairies, landfills or mining; 3) Hazardous fuels reduction in forests and wildland urban interface communities, as well as reduction of yard waste; 4) Production of bioenergy fuels including syngas and bio-oil; and 5) direct carbon sequestration: the half-life of a biochar molecule is a thousand years. Benefits and challenges of using biochar are discussed, including raising awareness about biochar; creating markets; feedstock properties and variability; and matching biochar qualities to specific applications. |
Claudia V. Montanía | Arizona County Agricultural Economy Profiles - 2022 | Data on agricultural production, water use across sectors, and regional economies are important to understanding the role of agriculture within regions and states. These data are available from different agencies and databases but are often presented independently, with limited context. This collection of county profiles presents agricultural production, water use, and regional economic data in a standardized, integrated, and easy-to-read format to provide context on the role of agriculture within state and county economies, as well as its role as a manager of land and natural resources. The county profiles integrate data from the USDA Census of Agriculture (including the most recent 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture), the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Arizona Department of Water Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Profiles are available for all 15 of Arizona's counties as well as a statewide summary. This work aims to serve the different stakeholders of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, offering updated and personalized information that reflects the agricultural activity of each county. |
Claudia V. Montanía | How much of Arizona’s agricultural production remains in-state to be consumed by Arizonans? | How much of Arizona’s agricultural production remains in-state to be consumed by Arizonans? This question is increasingly of interest as different groups consider the structure of our food system and the connection between agriculture and the use of water and other natural resources. Despite the strategic importance of this question, there is no established method for accurately estimating local consumption of locally produced food. The primary objective of this research is to identify and quantify the portion of Arizona's agricultural production that was consumed locally in 2021. Specifically, we analyze the local value chains of three commodity groups: fruit and vegetable specialty crops, feed crops, and dairy, using a value chain approach. We use data from the USDA's National Agricultural Statistic Service, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and IMPLAN model, all for the year 2021. Our findings highlight that for the three groups of commodities studied, foreign exports were not the main destination of production in 2021. Estimates show that most of these agricultural products were either shipped to other states within the United States as final products or are used as inputs within more sophisticated value chains, both in other states and in Arizona. This suggests that most of Arizona’s production of these commodities serves to meet domestic demand, both within households and industries. These results can help to effectively estimate local demand for locally produced food, and the role of Arizona in supplying other domestic and international value chains. Furthermore, it can help to quantify the natural resources, such as water, used for the production of commodities. This may lead to new insights into where efficiencies and more responsible stewardship of limited natural resources could be achieved. |
Daniel McDonald | Family Talks—Money Edition: An Innovative Program for Parents and Teens | Our Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) project, officially called Reducing Family Stress, uses an innovative design to help parents stay close and keep communication open with their children as they enter their teen years, even as teens are trying to establish their own identities and become self-reliant adults. We empower participants with the tools they need to reduce the stress of any discussion. Each session creates a supportive environment where parents and teens work through conversations about money and practice skills proven to turn any hard topic into a talk that can bring your family closer together. Our poster will convey the elements of our eight-workshop series that uses personal finance topics to help enhance parent-teen interactions. This program was piloted this past spring in Pima and Gila Counties. Lessons learned from the pilot project and initial evaluation data will be presented. |
