The Shakedown on Salt | Anywhere Fitness | Gardening Recap Expert Articles and Advice from the Research and Knowledge of West Virginia State University Extension Service
FALL / WINTER
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The “Maker� Movement A new creative space hits Charleston
You Can Can A guide to food preservation
Behind the Headlines
How to pitch your business to the media Extension Service
Orlando F. McMeans, Ph.D. Vice President for Research & Public Service and GRDI Dean and Director
William Woodrum
Assoc. Dean and Assoc. Director WVSU Extension Service
Matthew Browning
Director of Communications; Editor WVSU Gus R. Douglass Institute
Stacy Herrick
Communications Specialist; Designer WVSU Gus R. Douglass Institute
Extension Matters is published by West Virginia State University Extension Service, a division of The Gus R. Douglass Land-Grant Institute.
To request an edition of Extension Matters or to be added to our mailing list, please contact the editor at extension@wvstateu.edu
WEST VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, AGE, RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, SEX, MARITAL STATUS, DISABILITY, OR STATUS AS A U.S. VETERAN.
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F R O M
T H E
P R E S I D E N T
Greetings! A warm and hearty welcome to the fall/winter edition of Extension Matters, West Virginia State University’s magazine that offers you expert solutions in such important areas as agriculture, technology, youth development, health, family, food and fitness. As the seasons change and fitness routines may benefit from the cooler temperatures, I urge you to take note of the helpful advice on how to stay fit outside the gym. In the land of adventure that makes up our wild, wonderful West Virginia, there are so many outdoor activities that encourage fitness—no matter your athletic skill! This issue is also full of helpful information for you and your children alike. Discover the changes happening at WVSU’s Economic Development Center and learn ways in which you can protect your children from identity theft. As a parent myself, I am astutely aware of just how critical it is to protect our children in an increasingly Internet-savvy and technological world. Also, be sure to delve into the food and agriculture related articles in this issue. With so many delicious and healthy foods growing all around us, I am delighted by the unique look at food preservation in the article, “You Can Can.” In addition, tips on how to relate to the media and mistakes for gardeners to avoid round out this edition. I hope you savor this issue of Extension Matters as much as I did. I offer you best wishes for a cozy and comfortable upcoming season.
President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. West Virginia State University
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6 Bramblin’ Man Bramble and fruit tree maintenance for fall
8 Photo courtesy KD Lett
The “Maker” Movement A new creative space hits Charleston
12 Hold the Salt, Please!
Are you consuming too much salt in your diet?
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Contents
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You Can Can A guide to food preservation
Anywhere Fitness
Protect Your Child from Identity Theft
Has your child’s identity been stolen? How to tell.
Staying in shape outside the gym
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Behind the Headlines
Gardening Recap
How to pitch your business to the media
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2013
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The good, the bad and the ugly of your growing season
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Bramblin’ Man: Bramble and Fruit Tree
Maintenance for Fall Brad Cochran, Extension Agent for Community and Agriculture Resource Development, bcochran2@wvstateu.edu
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hile most people think fall is the time of year to relax after a long spring and summer of planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables, the reality is that the fun is just beginning for our small fruit producers across the state. In order to have your berry patches and fruit tree orchards in top shape for the following year, a few easy (but important) steps must be taken. And one of these steps is pruning. Brambles produce fruit on canes that are two years old. For example, new canes that began growing during the spring of 2013 will produce fruit during the summer of 2014. Once berries have been produced, the producing cane will die off and not produce again, so it is beneficial to the plant and for your operation to go ahead and prune this cane off at ground level. While you are in your berry patch and have your pruners in your hand, be sure to look for new growth canes that have insect or disease damage and remove those canes at the ground as well. Now that the producing canes and any damaged canes have been removed, we can focus in on the canes that will produce berries the following growing season. Brambles can be trained and grown in several different manners, but two common methods are to use a trellis system or to prune the canes back using the “hill method.” There are many
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different ways to trellis brambles, each with their own positives and negatives. Some trellis designs are simply to support the canes and not let them fall over and reach the ground, while others are designed specifically to let the bramble canes trail along the wires and climb. If the berry varieties you have chosen are more of an erect type, you may consider the trellis designs that lend support to the canes to keep them more upright (Demchak, 2013). However, if you have varieties that tend to be more trailing then trellis systems with horizontal wires would be your best pick. If you have a berry patch that you are fighting to keep maintained and looking nice, the fall months are a good time to begin construction of a trellis system that will meet your needs. If you don’t want to invest in a trellis system, or don’t have the time to build one yourself, you should consider pruning your berries using the “hill method.” In this method you will want to choose three to four of your best looking canes (thickest, healthiest and most vigorous) and prune away all others at ground level. With the canes that you have selected, prune the entire cane about 3-4’ high or approximately waist height. This will trigger lateral branching off of the main cane and, in turn, cause the plant to produce not only more fruiting buds but buds that will produce bigger berries. This pruning can occur anytime the plant is dormant, but
