By: Grayson Meck, Virginia Tech Agricultural Sciences
A Summary of This Week
Since my initial posting last Friday, I have learned more than I could’ve ever imagined heading into my first day here at the Henrico Extension office. Whereas last week was comprised of several different meetings to discuss upcoming programs such as the Bug Bizarre and Horticulture Club activities, this week was much less scattered with events like those. On Tuesday, however, Ed and I did take a trip downtown to the Department of Forestry to discuss some of the insects that they plan on showing at the Bug Bizarre in September. But at the forefront of our agendas this week has been our discussions about the program designing of an upcoming 4-H youth day camp coming up at the end of June through the end of July. Essentially, the camp is a 5 week program made up of a Food Day Camp from June 17th-21st, Horticulture Day Camp from June 24th- 28th, Crafts Day Camp from July 1st-12th, Environmental and Natural Resources Day Camp from July 15th-19th, and finally the Money Day Camp ending the final week of July. As Ed’s job title indicates, his area of expertise is primarily focused on horticulture program areas concerning plants/gardening, bugs/pests, and pesticides/treatments. That being said, Ed and I had to decide which day I could lead one of those camps, as well as which camp would be most suitable for me based on my background and my studies. Eventually we decided that I would cover Pollinators, Plant Anatomy, Plant Processes, and an activity on aquaponics on the first day of Horticulture Day Camp on June 24th. And since I had previously helped lead a few of the activities last week with the Horticulture Club’s study on Environmental and Natural Resources with Ed, I also agreed to lead the final day of that Day Camp as well.
Once I picked the particular camp and day I plan on leading the activities, Ed showed me a vast amount of resources from which I could find previously used activities and other resources in an effort to plan out an organized, engaging day filled with both education and fun for the kids. So far, I am relatively close to reaching the four hour mark with about 7 or 8 activities that I believe cover the main topics for my particular day on June 24th, and I am now transitioning to the final day of the Environment and Natural Resources camp on July 19th. As opposed to my planning for the Horticulture Day Camp where I had no previously used activities, I am already well underway for this day since I can use similar activities from last weeks Horticulture Club. Overall, this week was a good indicator of the varying schedules from one week to the next in the life of an extension agent. Of course, I had already learned about this flexibility in my Introduction to Cooperative Extension class through interviews of agents at Virginia Tech, but actually being a part of it firsthand truly puts it into perspective how adaptable agents are on a daily basis. Also, I have began to better understand how to utilize the program planning strategies we had learned in that same course in a real-time, hands-on experiences. In doing so, I am aware of the important methods necessary to plan a truly beneficial program, as well as the importance of allotting time for each activity to ensure that every minute on my particular day will be worthwhile. In summation, I look forward to next week’s learning experiences and especially excited for Celebrate Varina tomorrow from 10 am-2 p.m. at Dorey Park!
Grayson Meck's Blog 