Debbie Reed | A Good Life for horses: teaching horse owners about disease transfer and prevention | To ensure that horses are living their best life, physical needs must be met with adequate protections in place to prevent diseases. The Science Creates Real Understanding of Biosecurity (SCRUB) curriculum was created to provide hands-on activities to teach horse owners about biosecurity, since their animals may be at risk every time they travel or come in contact with new animals. SCRUB includes 4 modules with activities addressing concepts of disease transfer and prevention methods. SCRUB was developed for 10-18-year-old youth but has been effectively incorporated into workshops for recreational and professional horse industry members. SCRUB outlines all background material, objectives, timing, activity steps, and reflection questions for instructors. Module 1 focuses on cleaning and disinfecting, beginning with hand washing effectiveness, then challenging participants to clean typical barn surfaces. Module 2 explores direct/indirect disease transfer incorporating a simple, but powerful activity demonstrating the speed of disease transfer between animals, and introduces zoonosis, fomites, and vector concepts. Module 3 addresses types and effectiveness of vaccinations, stressing the need for proper handling and storage using a cooler building activity. Module 4 incorporates previous lessons by identifying and creating strategies to prevent disease transmission in a horse facility. In spring 2023, a pilot project evaluated pairs of 4th grade students (9-10-years-old) answering two qualitative questions (What does biosecurity mean? and How can animals pass an illness to another?) before and after a SCRUB hands-on lesson. Of the 75 completed surveys, 85% (n=64) of paired students surveyed showed an improved ability to define biosecurity at the end of the lesson. Most student’s responses changed from “don’t know” before the lesson, to variations of “to prevent sickness” or “to not spread diseases” following the lesson. Additionally, even where the pre-response was correct (19%), the post response was correct but different (39%), providing some additional detail or adding the term “vector” (2%), thus, 63% of student pairs surveyed improved their ability to describe how animals can pass illness following the SCRUB lesson. Educating horse owners about biosecurity and disease prevention is a key to providing a good life for horses. The SCRUB curriculum is available at no cost online and provides an “easy-to-consume” way for youth and adults to learn and implement these fundamental concepts. A pilot project has shown SCRUB to be effective in teaching concepts of biosecurity with more than six in 10 student pairs better able to define how animals can pass an illness following the SCRUB lesson. |
Elise Gornish | The art and science of drought resilience through soil health initiatives | In order for individuals to enhance soil health in their local environments, they need more information about basic soil science. This information must be provided in a way that is accessible to most ages and educational levels. We recognize the power of art to make abstract ideas visible. Using art to transfer complex information while increasing community through the creative process, we engaged high school students in the creation and deployment of a series of art projects that highlight relationships of (and mitigations to) drought and soil health. |
Esmeralda Castillo | EFNEP and 4-H Collaborating to Impact Youth In Our Community | EFNEP and 4-H collaborate on providing nutrition education in a fun delivery within 4-H programming. EFNEP staff present interactive lessons on healthy food choices, increasing physical activity, and creating healthy habits. Joint efforts are made to gather youth in afterschool settings, day camps, and special events where both programs educate with new ideas, hands-on activities, and fun with food. Post-activity surveys show improved changes in food choices and physical activity. Data results will be shared on the poster. Healthy living through nutrition education and physical activity are welcomed by youth and celebrated through collaboration within Cooperative Extension. |
Esther Turner | AGRI-cation Cultivating Tomorrows Innovator – A Major Update For a Long Running Youth Outreach Program | Ag-Ventures is a place-based youth development outreach program based out of the Maricopa Agricultural Center. Extension educators engage students in agriculture, the food supply chain, farm-to-table, and the nutritional aspects of different foods. Innovations in agriculture education within the classroom are transforming how students learn about farming, food systems, and environmental stewardship, and this is a significant opportunity for Extension to reach broader audiences by revamping a long-running program. The Ag-Ventures program is undergoing a major renovation to modernize outreach efforts and meet the needs of school groups and other stakeholders. We implement game-based learning tools that simulate farming, ideas, and agricultural concepts, making ag learning fun and engaging. The program is designed to engage students in projects such as designing a sustainable farm, creating a garden, and understanding the water cycle. Follow-up activities incorporate these innovations into the formal classroom with extensive activities and curriculum support for teachers and their students. Major curriculum updates are happening to increase program quality and engagement at the farm and create dynamic, relevant, and effective opportunities for young people to prepare for future careers in the agricultural sector. |
Esther Turner | STEM Saturdays | Innovative programming in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) can have a profound impact on communities by fostering educational advancement, economic growth, and social equity. In an effort to meet these needs and grow 4-H in two counties, Pinal and Maricopa, we created STEM Saturdays. What began as a small group of 4-H members grew into full classrooms of members looking to learn more about the sciences, building, and how things work. The poster will show the program's growth and post-class survey results on the lessons learned. Class lessons will be listed, showing the diversity of the materials taught. The conclusion is that this method of recruitment was very successful in both counties and one that will continue to adapt to the needs and wants of the community. |
