Clark County Programs
Desert Green, Commercial Water Conservation Training
Desert Green is in its eleventh year and is designed to educate commercial clientele in the Green Industry as well as others who have an interest in water conservation issues. A committee representing the industry implements the training. Desert Green is chaired by one industry representative and one UNCE representative. The program is presented once a year, with 36 classes taught in a two-day period. A committee of industry representative reviews evaluations from the previous year to decide future educational direction and topics. During the evaluation process, the program is reviewed, modified and revised according to the needs of the clientele. As part of the marketing of this program, two articles citing the importance of Desert Green appear in regional trade publications.
Issue
Water issues are crucial to the commercial horticulture industry. A survey of commercial clientele for Southern Nevada conducted in 2006 (n=180) showed that seventy five percent of those responding prefer education in workshops, conferences and demonstrations. The multimillion-dollar Green Industry in Southern Nevada includes golf courses (the equivalent of 60 eighteen-hole courses), mega resorts/casinos, nurseries and the pesticide industry. Few training opportunities exist within the state. The need to teach environmental stewardship to industry clientele was demonstrated through surveys and clientele interviews. Partnerships were created with the editor and owner of Southwest Trees and Turf magazine, the Golf Course Superintendents Association and other commercial representatives interested in exploring this issue. It was concluded that there should be community-based educational programs, with Cooperative Extension playing a major role. The overall goal of this association is to teach water conservation and protection to the Green Industry in Southern Nevada and adjoining states with similar needs.
What Has Been Done
In 2017, over 381 clients from five states attended the Desert Green training program. M.L. Robinson, area extension specialist for UNCE, is the educational representative, co-chair and non-voting board member. More than 85 participants attended the pesticide Continuing Education Units (CEUs) session of Desert Green. The conference was held in collaboration with the southwest chapter of the International Society of Arborists (ISA). Over the past 20 years, nearly 120,000 classroom hours have been provided to over 5,854 students through this program. Post conference surveys continue to reflect that this is still one of the best attended educational training sessions in the southwest.
Impact
In 2017, participants reported that these classes produced a positive impact on their job performance in connection with water conservation. In the past twenty years, more than 3,541 professionals have been educated in water conservation and protection, Integrated Pesticide Maintenance (IPM)/pesticide safety and the use of native and other water efficient plants. Over 250 participants attended 36 classes, the equivalent of over 9,500 classroom hours.
Partners
The Desert Green Foundation consisting of representatives of Green Industry professional organization and Educational institutions.
Contact: M.L. Robinson, Area Specialist, Horticulture, 702-257-5529
| Programs | Program Information |
|---|---|
4-H Youth Development 4-H is a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. | |
All 4 Kids University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s All 4 Kids: Healthy, Happy, Active, Fit program is an interdisciplinary approach to addressing child obesity. Developed by Cooperative Extension faculty from maternal/child nutrition, exercise physiology and child development, the All 4 Kids program helps children meet the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Standards while encouraging preschool children and families to practice healthy eating habits and be active every day. | |
Career Edge: Teens Taking Charge of Their Future! A Workforce Readiness Program The Career Edge: Teens Taking Charge of Their Future! A workforce readiness program for high school students focused on skill development for workplace and job success. Career Edge helps high school students prepare to get their first "paying" job while working toward their dream job or career. Career Edge provides information and training on interview skills, résumé development, filling out applications, finding job leads and selecting appropriate clothing for the workplace. In addition, many "soft skills" needed in the workplace such as decision-making, teamwork, problem-solving and leadership are integrated throughout the program. | |
Desert Green, Commercial Water Conservation Training Desert Green is in its eleventh year and is designed to educate commercial clientele in the Green Industry as well as others who have an interest in water conservation issues. A committee representing the industry implements the training. Desert Green is chaired by one industry representative and one UNCE representative. The program is presented once a year, with 36 classes taught in a two-day period. A committee of industry representative reviews evaluations from the previous year to decide future educational direction and topics. During the evaluation process, the program is reviewed, modified and revised according to the needs of the clientele. As part of the marketing of this program, two articles citing the importance of Desert Green appear in regional trade publications. | |
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) The mission of Nevada’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is to assist families with limited financial resources. Through educational support and experiential learning, the families acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and changed behavior to improve their nutritional and health status in order to prevent chronic disease and enhance family well-being. Practical application allows learners to see the relevance of information to their daily lives. | |
Exploring Your True Colors: Building an Effective Team & Team Development Course Team Development Course | |
Family Storyteller Literacy Program National award-winning Family Storyteller is a literacy program aimed at encouraging and training parents to play a vital role in the literacy development of their children. Developed by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE), KNPB-TV, the Washoe County libraries and Washoe County School District, the statewide program creates an opportunity for parents and young children to interact around literacy and language activities. Family Storyteller is designed especially for families that may have limited language skills and few children’s books at home. | |