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the best time would be in the late winter before new growth starts on the plant. For producers of apples and peaches, the fall months provide some down time before the heavy pruning begins again during the winter and early spring. That doesn’t mean, however, that all the work is over during the fall. If you are a small, homeowner-sized producer of tree fruits, the fall months provide an opportunity to really check out your trees for damage from fire blight, cedarapple rust, or other fungal and insect damaged areas. If you see any signs of damage from these issues, you should remove the affected branches at least six inches below the visible damage. This should help to remove any of the remaining fungal spores or insects that may be housed in those branches. The removed branches should be totally discarded from your property either by bagging them up and hauling them away or by burning them during designated burning times. For information on designated burning times, please contact the West Virginia Division of Forestry at wvforestry.com. If your fruit trees have become overgrown and out of control, you can also do some light pruning of watersprout branches during the fall and begin removing those from the tree. Watersprouts are vigorous, upright, epicormic shoots that grow from dormant buds on older wood (Nix, 2013). These watersprouts will do nothing but grow leaves, so they will be robbing fruit-producing branches of valuable nutrients needed to produce bigger and better fruit. Most older and overgrown trees will be full of these watersprouts and will need to be pruned of these sprouts each and every year. A light pruning in the fall, especially of damaged
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wood and watersprouts, will help to speed up the pruning process in the spring when working around unpredictable weather. If your bramble patches and fruit tree orchards are still at a young age, mulching is recommended for the fall and winter months to help protect the fragile root systems of the brambles and trees. Hardwood mulch is usually the best mulch for this process, as it will hold moisture in and also stay very warm on the inside with just a small bit of sunlight hitting it each day. For older and more mature brambles and trees, mulch can still be used in the fall and winter but is more necessary for younger trees.
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Demchak, K. (2013, August 14). Pruning and Trellising Brambles. Retrieved from http://agresearch.umd. edu/RECs/WREC/files/MDBayAreaBramble%20Pruningv2%202-18-09-Demchak.pdf Nix, S. (2013, August 14). Manage Trees with Suckers and Watersprouts. Retrieved from About.com: http://forestry.about.com/ od/treeandforestcare/ss/ sucker_sprout.htm
When it comes to the world of small fruit production, the fall months are typically regarded as being the offseason. This is not necessarily the case, as these few months can go a long way into keeping your bramble patch and orchard healthy and productive in the coming years, while also making your life in the spring a little bit easier.
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By Sarah Halstead, Extension Specialist for Community and Agriculture Resource Development, shalstead2@ wvstateu.edu
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teve’s dad showed him how to take apart and rebuild electronics such as radios and televisions. Steve became interested in and developed a hobby of technical tinkering. He hooked up with buddies with similar interests and eventually started a business. Jack was obsessed with cities as a child. He collected maps, fascinated by what was happening at any given moment in those cities. He taught himself programming on the family’s first computers so he could make his own maps. He put dots on
A young maker at Hack3rCon^3 in Charleston, W.Va. Photo courtesy KD Lett.
a rudimentary St. Louis map and moved them around. The dots didn’t mean anything at first, then he discovered the family’s CB radio and police scanner. With real-time reports from first responders and taxis, suddenly the dots came to life. Next thing Jack’s parents knew, he was making something known as dispatch software. Jack hooked up with buddies with similar interests and eventually started a business. While watching her daughter play with paper dolls, Ruth noticed that she and her friends used the dolls to act out the future rather than the present. So she invented a grown-up, threedimensional doll that girls could use to act out their dreams. The mother of two named her new doll invention after her daughter. Later, a male counterpart doll would be named after her son. Steve Jobs and his friends changed the world with Apple. Jack Dorsey and his friends changed the world, first with a Tweet then with a Square by creating Twitter and Square, a mobile payments company. Ruth Handler changed the world of play with the invention of Barbie, Ken and the Mattel Toy Co. Garage-to-greatness stories like these motivate many hobbyists and entrepreneurs to keep on dreaming, scheming, tinkering and testing. A child’s fascination could turn into an adult’s
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career, and having an environment in which to nurture those ideas is vital to the creative process. The WVSU Economic Development Center in Charleston will soon offer the public a community maker space where everyone can connect, make, share and learn, anytime. So, what is a maker? Let’s find out…
FOR THE “MAKER” IN YOU, YOUR KIDS AND YOUR BUDDIES Imagine a place that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to innovators and hobbyists, Scouts and inventors, soccer moms, local NASA contractors, gamers and geeks. A place where everyone with an idea or a question about how to make something is welcome. A place with tools and equipment and discovery experiences led by brilliant, kid-friendly scientists, hobbyists, inventors, entrepreneurs and parents! Imagine this is “your” place – your very own maker space. Technology is changing how we all do business. No news there, right? Except that it actually IS
news for many West Virginians who make things and who may not realize they could be active participants – even game changers – in one of the most important thrusts in the evolution of “making things.” The distance between a good idea and the global marketplace is shorter and less costly than ever before, thanks to technology – and your friendly neighborhood geeks, tinkerers, artisans, inventors, hackers and hobbyists. These people are called makers, and they come in all shapes, sizes and ages, with interests and skills that range from sewing to robotics to gaming to traditional craft.
