Strong Support For Coop. Ext. Open House

By MAGGIE MCMURRAY

Moapa Valley Progress

Over a hundred residents took the opportunity to learn more about what the local extension office has to offer when they attended the East Clark County Cooperative Extension open house on Tuesday evening, May 30.

The event was organized by Cooperative Extension staff in an effort to spread the word about some of the lesser known programs as well as highlight some of the more popular ones. Activities and displays covered the entire extension campus with different booths scattered across the acreage, each covering a different aspect of extension.

In addition to touring the grounds and visiting booths, attendees were also treated to free hot dogs grilled up by the local Rotary club, along with chips, watermelon, and cookies, served in a shady outdoor picnic area.

The booths were as varied as the programs offered by the office. In the back classroom, 15-minute mini-sessions were held showcasing the various fitness classes offered for free by instructor Penny Blair. Blair covered classes in Zumba, Zumba with circuit training, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and various nutrition classes.

Student extension employees Benjamin Muhlestein and Gavin Henrie gave tours of the experimental cactus garden on site.
Peggy Raines brought a beautiful straw bale out of which she had growing several flowers and vegetables to demonstrate straw bale gardening.
Cowboys ‘n’ Angels 4-H club members Trey and Emma Houston showed off the extension mint garden and offered sprigs of mint to attendees to take home and enjoy.
Volunteer Cally Wade did crafts with kids. She helped them paint rocks and plant them to look like cactus.

Classroom building A also held many displays on 4-H and the variety of projects available, while the adjoining carport held some hands-on examples of projects as demonstrated by members of the Mavericks and Kidz-n-Ewe clubs.
Mavericks member Sarah Adams displayed a prize hen and rooster. She told attendees all about chickens, while letting them pet and hold them first hand.
“We love educating the public about chickens and promoting the chicken 4-H group,” Sarah said. “4-H is about more than pigs and sheep. There’s something for everyone.”
Kidz-n-Ewe club member Savannah Allum and other members of that club showed young attendees some of the other types of technical projects available. They displayed a hands-on booth on how to program small robots called Ozobots.

Of course, for the many kids that love animals, there was also a set of 4-day-old baby goats and their mom on hand to hold and experience, along with two different breeds of bunnies.
Attendees all spoke positively of the evening and the experience. Rachel Dahl of Mesquite Regional Business came to the event and said, “One of our main focuses of economic development is workforce development. 4-H is the first step in a workforce that is trained, confident, skilled in basic life skills, and able to problem-solve. I was in 4-H growing up and its one of the best things I ever did in my life. All the things that lack in a workforce today can be solved by 4-H.”

People came to experience the night for a variety of reasons. Some enjoyed the food and outdoor setting, some wanted to check out the fitness classes, and some, like Jeanne Clayton, came to learn more about gardening. Clayton was very interested in Raines’ straw bale garden display.
“I came because I love to garden,” she said. “I’m always looking for something better and easier.”
4-H Specialist Lacey Sproul-Tom was pleased with how the evening turned out. “I’m excited to see the community support,” she said. “We’re excited to see extension become more involved in the area and seeing people discovering all that we have to offer. From the 4-H side, I’m really thankful for the 4-H leaders who came and helped out tonight.”

Cooperative Extension Educator Carol Bishop agreed. “I am pleased by the large turnout,” she said. “So many people came out to support us!”
Bishop said that local residents interested in extension can follow the local office on Facebook, as well as keeping an eye out at Lin’s, the post offices, and the libraries for fliers on upcoming classes for adults.
“We have something for about everyone and are always taking suggestions,” Bishop said. “Our focus this upcoming year is on growing and preserving your own food as well as continuing our work with small business and non-profits to improve our economy in the valley.”