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HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 3/9/2022Page 1 of 4 Bayfield County Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, March 09, 2022 – 4:00 PM County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse 117 E 5th Street, Washburn, WI 54891 Minutes 1. Call to Order 4:02 pm Members present: Jeff Silbert, Steve Sandstrom, Fred Strand Members Absent: Jim Crandall and Tom Snilsberg Others Present: Mary Pardee, Mary Johnson, Kellie Pederson, Stephanie Bakker, Liz Lexau, Mary Johnson, Jason Fischbach, Ian Meeker, Theresa LaChappelle and Erin Burkett 2. Approval of Minutes of January 12, 2022 Meeting (action item) Motion (Strand, Sandstrom) to approve the minutes of January 12, 2022. Motion approved. 3. Public Comment No Comments 4. 2022 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The budget update was included in the meeting packets. 5. Lake Superior Collaborative, Erin Burkett, Extension Lake Superior Outreach Specialist Ms. Burkett gave a presentation explaining her role and Extension’s role in the Lake Superior Collaborative. She is located at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. 6. Area Extension Director Update a. State and Area Updates 1. Jane Anklam, Extension Douglas County Ag educator has retired. The Extension Agriculture Institute will be meeting with Douglas County next week to explain the new model for agriculture and to answer their questions. 2. When we receive incoming horticulture-type questions, we are either instructing the client to go to the WI Horticulture website to fill out a form (https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/ask-a-gardening-question/) , or we are filling out the form for them as we are on the phone. As we get closer to gardening season, LaChappelle will start to make social media posts on this subject. 3. Extension is planning on working on their updated Strategic Plan over the next eight months. They are looking for Extension employees to join this group. 4. Area 1 Extension Offices will have a Civil Rights review this year in the Fall. The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will be in charge of the reviews. b. Summer Staffing 1. Erin Burkett is looking at hiring a UW-Madison student, through a special program, to be an intern for her office. Pardee and Burkett have discussed the possibility of housing the intern’s workstation at the Bayfield County office. 2. Jason Fischbach will be supervising a new hire. He will discuss this during his report. 3. Ian Meeker– Will be hiring someone for the Superior Adventures position. He will discuss this further during his report. Page 2 of 4 7. WEXA Update – Jeff Silbert Jeff reported that he, Fred Strand, and Mary Pardee had attended the last meeting. Jeff mentioned that there were not a lot of specifics given at the meeting and that there has already been changes in leadership positions. Jeff expressed his disappointment in the lack of clarity as to what the WEXA group would like to accomplish. 8. Staff Reports a. Jason Fischbach, Emerging Crops Specialist 1. Go First Farm – There has been outreach by a potential donor to came forward to help cover the costs of expanding the Go First Farm project. 2. Emerging Crops Outreach Specialist position – This is a 15-month position that will be supervised by Fischbach. This position may be a remote position as the person will be assisting the coordination of the educational outreach regarding all of the Statewide Emerging Crops Accelerators, grant writing, etc. 3. Hazelnut Conference in LaCrosse was an in-person event and went well. 4. Hazelnut propagation – Taking place at Hauser’s, the top producing cultivars are part of a seed graft layering trial. Seed graft layering has been done in avocados before but has not been attempted with hazelnuts. b. Ian Meeker, 4-H & Youth Development 1. Superior Adventures i. Youth Leader - Cole Schinstock, the SA Youth Leader from 2021 is interested in returning to this position for 2022. ii. Fees - Meeker is considering adding fees for a few of the outings. 2. CANSKI – i. The CANSKI season is just finishing up. Some of the trails that have been used are the Memorial Medical Center trails, Mt. Ashwabay trails and the Lake Superior Golf Course trails. CANSKI has only used trails in the Southern part of the County when attending events, such as, the Birkie, etc. Drummond has their own area ski club that the local youth join. Distance and time are factors when deciding which trails to use. 3. Youth Development i. Superior Days-type Group – Mark Abeles-Allison has asked Meeker to look into starting a Superior Days-type group with local students who are interested. ii. Leadership Initiatives – Meeker is reaching out to the Washburn 6th & Bayfield 5th grade classes to provide leadership initiative with outdoor activities. 