By: Grayson Meck, Virginia Tech Agricultural Sciences
This Weeks Recap
Since my post last week I have had several new learning experiences that have furthered my understanding of Henrico Cooperative Extension’s outreach to the surrounding area significantly. On Saturday morning I headed over to Dorey Park for the annual Celebrate Varina event where Ed and I helped explain the components of the Virginia Tech/VSU collaborated mobile aquaponics trailer. Much to my delight, my limited amount of knowledge on the subject didn’t impede on my ability to quickly learn the basics from Ed’s explanations in order to interact with folks who were interested. It was also at this event where I took on the job of maintaining our contact log–which is basically a count of the race and age range of all who we spoke with throughout the event. The only other out of office trip I attended this week took place on Wednesday when Kim (Department Head/Unit Coordinator) and I set up our nutrition booth at the READ Center’s Health and Nutrition Fair at the Robinson Theater Community Arts Building downtown. I thoroughly enjoyed our trip because it gave me a much larger appreciation for the diverse ways in which Extension is reaching out to the public–i.e. it isn’t simply agriculture and gardening based, but rather covers vast topics like financial help and health/nutrition. Aside from those two program activities, most of my responsibilities have been conducted in the office instead of meetings with other organizations like the three or four that Ed and I attended in the first week. My primary concern has been ordering and creating a road map for the first day of the Horticulture Day Camp that I am still on track to lead on my own, and so far I am pretty excited for the way its shaping up! I have about nine different activities planned including flower dissections and making hydroponic mason jars as the highlights of the day. The difficult challenge for me as I began to order the activities was allocating time for a break and then identifying a health-conscientious snack that related to pollination/plant anatomy. Eventually I found a pretty cool idea online of a food butterfly made up of a banana, two pretzels for its wings, celery as its antennas, and cranberries for the eyes. I think the kids will enjoy them! As this week is coming to a close, I am currently working on my list of materials to turn into Ed so that he can get it ordered ahead of time with no problems as camp approaches. I have also been focused on designing a week long plan of action for Pollinator Week on June 17th-23rd, including a picture and an informational caption to go with it. So far I have the first three posts done, am I am trying to dial up my creativity as I think about Thursday and Friday’s posts. Finally, I wrote my second Weekly Native Plant Post for the Facebook account on the American Elderberry. I haven’t reviewed it with Ed just yet, but based on his reaction to last week’s post, I am hoping there shouldn’t be any issues! Stay tuned for next week’s learning experiences and learning opportunities as I continue to try and contribute to Henrico County Extension services in whatever ways I am able!
Grayson Meck's Blog 