Digital Commons Network^™

An Instrument To Evaluate 4-H Cloverbud Stem Programming, Alisha M. Hardman, Donna J. Peterson, Mariah S. Morgan, H. Elizabeth Solace

The Journal of Extension

Evaluation data is needed to demonstrate the impact of 4-H science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programming on children and youth. However, collecting evaluation data from cloverbuds (ages 5-7) is particularly challenging given their developmental age. We adapted an observational Cloverbud evaluation tool to measure basic life skills, essential elements of positive youth development experiences, and, unique to this tool, STEM specific experiences. We developed the STEM items using educational science standards allowing Extension to document STEM in addition to youth development outcomes. Doing so, may increase the adoption of 4-H STEM programming by teachers in the school setting.

Latinx Science Students’ Sense Of Belonging In Rural Wisconsin, Patrick Robinson, Cynthia Baeza, Luis Gonzalez-Quizhpe, Abigail Robinson, Diego Román, Katherine Ward

The Journal of Extension

This study explores the sense of belonging of rural middle and high school Latinx science students in Wisconsin. Between 2000 and 2015, the Latinx population was the fastest growing ethnic group in Wisconsin and increased by 95%. Yet, little is known about the experiences of these students in rural schools or their engagement in science learning. Our research contributes to addressing this knowledge gap and provides insights into Latinx student experiences relative to the science classroom and community. Our findings indicate that a primary determinant of Latinx science students’ positive sense of belonging is a positive relationship with their teachers.

Mixed Methods Evaluation Of Nutrition Education For Limited Resource Audiences, Amanda J. Skalka, Sarah L. Francis, Ulrike Genschel, Ruth E. Litchfield

The Journal of Extension

This paper presents an exploratory evaluation of pilot nutrition education programs, Plan Shop Save Cook (PSSC). Behavior change between two nutrition education programs, Buy Eat Live Healthy (BELH; n=92 and PSSC; n=42), was examined using pre- and post-program questionnaire responses. Both programs resulted in significant improvement in food resource management (FRM) behaviors; however, there was no significant difference in the amount of change between the programs. Qualitative data suggests participants perceived label reading as the most useful information provided in the PSSC programs. The current findings suggest short-term behavior change can be achieved with a limited dose program.

Factors Affecting Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.) Health As Perceived By South Georgia Commercial Beekeepers, Kimberly Post

The Journal of Extension

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are critical to the pollination of many crops. Bee-oriented organizations survey beekeepers annually to gather information about colony loss and contributing factors. Unfortunately, these surveys provide insufficient data from sideliner and commercial beekeepers in Georgia. Through a survey to better understand South Georgia beekeepers’ perceptions of honey bee health, this project engaged a previously underrepresented group of sideliner and commercial beekeepers.

Leveraging 4-H To Address Emergent Health Needs During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Epidemiology Pilot Project, Anne Marie Iaccopucci, Marcel Horowitz, Dorina Espinoza, Roshan Nayak

The Journal of Extension

4-H academics responded to the Covid pandemic by rapidly adapting CDC and other resources for virtual delivery. A statewide epidemiology project was taught to 48 youth with the goal of minimizing fears and confusion, increasing prevention measures, leveraging current topics for education, and bolstering the social-emotional health of youth participants. Results indicated that youth enjoyed the project and adopted behaviors to reduce the spread of infectious diseases, such as increased mask-wearing.

Tools For Capturing Outcomes In Virtual Educational Programs, Leyla Marandi, Eleanor Haworth, Vikram Koundinya, Katherine Webb-Martinez, Kit Alviz

The Journal of Extension

During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations increased virtual programming and adoption of online technologies. This article outlines the [University redacted] assessment of tools for gathering data on participant learning outcomes from virtual educational programs. After assessing colleagues’ experiences and searching for new web applications, a central repository was created. [University redacted] team will use this information to assist extension professionals in collecting program planning and evaluation data. We believe that these tools can help other extension programs nationally and globally with similar efforts, as more virtual programming is likely to increase in the future.

