GROWING LIFELONG LEARNERS AND ABUNDANCE - WARM SPRINGS EXTENSION PROGRAM 2022-2026

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: 3D GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1028969
• Grant No.: 2022-41580-37938
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $299,312.00
• Proposal No.: 2022-03227
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2022
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2025
• Grant Year: 2024
• Program Code: [LP]- EIRP Indian Reservation Program

Recipient Organization
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERVICE
101 BALLARD HALL
CORVALLIS,OR 97331-3606

Performing Department
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Extension

Non Technical Summary
The Growing Lifelong Learners and Abundance - Warm Springs Extension Program addresses USDA-NIFA FRTEP priorities through 1) hiring a 4-H Education Program Assistant to increase availability of 4-H and positive youth development opportunities for tribal youth, supporting more 4-H clubs and the re-establishment of the SMILE club at Warm Springs K-8 Academy, 2) supporting Native farmer/rancher productivity and management through Lunch-and-Learn workshops, 3) supporting Native community development by i) providing food preservation workshops in CTWS districts, ii) hosting workshops for community members to safely sell fresh market and/or value-added products both within the CTWS and in Oregon, iii) combining positive youth development and nutrition education with the Iron Chef in the Nutrition Kitchen series, iv) collaborating with CTWS Culture and Heritage Department to provide outreach and education on the nutritional profiles of CTWS traditional foods, and v) incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into garden education for all ages.By providing youth in the Warm Springs community culturally appropriate, positive, and safe paths to explore areas that spark their interests, participating youth will develop a deeper connection to their culture and their community. Through increased knowledge and skills in livestock management, gardening, nutrition and food preservation techniques, the Warm Springs community will address food security concerns and empower tribal members to engage in their foodways for the benefit of their community and themselves.This project would continue and expand the efforts of the most recent CTWS FRTEP grant awarded in 2017 and prior FRTEP grants dating back almost 30 years.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
806	5010	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

agriculture

food security

indigenous communities

positive youth development

Goals / Objectives
Goals and Objectives: The Warms Springs Extension Project Team will engage the Warm Springs community and partners to collaboratively:Empower youth to become lifelong learners and leaders in their community,Build knowledge and skills for community members to safely preserve foods, andGrow and support community members to be actively engaged in growing their own foods through community and home gardens.By providing youth in the Warm Springs community culturally appropriate, positive, and safe paths to explore areas that spark their interests, participating youth will develop a deeper connection to their culture and their community. Through increased knowledge and skills in gardening, nutrition and food preservation techniques, the Warm Springs community will address food security concerns and empower tribal members to engage in their foodways for the benefit of their community and themselves.

Project Methods
4-H & STEAM EducationOSU Extension seeks to increase the number of opportunities for tribal youth to explore their "sparks", whether it is archery, gardening, ranching, or any number of potential projects they may seek to dive into.This proposed expansion of a Warm Springs 4-H positive youth development program is in direct response to requests from CTWS Tribal Council to rebuild this side of the 4-H program. For this proposal, the goal for 4-H is to increase participation opportunities in a Warm Springs 4-H Youth Development program through programming that meets the growth and development interests of youth. This will include a specific focus on supporting youth to engage in 4-H livestock projects and rebuilding 4-H clubs that have, in the past, been a vital part of the Warm Springs community.Objective 1: Re-establish a Warm Springs SMILE club that delivers STEAM education and Ag in the Classroom lessons to tribal youth.Objective 2: Hire a 4-H Education Program Assistant to assist the Project Director with 4-H programming, recruitment, and volunteer management.Objective 3: Encourage and recruit Warm Springs youth to participate in positive youth development opportunities in the community (4-H livestock, archery, or dance groups, for example).Objective 4: Provide after-school programming in collaboration with the Warm Springs Academy 21st Century After School Program.Native Farmer and Rancher Productivity and ManagementTo support CTWS goals of increased food access, security and sovereignty, OSU Warm Springs Extension will provide training and support to community members who seek to grow fresh produce for themselves or for market, start or expand their ranching operation, or explore novel food production opportunities.Objective 1: Host a series of "Lunch and Learn" workshops for tribal members on topics of interest including: livestock management, natural resources management and impacts on native plants, growing fresh produce, regulations for selling at regional farmer's markets, business planning and marketing skills, and potential commercial crops that are well suited to local soils, climate and water availability. Teachers will include local OSU Warm Springs Extension faculty, utilizing demonstration gardens and orchards, as well as invited experts from across the state.Native Community Development/Food Systems, Farm & Community MarketsOSU Extension recognizes our role in supporting traditional foods knowledge to be that of providing evidence-based education around the nutritional profiles of traditional foods and safe methods of preserving these foods.A unique challenge for food preservation on CTWS land is sharing food preservation recipes and methods that are both safe and culturally appropriate. Our Nutrition and Food Preservation faculty and staff have worked closely with the OSU Master Food Preservation Program on campus to create or adapt existing recipes for canning traditional foods such as roots. Sara Olson, OSU Extension Food Preservation Education Program Assistant, has worked in the CTWS community for 8 years and has built the food preservation program to be a trusted source of information. By building this trust in the community, elders have become more interested in learning different methods for preserving foods and are now more knowledgeable about what safety considerations to take when using cultural preservation methods such as smoking fish or drying venison outdoors. Food preservation is cultural preservation and food security for tribal members.Objective 1: Host food preservation classes and workshops at the 3 CTWS longhouse locations to reduce travel burdens for participants.Objective 2: Provide workshops on producing value-added foods for sale, including food safety, regulations, packaging, and marketing.Objective 3: Collaborate with the CTWS Culture and Heritage Department to provide education on the nutritive value of the CTWS traditional foods and their preservation methods.Objective 4: Host 2 Mt. Hood Fruit Loop field trips to regional orchards to purchase bulk fruits and learn about orchard management. The tours will be followed by special workshops focused on preserving the fruits purchased on the tours.OSU Extension's outreach and education efforts in the CTWS community are always conducted in partnership through our collaborations with CTWS Departments (Education, Natural Resources, Culture and Heritage, Range and Agriculture).

