Newsletter

In the urgency of the moment, affordable housing organizations are understandably focused on the health of their residents and vitality of their organizations. Green building may seem like an unaffordable luxury at a time like this, but by making buildings healthy and sustainable, we can help build resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic and to future health and climate threats. Organizations that previously committed to sustainable, green building practices—energy and water efficiency, good ventilation, and nontoxic materials—may find they and their residents are better able to withstand the stresses of this pandemic. Even though those projects may not have been planned and built with a pandemic in mind, the core elements of green building create conditions for better resilience in the face of a sudden global health threat. Follow this link to read more. Sourced from: Shelterforce

Leading Edge Dialogues (LEDs) were 90-minute interactive workshops held during the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference which explored critical issues facing our cities and our universities. Each LED consisted of a multi-sector panel presentation followed by a facilitated group discussion with all attendees. These papers capture both the presentations and the innovative discussion that followed for one of the LEDs. Papers on the following topics will be completed in Spring/Summer 2020: Density, Youth Engagement, Preparing the Extension Workforce, Data and Policy, Fulfilling the Land Grant University Mission, and Smart Cities. Follow this link to learn more. Follow this link to read: Reaching 10 Million Youth with Extension. Follow this link to read: Smart Cities: Technology, Equity, Livability, and Trust. Sourced from: Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research

"What’s the point? Have you ever had those moments where you wonder why you’re doing something? You take a moment and think, no one cares, no one wants this, no one notices this. That’s when you have to look inside and ask, why? Is this for you or is it to please others. Now is a great time to stop, reassess, and find compromise. For example, cleaning. For some, there must be balance. To live in filth and disarray makes things chaotic and unhealthy but, there are compromises. Rather than throwing all of your clothes on the floor, maybe you have baskets, shirts in this one, pants in this one, etc. For me, that wouldn’t work, I’d much rather hang my clothes back up but, there is a system that is manageable and functional for all of us. It would be my preference not to have a drawers. I’d rather hang everything. And in my office, I’d rather have cabinets, I find cabinets to be functional." Follow this link to read more. Sourced from: Tony Staubach, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Hamilton County, Ohio.

During the January 29 Summit on Extension in Urban Communities your colleagues, along with some external partners, began drafting goals for urban Extension for the focused strategy areas of Positioning, Programs, Personnel, and Partnerships (Ps). In the last few months, a Plan of Work for Extension in urban communities has been under development with guidance from a steering council. The summit planning committee formed this steering council to keep the momentum going and further focus next steps. The four strategy group leaders have each taken ownership of one of the priority areas to summarize the context; clarify goals, drafts action steps, and suggest internal partner connections; and consider linkage between the other Ps. Now that the goals have been initially drafted, we would like to invite others to work with the strategy groups to further develop action steps, timelines, measures, connections, and resources. You are welcome to join any of the following meetings on June 1 and 2. Personnel in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 1, 1-2 pm Positioning in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 1, 3-4 pm Programs in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 2, 9-10 am Partnerships in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 2, 11 am-noon Feel free to invite others. If you have questions or are interested in attending any of these Zoom meetings, please contact gaston.6@osu.edu for the link to the Zoom meeting.