Cooperative Extension reaches out to kids

Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 | 9 a.m.

It's noon on Thursday and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension instructor Mike Kistler is trying to remind 20-plus second graders that broccoli is actually a flower.

"Do you remember how I told you that broccoli is a very special vegetable?" Kistler coaxes, opening his hand like a blossom to jog the memory of the fidgety 7- and 8-year-olds before him who are reviewing the different edible plant parts common in a healthy diet.

As part of Cooperative Extension's Chefs for Kids program, the Robert L. Taylor Elementary School students have already learned that potatoes are roots, corn is a seed and celery is a stem. They keep forgetting what broccoli is.

The program, funded partially by a private grant from the Fraternity of Executive Chefs of Las Vegas, teaches children in at-risk Clark County schools the basics of nutrition and food preparation in hopes that they will grow up healthier and help their parents be healthier too, Kistler said.

"There's a lot of these kids who really don't know the importance of eating healthy, balanced meals, and a lot of these parents don't know the information either," Kistler said outside of one of the Henderson elementary school's classrooms, located in an impoverished neighborhood near Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Boulevard.

Kistler said he teaches nearly two dozen Chefs for Kids classes each week at three different elementary schools. The program is one of 80 offered to Clark County residents through the Las Vegas office of Cooperative Extension. The extension makes more than 445,000 face-to-face contacts each year, Dean Karen Hinton said.

Cooperative Extensions were established nationwide through the Smith-Lever Act in 1914 as a partnership between federal government, land-grant universities and county governments to extend knowledge from the university to local communities, Hinton said.

The Cooperative Extension program in Nevada is run by University of Nevada, Reno. Officials broke ground on the first permanent Las Vegas building Thursday morning. The 43,000 square-foot, $9 million facility near Windmill Parkway and Interstate 215 will help the Clark County arm of the extension expand its course offerings, Hinton said.

"Our goal is to bring education to people that will help them develop skills that will enhance their lives," Hinton said.

Best known for its 4-H programs, the extension offers various classes in health and nutrition, human and family development, community development, horticulture and agriculture to all 17 counties throughout the state of Nevada, Hinton said. Southern Nevada has offices in Las Vegas, Logandale, Pahrump and Caliente.

The Clark County extension is funded by about $5 million in county, state and federal money, with another $1.6 million in private grants and donations, Hinton said.

The construction cost of the building will be covered by the money currently being spent to lease two separate office spaces near Sahara Avenue and Jones Boulevard, Hinton said. The Bureau of Land Management parcel cost the extension only $175.

Most people think of agricultural classes when they think of 4-H programs and cooperative extensions, but even 4-H offers much more than just lessons in raising sheep or swine these days, Hinton said.

"We do have those, but we also have contemporary programs that excite kids but that they can get involved in in an urban setting, like photography, outdoor recreation, small animals and pets they can have in the home, and life developmental skills helping kids become successful adults," Hinton said.

Other classes include parenting programs in both English and Spanish, leadership courses for foster youth, finance classes for children and teens, childcare and baby-sitting training, independent living skills for seniors and horticultural programs like Master Gardeners that teach locals how to care for low-water using native plants.

Most classes are free or charge a nominal fee to cover costs, Hinton said.

The list of courses amazed U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who said he had always thought of Cooperative Extension as just for agriculture prior to Thursday's groundbreaking.

"For all those kids, all those seniors, all those moms and dads, this is a tremendous, tremendous tool," Porter said.

The building, which will house office space and classroom facilities, is scheduled to be opened in December. For more information on current classes, visit Cooperative Extension online at www.unce.unr.edu or call the Las Vegas office at (702) 222-3130.