Progress 09/01/24 to 08/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:This project serves the community members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. Our project serves all ages from toddlers to community elders. There are high levels of addiction, poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment within the community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We provide monthly updates to Tribal Council, we share articles with the local radio station and newspaper, we talk about events and activities with community members at tabling events such as the Pi-Ume-Sha Health Fair and Back to School BBQ throughout the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to rebuild the 4-H program to provide more opportunities for youth to be engaged in activities that interest them through afterschool programming, partnership with the Culture and Heritage Committee, and other Tribal departments. We will continue the Lunch and Learn series based on requests from the community. We will continue to provide garden education to both youth and adults with an emphasis on growing produce for markets.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. In the past year, the 4-H program continuesrebuilding. Each year, the 4-H program hosts three (3)6-week sessions in partnership with the Warm Springs K8 Academy 21st Century after-school program. The after-school lessons have included moccasin making for all ages, arts and crafts with Kindergarten-2nd grades, Intro to Cooking with 6th - 8thgrades. These after-school programs have reached 30 youth with consistant positive youth development. Many of the youth started with us in the fall making moccasins and requested that we come back to do other classes too. The classes offered were driven by the interests of the youth. The youth have begun to recognize our 4-H team out in the community and request classes when they see us at various events. In late June, in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Culture and Heritage Department, 4-H assisted with the first Culture Camp at Peter's Pasture in many years. The Culture Camp served 20 youth ages 3-9 and focused on sharing cultural traditions such as social dances, beading, and connections to nature. A second camp for older youth (7-14) will be held in mid-August where our 4-H team will again assist the Culture and Heritage Department in running the camp and teaching workshops.The 4-H teamhosts a weekly booth at the Warm Springs Thursday Market (mid-July & August 2025) focused on youth STEAM activities. In partnership with the Garden Education Coordinator, we will host 3 "Gifts from the Garden" workshops for youth and families to come and learn how to use various items from the garden to create stunning gifts for friends and family such as Peppermint Lavendar Tea, herb infused olive oil, lavendar and rose petal sachets. The Gifts from the Garden series will include information for youth and families to scale up their gardens and how to start a small business. 2. In the past year, the Food Preservation team has worked with individual tribal members to learn about freeze-drying some traditional foods such as roots and berries as well as serving as a local resource for canning and other preservation questions.Additionally, the Food Preservation team hosted the annual Fall Fruit Loop Tour to visit orchards in Hood River, OR. The Extension office provided transportation for community members where we visited not only orchards where community members were able to purchase apples and pears for canning at a reduced rate compared to local store prices,but also were able to visit the Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center (MCAREC). At MCAREC, Fruit Tree Specialist, Ashley Thompson, gave the participants at tour of the station and shared about the fruit tree research she is working on, and even provided a tasting of some of the varieties of pears that are being tested for release. Community members commented on how much they appreciated the addition of the MCAREC tour to the Fruit Loop Tour. The Summer Fruit Loop tour is scheduled for July 22nd with a focus on blueberries. 3. Grow Where You Are garden kits continue to be distributed to the community by request which provide a small 2ft x 2ft garden box, soil, seeds and/or starts, and printed information for growing, harvesting, cooking, and preserving the food grown in the boxes. After-school garden classes are offered in the Fall and Spring each year. We have been able to bring back the popular Lunch and Learn monthly series to deliver education on a variety of topics; Pruning Fruit Trees, Gardening in Central Oregon, Wildfire Smoke Safety and Preparedness, Tree Identification, and Wreath Making with Foraged Forest Products. This was the second year we hosted the Wildfire Smoke Safety and Preparedness workshop and it has been a success with the community as they learn what air quality means and how it affects their health. Through the FRTEP grant, we are able to provide the supplies (box fan, air filter, and duct tape) for attendees to make their own DIY indoor air filters to protect themselves and their families when wildfire smoke affects the area.

