Cheatham County Welcomes Two New Extension Agents

The UT-TSU Cheatham County Extension Office welcomed two new Extension Agents to its team in recent months, bringing on Amos Wilson and Amber Work to the team. Wilson, a native of Dickson County, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agri-business from the University of Tennessee at Martin. His favorite pastime activities include supporting UT football, spending time with family and friends and doing just about anything in the outdoors.

Amber Work graduated from TSU with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Family Consumer Sciences Education. She received her Master of Business Administration degree from Trevecca University and is currently working on her doctorate degree in Business Administration. Amber has served as a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and Business teacher with the Montgomery County and Dickson County school systems. Amber was born and raised in Dickson County, TN. She and her husband, Lance, currently live in the Burns community. Amber loves to cook, travel and spend time with family. She is also an avid Vols football fan.

Correction: Knox County Extension Smart Yards Event

Last month, we erred in stating that our colleague, TSU Extension Agent Rylan Thompson of the UT-TSU Knox County Extension Office “spearheaded” the Office’s Sept. 16 TN Smart Yards & Friends event held at the University of Tennessee gardens. In hindsight, we should have made it clear that while TSU’s Thompson contributed to the event, it was UT’s Dr. Andrea Ludwig and Smart Yards project leader Mona Yethiraj of the Knox County Master Gardener volunteers who were the driving forces for the event. Our apologies Dr. Ludwig and Mona!

DeKalb County Extension Office Hosts Chick Chain Finale

In October, the TSU DeKalb County Extension Office played host to the Dekalb County 4-H Chick Chain Poultry Show and Auction, which serves as the final event for its 2023 4-H Chick Chain program. Program participants brought the best three hens from their Chick Chain flock for judging at the event, which is highlighted by cash prizes for winners. A total of 45 students participated in this year’s program, which raised over $7,000 to fund this year’s prizes and next year’s Chick Chain program. TSU Extension Agent Brooklynn Gunter helped oversee the competition.

Hamilton County Extension Works Scrappy’s Cupboard

TSUAg’s Hamilton County Extension Office took part in a produce giveaway and educational session at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s student food pantry Scrappy’s Cupboard last month. Hamilton County SNAP-Ed Extension Agent Janice Hartman chipped in at the giveaway, sharing recipes and tips on how to prepare the produce and stretch food resources with approximately 50 participants. The event was just a part of Hartman’s busy October SNAP-Ed curriculum during which she held an additional seven classes that provided nutrition, food resource management and physical activity advice and information to limited-resources adults in Hamilton County.

Amarasekare Visits Hamilton County Gardeners

The Hamilton County 4-H Gardening Club welcomed TSU Associate Professor of Entomology Dr. Kaushalya Amarasekare to the club’s Oct. 30 spider-themed meeting. Dr. Amarasekare gave a presentation on spiders to the club members, who are all 4th through 8th graders. Dr. Amarasekare included information on identifying spiders (including poisonous spiders) and how to attract beneficial spiders to the garden. Both the club members and the parents who attended had lots of questions about spiders and very much enjoyed the presentation.

Learning Ecology with the Junior Masters Gardeners of Sevier County

The Tennessee State University College of Agriculture’s Sevier County Extension Office has been doing some important work with its Junior Master Gardener program. In October, Sevier County Extension Agent Matthew Anderson and the group took to the Smoky Mountains with members of the Great Smoky Mountain Rangers team to learn about ecology. The youngsters learned how to measure the health of the local environment through the observation of insects, fish and other wildlife populations. Students had the chance to find insects in the forest and the streams, identify them and make connections to ecology health.

Academics