The Who, What & Why of Your Local Extension

By Connor Ashlock

Almost everyone knows about 4-H. Having supported the development of millions of youth since the first club was founded in 1902, it’s likely someone you know was one of them. But what about the institution behind 4-H? Now that’s something a lot of people don’t think about, even though almost everyone you know has been impacted by it in

some way.

“The Cooperative Extension System, or just Extension, is the outreach arm of our land grant university in Illinois,” said local unit County Director Sara Marten. “Back in 1862, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law, which gave each of the states in the Union a portion of land to support what were known originally as land-grant colleges.”

Back in the day, you would attend a college or university if you planned to have a career in law, theology, medicine, or classical studies. Majors and minors weren’t a thing. So, if you were raised on a farm, like most Americans at that time, and you planned to stay on that farm, or maybe continue a family business, there wasn’t a place for you to really

study the intricacies and developments of your chosen profession or vocation until the latter decades of the 1800s. The land-grant colleges were developed to provide a state-of-the-art education in agriculture and the mechanical arts to improve the quality and efficiency of American farms and businesses, as well as provide quality, advanced

education to the broader classes of Americans (not just the upper crust). The common citizen was given an education that blended vocational-specific classes with a classical education, with the intention being to produce a well-rounded and educated citizenry.

Every state in the Union now boasts a land grant college or university. In Illinois, our land grant institution is the University of Illinois. In 1887, the Hatch Act provided for the development of state experiment stations, which operated as the research and development arm of the land-grant colleges to develop improved practices on the farm

and in the home. In 1914, Congress passed the Smith-Lever Act, establishing the Cooperative Extension System, within which the 4H organization is housed.

“We say it’s like three legs of a stool. The university education is one leg, the research arm is another, and the third leg is Extension,” said Marten, who oversees the work of Extension in Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, and Christian counties. “Funds are allocated to extend those research findings and university education into local communities, where theory meets practice. Extension brings those components into your backyard, making innovation more accessible and affordable.”

When the Extension service started, the focus was agricultural communities. One or two county agents assigned to a particular Illinois county taught and demonstrated the latest developments in subjects such as crop production and livestock breeding. Efficiency within the home was also an area of focus. Educators demonstrated improved sewing,

food preservation, gardening, and home economy techniques.

Today, the way Extension personnel conduct their work looks a little different. They still support education in the domestic arts and sciences and agriculture, but as the needs of local communities increased, the Extension was called upon to step up its game.

“Extension has been vital in certain places for being that catalyst for learning and new innovation, not only in the ag industry but in other areas of local concern,” Marten shared.

The University of Illinois’ Extension network is broken up into 27 units throughout the state. Our four-county unit comprises Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, and Christian counties. With about a dozen-and-a-half permanent staff scattered around offices in Jerseyville, Carlinville, Hillsboro, and Taylorville, personnel have to stay light on their feet all year round. Although an additional 12 to 15 temporary staff come on board periodically throughout the year to assist as needed, that still only leaves a staff of roughly 30 persons to support the various communities in the unit, which altogether amount to almost 130,000 people.

Joined with Extension staff is the unit’s Extension Advisory Council, made up of 15 to 16 members who reside in the four counties. The council supports the work of the staff, keeping them in touch with the needs of various communities in the unit, reviewing budgets, supplying feedback, helping to define goals, and serving as personnel

cheerleaders, especially during busy seasons. Further assisting to buttress Extension’s work are a handful of volunteers and advisory committees that support specific programs and activities.

“Extension does not exist without our volunteers, with many of them relied upon in program areas like 4-H and our Master Gardeners. We rely on our community partners to help financially support us, like business donors, key state and federal partners, county and civic boards, libraries, school districts, hospital and wellness centers, farm bureaus,

and others. Regarding community partners, they also help to get people in the door while we provide the knowledge base, so the partnership is mutual.”

So what are the areas of focus in the unit? There are four major program areas that are supported by volunteers and other personnel. These include:

● 4-H Youth development

● Nutrition and wellness, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Education

● Community and economic development

● Horticulture

Attached to these branches are programs designed to meet the needs of the constituent counties as informed by the unit’s Extension Advisory Council, community leaders, and other local advisory groups.