Upstarts T3: An Asynchronous And Cohort-Based Entrepreneurship Train-The-Trainer Program, Surin Kim, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman, Kieu-Anh Do, Irene Padasas, Claire Nicholas, Olivia Kennedy, Anna Erdmann, Andy Larson

The Journal of Extension

UpStarts is a reverse-mentoring youth program designed to foster an entrepreneurial mindset among participants and a sense of connection between youth and adults. Effective facilitators are critical to the success of the program. This paper describes an asynchronous, cohort-based virtual train-the-trainer (T3) program for potential UpStarts facilitators that was developed to navigate the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. Participants of the initial UpStarts T3 program reported positive feedback for the training and a high sense of efficacy in implementing UpStarts in their communities. The current T3 model is emerging as a promising means of preparing facilitators to implement UpStarts …

Designing Social-Ecological Programs To Support Extension Participants In Civic Engagement, Angela S. Gupta, Nathan Meyer, Michelle Prysby, Shelly A. Johnson, Gail Epping Overholt

The Journal of Extension

To address a need to support volunteer and citizen engagement with decision-makers in addressing social-ecological challenges, we designed and tested a “flipped classroom” training to teach civic engagement processes in the context of invasive species management. We pilot-tested the curriculum in seven states. Using results from in-course and delayed surveys, we demonstrate that participants increased their capabilities for engaging decision-makers and took civic engagement actions related to invasive species issues. Although participant recruitment and retention were lower than expected, the overall results suggest that the training approach is an effective design for satisfying participant needs and achieving learning outcomes.

Evaluation Of The Michigan Water School: Water Education Program For Local Leaders, Heather A. Triezenberg, Jennifer Hunnell, Erick Elgin, Bindu Bhakta, Mary Bohling

The Journal of Extension

Local leaders are essential for helping Michigan achieve its 30-year water strategy goals. The Michigan Water School is an Extension nonformal educational program to address the knowledge gap of local leaders. We evaluated programs conducted from 2017-2019. Results revealed program outcomes in knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of criticalness to work, and stewardship and behavioral intentions aligned to water quality, water quantity, and field experience units. Growth areas for program improvement include water policy, economics, planning, and finance as well as expanding the focus of the program for transformational leadership and to broaden recruitment efforts.

Storytelling Through A Critical Positive Youth Development Framework: A Mixed Methods Approach, Maru Gonzalez, Michael Kokozos, Katherine Mckee, Christy Byrd

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Vol. 19, Issue 1

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

“We Are Protected”: Examining Youth Perceptions Of Safety Within A Faith-Based Positive Youth Development Program In El Salvador, Samuel Hay, Jonathan M. Tirrell, Jacqueline Lerner, Elizabeth Dowling, Alistair T. R. Sim, Pamela E. King, Jennifer M. Vaughn, Guillermo Iraheta, Richard Lerner

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

4-H Volunteers Leaders’ Turnover Intention, Suzanna R. Windon, Mariah K. Awan, Rama Radhakrishna

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Targeting Social-Emotional Learning And Activity Attitudes During After-School Programming Post Covid-19 Restrictions, Kelly L. Simonton, Victoria N. Shiver, Aimee Gray, Katie Juarez, Angela Simonton

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Benchmarking Strategies Used To Increase Diversity, Equity, Inclusion At Summer Camps, Lisa Meerts, Tyler Wycoff, Jim Sibthorp

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

March 2024 Presidents Corner, Christian Burris

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Extending Knowledge On Biosecurity In Small-Scale And Backyard Systems In The United States, Juliette Di Francesco, Amber Itle, Craig Mcconnel, Ragan Adams, Roselle Busch, Richard Van Vleck Pereira, Terry W. Lehenbauer, Beatriz Martínez-López, Alda F. A. Pires

The Journal of Extension

The number of small-scale and backyard operations has increased in the United States during the past decade, but there is currently a lack of outreach efforts and readily-available educational materials targeting these farming systems. We developed a webinar series on biosecurity to provide training for small-scale and backyard producers, and training tools that can be used by local veterinarians and extension educators to disseminate knowledge and consistent recommendations more effectively. Fewer people attended the webinars than registered, suggesting a gap between interest in biosecurity and commitment to the topic. Participants in the webinar series reported a high level of satisfaction …

How To Build And Sustain A Transdisciplinary Community-Based Exercise Program For Older Adults, Stephen D. Ball Phd, Kristin Miller Ms, Kelsey J. Weitzel Ms, Breanne S. Baker Phd

The Journal of Extension

We have built a community-based program called Stay Strong, Stay Healthy, which helps older adults improve muscle strength and flexibility while reducing fall risk. This report details lessons learned and keys to success for Extension practitioners. First, maximize the potential of your state’s Extension framework by building a program that centers around your target population and is fun and easy to implement. Second, partner with researchers who can help to improve program effectiveness and logistical feasibility on larger scales. Lastly, continue to evaluate and adapt based on feedback from those who utilize and implement the program.

