The Ohio State University

2008 Seed Grants

Ohio Tourism Partnership for Economic Development

Thanks to an OSU CARES seed grant, OSU Extension forged a new Ohio Tourism Partnership for Economic Development to help entrepreneurs and community leaders tap into Ohio’s $38 billion tourism industry.  Through this partnership with OSU Extension, the Ohio Department of Development Tourism Division, Ohio Sea Grant and representatives from various other organizations, the web-based Ohio Tourism Toolbox was launched as a one-stop resource for starting, financing, marketing and growing Ohio tourism businesses.  More than 1,500 industry professionals visited the site during the first three months.  The Toolbox provides a foundation for ongoing industry collaboration and development.

This grant was submitted by Julie Fox, OSU Direct Marketing & Tourism Specialist, College of Food, Ag. & Environmental Sciences, OSU South Centers; Melinda Huntley, Ohio Sea Grant College Program, Tourism Program Director; Amir Eylon, State Tourism Director, Ohio Department of Development; Marc McQuaid, Executive Director, Ohio Travel Association; Fang Meng, Ohio University, College of Health and Human Services; Treva Williams, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences and Community Development, OSU Extension; Jay Kandampully, Professor of Services Management and Hospitality, College of Education & Human Ecology

Ways of Knowing Water

Visitors to downtown Columbus last summer found the corner of High and State Streets enlivened by a swimming, smiling frog, the animated face of the Ways of Knowing Water project. The billboard video, by OSU MFA grad Sonya Lucas, called attention to a unique initiative promoting public understanding and appreciation of central Ohio's rivers and watersheds. Anchored by a summer-long exhibit at OSU's new Urban Arts Space at the renovated Lazarus Building, Ways of Knowing Water is a joint venture by the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, OSU Extension's Watershed Management program, and artistic talent from the College of the Arts. Co-curated by Prudence Gill, director of the Hopkins Hall Gallery, and Rick Livingston of the Humanities Institute, the exhibit spotlighted the range of ways central Ohio has shaped and responded to the flow of water through the area: Ohio flora and fauna specimens from the Museum of Biological Diversity (including some originally collected by William S. Sullivant in the 1840s), fish tanks featuring a range of native aquatic species, video of a canoe trip down the Olentangy River piloted by photographer George Anderson and documented by MFA student Elizabeth Gerdeman, early 20th century photographs of Columbus' many water parks, historical and contemporary maps made available by the Department of Geology and the Library's Map Collection, as well as paintings, sculptures, glassworks, photographs, and installation works by local and university-affiliated artists whose work reflects imagery of Ohio's water or the use of water as a material element. At the entryway to the Urban Arts Space, a scale model of the original 1908 Dublin Road pumping station, on loan from the Columbus Division of Water, marked the centennial of the world-famous "Columbus Experiment" that first allowed purified drinking water to be supplied on an urban scale.

Throughout the summer, programming associated with "WKW" explored different facets of our involvement with the liquid element, from sessions devoted to CORGI—the Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative—to explorations of the worldwide crisis in access to fresh water by researchers from the Battelle Institute. The reach of Ways of Knowing Water extended even into the core of the Lazarus Building itself: the restrooms displayed posters explaining the leading-edge "green" technologies installed during the building's renovation, including a "green roof" water-filtration and recycling system.

In keeping with OSU CARES' mandate to plant seeds for future collaboration, Ways of Knowing Water concluded with a round-table called "Art Building Bridges," where artists and arts organizations entered into dialogue with civic organizations devoted to protecting and restoring the health of local watersheds. Plans are currently underway to develop the strategies of WKW as a model for use in other urban locations around Ohio.

This grant was submitted by Rick Livingston, Associate Director, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities; Louie Ulman, Associate Professor, Department of English; Joe Bonnell, Watershed Management Program, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Anne Baird, OSU Extension, School of Environment and Natural Resources; Prudence Gill, Curator, Department of Art

Food, Fun and Me!: A Healthy Eating and Nutrition Education Program for 3rd-5th Graders Participating in Outreach Centers and After School Programs

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. It is estimated that in Franklin County that 25% of children are overweight as compared to 16% reported nationally by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Childhood obesity is associated with more severe health effects and illnesses as compared to adult obesity. This includes the increased risk of developing chronic diseases as adults such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes due to obesity.

Food, Fun, and Me! is a healthy eating and nutrition education program which has been specially designed through a partnership between The Diversity Enhancement Program at The James Cancer Hospital and OSU Extension Franklin County to reach minority and underserved 3 rd-5 th graders who participate in designated after school and community outreach programs in Columbus, Ohio. The program utilizes a series of lessons from the Jump Into Foods & Fitness (JIFF) curriculum to motivate and teach kids about healthy nutrition, eating habits, and physical activity. Food, Fun, and Me! will incorporate “train the trainer” formatted training sessions so that site administrators and OSU student volunteers can further achieve the sustainability of the program for years to come.

Children who are exposed to healthy information are more likely to carry out those behaviors as adults. Inherently supportive of the Healthy Ohio 2010 objectives, Food, Fun, and Me! is a fun and interactive approach to reach minority and underserved children and enhance the information available through their school’s health curriculum.

This grant was submitted by Sophia Tolliver, Program Manager, The Diversity Enhancement Program at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute; Chasity Cooper, Program Director, The Diversity Enhancement Program at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute; Marilyn Rabe, Extension Educator, Franklin County; Susan Shockey, Extension Educator, Franklin County

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