The Women Owning Woodlands Network was launched in 2005 as a way to provide collaborative and hands-on peer learning education to women who felt uncomfortable participating in traditional Extension programs. Since its inception the program has grown to provide education and resources for over 300 women. We surveyed these women to identify if the…

Building on existing relationships with international youth development colleagues, we created the 4-H International Camp United Program (4-HICUP) as a leadership opportunity for international and U.S. teens. In 2019, teenagers from Azerbaijan, Italy, Russia, and the United States came together to build personal cross-cultural relationships,…

Two graduate students and a faculty member of the Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky developed and implemented a two-year extension program aimed to train Amish farmers on identification and management of their major agricultural problems. Students conducted periodical visits to the community, inquired about farmers' needs, and…

Through a combination of internal and external collaborations, consumer-based energy education designed for hard-to-reach audiences was successfully delivered statewide by an interdisciplinary Extension team. Program participants representing rural residents, senior citizens, and low-income audiences demonstrated improvements in knowledge and…

To reach the goals of outreach and Extension programs, a program planning model is essential. A new model is presented to ensure program success; it is the human development-ecoLogic model (HD-ELM). The HD-ELM components are as follows: HD--human development characteristics and implications for target audience; E--modified ecological systems…

As the United States' population ages, connecting older adults to supportive resources is more important than ever. Colorado State University Extension has played a central role in implementing Senior Access Points, a program that delivers community outreach and education regarding aging-related resources available to older adults and caregivers.…

In 2014, a mudslide devastated a small community in rural northwestern Washington State, taking 43 lives. The disaster created ripple effects that affected families, economies, transportation, and employment in neighboring communities. This article provides details of the state land-grant university's efforts to help affected communities recover.…

Research supports Extension educators' use of social media as an engagement, outreach, and marketing tool beyond posts shared by staff and faculty. This article highlights the practical use of Snapchat geofilters at county and statewide Extension events to support the creation of user-generated content and increase Extension's visibility with the…

Despite external influences such as societal restrictions imposed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, farmers continue to work, and needs for outreach and education have not waned. Extension professionals must continue to support these needs by using media and channels not typically employed when more traditional vehicles, such as on-site…

To reach first-generation Extension families and combat barriers faced by Native American youths, North Dakota State University Extension has been involved in the national mentoring program 4-H Youth and Families with Promise (YFP). In the program's fourth year, we conducted ripple effect mapping to explore changes in the schools and communities…

With the digital age in full swing, helping rural communities transition to, plan for, and prosper in digitally minded ways is critical. This article describes an innovative outreach process that relies on asset-based community development and the intelligent community concept. More importantly, the process relies heavily on Extension personnel…

California's 4-H Youth Development Program adopted an asset-based and systematic community development approach to studying successful Latino-serving youth development programs. This effort included a scan of Latino engagement resources and Latino-serving youth development settings as well as key informant interviews. Beyond generating important…

In response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was formed to answer oil spill-related scientific questions. However, peer-reviewed scientific discoveries were not reaching people whose livelihoods depended on a healthy Gulf of Mexico. GoMRI and the four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs partnered to…

Coalitions are central to Extension's community-based programs. To assess characteristics that support well-functioning coalitions and to support coalitions in which Extension stakeholders participate, we used the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory to assess 10 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education coalitions on the basis of…

With a focus on the Commonwealth of Virginia, we reviewed literature and data associated with the prevalence and persistence of women's engagement in agriculture from youth-focused programs through to college and employment in order to learn which models of outreach may best attract women to and retain women in agricultural careers. We found that…