Beyond Translation: Increasing Accessibility To Nutrition Education For Foreign-Born Latine Adults, Karen L. Franck, Jennifer Ward, Lisa Fuller, Egla Delvo-Lopez, Chanta'l Rose

The Journal of Extension

About 20% of the U.S. population identifies as Latine. To engage these audiences, many Extension nutrition education programs have translated curricula and other resources into Spanish. Culturally responsive programs need to move beyond translation and address critical issues and needs specific to Latine audiences. We conducted focus groups with 118 foreign-born Latine adults across one state. Participants were interested in nutrition education programs involving the entire family including children offered by bilingual educators. They also wanted programs that focused on healthy meals that included foods from their culture of origin with common US foods.

Cyanobacterial Contribution To Annual Cycles Of Phytoplankton In Lake Murray, Sc, Haley Durbin, Mikayla Radek, Catherine Schlenker, Sarah Bauman, James L. Pinckney

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Freshwater lakes provide valuable recreational and tourism resources and are a major source of municipal drinking water for local communities. A primary management goal for lake systems is the maintenance of good water quality and a healthy aquatic ecosystem. Blooms of harmful or noxious species of cyanobacteria can result in severe water quality degradation. The purpose of this project was to provide baseline data on phytoplankton community composition, with special emphasis on cyanobacteria, and water quality parameters for Lake Murray, SC. The objective of this study was to determine the annual cyanobacterial contribution to total phytoplankton biomass in the lower …

Detecting The Diatom Hab Genus Pseudo-Nitzschia In The Public Shellfish Harvesting Area Of Huntington Beach State Park Using A Nanopore Sequencing Approach, Megan Cevasco, Aramis Lawson, Zachary Padgett, Elena Renshaw

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) cause detrimental economic, ecological, and human health impacts. A major group of HAB taxa of particular interest in coastal shellfish harvesting grounds consists of domoic-acid producing species within the cosmopolitan marine diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxic amino acid that bioaccumulates in the tissue of filter-feeding shellfish and is responsible for amnesiac shellfish poisoning (ASP) in humans and other marine life. To minimize human health risks and economically damaging shellfish harvesting closures, there is a need to develop proactive monitoring efforts that focus on determining the environmental conditions likely to support Pseudo-nitzschia HABs. …

Spatial And Temporal Variability In Water Quality And Phytoplankton Community Composition In Charleston Harbor, Abigail Stephens, Nicole Schanke, Emmaline Sheahan, Giacomo Ditullio

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The Charleston Harbor estuary is a dynamic ecosystem draining three rivers that surround the rapidly urbanizing greater Charleston area. Projected climate change impacts include elevated sea surface temperature and local changes in water quality that will likely alter biogeochemical cycling as well as phytoplankton abundance and community composition. Partnering with the local non-profit organization Charleston Waterkeeper, surface water samples were collected from late April through October 2021 at 20 sites in the Charleston Harbor estuary system. Water quality parameters measured included sea surface temperature (SST), salinity, pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), phytoplankton pigments and nitrate and …

Use Of An Autonomous Surface Vehicle To Collect High Spatial Resolution Water Quality Data At Lake Wateree, Sc, Archana Venkatachari, Annie Bourbonnais, Ibrahim Salman, Ioannis Rekleitis, Alberto Quattrini Li, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Holly A. Ewing, Denise Bruesewitz, Emily Arsenault, Quin Shingai

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Freshwater resources including lakes and reservoirs are increasingly threatened by harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCBs). The scarcity of high spatial and temporal resolution data presents challenges for monitoring, predicting, and managing these blooms. Autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) equipped with water quality sensors represent a powerful tool to obtain high-resolution spatial data at Lake Wateree (LW), South Carolina (SC). LW is a hydroelectric reservoir commonly covered with extensive blooms of the benthic cyanobacteria Microseira (Lyngbya) wollei and Phormium sp., with the thickest mats in shallow coves.