GETTING BACK TO BASICS The Maker Movement has been widely reported on, yet many people who make things don’t consider themselves part of such a worldwide phenomenon. In 2012, CNN’s “What’s Next” blog featured a story on the growing group of Do-It-Yourself inclined makers, led by Make Magazine founder Dale Dougherty: “Dale believes that America used to be a nation of makers. People were proud to tinker in
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CNN. (2012). Dale Dougherty: Sneak Peak. The Next List. Retrieved September 3, 2013, from http:// whatsnext.blogs.cnn. com/2012/02/07/daledougherty-sneak-peak/. Famous Women Inventors. (2013). Retrieved September 3, 2013, from http:// www.women-inventors. com/Ruth-Handler.asp. McGirt, E. (2012). For making magic out of the mercantile. Fast Company. Retrieved September 3, 2013, from http://www. fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/ square. Steve Jobs: Early Life. Biography. A+E Television Networks, LLC. Archived from the original on 201205-30. Retrieved 2012-0328.
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A NOTE ABOUT HACKERS AND MAKERS Many wince at the term hacker. After all, nearly everyone has been the victim of faceless “hackers” who use their talent and knowledge to virtually trespass and destroy or manipulate private data. But hacker also describes innovative hobbyists who customize or combine things in new ways to do new things. KD Lett, a DigiSo anchor and founding member of the DigiSo Makerspace, says makers and hackers are both “associated with anything that involves taking something apart, rebuilding in order to understand it better, or repurposing parts of different objects in order to make something new, cheaper or better than something that already exists.” Another founder of the Makerspace, sustainable architect and inventor Thom Worlledge, says, “I see a maker working with material — how do I make (this), and hackers working with control — how do I make (this) do (that)?” Many hackers are makers, and many makers are hackers. So when they get together in the same space, that place is commonly called a hackspace or a makerspace. It doesn’t matter what you call it; what matters is what happens there.
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You Can Can:
A guide to food preservation By Bonnie Dunn, Extension Specialist for Family and Consumer Science, parsonsb@wvstateu.edu
magine opening your freezer in the dead of winter and removing a small jar of strawberry jam. Your kitchen fills with the aroma of fresh, ripened strawberries, bringing a little bit of summertime into the cold winter months. The reason you have that wonderful aroma? You made your own strawberry jam using proper food preservation techniques.
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it can be to preserve your fresh, homegrown foods in the freezer. Take corn, for instance. There is nothing like fresh, roasted corn bought straight from the farmer. If you don’t consume every ear right away, prepare your leftovers to freeze for that same great taste during your holiday meals. The method is simple for larger quantities. The following is for two dozen ears:
Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage while maintaining nutritional value, texture and flavor, and preventing the growth of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. Common methods of preserving food include drying, freezing, vacuum packing and canning. Other methods that not only help to preserve food, but also add flavor, include pickling, salting, smoking and curing.
Shuck the ears of corn, blanch them for five minutes in boiling water, let cool, cut the corn off the cobb, add one teaspoon of canning salt and one teaspoon of sugar (per dozen), mix well and place in freezer bags for storage. Two dozen ears produce 10 cups of corn – plenty to get you through all your holiday functions. The same method works for green beans or other larger quantities of veggies.
Let’s take a closer look at freezing and canning, two common at-home methods. Many of us buy frozen meats to store in our freezer, but fruits and vegetables – grown right in our own gardens or purchased from the local farmers market – are perfect for this method as well, so you can literally enjoy the fruits of your labor all year long. You may not realize how easy
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If you are interested in canning smaller amounts of fruits or vegetables, the food preservation companies have made it simpler for the consumer to preserve foods by way of the canning method. Some consider this method more daunting than freezing foods, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several companies that sell food preservation equipment. You can purchase a complete utensil kit for about ten dollars.
