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HomeMy WebLinkAboutU.W. Extension Committee - Minutes - 11/10/2021Page 1 of 4 Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – 11/10/2021 BAYFIELD COUNTY Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Meeting Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI And Online via Teams Minutes 1. Call to Order The Chair, Jeff Silbert, called the meeting to order at 4:02. Members present in-person: Jim Crandall, Steve Sandstrom, and Jeff Silbert, Members present online via Teams: Tom Snilsberg and Fred Strand. Others Present: Mary Pardee, Stephanie Bakker, Theresa LaChappelle, Liz Lexau, Ian Meeker and Kellie Pederson Others Present online via Teams: Jason Fischbach, and Mary Johnson 2. Approval of Minutes of July 14, 2021, meeting (action item) Motion (Sandstrom, Crandall) to approve the minutes of July 14, 2021. Motion approved. 3. Public Comment No Comments 4. Out-Of-State Overnight Travel Requests (action items) Kellie Pederson’s out-of-state travel requests were discussed. Motion (Crandall, Sandstrom) to approve Pederson’s Out-of-State Travel requests. Motion approved. 5. 2021 UW-Extension Budget Update Report The 2021 budget is on track. 6. The Extension 2022 Contract (action item) Pardee explained that the Administrator, Mark Abeles-Allison, has perused and agreed to sign the 2022 Extension Contract. Motion (Sandstrom, Crandall) to approve the 2022 Extension contract. Motion approved. 7. 2022 Extension Budget Update The 2022 Extension budget has been approved by the Administrator and the County Board. Discussion on the Capital Equipment approved funding. 8. Area Extension Director Report A. Staffing Updates a. FoodWIse Educator - Marisa Perlberg has been working since August. Unfortunately, she could not make the meeting tonight. b. Mary Pardee – Mary and her husband have purchased a home just outside of Washburn. They have completed their move to the Washburn area. Mary was able to attend the Ashland, Iron and Bayfield County Board meetings, all on the same day. B. Extension State and Area Updates a. Covid policies – Online and In-person programming continues b. Ag/Hort Related Inquiries – The Ag Institute has been moving forward to hiring additional specialists. Questions have been coming in. Jason Fischbach has been assisting with answering questions and providing support staff with online resources so Page 2 of 4 Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – 11/10/2021 they may assist with getting agriculture and horticulture questions answered. Pardee also noted that Darrin Kimbler, Ag Educator in Iron County is a contact as well as the online Extension horticulture questions website. 9. Issues and Program Ideas Discussion Jeff Silbert, WEXA Update – Silbert noted that he is part of the Wisconsin Extension Association Committee. WEXA is under the umbrella of the Wisconsin Counties Association. He noted that one of the issues that WEXA is looking into is, why some counties aren’t supporting and finding value in Extension. Kellie Pederson, Community Development Housing - The Regional Housing Study has been completed. Meetings have been set up to disseminate, discuss, and digest the findings of the report. The next step after the meetings is to move towards solutions with WHEDA. Mt. Ashwabay – As a board member, Pederson, has been assisting in working through the merger between the Mt. Ashwabay Recreation Area and Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. At the last full joint board meeting the merger was approved, it is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Pederson said that she will stay on the board to facilitate meetings between different entities. Sandstrom noted that he has seen improved communication between Mt. Ashwabay and the County Forestry Department during this past year. Economic Development and Mountain Bike Trails Conference – Pederson attended a conference on the Financial Impact and Economic Impact of Mountain Bike Trails in Crosby, MN. She noted that quantifying the economic impact of trails is hard to quantify in our area, because there is so much here already. Whereas in Crosby, there were no other outdoor amenities until the bike trails were constructed. Promotion – Pardee noted that Kellie Pederson has received a promotion to Senior Economic Development Educator. Congratulations, Kellie! Jason Fischbach, Emerging Crops Specialist – Hazelnuts – Harvesting of hazelnuts has been the focus in the last few months. Hazelnut processing will begin soon at Northland College. Chequamegon Go First Farm Update – Currently are ahead of schedule on the planting. There are currently 1,200 plants planted on 3 acres. The three trials that are being run are: 1) Breeding trials, 2) First Generation trials, and 3) Spacing and Pruning trials. Table Grape Grant – Fischbach noted that he has obtained a new grant for seedless table grapes trials. At least one of the trials will be run in the Bayfield area. This may be a way to add another crop into the rotation of apples and berries for the area. Hazelnut Branding and Marketing Grant – Fischbach has also obtained a grant to get the process moving on the branding and marketing of mid-west hazelnuts. He is hoping that some of the monies can be spent in the county. Apple Growers meeting - A meeting is being planned