Extension develops 'a special program'

It started with an idea as simple as sunshine on a window sill.

The idea came in response to a challenge.

Jay County extension educators John Knipp and Kristi Henry had attended an area cooperative extension meeting in May of 2008 and were kicking around ideas on the way home.

"We were challenged by the director of extension for the state of Indiana to come up with a program at the county level that would serve clients we had never served before," Knipp, cooperative extension director, recalls.

It didn't take them long to come up with a target group.

"Both of us spontaneously thought of the disabled," says Knipp. He and his wife have two adopted children with disabilities, while Kristi's sister is developmentally disabled.

Back in Jay County the pair began working on plans for how to implement "A Special Program for Special People." Initially, those plans focused on Jay-Randolph Developmental Services and its group homes. And when Kara Kobza joined the staff as 4-H and youth development educator, plans were expanded to include the disabled young people in Special Clovers, which is under the 4-H umbrella.

By early this year, the program was ready for launch at group homes on Middle Street, Union Street, and High Street in Portland and the Pine View group home in Winchester as well as Special Clover participants.

The original idea was to work with the clients to plant something, establish a small garden, tend the garden through the growing season, harvest the produce, and cook some of their own crop to eat.

"We tried beans and potting soil," says Knipp. "For one group it worked beautifully. When I did it, it failed."

But by February the right formula had been found: Sweet potatoes, growing from seeds in the winter sunlight on window sills.

The plants flourished under the watchful eyes of the clients, and by late spring they were ready to go into the ground. "They started taking responsibility for it."

"We didn't plant them until the first of June," says Knipp. At each group home, he worked with clients to find a good spot for a small garden patch. Special Clovers, meanwhile, were planting squash and sunflowers at their homes and at JRDS offices in Portland.

By fall, it was time for harvest and for recognition.

"We gave all of them a certificate in a frame," Knipp says. "Some of them harvested and got a chance to eat their sweet potatoes."

"They liked digging them up," says life skills adviser Gayle Broadwater. "We put them in a baking dish with water and brown sugar and cooked them in the microwave. They were delicious. They are really looking forward to it next year. ... Next year they want to do more."

"All our staff members were involved," says Knipp.

Plans are already being made for 2010, and the extension staff expects even more participation.

"To me," says Knipp, "it shows you can still be successful. Just because you lost one battle, you don't have to lose the whole war."[[In-content Ad]]