4. 4-H program – Kaylie Lukas i. American Spirit Trip East – Two youth are going on this trip ii. Citizen Washington Trip – Two youth are going on this trip iii. Awards Ceremony – The Awards Ceremony is being held on April 2nd in Iron River at the Community Center. iv. Cultural Arts Festival – The Cultural Arts Festival will be held in April at the Drummond school. a. Liz Lexau, Justice Involved Families Interim Specialist i. Program Planning –Bayfield County’s Literacy Link program is the model that Lexau is using for setting up Literacy Link in other counties. She is working on streamlining the processes. Each county jail seems to have some unique ways in which they handle programs. She is looking at transferring some of the Page 3 of 4 administrative work to Madison, such as shipping the books, etc. All with the goal in making the program easier to duplicate in other counties. ii. National Conference Presentation – In early April Lexau and Henegar will be virtually presenting at the National Children of Incarcerated Parents Conference sponsored by the Arizona State University. iii. Grant Funding – Received funding through the Wisconsin Idea Collaboration Grants. Working with researchers on campus to look for ways to help streamline and replicate the program. iv. Literacy Link – Literacy Link program is unique because it is focused on local county jails. As far as she knows, other programs that are out there are focused on prisons. v. Interim Position - Lexau’s Interim position ends in September. The position will be posted. She will decide then whether or not to pursue the position. b. Mary Johnson, Financial Specialist i. Financial Classes in Red Cliff – The January and February classes were cancelled. They have been rescheduled for April and June ii. Planning Ahead – She has been working with CORE in Bayfield to hold classes in Bayfield. And also working with Carrie Linder, ADRC to hold classes in Iron River. She is also looking at doing some short classes at the Senior meal sites as they open up. c. Stephanie Bakker, FoodWIse Coordinator Ashland, Bayfield, & Iron Counties i. Harvest of the Month- This new program is going really well. Looking at doing deeper learning sessions in the schools with Harvest of the Month. Bayfield School has agreed to pilot this. They are working with getting local farmers and getting the items onto the school menus. Ashland & Hurley schools are interested in this program, also. ii. Around the World in 80 Trays - This is a state-wide DPI sponsored event with the purpose of increasing global flavors in School Meals Programs. DPI would like to acknowledge that food can do more than just nourish the body, but it can offer an invitation to explore the diverse cultures of Wisconsin students. iii. Sharing Table Program - The Sharing Table is a place where students can place unopened food and drinks that they choose not to eat or drink. This provides an opportunity for other students to take additional helpings of food or beverages from the Sharing Table at no cost to them. Bayfield school is interested in starting this program. Bakker will be doing a train the trainer in April for this program. iv. Health Equity Committee – The Extension Health Institute has reached out to Bakker to be on this committee. d. Kellie Pederson, Community Development i. Housing – Pederson has turned the housing data and survey information into a presentation. She has been presenting to various communities and the County Housing Authority. a. At the Cable presentation the attendance was good. Approximately 30 people in person and 35 online. b. Responses to the presentations have been good. There have been some confirmations of what residents are already seeing and also some “aha” moments. Lots of follow-up requested. Page 4 of 4 ii. EMS Committee – Preparing and prepping information for meetings. Sandstrom is the Chair of this Committee and noted that Pederson has been a tremendous asset to this committee. iii. Ashwabay Alliance – Now that the merger is complete, Pederson stated that she will stay on this board for another 2 years. e. Theresa LaChappelle, Office Manager i. Living Well Newsletter - LaChappelle noted that the newest issue of this collaborative newsletter between Extension Bayfield County and the ADRC of the North has been sent out. There is a link in the packet to our website where all of the newsletters can be viewed. ii. Annual Report – LaChappelle is starting to work on the upcoming issue of the Annual Report. She would like to be able to have it presented at the May Extension Committee meeting and the May County Board meeting. 9. Next Meeting Date and Time The next meeting will be held the 2nd Wednesday of May, May 11, 2022 at 4 pm in the County Board Room. An agenda item requested to be added: Incorporating Technology as We Go Forward 10. Adjourn Meeting was adjourned at 5:19 pm.