Community Economic Development

Thank You to our Volunteers who help pack our Extension Week Boxes!
 
Waterloo, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Week is April 12-17. Iowa’s 100 county extension offices will host activities throughout the week to thank Iowans for their support of extension efforts throughout the state.
 
“The challenges of the past year changed how ISU Extension and Outreach serves Iowans, but not why: We want a strong Iowa. We are here for you now and always,” said Shelly Smith, Executive Director.
 
“This celebration is one way we say thank you to the many volunteers, community leaders, organizations, agencies, and other partners who support our work in Black Hawk County,” Smith said.
 
Local small businesses will receive an awareness box of tools and information to support revitalizing our local economy.
 
Gardening seeds are available to the public and community donation gardens to sustain local foods.
 
Workshops on wellbeing, tools for caregivers, money smarts, preserving foods, pesticide application, youth mental health, planning for retirement, car care 101 for teenagers, and gardening are scheduled to strengthen our community.
 
“ISU Extension and Outreach engages Iowans in solving today’s problems and planning for tomorrow. We will continue finding new ways to deliver research-based education and information to Iowans,” Smith said.
 
ISU Extension and Outreach is part of the federal Cooperative Extension Service — a network of more than 100 land-grant institutions, including Iowa State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture serving communities and counties across the United States. Every county in Iowa has an elected extension council that decides how to support ISU Extension and Outreach educational programs at the county level.
 
For more information about ISU Extension and Outreach, visit www.extension.iastate.edu or contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Black Hawk County office. 

Iowa State Extension and Outreach Black Hawk County will once again offer free garden seeds. These seeds were generously donated from various garden centers in fall of 2020 to offer them to community, school, donation, and church gardens that grow food to be donated to others.

You are getting first pick. A larger, public seed giveaway will happen in April.

Mark your calendars to pick up seeds for the qualifying garden you manage on March 29, Tuesday March 30, and Wednesday, March 31 from 9am to 3pm each day. The giveaway will be in the ISU Room across the hall from our office at 3420 University Avenue. Use Door 3.

For more information, contact Steven Eilers, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Black Hawk County Urban Agriculture Specialist at 319-234-6811 or at seilers@iastate.edu.