OSU CARES - 2002 Seed Grants

The focus of the Buckeye Sports Turf Program, designed to be county-delivered by County Extension Agents, was to help athletic field managers and coaches provide their athletes with safe, high performance athletic fields. Through education, research and career opportunities, athletic field managers were able to improve the quality of fields throughout the state and gain recognition for their efforts. Much of the program was web-based, supported by regional workshops and site visits by the turfgrass group. The OSU turfgrass group was comprised of faculty and staff from H&CS, Plant Pathology, Entomology, Natural Resources, and the Extension Nursery, Landscape, & Turf Team (ENLTT). See http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu.

The grant was submitted by Pamela Sherratt, Horticulture and Crop Science; John Street, Horticulture and Crop Science; Karl Danneberger, Horticulture and Crop Science; David Gardner, Horticulture and Crop Science; Dave Shetlar, Landscape Entomology; Joe Rimelspach, Plant Pathology; Mike Boehm, Plant Pathology; Ed McCoy, Natural Resources and Parwinder Grewal, Entomology

Continuing education is critical in assisting local governments in keeping up-to-date on the latest planning techniques. However, many communities in outlying areas do not have the financial resources or ability to travel to conferences. By creating an on-line distance education program, a larger number of governments can gain the valuable education they desire. This project gave Ohio planners and government officials hands-on training in skills needed to manage land development through planning. Participants learned the laws governing development in Ohio, how to develop strategies for controlling land development in their community, and technical skills needed to bring new planning techniques to their community. Learning modules developed through this project were part of an evolving larger curriculum for planners and governments. See http://knowlton.osu.edu/ped/zoningbasics.asp.

"Ohio's Appalachian Folk Culture": A Two-County Appalachian Folk Culture Pilot Project

"Ohio's Appalachian Folk Culture" was a pilot effort to explore how team members from the Center for Folklore Studies at The Ohio State University and from The Ohio State University Extension's South District, by working together, could better benefit people living in our state.It provided an opportunity for folklorists in the academic community to engage in outreach via the network established by the Extension Service, and it provided an opportunity for folklore and Extension professionals to learn from one another.Meigs County was the primary site for programs for youth and their leaders, adult residents, Extension personnel, and folklore scholars, focusing on regional Appalachian heritage and folk culture.This project was based on the perspective that an understanding of one's local folklore and heritage is a positive and powerful tool for building and promoting community health and stability.

The grant was submitted by Barbara Lloyd, Center for Folklore Studies and Deanna Tribe, OSU Extension

The OSU Youth Sports Initiative was an outreach effort to develop an interdisciplinary partnership team of faculty and staff from the School of Physical Activity and Educational Services (PAES), OSU Extension 4-H, and the Cultural Studies Section in the School of Educational Policy and Leadership. This was developed in cooperation with representatives from other departments such as the OSU Department of Human Nutrition and the OSU Department of Athletics, and from local athletic conferences and other stakeholders who work to improve the sports experiences of youth throughout the state by providing them and their coaches with current, research-based information, resources, and experiences to develop participant knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations in such critical areas as sports ethics, character and sportsmanship; developmental level-appropriate training; sports nutrition; and life skills such as goal setting, time management, conflict resolution, leadership, and career education.

A key part of the initiative was a series of in-service programs and workshops for volunteers and coaches who work with youth athletes. Sportsmanship workshops and in-service programs for utilizing the new 4-H You're The Athlete project were conducted with volunteers and coaches in county and district programs throughout the state, as well as during the Ohio 4-H Volunteer Conference on March 8. In addition, the planning committee completed plans for two OSU Youth Sports Coaches' Workshops to be held on the OSU Campus March 29 and June 7. See http://www.ohio4h.org/adult/athlete.htm.

The grant was submitted by Kathryn Cox, OSU Extension; William Morgan, School of Educational Policy and Leadership and David Porretta, School of Physical Activity and Educational Services.

This project brought together an interdisciplinary university-community team to develop a set of guidelines for adolescent out-of-school time programs. The development and publication of the Adolescent Guidelines gave those who provide training and technical assistance a much-needed resource to use in their work with school- and community-based programs. The Guidelines addressed how to intentionally plan quality programming that meets best practice models for youth development. Examples of subjects covered in the Guidelines include planning; administration; budgeting; staff training; health, safety and nutrition; adolescent development and implications for programming; curriculum; job preparation; service learning; prevention; and academic enrichment.

The grant was submitted by Theresa Ferrari, OSU Extension; Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Social Work; Janet Fink, College of Education; Karen Jackson, Action for Children; Becky Ciminillo, YMCA; Mary Heton, National Middle School Association and Suzanne Fahey, Community Volunteer

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