Esther Turner | Impacting Communities with a Partnership With AmeriCorps NCCC | Cooperative Extension often faces challenges recruiting and supporting volunteers and staff to implement impactful community programs. To address this, Pinal County Cooperative Extension has partnered with AmeriCorps and other community partners to address local community needs. More specifically, Pinal County Cooperative Extension hosted its 6th Americorps NCCC team to improve areas in communities needing assistance. Team Fire 5 took part in many projects at the Maricopa Agricultural Center in Maricopa, AZ. This included the creation of a bee barn, a classroom dedicated to connecting youth with technology and agriculture, demolishing a house on the property to be repaired for housing future workers, irrigation for the entire facility and multiple gardens, and rejuvenating outdated and dilapidated classrooms.? In other community projects, the NCCC and Extension team moved and stored veteran memorabilia from the old Eloy Veterans Center and restored their veteran garden. At the Central Arizona College Signal Peak Campus location, they restored an outdoor classroom and scenic walkway featuring native Arizonan plants. During the Pinal County Fair, they set up the 4-H building, judging competitions, ran the Ag-Venture stations and an AmeriCorps information booth, as well as supervising and setting up activities with children during an afterschool program at the Seeds of Hope Mondo Anaya Center in Casa Grande. The impacts of this partnership have been extensive in Pinal. In this poster, authors will highlight project details, and outline how others utilize Americorp and NCCC teams with other agency partners allowed Cooperative Extension to share resources and promote AmeriCorps and The University of Arizona.? This poster will show the journey from proposal to completion and the impacts made. |
Garland Speight | Queen Creek Watershed: Working with Diverse Partners to Support Stream Restoration | The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) has partnered with the Town of Superior since 2020, assisting the Queen Creek Working Group with restoration activities and associated research. The WRRC is uniquely positioned as a neutral bridging organization to undertake coordination of available research and planning activities in support of the Town of Superior and the Queen Creek Working Group, fostering engagement among diverse stakeholders and integrating efforts to better understand water resources management options in this region. The WRRC is assisting with several key tasks, including: 1) developing the Queen Creek Working Group to meet the Bureau of Reclamation’s definition of a Watershed Group; 2) developing an integrated Watershed Management Plan to enable future funding and coordinate restoration activities; and 3) supporting the design and implementation of green infrastructure pilot projects to manage stormwater and increase groundwater recharge. The WRRC implements effective stakeholder engagement methods, building upon an iterative co-production model. The WRRC draws upon water management expertise, as well as policy context, to organize productive meetings and dialogues among natural resource managers and decision makers to prioritize actions and develop alternative recommendations based on stakeholder feedback. This poster presentation will provide an overview of this collaborative effort and highlight key milestones achieved. |
Gayle Gratop | Horticultural Therapy and the People-Plant Connection: A Multidisciplinary Community Approach to Improve Health and Wellness for Youth Using Plants as a Therapeutic Tool | This poster will highlight the application of horticultural therapy at two Flagstaff schools: Killip Elementary and Ponderosa High School. Youth participate in therapeutic activities that are the product of a collaborative approach to develop social-emotional, workforce, and other life skills. Programs are community and individual needs based. After school opportunities aim to improve student wellbeing at Killip Elementary (n=36) and pre-vocational elements are designed to improve long-term individual and community impacts for at-risk youth at Ponderosa HS (n=27). Horticultural therapy sessions are developed and delivered by Arizona Extension FCHS faculty with support from local non-profit Terra BIRDS, NAU public health student interns, AmeriCorps volunteers, certified Master Gardeners, Coconino County Accommodation School District teachers, and Coconino County Juvenile Probation Services. Programmatic goals and session objectives are developed based on student needs, are measurable, and are documented using group observations. Youth learn life skills and strategies for careers and wellness through hands-on gardening activities that foster resilience, mindfulness, social skills, healthy food choices, and physical activity. Since 2023, 63 students have participated in horticultural therapy programs in Flagstaff. Program outcomes include improved mood and self-esteem, increased attention span, and improved social skills. |