Publications

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:This project serves the community members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. Our project serves all ages from Kindergarten to community elders. There are high levels of poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment within the community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Faculty and staff associated with the project attended the annual FRTEP Professional Development conference and Native American Nutrition conference in Minnesota in September and the Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Meeting in Nevada in December. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We provide monthly updates to Tribal Council, we share articles with the local radio station and newspaper, we talk about events and activities with community members at tabling events such as the Pi-Ume-Sha Health Fair and Back to School BBQ throughout the year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to continue to rebuild the 4-H program to provide more opportunities for youth to be engaged in activities that interest them. We will continue the Lunch and Learn series based on requests from the community. We will continue to provide garden education to both youth and adults.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. In the past year, the 4-H program has begun rebuilding and has recruited five (5) adult volunteers to the program. There have been four(4) 6-week sessions in partnership with the Warm Springs K8 Academy 21st Centuryafter-school program. The after-school lessons have included moccasin making for all ages,arts and crafts with Kindergarten-2nd grades, Intro to Cooking with 3rd-5th grades, and Fishing and Water Safety with 4th- 8th grades. These after-school programs have reached 33 youth. Many of the youth started with us in the fall making moccasins and requested that we come back to do other classes too. The classes offered were driven by the interests of the youth. Many of the youth have already told us they cannot wait until next school and want to be in the after-school lessons we do next school year. 2. In the past year, the Food Preservation team has worked with individual tribal members to learn about freeze-drying some traditional foods such as roots and berries. The tribal members are learning about the process and how freeze-drying preserves the nutrient levels in the food better than other preservation methods. 3. Grow Where You Are garden kits continue to be distributed to the community by request which provide a small 2ft x 2ft garden box, soil, seeds and/or starts, and printed information for growing, harvesting, cooking, and preserving the food grown in the boxes. After-school garden classes are offered in the Fall and Spring each year. The community garden at Simnasho has been largely vacant for several years as it is in a remote area and through this project, we have maintained the property to be fire-safe. This year a group of Simnasho community members requested to manage the garden to grow produce for a local Saturday Market. OSU Extension will continue to provide support through classes at the garden. We have been able to bring back the popular Lunch and Learn monthly series to deliver education on a variety of topics; soil and soil health, selling meat directly to consumers, weed identification and control, and coming up in August- wildfire smoke safety.

Publications

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:This past year, we served local ranchers through horse castration and coggins testingand cattle vaccination clinics held in the community, also we served school aged youth with after-school gardening classes and summer school gardening lessons, as well as a summer sewing class. We distributed resources at the community health fair and weekly Farmer's Markets. We provided transportation for our 2 of our Fruit Loop Tours for elders and community members. Changes/Problems:Due to funding contraints, we were unable to move the PI off of the grant funds in order to hire a 4-H program assistant until the end of this grant reporting period. However, these constraints will be removed and we can move forward with hiring the program assistant to increase the programming opportunities we can provide through this grant. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This grant provided Professional Development for the PI through the FRTEP Professional Development Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and through participation in the OSU Extension Indigenous Peoples Work Group. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We submit monthly reports to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Education Branch Manager which is then compiled with other departments in the Education Brach to be submitted to Tribal Council. We regularly post social media updates about timely topics for food preservation, gardening, and upcoming events and programs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we plan to hire a 4-H Education Program Assistant to faciltiate the development of positive youth development opportunities as well as supporting more foodpreservation (including tradtional foods)outreach in collaboration with the CTWS Culture and Heritage Department. We will continue to provide garden education and outreach as well as livestock health education and outreach.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: Afterschool and summer school gardening lessons with school aged youth where they were able to learn about plant lifecycles, water cycle, growing food for themselves, and tasting a variety of vegetables and fruits from the OSU Gardens. Goal 2: Supported the Warm Springs Food Preservation team to provide transportation for the Fruit Loop Tours for community members to purchase locally grown fruit at wholesale prices for home preservation. Goal 3: Working one-on-one with community members to address questions and concerns as they build or expand their gardens. Several community members have stated that they have built their confidence to grow their own fruits and vegetables at home through outreach done through this and another grant. Other community members have stated that they now intentionally plant seeds for pollinator habitat in or around their gardens because they have learned about the importance of pollinators for a succesful harvest and have seen at the OSU Gardens how pollinators improve the yields in the gardens.

Publications