Food for Thoughts, School Garden University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Food for Thoughts Program offers children an alternative site for learning, promotes awareness of the desert environment, demonstrates the geographic sources of their food, and encourages healthy eating and activities. | |
Fun To Play University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Fun To Play program targets families where, due to the young age, inexperience or limited resources of the parents, young children are placed at-risk for developmental delays and later school difficulties. Fun To Play is a series of weekly infant/child sessions aimed at improving the parenting skills of young parents by increasing the amount of learning activities and interaction they provide their children. | |
Healing gardens in Las Vegas University of Nevada Cooperative Extension healing gardens essentially become outdoor sanctuaries for people who are hospitalized as well as their families and the staff that works with them. | |
Healthy Eating Active Living: Mapping Attributes using Participatory Photographic Surveys (HEAL MAPPS) Healthy Eating Active Living: Mapping Attributes using Participatory Photographic Surveys (HEAL MAPPS) is a compilation of evidence-based engagement and assessment tools that is used to audit and map community environmental features that support and/or hinder healthful eating and physical activity among community members. The MAPPS method integrates photography, participatory community mapping using global positioning system (GPS) technology, and residents’ voiced perceptions of their community. HEAL MAPPS engages people in community-based participatory research to document attributes of the rural community environment that are perceived by residents as obesity preventing or promoting and assess the local resources and readiness to implement community-level obesity prevention strategies to prevent unhealthy weight gain/overweight and obesity among children and their families. | |
Healthy Eating on a Budget The Healthy Eating on a Budget program has been integrated into the TANF Work Readiness workshop as a SNAP-Ed program. The purpose of the 8-lesson series is to provide SNAP recipients with education on healthy nutrition and physical activity practices, food resource management, food safety and food security. | |
Healthy Steps to Freedom Alcohol and drug addiction are serious, chronic and relapsing health problems for both women and men of all ages and backgrounds. Leading to physical and mental health problems, substance abuse often precipitates violence, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, motor vehicle crashes, homelessness, rising health care costs and obesity. | |
Little Books and Little Cooks University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Little Books & Little Cooks program is a national ward winning program (from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences) to address parenting and nutrition information. The program teaches both parents and their young children (ages 3-5) important milestones of early learning and literacy, school readiness and good nutrition through a seven-week program. Topics for seven weeks include: proper hand washing procedure, food safety and kitchen safety rules, USDA MyPlate (five food groups), benefits of cooking with children, multicultural foods, parents’ feeding style and hunger and fullness cues, picky eating behaviors, and importance of eating fruits and vegetables. Reading children’s books about nutrition and healthy eating as well as cooking and eating together allow both children and parents to learn about healthy eating and nutrition and gain positive parent-child interaction skills. This program offers children a way to learn important pre-kindergarten skills, including math, science, physical development, health and nutrition, literacy development, social development and creative arts, as well as to try new, nutritious foods. | |
Living With Fire Living with Fire is a comprehensive, multi-agency program aimed at teaching homeowners how to live more safely in high wildfire-hazard environments. The program, encompassing research and education, was developed in 1997 as a result of a collaboration between University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE), Nevada’s Agricultural Experiment Station and the Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators, a group of 12 Nevada and California firefighting agencies. | |
Master Gardeners in Nevada Master Gardeners provide free, research-based horticulture information to Nevadans. They are volunteers who learn advanced plant science skills from at least 50 hours of classroom instruction by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) professionals. After training, Master Gardeners volunteer a minimum of at least 50 hours a year to pass along their newly acquired knowledge through the media, talks and workshops. They answer phone calls, send out informational materials and develop community gardens. | |
Nevada Naturalist University of Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE) in collaboration with partnering agencies including Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Springs Preserve, Wetlands Park, Nevada State Museum, and others, has developed a comprehensive environmental education curricula targeting adult learners interested in environmental issues affecting southern Nevada. | |
Pick a better snack™ (formerly Chefs for Kids) This evidence-based campaign focuses on building fruit and vegetable consumption in children through healthy snacking. Pick a better snack™ is a monthly, in-school nutrition education program for primary grade children in at-risk elementary schools in Clark and Washoe counties in Nevada. In addition to direct instruction, staff works with school wellness coordinators to build meaningful and sustainable programming to create a well environment in every school. |
Statewide Programs *Statewide programs may not be available in all counties
| Programs | Program Information |
|---|---|
| Cattlemen’s Update | |
| Food Safety Project | |
| Grow Your Own, Nevada | |
| Herds and Harvest | |
| Invasive Species (Weeds) | |
| Nevada Radon Education Program | |
| Nevada State GEAR UP | |
| Nevada Youth Range Camp | |
| People of the Land | |
| Pesticide Safety Education Program | |
| Riparian and Watershed Assessment and Management | |
| Risk Management | |
| Stronger Economies Together | |
| Weed Prevention and Management |