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Look for a low-cost starter kit that comes with a heat resistant rack, lifter, pint jars (with lids and rings) and a recipe book. This allows you to preserve food using the water bath method in your own large stockpot. This is a great way to give canning a try before you invest in other, more expensive types of equipment. The glass jars used for canning come in small- and widemouth varieties. The wide-mouth jar is best for larger pieces of fruit, such as peach halves, and also for larger pickles or beets. One of the oldest and most reliable resources on food preservation is from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Everything
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you need to know about canning and food preservation is available in the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning, available for free download by searching the USDA website at usda.gov. This resource is for people canning for the first time or for experienced canners wanting to improve their canning practices. Canning is certainly more involved than other methods listed above, so arm yourself with the knowledge and equipment you’ll need to preserve your fresh foods for year-round enjoyment. And don’t forget to contact your local county Extension office for more food preservation information!
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Kingry, J. & Devine, L. (2006). Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. USDA. (2009). Complete guide to home canning. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from http://nchfp.uga.edu/ publications/publications_ usda.html.
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Hold the Salt, Please! Are you consuming too much salt in your diet? By Tammy Hauldren, Extension Associate for Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), hauldrta@wvstateu.edu
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H E A L T H
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ow often do you hear someone at your family dinner table say, “pass the salt, please?” For many families, the answer is probably surprising. We as Americans partake in this not-so-healthy food component to satisfy our taste buds, but what we may not realize is that salt – or sodium chloride – is already lurking around in lots of the foods we eat, so sprinkling on more may not be necessary. The question is, “how much is too much?” How much do we need? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, all people really need is 2,300 mg of sodium per day. That amounts to only a teaspoon. For those of us over the age of 50, that amount is reduced to 1,500. That number also applies to African-Americans and those who suffer from hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. In reality, this 1,500-mg-or-less recommendation applies to about half of the U.S. population, including children and the majority of adults. It seems Americans aren’t concerned with the shakedown on salt, considering the estimated average intake of sodium for all Americans ages two years and older is 3,400 mg per day. That’s not to say sodium isn’t necessary at all. With all things considered, sodium really is an essential nutrient that our body needs to properly function. Sodium… • helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body; • helps transmit nerve impulses;
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anything more than the recommended dosage of salt per day is not considered healthy for anyone. Studies from the Centers for Disease Control show that “more than 40 percent of sodium comes from the following 10 types of foods: breads, cold cuts, cured meats, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta, and snacks like chips, pretzels and popcorn.” As previously stated, it’s already there, lurking around in those lists on the nutrition labels. So what steps can we take to lower our sodium intake toward the healthy recommended daily dosage? Here are a few suggestions:
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC Vital Signs. (2012). Where’s the sodium?. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website: http:// www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/ sodium/ National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health, www.cancer.gov, Intake of Sodium Among US Population by age. U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (2010). Dietary guidelines for americans. Retrieved from website: www.dietaryguidelines.gov
• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. • Always read nutrition labels. • Use other flavorings to season your food. • Limit your use of condiments. • Omit salt from recipes when possible. We need salt – just not to the extent we usually consume it. Like many foods and drinks we put into our bodies, our taste for salt is acquired. This means that you can take charge of the amount of salt you consume. Lessen the amount of salt you add to your food, let your taste buds adjust and be proactive on your way to a heart-healthy lifestyle!
• keeps the body hydrated; and • serves as a regulator for blood pressure, blood flow, acid balance in the body and muscle contractions. With the proper intake levels, sodium helps us stay alive, active and healthy. However,
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Protect Your Child from
Identity Theft Paul Henderson, 4-H Extension Agent, henderpm@ wvstateu.edu
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magine that your teenage daughter is about to start college. She has money in a savings account at a local bank. She goes to the bank and applies for a credit card, but she is turned down because her credit score is too low. Apparently she failed to pay off the other credit cards that she had. She doesn’t understand, because she just turned 18 and has never applied for a credit card before. Unfortunately, she has been the victim of identity theft. Child-identity theft is one of the nation’s fastest-growing crimes. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), a recent study estimated that more than 140,000 instances of identity fraud are perpetrated on children in the United States each year. The FTC also cites a recent survey of children enrolled in an identity protection service that found more than 10 percent had loans, property, utility and other
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accounts associated with their Social Security numbers. That information may be surprising, but you might be even more surprised to find out that your child could already be a victim of identity theft. Often times this type of fraud goes unnoticed until the child turns 18 and is denied his or her first credit card due to a low credit score.
