Recently, the Agriculture Department of Collinsville High School’s FFA invited Judy Edmond, n urban regional Extension agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, to participate in their annual Agriculture Farm Day.

The purpose of the activity was to help students understand the importance of the agriculture system in our world and to have great appreciation and respect for farming, whether on large on a large or small scale.

More than 60 gardeners assembled at an on-site gardening location in the Knoxville community in Talladega Feb. 26 to learn about plasticulture gardening. The group included backyard gardeners as well as commercial producers from Talladega County and surrounding counties. A hands-on demonstration included the installation of a drip irrigation system and the installation of large sheets of black plastic.

Coosa County has a new park, but this park is not like most others. This park is called a Grazing Garden. It is a small park where visitors are welcome to eat of each fruit available in the garden.

Last fall, the Coosa County Extension office wrote a grant to develop the Grazing Garden. The idea came one day to county Extension Coordinator Roger Vines while he was munching on an apple. The concept is simple. The garden is an orchard with a large variety of fruit trees and there is one main rule – all fruit must be eaten on site. Visitors are welcome to walk through and enjoy some fruit but not carry it out of the garden -- no bags, baskets or buckets. This way more people can enjoy the fruit and no one gets more than a fair share. Students and teachers at Central Elementary, Middle and High schools especially are encouraged to enjoy the project.

In 2001, Ruth Sarro, a regional agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension, asked Donna Riddle, now a 4th grade teacher, if she would be a 4-H leader at Coldwater Elementary School. The program had been discontinued for a few years, but Riddle agreed to give it a try for one year.

Eight years later, Riddle still heads up the 4-H program at Coldwater. Every year, her
4-H club has been rated one of the top five clubs in Calhoun County, earning a total of 10 trophies.

To celebrate America Saves Week February 22 through March 1, the Calhoun County Saves program is sponsoring its third annual Piggy Bank Pageant, Feb. 26.

“The Calhoun County Saves program is a local Alabama Cooperative Extension System program designed to educate and assist low to moderate income individuals on how to build wealth through systematic saving and debt reduction,” says Isaac Chappell, a regional Extension agent. More than 100 citizens participate in the savings education program, saving hundreds of dollars a year.

It’s that time of the year when people make the decision to lose weight. But after the hard work of losing weight, how do they maintain that weight loss?

Lauderdale County residents and participants in the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Walking and Eating program, Narzey Turner and Mabel and Richard Taylor have discovered the secret to maintaining their weight loss for the past four years. They eat more fruits and vegetables and walk an average of six miles a week.

Alabama Cooperaitve Extension System’s Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs unit recently kicked off its Points of Light Youth Leadership Institute (PYLI) retreat in Decatur. This was the first time North Alabama organizations, such as the Decatur Youth Services Center, the Aqua Dome, and Extension offices in Colbert, Morgan and Limestone counties, partnered to implement a weekend retreat through PYLI.

The PYLI teaches youth a broad range of leadership skills that can be applied to any life experience through a curriculum that includes both classroom instruction and experiential training. The PYLI is designed to help high school age students develop leadership skills and learn the importance of becoming actively involved in their community. The program also encourages teamwork among students from various communities, thus creating a network for students to use.