Haley Chappell | Reengaging the 4-H Community in Cochise County | The 4-H program in Cochise County has faced many challenges since 2017. Gaps in Extension staffing, the pandemic and other community shifts contributed to a divided community and created a difficult environment for successful outreach. Since 2023, 4-H faculty and staff have initiated a multipronged approach to revitalizing a positive educational 4-H culture in Cochise County. Primary efforts included keeping the current enrolled and recruiting new membership. Efforts were also aimed at reengaging community partners that were disconnected during gaps in Extension staffing.. This has been informed by intentional needs assessment of community and its members. Assessment efforts evaluated the 4-H programs currently in the county and ranked them from most to least important. These results have informed 4-H efforts in maintaining existing efforts and developing novel programs desired by stakeholders. In turn, stakeholders have recognized Extension efforts and have contributed to the 4-H revitalization by engaging different committees to help plan 4-H events. Through these relationships, Cochise County 4-H now has an annual Awards Banquet, Fur and Feathers Day, Chuck Wagon Cook-Off, and Large Stock Education Clinic. This poster will detail some initial evaluation and impacts of these programs thus far and overview the strategy for continuing this work over the next 3 years. |
Jamie McEvoy | Ripple Effects: The Water Resources Research Center’s Information Transfer Program | The Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) is the designated state water resources research center established under the 1964 Federal Water Resources Research Act (WRRA). Funds from the WRRA Section 104(b) program help support the WRRC’s robust Information Transfer Program, which targets a diverse range of stakeholders and empowers informed decision-making on water-related topics. This poster will provide an overview of six key components of the WRRC’s Information Transfer Program, including: 1) the Weekly Wave, an e-news digest publicizing WRRC activities and other water news; 2) the WRRC Annual Conference, which focuses on a water issue of statewide importance; 3) the Arroyo, an annual publication intended to inform readers about a key topic of statewide importance emanating from the WRRC Annual Conference; 4) the WRRC Water Webinar Series, an online forum for researchers, students, and community members to learn about and discuss water resources issues; 5) the Arizona Water Factsheets, which answer common questions about water resources at the county level; and 6) the WRRC website, which provides a wealth of information to online viewers interested in current water news, events, research, and resources. Key metrics on the impact of each of these program components will be shared in this poster presentation. |
Jenn Parlin | PLAZA Mobile Market | Food insecurity is found at high rates throughout marginalized communities in the US (1). Resilient local food systems can address such issues but need significant public and private systemic support. With investment from the community and key partners, mobile markets can support a thriving food culture. The PLAZA Mobile Market supports two equally important objectives. In areas with high food insecurity, the PLAZA mobile market sells locally grown produce at deeply discounted prices that are payable with government assistance programs like SNAP-EBT, Double Up Bucks, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. The market’s locations are at trusted community institutions, and involve trusted community partners, to meet the community where they live, work, and play. This helps eliminate transportation issues, a known barrier to purchasing local produce by low-income populations (2,3). The market aims to inspire participant conversations around produce available for sale and participants are educated through dialog with staff, seasonal recipes, and food demonstrations made with the market's produce. The market is designed this way because, research shows mobile markets, coupled with taste testing events, have been shown to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables by low-income participants (4). The program also supports the local food economy, by buying directly from farmers at fair-market value. This removes a large barrier for small producers by taking on the time, energy, and financial risks that a farmers’ market requires. Our market buys primarily from Black women refugee farmers, in response to research showing that Black farmers and women farmers earn less farm-related wealth than their white and male counterparts, respectively (5). Program evaluation is conducted through surveys to learn customer demographics, their experience with farmers markets, barriers in produce consumption, and how they heard about the market. Surveys also focus on program improvements, for example, ideal times and days for the market as well as preferred accompanying education and programming. This program was formed after many community conversations, including focus groups of SNAP-eligible community members, farmer interviews, a pilot market at an affordable housing site, and planning meetings with local leaders. A detailed inventory is kept, to record the amount of fresh local produce available and sold in the community. This poster will cover the process of developing the mobile market, challenges related to financial processes and navigating government assistance programs, best practices in running a mobile market, and lessons learned. |