How do you know if your child’s identity has been stolen? Since child identity theft often goes unnoticed until the child becomes an adult, how can you know that your child’s identity has been stolen? The following tips are provided from TransUnion credit bureau. • Your child begins to receive suspicious mail,
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like pre-approved credit cards and other financial offers normally sent to adults, in his or her own name.
it in terms they can understand. Leave the door open for them to ask questions or express concerns.
• You try to open a financial account for him or her but find that one already exists, or the application is denied because of a poor credit history.
• Sign up for an identity protection and a credit monitoring service. This type of service is a proactive tool to not only monitor your credit files and protect your family’s identities, but also to receive alerts if there is any activity reported on your child’s credit file.
• A credit report already exists in the child’s name. If the child has one, he or she may have been targeted already, since only an application for credit, a credit account or a public record starts the compilation of a consumer credit file.
Steps to Protect Your Child’s Identity The following steps to prevent child identity theft come from the Child Identity Theft Education Kit from Equifax. • Carry your child’s Social Security card, birth certificate or passport with you only when absolutely necessary. • Unless you initiate contact, do not provide your child’s Social Security number (or any part of it) over the phone, the Internet or in person. • If you are asked for your child’s Social Security number ask these three questions: Why is it needed? Isn’t there another way to identify my child? How will my child’s information be protected?
• Most schools request personal identifying information. Ask if this is optional or if another form of identification, such as a utility bill, is sufficient. • Never use your child’s Social Security number to open accounts for your benefit. This may be tempting if you have bad credit, but not paying bills on time could keep your child from getting credit cards, student loans, an apartment or even a job when they turn 18.
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http://www.equifax.com/ family-identity-protection/ http://www.ftc.gov/ opa/2011/09/childtheft. shtm http://www.transunion. com/personal-credit/credit-disputes/fraud-victimresources/child-identitytheft.page
While you can never completely prevent identity theft from occurring, you can take steps to avoid it. Not protecting your child’s identity could result in your child not getting that first apartment, school loans or passing a background check for employment. Once your child’s identity has been stolen, it often takes years to undo the damage.
• Lock birth certificates and documents with your child’s Social Security number in a safe place. • Purchase and use a cross-cut shredder. • It is important that you talk with your children about identity theft. Create a safe environment with open dialogue. Explain
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Behind the Headlines:
How to pitch your business to the media
By Jack Bailey, Director of Public Relations, jbaile19@ wvstateu.edu
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ewspapers, magazines, television, radio, online news sites…the number of outlets where you can read stories and find out information about businesses and their products and services is downright amazing. Yet, with so many outlets for telling a business’s story, many businesspeople remain hesitant to pickup the phone or fire off an email to the media about doing a story on them. Approaching the media to ask for a story about your business need not be a scary or uncomfortable proposition. In fact, when done well, having your story in the local newspaper or magazine or on the local TV station can bring great rewards – such as new customers to your business. It all starts with one simple idea and that is to know what story you are telling. You can’t just contact a media outlet and say, “Come do a story on me.” You have to offer a reason why. What makes your business different than other businesses? Is it new? Do you offer a product or service that no one else in your area offers? Are you adding a new product or service? In short, what makes it a story worth telling? If you can’t answer that, don’t bother picking up the phone or writing that email.
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What? Where? When? Why? How? They are typically called the “Five Ws and one H” and are the basic questions that journalists learn to ask from their very first Newswriting 101 class. Being able to incorporate answers to one or more of these questions into your pitch for a story will increase its chances considerably. For example, instead of, “Come do a story on my business,” incorporate some relevant information about your business into your story pitch and say, “My business, XYZ Corp. (who), is new to the hometown area (where). We will be hosting a grand opening celebration (what) on Monday (when) and would like to invite your media outlet to cover it.” By anticipating and answering some very basic questions in advance, you will have the reporter or editor’s attention, and you have just dramatically increased your chances of having a story done about your business. Other elements to consider when asking media for a story are timeliness, proximity, audience, prominence or an unusual or odd element.
The Five Ws and One H
In the above example, there is timeliness to the story because the grand opening has not happened yet; however, if you waited to call the media until six months after the event, the timeliness has passed and it would be less likely that a story would be done.
Look around and take stock of your business. Look at it through the lens of a journalist by addressing some very basic questions: Who?
