College of Agriculture & Natural Resources



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|Muskegon County | |

|Muskegon County Extension |P: 231-724-6361 |E-mail: msue.muskegon@county.msu.edu |

|97 E. Apple Avenue, |F: 231-724-4409 | |

|Muskegon, MI 49442 | |Director: Mary Robb |

| |Fall 2007 |

|MSU Extension partners with school to help young moms learn parenting skills |The walk related to books they read to their children in the classroom. |

| |Through this process, moms are taught not only the importance of interacting |

|MSU Extension Family and Consumer Science Extension educator Cyndi Will is |with their children but also give their children a head start in the learning |

|sharing her positive outlook on parenting with a group of very young moms through|process. Research shows that reading to children gives them a much better |

|the Even Start Program at Orchard View Schools. They are working on completing |chance of success once they begin attending school. |

|their high school education or earning their GEDs while learning about nurturing | |

|their young children. | |

| |Muskegon MSU Extension reaches out |

|Will works with the group three days a week and incorporates parenting lessons in| |

|this school-based literacy program. She emphasizes the importance of parent-child|A retired nurse from Muskegon County headed on a mission trip to Mexico called|

|interaction in meeting the goals of each stage of child development. The moms are|MSU Extension’s nutrition program to request Spanish language nutrition |

|able to implement practical tips and techniques from the parenting program and |materials. |

|apply them immediately with their children. | |

| |She was concerned about the rising obesity rates in Mexico and wanted to teach|

|[pic] |about healthy eating habits and lifestyles. |

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|Recently, moms and children participated in a nature walk, encouraging their |She took a copy of a curriculum and an audiotape in Spanish and reported on |

|children to discover and explore using their senses. |her return that the nutrition lessons had been appreciated and attendance was |

| |even larger than expected. |

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| |Months later, when the pastor of the church where she had worked in Mexico |

| |visited Muskegon, he told her that a number of those who had attended the |

| |nutrition meetings were making significant changes in their eating and daily |

| |exercise habits, thanks to what they had learned from her. |

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|[pic] |Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process | |

| |that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the | |

| |state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facing communities. | |

| |Citizens serving on county Extension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming.  | |

| |MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners, the state through Michigan State | |

| |University and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. | |

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|Muskegon County residents can practice safe preparation of fish |Muskegon MSU Extension works to recruit men to mentoring |

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|While fish from Lake Michigan and our other Great Lakes provides healthy |In mentoring programs across Michigan, there is a great need to engage more |

|nutrition for families, the possibility that some contaminates can be ingested by|adult men in helping guide youngsters toward brighter futures. The Muskegon |

|eating this fish has been identified as a local concern. |County Mentoring Collaborative and the Ottawa County Mentoring Collaborative |

| |were awarded a $25,000 grant to help recruit more men in local mentoring |

|To address this need, MSU Extension agriculture and horticulture educator Coleen |programs. |

|Boyer is offering a program on safe fish cleaning and cooking practices. | |

| |Through a series of focus groups conducted in Muskegon and Ottawa counties, it|

|The project, funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection |was determined that the most effective method of recruiting male mentors was |

|Agency, has enabled Boyer to educate hundreds of local residents about the proper|by word of mouth from other men. As a result, the grant will be used to fund |

|method for cleaning fish and eliminating the bulk of the contaminates so that |an AmeriCorps member to recruit more men in mentoring. |

|they can include fish as part of a healthy diet. | |

| |The Men in Mentoring AmeriCorps member will work with a task force in the two |

|Signs were posted at boat launches and marinas around the county with educational|counties to guide design of promotional materials, advertisements and assist |

|messages. In addition, more than 20 local bait and tackle shops received counter|with recruitment events. Other efforts for us to meet this challenge are to |

|placemats with the same information. |engage the media, higher education, the faith-based community, local |

| |businesses/corporations and government officials. |

|Boyer also conducted a program called “Roots and Shoots” focused on the need to | |

|include fish as part of healthy eating and the proper preparation. |MSU Extension and AgrAbility |

| |make a difference |

|Family and Consumer Science Extension educators worked with Boyer to develop a | |

|curriculum on this topic to be used as an addition in the nutrition lessons |Kathy Tensen, a dairy farm wife and office manager of Tensen Farms in Muskegon|

|nutrition educators and program associates share with families across the county.|County claims that the tools that she received by participating in AgrAbility |

|To date, more than 330 families have received this information as part of their |project “changed my life.” |

|nutrition education. | |

| |Tensen helped with many chores on her family’s Ravenna farm before she lost |

|[pic] |most of her eyesight. Today, she operates the farm business office with |

| |equipment that includes a large keyboard, scanner/reader and Zoom computer |

| |software, which allows her to continue work in their farm business. |

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| |MSU Extension district dairy educator Bill Robb told Kathy about the Michigan |

| |AgrAbility Project, a joint effort of Easter Seals- Michigan, Michigan Farm |

| |Bureau, MSU Extension and Michigan Rehab Services. |

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| |AgrAbility helps disabled farmers make adjustments that enable them to stay in|

| |business and continue contributing to their families, communities and the |

| |state’s economy. To learn more visit. . |

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|MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity employer; Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, |

|color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family |

|status, or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture, |

|Thomas G Coon, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade|

|names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned. |

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