Jennifer Peters | Arizona State Office of Rural Health: Connecting Arizona through Programs, Data, and Community Engagement | The Arizona Center for Rural Health (AzCRH) core mission is to improve the health and wellness of Arizona’s rural and underserved populations, and houses (since 1990) the federally and state designated State Office of Rural Health (SORH) Program,. State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs) are a unique federal-state partnership to help improve the health of rural communities. AzSORH addresses ongoing and emerging rural health needs and is funded by the state of Arizona and the US Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. This poster will illustrate how AzSORH leverages partnerships, data, and programs to provide context and meaning to rural health issues, foster community strengths, and support the development of long term community-based solutions. Current programs, data products and visualizations, opportunities for partnerships and technical assistance, and examples recent accomplishments and collaborations with Cooperative Extension will be shared. |
Johan Manuel Murcia Bermudez | The Yuma Plant Health Clinic Annual update of program: 2023 updates | ABSTRACT The University of Arizona Yuma County Cooperative Extension Plant Health Clinic (YPHC) serves as a plant diseases diagnostic, Extension, and applied Research laboratory to the community of 2.4 billion Vegetables industry at the Yuma County area. As a diagnostic clinic, The YPHC plays an important role in the early detection of diseases that commonly affect crops production in Arizona. In 2023 the clinic processed, systematized, and diagnose ~1000 samples belonging to 37 different crops species/varieties. Lettuce and spinach were the crops with the highest sample submission rate. Fungi stand out as the main pathogens detected. Among those the fungi Fusarium oxysporum was the most frequently detected. During 2023 the clinic published ~ 10 scientific works, i.e. the first report in the USA of two viruses infecting native cacti and two new diseases in the State of Arizona. Regarding the extension program, the clinic ran more than 250 treatments in Field trials, organized Field days and open the lab for the Yuma community through several outreach programs, involving more than 2000 people. Also, in 2023 the YPHC started three different research programs, focused on achieving environmentally friendly control of diseases such as Fusarium Lettuce wilt and Melon Yellowing. |
Joshua Farella | Growing Futures in Arizona Agriculture – Long Term Impacts from a Cooperative Extension Agricultural Literacy Program. | The Growing Futures in Arizona Agriculture, program is entering its 4th year in Arizona Extension. The program is a cooperative effort including agricultural producers, Extension agriculture experts, 4-H faculty, Tribal Extension faculty, school districts, and K-12 teachers to engage classroom educators with real world agricultural knowledge and experiences. Teachers participate in a 7-week online course, followed by an immersive visit to agricultural production sites, and curriculum development workshops. Through this program teachers can learn to use agriculture as a central classroom theme, relating educational standards, activities, and curricula to different ag topics. In this poster we will overview some program impacts thus far and share results from our first long term evaluation/teacher follow ups. This effort is specifically aimed to measure if teachers who have participated in the program have started or increased their utilization of agricultural concepts in their classroom. This assessment compliments several years of iterative program improvement via formative and summative cohort evaluations. We will also suggest some strategies and best practices for connecting teachers and their students to agriculture based off participant responses. These evaluation results overview an important effort to address the agricultural disconnect in the U.S., and our ability to intertwine classroom learning with agriculture and public health. |
Joshua Farella | AZ 4-H Military Teen Adventure Camp – Whitewater Rafting with Youth on the San Juan and Colorado Rivers. | The Military Teen Adventure Camp program serves teens from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, and Coast Guard families. Funding from USDA/NIFA via Purdue University is a key resource ($470,000 since 2021), enabling AZ 4-H to provide travel stipends, hire counselors, and purchase material resources to provide a robust camp experience at a cost of only $25 per youth. 2024 is the 4th Arizona iteration of the MTAC program and based on previous camp experiences and extensive evaluation (ACA Assessment, Thriving Model, Life Skills Model, etc.), major revisions were made to the camp format. Breaking out from the traditional residential camp experience, AZ 4-H partnered with Grand Canyon Youth, a youth development focused company specializing in whitewater rafting trips. UA faculty, staff, and volunteers implemented three multi day whitewater river rafting trips with 25 youth per trip on the San Juan and Colorado Rivers. In this poster we will detail the evaluative process leading up to this shift, and the major outcomes and impacts from summer 2024 programming. |