Another aspect to timeliness is tying your business into nationally trending topics. For example, if you are a florist, calling the media
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in the middle of summer to do a story about your business may or may not bring reporters running, but if you call up in advance of Valentine’s Day, or another very busy time when people are buying flowers, you are going to get a much better response. Proximity, or the location of your business, can also play a role in media coverage. Media consumers are more interested in things that are happening in their city or state because there is more immediacy. Know what media outlets cover the area where your business is located and contact them first. Local outlets are always looking for more hometown news. The audience for your business could be another selling point for news coverage. Does it appeal to everyone? Helping define your audience can add to your chances of getting a story done, especially if your audience and the audience who reads the newspaper or watches the TV newscast are closely aligned. Prominence is another factor that can make a story about your business appealing, whether it be how well known the business is, how well known the owners of the business are, or perhaps how well known a guest of your business might be. According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (2013), our culture’s fascination with celebrity can work to an advantage when connecting to big names in the entertainment business, financial world or sports. For example, a local car dealership sells cars every day and it is not news, but when one day former New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson showed up to buy a car, it was in the local newspaper and on the local TV news as well. And there is always the unique or odd element of your business that could set it apart from others. Is it celebrating its 75th or 100th year in business? That would set it apart from others. Has it been in the same family for multi-generations? Does it make something that no one else in the area
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makes? Or does it offer a service that can only be found at your business? Look around and take stock of what odd or unique elements your business could offer. Think in terms of asking yourself, “what would make me want to read a story about my business?” Once you have an answer, mention it to friends and see if that would be something they would read or want to watch on TV. If the answer is yes, then it might be time to pick up the phone. REFERENCES
How to Contact the Media When contacting a media outlet, do your homework and know who you are contacting, not only what type of operation it is (TV, radio, newspaper) but how often it is published or broadcast and preferably the name of a specific person to whom you wish to pitch your story. If you have seen a specific reporter doing a story on another local business, ask to speak to them, or if you know your local newspaper has a business reporter, ask to speak to them by name. Doing that simple bit of homework to find a specific person to talk to will also go a long way to getting your story told in the media.
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Haden, J. (2012). How to pitch: 6 things you must know. Inc. Retrieved August 26, 2013, from http:// www.inc.com/jeff-haden/ how-to-pitch-6-things-youmust-know.html. Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. (2013). Pitching a story to the media. Retrieved August 26, 2013, from http://www. minnesotanonprofits.org/ nonprofit-resources/fundraising-communications/ media-relations/pitching-astory-to-the-media.
When you call, respect the reporter or editor’s time. Every media person, even those who work for a weekly newspaper or a monthly magazine, is always on deadline, and your call is taking time away from something that their boss needed them to get done five minutes ago. Be prepared when you call and get to your pitch, remembering that less is often more. As Jeff Haden (2012) states, the best products can be described in a few sentences – and so can the best pitches. Visit the websites of the media outlets you intend to contact to determine the appropriate people to pitch your news story. If you’ve done your homework, you could be in the headlines in no time.
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Staying in shape outside the gym
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By W. Michael Ferrell, 4-H Extension Agent, wferrell@wvstateu.edu
n today’s times of hectic schedules, long workweeks and never-ending to-do lists, it can be hard to maintain a consistent workout routine. Even with the advent of personal trainers and 24hour fitness centers, it can still be hard for someone to stay active with a strenuous work and family routine. Days off from the grind quickly fill up with household chores, trips to the supermarket, birthday parties, soccer games and so on. Squeezing in time for a workout at the gym is just impossible, it seems. So why not try to incorporate bursts of physical activity into your existing daily routine so that exercise doesn’t appear so daunting? Let’s examine some ways to do just that. To begin, know how much exercise you need and what will constitute “exercise.” Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, you need to do two types of physical activity each week to improve your health: aerobic and muscle strengthening. The Centers for Disease Control states that adults need at least 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic activity (i.e. walking) every
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week and weight training/muscle strengthening activities on two or more days a week. Many people either don’t have the time or may not have the finances to become a member of a gym or fitness center to obtain these minimum fitness standards, so here are some alternative resources for you to do at home. For muscle strengthening, exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups are good for toning your upper body (chest, shoulders, back and arms) and core (abdomen). Lunges and squats are also a great at-home workout for toning and strengthening muscles in your lower body (legs and hips). These exercises don’t require a gym membership or a fancy workout outfit, both of which can be costly. Working out at home also assures you that your gym is always open and there is never a wait. Try getting up a little earlier in the morning or allowing some time right after work or before bed for some musclestrengthening exercises. Walking is another physical activity that can help you maintain a desired level of fitness. Walking possesses a wealth of benefits for the person trying to stay fit on a budget. As stated by the American Heart Association, walking is the simplest positive change you can make to effectively improve your heart health. Research
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has shown that the benefits of walking and moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day can help you: • Reduce the risk of coronary heart disease • Improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels • Improve blood lipid profile • Maintain body weight and lower the risk of obesity • Enhance mental wellbeing • Reduce the risk of osteoporosis • Reduce the risk of breast and colon cancer • Reduce the risk of non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes
Walking is a free activity that can be done in your spare time or even at work. Get a low-cost pedometer and wear it during the workday. Look for ways to squeeze in some extra steps. Instead of taking the elevator, try taking the stairs. Instead of calling or emailing coworkers, walk to their office (as long as they don’t mind you interrupting their workflow). Don’t drive around the office parking lot looking for the closest spot; instead, park in the spot farthest from the door. (This technique is great for supermarkets or shopping centers as well.)
