INNOVATION IN EXTENSION: Southern University Ag Center

The following describes an innovation.
Region: 1890

Main contact information for this innovation: Christie Monroe

Main contact job title / position: Assistant Specialist -- Animal Science

Main contact number: 225-771-2242

Main contact email address:  christie_monroe@suagcenter.com

Innovation name: Fast Track Gardening Program

Brief description of innovation as provided in online survey: Giving opportunity to incarcerated youth skill in agriculture using gardening as a tool.

Notes from phone interview:

Fast Track garden program, we're working with Google. And within the, say, they had in the Peel system, they are in youth incarceration. So they're under 18. This project came about, we did it out of a mini-grant and then this person did write an actual building plan to add some additional dollars. We work with basic gardening career [inaudible] that we've developed and we've taken them through that particular curriculum, and what we-- every attendance, we celebrate what they have done for each [?] because we're talking about individuals that have done something within society that requires them not to have their free will. They are locked up. With those certificates and everything, we've vetted it through Home Depot, Lowes, and the Nursery's here, and they're willing to recognize that [inaudible] have some basic knowledge about gardening and about soils, and we do all of that, so it's pretty basic but it says that even though they were incarcerated, they went through this particular blessing. I think if I remember correctly - I don't have it in front of me - it's maybe 14 of them. And they plant and also we do the nutrition because of the actual cafeteria they have used some of the produce on a small scale. That's kind of what that is. That's probably a prime example of where struggles can take place. The systems that we were working with and partnering with decided due to budget constraints that they would [?] the kids. And then in the middle of the grant, that happened. So that's a regrouping [laughter] and so we were able to then, we knew we have a general relationship with corrections, now, facility. So we were able to attract [inaudible] and then in another location we found individuals that are not incarcerated but maybe for whatever reason, troubled. That's the word. Troubled youth at a school, so we're working with them now to execute what we have.


The following describes an innovation.
Region: 1890

Main contact information for this innovation: Kenyetta Smith

Main contact job title / position: Associate Specialist

Main contact number: 225-771-2242

Main contact email address:  kenyetta_smith@suagcenter.com

 

Innovation name:

Building Opportunities through Leadership Development (BOLD)

Brief description of innovation as provided in online survey: action learning project which teaches innovative strategies for community and economic development through the creation and support of leadership and leadership networks.

Notes from phone interview: Basically that's a different program. We believe that individuals can be a leader [inaudible]. It doesn't have to be an elected official. It doesn't have to be somebody that's already leading. We want to create within the everyday citizen the value of leadership, the value of leading, and how leading can allow them to assist others, just to see what can be done. Leaders have to take risks, leaders have to step up to the plate, leaders should think a different way than others. And when I say different, they should always be willing to look at the whole, look at it confidently. If you begin to look at it single-minded on what's in it for me, totally, it becomes a stumbling block. Everybody [inaudible] himself. You, me, and everybody else, but when you put that self so far ahead of others, insensitive to the leadership role, that can become detrimental. It's for the community [inaudible]. They complete an application. They have to come with recommendations, but since that time of it that has started they also are now have gone in and they've scaled it down where individuals are working primarily with youth, where they could use it because I'm sure you're aware when you talk with an individual from an 1890 institution, if you have, that the resources both financial and human are not... You don't want to necessarily compare it to I think you're in the right state, and you're LSU, because we're usually, and I guess I'll tell you, there's examples where we're in deep in many [inaudible]. One deep. In other words, I have an [?] specialist. I just happen to be an individual to work for both the AC center, the southern university AC center, as well as the LSU AC center. They got [inaudible] specialists. In other words, they've got [inaudible], and I'm like, I have an AX specialist.


The following describes an innovation.

Region: 1890

Main contact information for this innovation: Tiffany Franklin

Main contact job title / position: Project Director

Main contact number: 225-771-2242

Main contact email address:  tiffany_franklin@suagcenter.com

Innovation name: Second Chance Academy

Brief description of innovation as provided in online survey: working with incarcerated parent/guardians to rebuild relationship with their children.

Notes from phone interview:

Grant. And it's still going forward and that's a program that has not necessarily secured external funding, but the program, we get the value of the team system. Okay? And they have supported us. We have an individual that I guess we have. We relieved some of her time to be able to continue that program and everything. But it's working with parents. It's working with in pre-release, and it means they're ready to come out of there. They may have been in there for a length of time and be confident and be able to come out of there and have a relationship with their children. Their children, so we foster visits and during that visit we create [inaudible], so pretty soon they do one, because of who we are, agriculture, they're going to do a day at the fiscal facility whereby they're going to bring the kids and we're going to-- it's going to be almost like a little AG expo. And then we'll have some games and everything like that. And this is one mini-grant program effort that was able to take off in I think two of the parishes. But each one of them are different because it's dictated by the penal system. In other words the system, you've got overall state system, but then at the same time, you have local, and local will dictate what's there. The one that I'm thinking of that's in the other area of the state, the person simply presents the information.


The following describes an innovation.

Region: 1890

Main contact information for this innovation: Linda Brown

Main contact job title / position: Director

Main contact number: 225-771-2242

Main contact email address:  linda_brown@suagcenter.com

Innovation name: Communities of Color Network

Brief description of innovation as provided in online survey: Provide educational workshops to decrease tobacco use among African Americans

Notes from phone interview:

It's through Louisiana Public Health Institute which is a [inaudible] foundation, and basically we've partnered with them, working with them, we're looking specifically African-America, to treat [inaudible] we put forth here at the Southern University system to become staff [inaudible]. We're incidentally pushing that through our board of governors, board of supervisors, but we work throughout the state with this program. We go into [inaudible], all of those priority [inaudible] each year or each cycle it may have a different focus. In fact when we started off we were a [inaudible] coalition. But coalitions, always for me, you have got to work with them a long time to be able to sustain a coalition because a coalition requires that you've got to have a champion that's always in there and always moving it and so there's nothing you can [inaudible] within their, so as you step away the coalition may continue but it won't continue at the speed that you would like for it to continue. But it's all about smoking cessation and we do churches. We require for our churches to freely go through a series of workshops that they have to go through but that's basically what we've been doing probably for the last ten years maybe, yeah.


The following describes an innovation.

Region: 1890

Main contact information for this innovation: DeShoin Friendship

Main contact job title / position: Associate Specialist

Main contact number: 225-771-2242

Main contact email address:  deshoin_friendship@suagcenter.com

Innovation name: Creating Healthy and Enjoyable Foods Youth Camp (CHEF)

Brief description of innovation as provided in online survey: designed to teach youth basic cooking principles and nutrition education according to the USDA’s food guidance system - MyPlate and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

Notes from phone interview:

We're able to, it's based on pyramid, not the pyramid, hot plate. All that's prepared. We work in teams, again, and we work with youth, middle schools, and working with them we go forth and work with the parents and everything like that to create healthy food and then let them know that they can taste good.