Under the youth development branch is the 4-H, with its well-known components of club activities and project work. Other youth development programs include Ag in the Classroom (a partnership with the Farm Bureau to introduce agriculture to elementary-age students) and other in-school and afterschool programs like Welcome to the Real

World, and Health Rocks. These latter programs unite the youth development branch with the community and economic development branch.

“Welcome to the Real World helps kids explore career development and financial responsibility. Kids pick a job, make big purchases, and learn how to budget accordingly. Health Rocks is a multi-week career exploration program in health-related fields, but it also focuses on making healthy choices. Both Jessica Jaffry and Beth Steckel are local faces that provide the leadership and coordination for the many 4-H opportunities throughout Jersey County and beyond.

“Lisa Peterson is our nutrition and wellness educator for the unit and covers a lot of different things related to healthy lifestyles and managing chronic diseases. She teaches food handling and preservation classes. She will test rubber seals on pressure canners for folks who preserve their own food as well as host classes on cottage food laws. She’s hosted heart healthy classes, plant-based cooking classes, cooking classes for diabetics, community walking clubs, and even hosted a Celiac-friendly cooking class.”

Nutrition and wellness classes are also presented to SNAP-eligible audiences through the SNAP-education program. Local staff work with local food pantries, schools, and community organizations to provide education on eating healthy, budgeting, and physical activity to those receiving SNAP benefits.

The community and economic development educator for the unit is Valerie Belusko, who fills a somewhat newer position within the Extension infrastructure.

“Like all our educators, Valerie lends a hand in so many different ways. She has hosted customer service classes, worked with adults and teenagers with phone and other communication etiquette, and hosts personality and leadership workshops for aspiring community leaders. She works closely with local government or community leadership groups to develop systems that help promote positive changes. ”

Another popular program within community and economic development is the poverty simulation.

“You’re put in small families and will simulate going to work, getting a paycheck, and trying to make ends meet in a poverty-simulated environment. It’s very impactful and one of our most requested programs.”

Like the other program areas, community and economic development often partners with other staff to provide cross-cutting education. One recent program shared across program areas is titled,”My Hometown is Cool,” and involves working with high schoolers to talk about their hometown community’s needs.

“They identify a need in the community and develop a plan to meet that need before presenting their plan to local leaders, who may potentially partner to make that plan a reality.”

Many of these programs are carried out in schools thanks to critical partnerships with regional school districts.

Lastly, there is the horticultural branch, which is headed by Horticulture Educator Andrew Holsinger. He leads and manages area Master Gardener programs, which currently exist in all the unit’s counties except Jersey County.

“They meet to plan local events and do community service projects. In Macoupin County, for example, their Master Gardener program is in charge of beautifying the ‘Million Dollar Courthouse’ grounds.”

Programming under this branch involves landscaping, rain gardening, raised bed gardening, and container gardening, among others. Additional programs have included holiday wreath-making, designing pollinator gardens, caring for trees and shrubs, and, in 2024, a special workshop on cicadas. Partnerships with this branch take volunteers into

libraries and schools, and even to locations like Pere Marquette State Park, where Holsinger hosted a walking tree tour.

With so many ‘irons in the fire,’ Extension personnel keep their focus by performing a needs assessment every three years to determine what their priorities for that period are going to center on.

“We’ve done some deep-diving into what local needs are, and our four priority areas have been on thriving youth, workforce prep and advancement, chronic disease prevention, and social-emotional health. That last one is a newer one for us, but is an emergent need that has skyrocketed in recent years.”

Perhaps you’ve identified a need in your home, business, workplace, or community that Extension can help address. Maybe you’ve identified an underserved community that deserves some attention. Or, maybe you need a helping hand at starting a garden, preserving your own food, or getting the family involved in 4-H. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t hurt to check with the folks at Extension to see if they can help you out.

“In an absolute perfect world, our job is to make it so that what we are teaching and working on now is no longer a need in the future. We want to be a resource. And if we don’t currently fill that need, we can point you in the right direction.

“Extension is the best kept secret across the state, we hear. People who interact with us often know we are a good resource, but we aren’t always known to the public. So we want to be where we need to be."

In Jersey County, the Extension office is located at 201 West Exchange Street. Feel free to stop by or call (618) 498-2913 to get plugged in with the work they’re doing in our community.