for later this winter for apple growers. This meeting will look at the emerging niche of juices, ciders, and hard ciders and what it takes to add these added value products to their orchard sales. Mary Johnson, Financial Education Specialist Financial Education – Classes have been given at Red Cliff and to individuals who request the classes. Most individuals who request the classes are referred and required to take the classes by their utility companies. Page 3 of 4 Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – 11/10/2021 Housing Fair – Johnson participated in the in-person Red Cliff Housing Fair that was put on by the Red Cliff Housing Authority. She had a table with information on upcoming financial classes. The RC Housing Authority has been very receptive to hosting various financial education classes that Johnson has to offer. Planning AHEAD – Johnson is planning on offering the Planning AHEAD class as an in-person class in the near future. This class was created to address most aspects of end-of-life planning. AHEAD stands for Advance directives, Home finances, Estate planning and Arriving at Decisions. Stephanie Bakker, FoodWIse Coordinator Marisa Perlberg, FoodWIse Educator – In August, Marisa joined the FoodWise tri-county group with a social work background. She has been actively co-teaching and observing across all three counties. It is expected that she will be teaching on her own in the new year. Great Apple Crunch – Perlberg and Bakker teamed up with the Bayfield School Garden staff to put together a full day event where each elementary grade came to the school garden. Students learned fun apple facts and participated in games and wrapped up by crunching in a local apple, or “mishiimin” in Ojibwe. Apples were donated by Weber Orchards. Strong Bodies – This program is one that works very well by being on-line. There has been a greater response to the on-line classes versus the in-person classes. Finishing up one class and looking at starting another one. Tribal Nutrition Educators Group – At this meeting resources were shared as well as discussions on Food Security and Wild Rice. This group is made up mostly of individuals state-wide involved with FoodWIse and GLITC. Although others who are interested in the topic of Tribal Nutrition do join the virtual meetings. For example, Butch Bresette of the Red Cliff Food Distribution Center joins frequently. He has been putting together the Tribal Elder Food Box program which offers free traditional indigenous foods July through November. Joy Schelble, Bad River FRTEP program also joins the group on occasion, as well as various State Extension Specialists. Liz Lexau, Justice Involved Families – Literacy Link - Liz is involved with ongoing program evaluation for Literacy Link. She shared some moving, positive comments from anonymous participants in the Literacy Link, Making Reading Memories program. Bayfield County was included in the pilot model for this program, that is now being used in several counties across the state. (The incarcerated parent is recorded reading a book. The book and a copy of the video are sent to the caregiver of the child. The child can then watch their parent read to them and read along with them.) National Award – The Literacy Link team was selected as the winner of the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) Human Development and Relationships Award. Anywhere Dad’s Podcasts – These podcasts are for Dad’s that are incarcerated. The podcast includes recorded comments from Dad’s who are in jail and various human development/social work/parenting specialists. Incarcerated Dads have access to the podcasts in different ways, such as individually on tablets, or in group settings. This is currently in the pilot phase. Theresa LaChappelle, Office Manager Living Well in Our Best Years – This newsletter is a collaborative effort between Extension and Human Services Aging & Disability section. I am sent the articles from staff and then format them, add pictures, etc. and layout the newsletter. The Fall issue has been completed. The ADRC is having the newsletter printed and mailed. The newsletter is expected to be in the mailboxes of Bayfield County residents close to Thanksgiving. Page 4 of 4 Bayfield County Extension Committee Meeting – 11/10/2021 Extension Native American Task Force Presentations- LaChappelle shared with Silbert a flyer for the Native November Speaker Series, celebrating Native American Heritage month. The flyer lists the speakers and their presentations taking place every Monday in November at 10 am. Pardee will send the link to the flyer and registration to the Committee Members. Steve Sandstrom, Truth and Confirmation Bias – Sandstrom shared his concerns about the lack of people using critical thinking skills. Discussion regarding “systems thinking”, “ecological thinking’, “natural steps system” and “resilient communities” which are all about sifting through information to get to the truth. Discussion on potential workshops. Pederson noted that the University of Wisconsin – Madison Division of Extension has a Local Government Education Center that may be able to offer a program. 10. Next Meeting Date and Time Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 4 pm in the County Board Room and online 11. Adjourn - The meeting was adjourned at 5:26 pm.