Katherine Speirs | Community-Based Early Literacy Programs for Two Tribal Communities In Arizona | The Gowa: Teachable Moments for Apache Children and Baby College 101: Courses for Alchíní Yázhí programs are early literacy programs for families with young children and early care and education professionals on the San Carlos Apache tribal lands and Navajo Nation. These programs are a collaboration between UACE FCHS and FRTEP faculty. We use research-based components to help parents, grandparents and other caregivers expand their use of five early literacy practices (reading, talking, writing, singing, and playing) with the 0-6-year-old children they care for. This poster will provide an overview of these programs, findings from our evaluation study, and our strategies for successfully engaging and collaborating with the communities where these programs were delivered. |
Katherine Speirs | Creating a Database of Text Messages to Send to Program Participants | Text Messages are an effective way to communicate with program participants and can be used to increase retention and reinforce program content. This poster will describe the creation of a database of text messages that are sent as part of in-person parenting education classes. The multi-step process for developing and testing the acceptability of the text messages will be described and can be used by Extension faculty and staff working in any area. This process included soliciting multiple rounds of feedback from program participants. Additionally, we will provide information about how to access our database of messages which can be used to supplement parenting education programs. |
Margine Bawden | Maximizing Your Freeze Drier | This poster builds on the introduction to freeze drying poster that was presented last year and will highlight work that continues to be done by 2 FCHS agents in Apache, Navajo, and Graham counties, on how to make the most out of Freeze Drying. The use of Freeze Driers and the need for Extension support related to how to use a freeze drier and freeze-dried products has increased. This poster is intended to provide information on how to prepare and store freeze dried products, maintaining a freeze drier, and how to use freeze dried products. |
Margine Bawden | Early Care and Education Professionals’ Needs for Health and Wellness Training: Results from a Statewide Needs Assessment | Professional development and training are important tools that allow early care and education (ECE) professionals to play an important role in promoting young children’s health and wellbeing. During summer 2023, a team of Extension faculty and staff and a graduate research assistant conducted a statewide needs assessment to better understand the professional development needs of ECE professionals around health and wellness(n=216). The results from this needs assessment will inform the development of Extension programming for ECE professionals. The online needs assessment survey asked participants to rate 34 training topics in terms of how interested they would be in attended a training on that topic and how easy or hard it would be to find training on that topic. Participants were asked about training topics that would prepare them to care for the health and well-being of young children (e.g., promoting safe sleep or providing physical activity opportunities for young children) and to care for their own health and well-being (e.g., reducing stress or interacting with others in the workplace). Our results suggest high levels of interest in all 34 training topics. However, there were far fewer participants who were both interested in the training topics and thought it would be hard to find training in these areas. Additionally, participants were more interested in and thought it would be harder to find training that would allow them to care for their own health and well-being than the health and well-being of young children. When developing new training for ECE professionals, Extension faculty and staff plan to prioritize training that promotes employee health and wellbeing. |
Michelle (Shelley) McMahon | CALES Collections: Impacts of the UA Herbarium | The University of Arizona Herbarium is our state’s oldest and largest botanical and mycological natural history museum. Housed in historic Herring Hall (Main Campus, Tucson), we provide expertise and service state-wide, to Extension, agency, and consulting personnel, as well as directly to members of our community. We offer workshops to provide training on native, naturalized, and invasive plants, we host public events to promote understanding of recent scientific advances in various topics, we facilitate research by UA and non-UA faculty, staff, and students, and we accept responsibility for maintaining and curating specimens and their associated publicly-available data records – a half million now, and growing by thousands per year. Here we provide a few highlights of our resources and our impact. We invite viewers to contact us with questions or with ideas for future collaborations. |
Nate Brawley | Who is the ALIRT Team? | The who, what, where, when, and how of the ALIRT team. My desire is to share with the rest of Extension, what the ALIRT team is and how we impact the state. |
