The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Extension personnel are reaching clientele through new means during the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.
SMALL FARM PROGRAM
Kandi Williams, Extension program aide for UAPB, commonly spends her workdays assisting southwest Arkansas landowners face-to-face on their property.
While restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak have prevented Williams from working with her clientele directly, the nature of her day-to-day work has not changed.
“March 12 was the last day I worked in the field,” she said. “That day, I had the opportunity to visit with an absentee forest landowner and walk through her family’s land during a three-hour site visit. Along with the county forester, we discussed timber health and management, conservation practices, forestry tools, invasive species, wildlife and much more.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Now restricted to working from home, Williams has stayed in touch with the landowner via phone and email. She said that although face-to-face contact is now restricted, Extension associates at the UAPB Small Farm Program strive to assist clients during this time of uncertainty.
“We are still just a call, email or text away,” she said. “I have been in steady contact with clients that need resources or just want to follow up on some of our ongoing tasks. Off the clock, I am checking on elderly farmers and landowners to see if they need any household items. And my clients have been checking on me too.”
Since she has been working remotely, Williams’ agenda has included assisting landowners with questions on applying for housing, surveying property and microloans. She has helped some clients renew their Conservation Stewardship Program contracts and provided others with updates related to their ongoing conservation projects.
“Even while working in the home office daily, no day is ever the same – just like when I work in the field,” she said. “We are here to provide resources and services to the public. And UAPB’s Extension services are diverse and multi-faceted.”
For more information on the Small Farm Program, contact Williams at 870-571-9428 or klwilliams4@gmail.com; or Henry English, program director, at 870-692-6868 or englishh@uapb.edu.
4-H YOUTH PROGRAMS
Teki Hunt, director of UAPB 4-H Youth Programs, has been using social media and email to reach out to her clientele – the children and youth of Arkansas – while they are stuck at home because of school closures. She has been ensuring access to engaging activities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects on the Facebook page for the UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences (www.facebook.com/UAPB.SAFHS).
“I think students and youth are going to develop resiliency, as well as alternate means of recreation, since they can’t enjoy their normal activities,” she said. “If they try out the various activities suggested, children and youth will find they can engage in experiential learning with their family and have fun doing it – even outside of organized 4-H meetings.”
Children and youth and their parents can receive 4-H learning materials divided by grade level by contacting Hunt at 870-575-8538 or UAPB4H@uapb.edu.
NUTRITION OUTREACH
Teresa Henson, UAPB Extension specialist – nutrition outreach coordinator, said the university’s nutrition educators are providing options to work with their clientele through non-face-to-face contact methods including phone, online video conferencing and direct mail.
The university’s 1890 Cooperative Extension Program currently serves Jefferson, Lincoln, Monroe and Ashley Counties, and its mission includes teaching Arkansans the importance of proper nutrition and physical activity.
“Our educators deliver nutrition education to organizations such as schools, Head Start programs, food pantries, women’s shelters, senior living sites and substance abuse recovery sites,” she said. “Our sessions usually last eight to 13 weeks and are very hands-on and interactive. We are now working with the directors of community organizations to continue to provide nutrition education via new means.”
Program participants learn about basic nutrition, cooking and food safety techniques and how to save money, make shopping lists and plan menus. While dealing with the limitations of working with clientele remotely, Henson said she hopes to recreate the interactive format of the lessons.
“We never want our clientele to feel like they are being lectured to,” she said. “Our regular sessions greatly benefit from the fact that participants can always share their own experiences, stories or cooking tips.”
For more information on nutrition education, contact Henson at 501-590-9310 or hensont@uapb.edu.
For information on any other Extension program or issue, contact Obadiah Njue, interim assistant dean for Extension, at 501-551-7113 or njueo@uapb.edu.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all of its Extension and Research programs and services without discrimination.
— Will Hehemann is a writer/editor at the UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.