Our Impact
Making A Difference in Our County
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is working hard for its constituents. The following are examples of Extension’s impact in the county over the past year.
4-H and Youth
Project Achievement is designed to teach 4-H’ers important life skills such as public speaking, organization, time management, sportsmanship and self-confidence. 4-H’ers develop both oral and written communications skills while becoming knowledgeable in their topic of interest. Beginning in 5th grade club meetings, Mitchell County 4-H’ers are encouraged to participate in Project Achievement through their senior year of high school. Some researchers say the biggest problem students must overcome is a lack of motivation and self-confidence. Being involved in 4-H and participating in project achievement is a big accomplishment for many of these 4-H’ers and will take them a long way in life situations.
FACS
As graduating seniors move on to the next stage of their lives, they are faced with many obstacles and challenges. The Family and Consumer Science agent partnered with local agencies and provided a 3 day workshop titled Life Skills 101 for 18 high school seniors. These classes will help them prepare for their future encounters. For many graduating seniors in rural Southwest Georgia, they may face challenges when it comes to physical health, managing finances, self-defense, etiquette, and even laundering their clothes while being on their own for the first time. Life skills are essential for young adults so they can take positive action to protect themselves, live a healthy lifestyle and make smart decisions as they go out in the real world.
ANR
One of the largest industries in the southeastern United States is agriculture, with the average farmer being 57.5 years old. It’s imperative to educate youth on this sector and increase community engagement. Pest identification and farm management are important concepts necessary for agribusinesses. Mitchell County Extension expanded our youth participant’s agricultural career knowledge and increased their chance of pursing a position in agriculture long term. This annual three-day program focused on 7-12th grade youth from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama. The purpose was to educate youth on farm systems and crop management practices. They acquired integrated pest management and best management practice skills. Extension educates and connects youth with opportunities, this program trained them in necessary skills to acclimate to the work force following school. They were excited to earn real world experience from local agribusiness leaders. The program demonstrated strong participant knowledge gains, several have even functioned as crop scouts after school to earn money. Extension teaches and trains future leaders, even if not all these youth remain in agriculture, they may one day be in a position to advocate for it. During the five years of development and implementation of this program, an annual evaluation was conducted. Agents developed a short evaluation tool designed to gauge the success of the project through pre/post test questions. Participant baseline knowledge levels averaged 41% and program ending knowledge levels averaged 76%, demonstrating a 35% knowledge increase. The number of kids participating in this program has also grown each year with 55 youth participating in 2022.