Nicole Culpepper | Cultivating Community Connections | This poster will highlight several programs in Yuma County and showcase a project, Farm Fresh Fridays, where each program came together to lend their individual expertise into events that benefitted many community members. Multiple Yuma County programs worked together, alongside numerous other Yuma County extension employees, to create local school field trips and a community U-Pick garden event. |
Patty Merk | Child and Family Development in Action: The University of Arizona Roosevelt Early Childhood Family Resource Center | For 14 years, the University of Arizona Roosevelt Early Childhood Family Resource Center has served as a community hub for families with children from birth to age 5. The robust program offerings are based on the Strengthening Families Protective Factors developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy. The factors are social connections, knowledge of parenting and child development, social and emotional competence in children, parental resilience and concrete support in times of need. Programs are based on parent/caregiver interaction. Families' participation in programs is affected by many real-life strengths as well as challenges. Some families are able to participate more, some less and at different times during the year, depending on other time constraints, transportation, and others. Applied research takes a mixed-method approach including action research, case studies, surveys and qualitative evidence. Individual cases of children and their development, along with parental and staff input relate compelling stories of the program's impacts on families with young children. |
Robert Masson | Storyteller Tactics | Storyteller Tactics is a modular card system used to construct better presentations by shaping information into stories that: sell, explain, motivate, lead, convince, impress, or connect. By adopting a different path the same information can be shaped to fit a different intention based on the needs of the presenter. |
Samuel Discua Duarte | Survey of Weeds as Reservoirs of Whitefly-Transmitted Viruses in Yuma, AZ | Arizona’s leafy greens and melon industries contribute more than $2.5 billion to the state’s economy. Whitefly-transmitted viruses such as the Cucurbit Yellow Stunting Disorder Virus (CYSDV) in melons are significant threats to melon production in the state. Weeds play an integral role in supporting whitefly populations and in the occurrence of melon viruses. CYSDV has severely impacted melon production by reducing yield and fruit sugar content in Yuma, AZ since 2006. In recent seasons, another crinivirus, cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV), and the whitefly-transmitted ipomovirus, squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) have been found infecting melon plants in the desert southwest. Melon plants may have mixed infections of CYSDV, CCYV, and an aphid-transmitted polerovirus, cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV). All these viruses occur together in the region and produce identical yellowing symptoms on cucurbit plants, making disease management and efforts to develop cucurbit-resistant varieties more difficult. Additionally, several weed species can serve as reservoirs for whiteflies and whitefly-transmitted viruses, allowing viruses to persist in the environment when melons are not produced. The purpose of this project is to identify the most important weed hosts of these four viruses in Arizona. To date, 300 weed samples have been tested for virus presence using an RT-qPCR. Weeds commonly found in the growing region have been identified as hosts of these viruses, including new hosts. Results from this project help inform management recommendations for whitefly-transmitted viruses, including weed control and measures to mitigate their spread. |
Samuel Discua Duarte | Seasonal occurrence and evaluation of weeds as reproductive hosts of sweet potato whitefly in Yuma Arizona | Arizona’s leafy greens and melon industry contributes more than $2.5 billion to the state’s economy. Arizona is the second largest producer of melons (cantaloupe and honeydew) in the U.S., with Yuma County being one of the state’s top melon-producing regions. The sweet potato whitefly, SWF, (Bemisia tabaci) is one of the most important pests in melon production in Yuma, AZ. Damage produced by SWF in melons can result in leaf chlorosis, longer harvest dates, and reduced yield. Additionally, SWF is a vector of the economically important viruses Cucurbit Chlorotic Yellows Virus (CCYV), and Cucurbit Yellow Stunting Disorder Virus (CYSDV), which can cause severe losses to melon crops in spring and fall plantings. The objective of this project is to document the potential for common weeds found across the Yuma Agricultural Region as productive hosts of SWF. Since the fall of 2023, vacuum and weed leaf samples were collected around agricultural fields in Yuma, AZ. SWF nymphs and adults collected from weeds were quantified under magnification. The presence of both adults and nymphs on the leaf samples was required to confirm that the weed species is a reproductive host SWF. Over 30 different weed species were evaluated, groundcherry (Physalis spp.) and nettleleaf goosefoot (Chenopodiastrum murale) had the highest number of adults and nymphs collected. Results from this study document the seasonal succession of both crop and weed hosts of SWF in Yuma agroecosystems and help inform weed management strategies to reduce SWF populations in the region. |
