Signed, Sealed, Delivered
OSU Extension's Signature Programs target key statewide, national issues

As part of its Strategic Planning process for 2008-2014, Ohio State University Extension identified six "Signature Programs" focused on targeted issues that affect Ohioans. Every county in Ohio will offer at least one of these programs, three of which are described on these pages. Look for details on the other three programs, "Real Money, Real World," "Business Retention and Expansion," and "Increasing Agronomic Crop and Forage Yield" in the next issue of Continuum.
To learn more about Extension's Signature Programs, go to extension.osu.edu and click on the Strategic Plan Information icon on the right. Then click on Step 7, which includes descriptions of the Signature Programs.

Signature Program: "What they need to know": Diabetes education programs fill gap

Newly diagnosed with diabetes, Bob Foor needed information.
"The doctor tells you very, very little," said Foor, 68. "You go to the drug store, and they tell you very little. There's no one to tell new diabetics what they need to know."
That is, until he heard about "Dining with Diabetes." "It definitely helped fill that void," Foor said. During the three-session class  at the Nutcracker Restaurant in Pataskala, participants enjoyed dinner and tasted foods prepared on-site while learning about portion sizes, food labels, and well-balanced, healthy meals.
Ohio State University Extension began offering Dining with Diabetes in 2003, and it's now a Signature Program in 70 counties with about 2,000 Ohioans taking the classes each year. "People with diabetes just want to live a life free of complications," said Shari Gallup, OSU Extension educator in Licking County. "They don't want problems with their eyesight or kidneys, and they want to know how to stay healthy. Dining with Diabetes is about helping people change unhealthy behaviors. It is guided by social cognitive theory, which emphasizes the interaction of environment, participant, and behavior. If people can see the food and taste it, they're more likely to go home and try it."
Programs such as Dining with Diabetes are essential to helping people manage the disease, said Nancy Schaefer, public health nutritionist and health educator of the state health department's Ohio Diabetes Prevention and Control Program. The informal setting helps participants learn from each other. "They form bonds," Schaefer said. "That doesn't happen in a clinical setting." -- Martha Filipic

Signature Program: OSU Extension offers New Start for those facing bankruptcy

Brenda Vore was used to living on comfortable paychecks with her overtime at Hydro Aluminum in Shelby County. "And then all of a sudden, I didn't have it (overtime) any more. I went back to my base income"--and was on the road to filing bankruptcy.
Vore is far from alone. In the first six months of 2008, 28,674 bankruptcies were filed in Ohio--a 14.2 percent increase over the same time period in 2007.
In late 2005, new regulations required people filing for bankruptcy to complete a two-hour financial management class. Soon after, Ohio State University Extension began offering "New Start for
Financial Success." It is now offered in 44 counties and has become an OSU Extension Signature Program.
Many people are living on the edge, said Nancy Hudson, OSU Extension specialist in family finances. "They don't have an emergency fund. They don't have any cushion."
Eighteen percent of New Start participants are over age 60, said Sharon Seiling, OSU Extension specialist in family resource management. "It's a pretty hard hill to climb to get back on track if you're that age. But having the right tools can help."
Following U.S. Bankruptcy Court guidelines, the class covers spending plans, money management, wise use of credit, and how to get consumer information.
Because of what she learned in New Start, Vore spends more wisely and takes a portion of each paycheck and puts it in her savings account. "I don't touch it," she said.
Bankruptcy filers throughout Ohio, as well as those in neighboring states, can take New Start. For information, see http://newstart.osu.edu. -- Martha Filipic