The main objective of this study was to determine the best speed and duration of loiter …

Impacts Of Harmful Algal Blooms (Habs) On Agriculture: A Short Communication, Debabrata Sahoo, Ibrahim Busari, Heather Nix, Sarah A. White

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

agriculture, which requires clean water, healthy soil, and adequate nutrients, is crucial to meet the growing demand for food and fiber. Over application of nutrients to meet demand has degraded surface water quality, leading to accelerated eutrophication. Cultural eutrophication is a process by which aquatic ecosystems such as ponds, lakes, and estuaries become so enriched with nutrients—primarily nitrogen and phosphorus—as to become unusable for safe consumption and ecological purposes. Eutrophication has intensified due to climate change. Increased temperatures, intense storms, and drought can drive the formation of eutrophic and hypereutrophic conditions. Hypereutrophication results in the rapid proliferation of algae and …

Restoring Predevelopment Hydrology With Smart Stormwater Controls In Aiken, South Carolina, Jason Hetrick, Kathryn Ellis, Dayton Marchese, Samantha Ritz

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

For decades, large quantities of stormwater runoff from the City of Aiken flowed at destructive velocities (exceeding 5 ft/s) into the Sand River, deeply eroding the channel in the downstream Hitchcock Woods. From 1990 to 2015, the City of Aiken commissioned several consultants to produce over a dozen studies to investigate viable solutions for the destructive erosion. Upon the recommendation from a collaborative Stormwater Task Force, the City of Aiken approved a stormwater implementation plan in 2018 which recommended 20 capital improvement projects sized to capture 58 ac-ft of stormwater in order to restore the river’s predevelopment hydrology, with a …

Identifying Barriers Preventing Stormwater Pond Buffer Implementation In Coastal South Carolina, Sean Cannon, Abigail Locatis Prochaska, Kendra Stewart, Timothy Callahan, Matthew C. Nowlin

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Buffer zones are ecotones between upland areas and adjacent water bodies. They often consist of plant communities that stabilize shorelines, act as barriers reducing transport of fertilizer and lawn debris into water bodies, uptake nutrients and heavy metals, and provide habitat for wildlife. Few regulations exist that require vegetated buffers around stormwater ponds, and their widespread implementation has not occurred around ponds in coastal South Carolina. This lack of regulation on buffer requirements has potentially reduced the effectiveness of stormwater ponds and highlights the need to identify barriers preventing residents from implementing vegetated buffers. To investigate the barriers preventing the …

Utilizing Watershed-Based Planning As A Tool To Protect Source Water: A Case Study From The Lower Caw Caw Swamp, Kathryn Ellis, Eric Odom, Gregory Carbone

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

A watershed-based plan (WBP) is an example of a management tool that addresses nonpoint sources of pollution that affect surface water quality. We apply a simple spreadsheet tool to the Lower Caw Caw Swamp watershed in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to quantify the impact of modest management practices on water quality, and to examine how climate and land-use change could affect water quality in future decades. Three separate climate and land use scenarios are used to measure annual pollutant loads in the basin. Our analysis shows that E. coli loads in current conditions are largely attributed to anthropogenic sources of bacteria …

South Carolina Beach Water Quality: Stakeholder Workshop Identifies Challenges, Needs, And Recommendations, Angelos K. Hannides, Nicole Elko

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Coastal water quality is often identified by diverse stakeholders as a major management challenge but can be difficult to define. South Carolina Beach Advocates (SCBA), a nonprofit organization formed in 2015 to educate the public, governmental authorities, and elected officials as to the environmental, economic, and societal impact of South Carolina's beaches and inlets, recognized this challenge and organized a virtual workshop in June 2022 to explore our beachfront communities' water quality management challenges, and discuss various perspectives on beach water quality. Thirty-eight participants from government agencies, local government, industry, academia, and civic society discussed this important topic and identified …

The South Carolina Water Monitoring Portal - A Hub For South Carolina Water Quality Monitoring Data, Duncan R. Williamson, Norman Levine, Brooke R. Saari, Landon Knapp

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The South Carolina (SC) Water Monitoring Portal is an ArcGIS-based, geospatial application that incorporates water quality data from a variety of sources and projects them onto an interactive map. This application will provide those interested in accessing and retrieving South Carolina water quality data with a free and easyto- use tool that allows for spatial visualization, interaction with, and direct download of data. At the time of this publication, the application accesses roughly four million water quality data records collected by seventeen different organizations. To allow users to seamlessly find and access the data they need, filters are available to …

Reviewing School District And Caregiver Engagement: Toward Building Capacity To Serve English Learners, Emily Howell, Rebecca Kaminski, Tobi Pirolla

Publications

The authors conducted a comprehensive literature review of school district partnerships with caregivers of ELs to inform this project design. This literature review addresses the following research question: What are the needs of caregivers of ELs in K-12 schools, and how are school partnerships supporting these caregivers? This literature review will address these gaps and overcoming EL caregiver underrepresentation by discussing seven focused and three theoretical codes drawn from a comprehensive review of 21 articles.