Shujuan (Lucy) Li | An integrated approach to teaching and expanding what we mean by IPM - IPM program improves public health by reducing environmental and human health risks | The University of Arizona Public Health IPM Program raises public awareness and implements routine monitoring to protect human health and the environment. The goal of the program is to improve public health by reducing environmental and human health risks. We develop and implement priority engaged research and Extension public health programs statewide. Currently we work in four priority areas: 1) IPM in tribal communities; 2) Vector control; 3) IPM in schools and housing; and 4) Food safety. We partnered with diverse collaborators to identify and address priority training needs for public and environmental health, and provided need-based, community-driven education focused on reducing environmental risks and public health threats using integrated pest management (IPM) practices. Multi-media outreach helped to maximize the impact of our education efforts. Across all training events, health and well-being of audiences were improved by increasing awareness and knowledge of vector pests, public health pests, pesticide safety, and IPM practices in their environments. University experts, public health agencies, farmers, growers, ranchers, producers, and tribal collaborative groups involved in this program shared common goals to reduce environmental and human health risks, and to enhance emergency preparedness within the communities. As a result of this program, the team of scientific experts are better connected with tribal communities, and community leaders are more informed about their needs and priorities. Arizona citizens and public health professionals have improved access to the latest scientific findings and best management practices to improve public and environmental health and to address priority needs of diverse audiences. |
Terrace Ewinghill | Community Research, Evaluation and Development (CRED) Team – Supporting Extension’s Program Evaluation and Needs Assessment | The Community Research, Evaluation and Development (CRED) team supports Extension to tell the story of the great work being done across the state and help improve programming. Come by to learn more about the Statewide Needs Assessment and personalized ways that CRED can support your programs. CRED brings together faculty, staff, and students with expertise in evaluation, research design, data analysis and visualization, and community engagement. The team is multidisciplinary, with professionals coming together from a wide array of backgrounds — psychology, education, public health, sociology, geography — to align innovative evaluation and research with the work of community partners. |
Tracey Waters | Med Instead of Meds | The Med Instead of Meds Program was created by North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension and explores the power of food and nutrition. The program consists of 6 lessons to help participants improve their health through delicious and nutritious food by incorporating the Mediterranean diet into their daily routine. Yuma County Cooperative Extension offered our first Med Instead of Meds class to the public in the spring of 2024 with great feedback from the participants. |
Wilfrid Calvin | Insect Pests Management Techniques for Organic Vegetable Productions | Due to the potentially detrimental impacts conventional pesticides have on beneficial insects, human health, and the environment, there is renewed interest in implementing effective and environmentally friendly insect pest management practices. Therefore, it is crucial to develop, evaluate, and disseminate insect pest management strategies that growers and gardeners can implement in their integrated pest management (IPM) programs to produce bug-free, safe, and healthy food. |
Zane Campbell | Arizona 4-H International Exchange | Our Summer Inbound programs bring youth to the US each summer to stay with a host family for 4 weeks. Based on a complete cultural immersion model, youth are matched with a volunteer American family who wants to share their life with an international visitor. Visiting youth travel in groups and are accompanied by an adult chaperone who stays in the same state for the duration of the program. Host families will have the opportunity to participate in welcome orientations and departure events that are organized by the 4-H Extension office in each state. |
Zane Campbell | Arizona 4-H Ambassador Program | The Arizona 4-H state ambassador program was reinstated in 2019 is and has seen growth as the program across the state. This program has demonstrated youth development on a closer and more personal level with advisors and at the state and county level teams have opportunities to advocate for themselves and the future of Arizona forage through public, speaking opportunities and more. |
Zane Campbell | Arizona 4-H Youth Summit 2024 | Arizona 4-H is a Youth Development program to engage youth to reach their fullest potential. For Arizona 4-H to meet its goal of supporting youth in their path to achieving their future goals, it must provide programming that offers opportunities to aspiring youth. Arizona 4-H began to host the Arizona 4-H Youth Summit at the University of Arizona. Arizona 4-H Summit is a college and career readiness program for youth ages 14 to 18 of all backgrounds university-level opportunities. |