Signature Program: Why trees matter in your own front yard

Imagine a maple tree giving you $130 every year--not in wood or syrup, that is, but in beneficial service to the air you breathe, the water you drink, the bill you pay for electricity.
Cool.
Now multiply that figure by the dozens of trees in a neighborhood woodlot or the thousands of trees in a city or suburb.
Even cooler. Especially in summer.
Ohio State University Extension's "Why Trees Matter: Next STEP" Signature Program uses science and satellites, math and the Internet to show how trees help people. (STEP stands for Street Tree Evaluation Project.) It calculates the dollar value of the trees' environmental functions. It then shows people the types of trees that do this work the best. Healthier air, cleaner water, lower energy costs, and higher property values--all of it starting with better, smarter tree choices--stand among the benefits.
Among the program's long-term goals, say leaders Jim Chatfield and John Conglose, both of OSU Extension, is an "increase in tree canopy for Ohio communities, which translates to energy savings, carbon credits for governmental entities, improved air and water quality, and greater environmental awareness by Ohio citizens."
Threats from new pests such as the emerald ash borer, the development of powerful new tools to calculate trees' benefits--specifically, science-based software called i-Tree--and greater attention to "green" city planning combine to drive the effort. For information, see http://treesmatter.osu.edu.
I-Tree in Xenia, beyond
In Greene County, researchers with "Why Trees Matter" used i-Tree to peg the environmental benefits of 673 maples at a test site in Xenia at $90,000 a year--or about $130 per tree. Similar studies are underway in Akron, Wooster, Wilmington, Circleville, and McConnelsville and at the Ohio Governor's Residence and on adjacent streets in Bexley.
I-Tree in NYC: Street trees worth $122M a year
In New York City, i-Tree helped foresters quantify the environmental benefits of New York City's 600,000 street trees at $122 million a year. The finding led Mayor Michael Bloomberg to nearly triple the annual budget of the city's community tree program. -- Kurt Knebusch

STEM gets kids enthusiastic about science

Inspiring students in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) isn't as difficult as you might think: Just offer them the opportunity to work with their hands.
"The eagerness is amazing," said Jill Eyestone, a teacher in Upper Sandusky and co-leader of the district's after-school and summertime Young Buckeye STEM Scholars Program. "They're ready to jump right in, no hesitation."
The $700,000 initiative, funded by the Ohio General Assembly in 2007, is a joint effort of the Ohio Academy of Science and Ohio State University Extension's 4-H Youth Development program. Designed to spark interest in science among fifth- and sixth-graders, it's offered at nine sites in seven school districts in central Ohio and involves 227 students reflecting a broad range of academic ability and socioeconomic status.
The students in the 18-month program form new 4-H clubs focused on STEM projects, which then become the basis for inquiry-based and technological design science fair projects.
"We're taking the notion of STEM to after-school programs and putting it in a 4-H club model," said Bob Horton, educational design specialist for Ohio 4-H, who represents Ohio 4-H in the program, "It's an absolutely perfect fit."
For more information on the Buckeye STEMS project, see http://www.ybstems.org/.  -- Martha Filipic

Ohio sentinel plots track downy mildew Vegetable crop disease added to first line of defense system

With the success of Ohio State University's sentinel plots to monitor the development of field crop diseases, such as soybean rust and frog-eye leaf spot, researchers are now using the system to track a potentially devastating vegetable crop disease.
Plant pathologists with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center have established sentinel plots at four locations to monitor the development of downy mildew, a disease that attacks cucurbits (cantaloupe, cucumbers, honeydew melon, pumpkins, squash, and watermelon). Cucumbers are especially susceptible to the disease.
Sally Miller, plant pathologist and vegetable crops specialist with OSU Extension, said that the sentinel plots are part of an Integrated Pest Management downy mildew forecast system. The system is being implemented by North Carolina State University in collaboration with Ohio State and other universities to help commercial producers track the disease and time fungicide applications based on disease development in and around their counties.
"The sentinel plots are an added line of defense to keep producers informed of downy mildew and how it may impact their crops," Miller said. "Producers have to stay ahead of the disease. If it gets ahead of them, it probably wouldn't do much good from an economical standpoint to try and treat their crops."
Miller said that the downy mildew forecast system web site, the North American Plant Disease Forecast Center (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/cucurbit/), is helpful for both producers and home gardeners in identifying the disease, as its symptoms are similar to other diseases.  -- Candace Pollock