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friend to walk with you. You can plan walking paths that are convenient for both of you, or map out routes that take you places you’ve never been before. It’s a great way to exercise and spend time with friends. Before a person starts a workout routine, even one as simple as walking, there are a few things that should always be taken into consideration. Consult with a physician to see if you are capable of handling the type of workout you are planning. Make sure that you are properly fueled up with a healthy diet and constantly stay hydrated. It is always important to warm up before starting your workout to avoid any injuries that can occur during physical activity. Also, try to ensure that you have the right clothing and footwear. Footwear is essential when walking, especially if those evening strolls become runs as you progress.
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American Heart Association. (2013). The benefits of walking. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from http://www. startwalkingnow.org/whystart_benefits_walking.jsp. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (2013). How much physical activity do adults need? Retrieved August 28, 2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/ physicalactivity/everyone/ guidelines/adults.html.
Now that you’ve been informed and equipped with the right information, it’s time to get physically fit while keeping a few extra dollars in your pocket!
For a more structured approach to a walking routine, search your neighborhood for parks or other walking paths, such as trails or sidewalks. Turn walking into a social activity. The thought of being alone can be enough to keep some people from walking. The best way to solve this is by finding a
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Garden Recap:
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By Melissa Stewart, Extension Specialist for Community and Agricultural Resource Development, williaml@wvstateu.edu
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s another growing season comes to a close, it’s time to take a step back and assess the good, the bad and the ugly this year had to offer and identify those gardening mistakes you don’t want to make again. Don’t count on remembering your mistakes next year – it’s easy to forget and old habits do die hard. It’s best to take a few notes to help ensure that you don’t make the same mistake twice.
yourself a headache and do it now. You will thank me next growing season! Also do a quick assessment of how each variety performed. Were you happy with the productivity, crop quality and maintenance required? Would you consider planting the same variety next year or should it be avoided? These simple notes can help you avoid a disappointing harvest again next season.
Crop Varieties
Garden Setting
With new crop varieties being released each year it has become more difficult to remember exactly what you planted the season before, let alone how things performed. In the past, gardeners stuck with their standby varieties each year, but now the choices are endless. Those dependable crop varieties of the past are being upstaged by better-performing hybrids with new names that may not stick with a gardener from one season to the next.
Depending on how much planning goes into your garden space in advance, a backyard gardener may or may not have a detailed planting plan to refer to from past seasons. Crops thrive when given optimal conditions, and if a crop had a difficult time this season, it may be due to a less than favorable location. As the season winds down, take the time to assess how successful a crop was and try to determine if its setting had anything to do with its demise.
According to Burpee (2013), breeders develop hybrids for two main reasons: to make largescale commercial production and distribution of vegetables easier and more profitable and to make growing vegetables less labor-intensive and more surefire for home gardeners. The overall goal is to make the backyard gardener’s growing experience more enjoyable, so if you haven’t already taken the time to write down what was planted this growing season, save
Did you send away for a soil sample analysis before this growing season to see what the pH and nutrient levels were before cropping? Did the crop have enough sunlight, or was it shaded by another crop planted close by? Was it planted directly into the local soil or grown in a raised-bed garden? In this particularly rainy season, did the soil drain well or did it remain saturated at times? Ask the simple questions, especially if a specific crop did not do well this
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year in comparison to years past.
