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.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
In order to enable the Jones County Parks & Recreation department to manage their athletic fields, golf course, and parks, the Jones/Baldwin County Extension agent established and implemented an 80-hour training for all Jones County Parks & Recreation staff members on turfgrass, ornamental, and pond management. At the conclusion of the training, 100% of staff members completed the training requirements and received a 10% pay increase.?
4-H Youth Development
As a result of COVID-19, Georgia 4-H state horse contests were shifted to either a virtual format or outright canceled in 2020. In an effort to provide youth and adults a fun and free opportunity to compete on a state and national level, the Jones County 4-H Agent collaborated with several other 禁漫天堂 Extension Agents to offer the Virtual Invitational Equine Skill-a-thon, the Northeast District 4-H Horse Show, and the Virtual Invitation Horse Quiz Bowl. Both contests were administered through Qualtrics. The Skill-a-thon had 100 participants from 13 different states, the Northeast District 4-H Horse show offered 63 classes and had 92 entries, and the Quiz Bowl had 66 participants from 15 different states.?Research over the past decade conducted by the Royal Conservatory has indicated that music education enables students to achieve their full potential intellectually, socially and creatively. Therefore, Jones County 4-H instituted programming to engage students in music education to promote cognitive growth. The programming consisted of an eight-week Guitar Club focusing on the basics of playing guitar that included parts identification, tuning, learning chords, notes, keys and strumming/picking patterns. Sixteen students participated in the program with 100% of the students indicating minimal to no knowledge of playing guitar before beginning the club. Additionally, 100% of students learned to identify open notes and note progression. Each student was given a list of 10 chords to learn, with a minimum expectation of learning seven chords, and 50% of students mastered the minimum expectation. Furthermore, 25% of students mastered the full list of 10 chords and additional chords not on the list. Future plans include offering a more advanced club for students who completed the introductory level.
Family and Consumer Sciences
Although Jones County does not have a Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) agent based in the county Extension office, we strive to assist local residents with their questions. Common questions cover food safety, food preservation, dealing with mold and mildew, healthy meal planning, nutrition, family budgeting, SNAP-Ed resources and more. These issues and others are answered through a wide variety of free 禁漫天堂 Extension publications available at the county office and phone conferences with Family and Consumer Sciences agents from surrounding counties. Often neighboring FACS agents are conducting programming that our county residents are welcome to attend. Our office can provide that information.