Pest Management With many insects and diseases developing resistance to traditional treatments, it’s not uncommon for crops to be decimated by a pest that has been easily controlled in the past. According to a Fact Sheet on Pesticide Resistance from Clemson University, pesticide resistance is a genetically based phenomenon that occurs when a pest population, such as insects, is exposed to a pesticide. When this happens, not all insects are killed. Those individuals that survive frequently have done so because they are genetically predisposed to be resistant to the pesticide. Due to this and other concerns, many backyard gardeners and production farmers have introduced more sustainable practices focusing on organic-based treatments instead of the traditional chemical control measures. Another concern is the intensity of the issue considering that both disease and insects overwinter in the soil awaiting optimal conditions and the proper host to flourish again next growing season. At the end of this season, make note of disease and insect problems, where they occurred in your garden space, what the host crop was for each and what treatments, if any, helped the situation. Keep this in mind in planning the garden for next year, paying close attention to where problems occurred and not providing another host opportunity.
Weather Conditions This growing season was extremely wet and, during periods of torrential downpours, if the soil was unable to drain properly the result would have been eventual crop loss due to root rot. With a wet growing season come problems with foliar fungal diseases on many crops. These can be kept in check with fungal sprays but with consecutive days of rain favorable conditions for treatments would have been few and far between. Make note of any crops impacted by the weather, especially if the entire crop failed.
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Many crop varieties have been bred for diseaseresistant traits, and if the problem was apparent this season it is apt to return. A variety change may be in order. This information may also help determine if the soil needs to be amended to allow for better drainage, which is beneficial under all weather conditions.
New Crops As you get about midway through each growing season, garden envy can set in. It never fails: you see a crop someone else is growing and you think to yourself, why didn’t I plant that? Now is the time to reassess what you planted this season and make adjustments to include something new next season so you will be the envy of everyone else. If you have planted a crop every year, and it has consistently been a disappointment, consider replacing it with something new next year. Research the new crop you have in mind and learn what it takes to grow it this winter so you are ready to hit the ground running in the spring. You will be surprised how exciting a new crop can be, especially when it comes time for the first harvest.
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Bellinger, R. (2006). Pest resistance to pesticides. Clemson University. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://ipm.ncsu.edu/ safety/factsheets/resistan. pdf Burpee. (2013). What is an heirloom? Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://www.burpee.com/ heirloom-seeds-and-plants/ what-is-an-heirloom-article10162.html.
Record Keeping If you do not already take notes throughout the season, use the winter to create a garden journal for the season ahead. This journal should include your planting schedule, crop spacing in beds and crop information, as well as serve as a place to record harvest numbers and crop weights. Documenting this information throughout the season will make it much easier to determine the best approach for the seasons ahead, as well as take the guesswork out of fine-tuning your backyard production.
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Cont. from “Maker” on page 9 tools and specialty equipment like soldering stations, laser cutters, 3D printers, sewing machines and computers with open-source design software. Parents, teachers, scientists and business owners — all are often involved in leading workshops and discovery experiences for others as young as four years old.
With a strong emphasis on open sourcing, the community lab incorporates elements of machine shops and studios where makers and hackers come together to share resources and knowledge to design and make things. This space is dedicated to the use and development of free software, open hardware and alternative media. Multi-aged educational programming and workforce training programs will feature expertise and mentorship from the University, partner organizations and industry leaders.
SEEING IS BELIEVING. DOING IS We asked Josh Russell, a founding member of ACHIEVING. the DigiSo Makerspace who grew up designing The WVSU Economic Development Center is a place for makers of all stripes. A growing group of experts, organizations and sponsors are working together to build the DigiSo Makerspace. Soon the public will have 3,000 square feet of collaborative desktop fabrication, prototyping space and equipment for tinkerers of all ages, including, but not limited to, inventors, hackers, researchers, scientists, jewelry makers, artisans, students and others curious about the potential of 3D printing and the maker/hacker movements.
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elaborate plans for machines, languages and inventions, what kinds of projects fascinate him, and what kinds of projects he foresees helping others design in the Makerspace. “One of my favorite projects is DIY solar panels. It is amazing to me that with some inexpensive crystal wafers and a soldering iron, you can generate electricity from sunlight. It’s so cheap and easy. It’s a wonder there are still places that don’t have electricity, and I’d like to help change that.” To fire up the local engine of innovation, a series of community workshops, projects and educational discovery experiences will be announced soon. Expect to learn about electronics, robotics, satellites, game design, security, industrial design and prototyping. For more information, contact the EDC at 304-720-1401.
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CREATIVITY REDEFINED. THAT’S THE WEST VIRGINIA #creators #entrepreneurs #filmmakers #writers #designers
STATE UNIVERSITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER, #marketers
#musicians
#artists
#gamers
#developers
THE MOUNTAIN STATE’S PREMIER COWORKING SPACE #programmers #makers #inventors #students #innovators
FOR THE CREATIVE ECONOMY.
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