Barnhart Fund for Excellence

ASM Microbe 2023 Attendance
Project Leader: Yosra A. Helmy
Department/Program: Veterinary Science
Funding Received: $1,000
This project will support Dr. Helmy's attendance at the ASM Microbe 2023 Conference where she will present on potential therapeutics for salmonella infections. Dr. Helmy has expertise in food safety and public health through the mitigation of important foodborne pathogens. She is working on developing novel therapeutics and antibiotic alternative approaches including small molecules to control these pathogens and mitigate antimicrobial resistance in food animals as well as in humans.

BE A STAR (Biosystems Engineering and Agricultural Science, Technology, and Applied Research) Night
Project Leader: Tanya Dvorak, Karla Ladino, Gary Lopez
Department/Program: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $1,000
In March 2022, the first BE A STAR (BAS) Night was held in Garrard County; the event was coordinated with the local 4-H Youth Development Program agent. Attendees were given a "passport" signed off by volunteers after students completed a booth. Eight BAE department-focused booths, led by BAE graduate students and Dr. Dvorak, were created for the first iteration of the event. Students with completed passports were entered in a drawing for a BAE prize bag. Future BAS Night event booths will focus on the same or similar topics, dependent on the availability of graduate student leadership to help plan and coordinate. This project will result in the creation of support materials and procedures to allow BAS Night to be perpetuated by the leadership of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Graduate League of Students and Alpha Epsilon Kentucky Omega Chapter (BAE's honor society group).

Big Blue Book Club for DHN Students and FCS Extension
Project Leader: Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Liz Combs, Emily Dewitt
Department/Program: Dietetics and Human Nutrition
Funding Received: $1,000
The current FCS Extension Big Blue Book Club has been a success for community engagement and exposing Kentuckians to a variety of topic areas. Dr. Norman-Burgdolf and DeWitt will be co-facilitating an upcoming book within the series for “Is Butter a Carb?: Unpacking Fact from Fiction in the World of Nutrition” in spring 2023. They have an opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Combs to engage students in her DHN 313 Community Nutrition class where community-based programming is discussed across the human lifecycle. This project provides a novel approach to exposing undergraduate dietetics and human nutrition students to FCS Extension programming and unique strategies for community nutrition education opportunities in future careers. Students' involvement will be two-fold: Participate in statewide virtual book club with FCS extension and develop discussion questions that correspond with weekly readings, and engage in peer-led book discussion in DHN 313.

Camp Apiary Development
Project Leader: Jake Farmer and Andy Lewis
Department/Program: North Central 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $1,000
This project will allow extension professionals to bring youth and other participants from their community to our facilities and learn about the importance of beekeeping. We host about 65 schools in our spring and fall seasons, as well as a huge summer camp program. Our apiary will also be able to be used by professional beekeepers to assist their associations in educating members. Members of our camp team will be educated in beekeeping, which provides opportunities for professional development in these areas.

CIRCUITS (Creatively Instructing Remote Classes Using Information Technology Systems)
Project Leader: Josh Jackson
Department/Program: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $860
In the aptly named CIRCUITS project, curated and UK-branded instructional videos will be paired with instructional guidelines and worksheets to assist both student and instructors on projects. The content developed through CIRCUITS will be designed with the intention of being a self-sustaining program that agents and volunteer leaders without an engineering background can implement. A recent BAE STEM event in Garrard County demonstrated there is a grassroots interest in circuitry and microcontrollers (specifically working on breadboads and Arduino systems). This technology base is applicable to post-secondary education and real-world use.

CliftonStrengths for Extension Audiences
Project Leader: Ryan Farley
Department/Program: KCES - Central Region Area 4
Funding Received: $1,000
Woodford County Extension regularly engages with clientele groups that express interest in leadership development, both within existing extension programming and with outside groups such as county adult and youth leadership programs, advisory councils and volunteer groups. I am in the process of completing my certification in CliftonStrengths from Gallup, a leadership strength assessment tool. Participants take an assessment and are sent results that highlight their top 10 strengths. Once certified, I will be trained to coach individuals and groups to assess their results and provide insights into how they can maximize their strengths. The first part of this process is a two-day training on May 25-26, 2022, utilizing both CAFE Professional Development Funds and county extension travel to pay for. I am applying for the Barnhart Fund for Excellence to help pay for the second part of the certification in the fall of 2022, titled Coaching Individuals, Managers and Teams. Once I have completed both parts I will be officially certified as a Strengths Coach and will be able to offer CliftonStrengths coaching to clientele groups and as a means of professional development for extension groups, leaders and employees.

Designing of Agriculture Multicultural Student Space
Project Leader: Kendriana Price, Mia Farrell, Sarah Ellison, Carmen Agouridis, Seth Riker, UK MANRRS
Department/Program: Office of Diversity and Office of Student Success
Funding Received: $1,000
The Office of Student Success and Office of Diversity are collaborating to design a space for multicultural student use, to include supporting the Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences student organization and prospective student visits. The space will be housed in the Center for Student Success in Ag Science North. The current project plan has the space opening for use this coming fall semester (fall 2022). The goal for this space is to ensure it equitably represents the diverse identities housed within the college and serves as communal space for our multicultural students. This project is for the design of the space to include artwork, soft seating, painting and decor. The funding request is to secure artwork for the space.

Drone Sprayer Workshop
Project Leader: Josh Jackson
Department/Program: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $800
With the elevated cost of inputs, crop producers are looking for ways to optimize yields, such as the purchase of drone sprayers. For farmers and sprayer service providers thinking about purchasing a drone sprayer for their operation, a knowledge base is needed for them to understand the potential uses, certificates and licenses required, equipment and insurance needed, utilities and software used, maintenance and repairs, cost metrics and application effectiveness considerations. Two day-long conferences (one in each end of the state) would discuss these topics, with a similar format to the UK fencing schools. First, legal requirements and regulations would be discussed, and the program would then transition to more specific uses on farm. The afternoon sessions would be geared toward the more practical aspects of conducting sprays and potential troubleshooting. The goal would be to provide farmers, agents and service providers the background needed to effectively mitigate problems with disease, weeds or pests.

Field Visits to Distilleries
Project Leader: Ilka Balk, Seth DeBolt, Glenna Joyce
Department/Program: James B. Beam Institute for KY Spirits
Funding Received: $1,000
We hope to offer 5-10 visits/year, depending on student interest and funding. Site visits are intended to add applied knowledge to our curriculum, which currently does not require internships or research experiences. To help our students in the Distilling, Wine and Brewing Studies Certificate better understand their place in the industry, we would like to expose them to a variety of distilling and related business, such as bottling operations, cooperages, storage operations, etc. Students will benefit from a learning experience outside the classroom and from meeting industry professionals and learning from them in their environment.

Hydroponics/Aquaponics
Project Leader: Garry Ostrander, Aaron Redmond, Jace Peters, Vicki Boggs
Department/Program: Leslie County 4-H/AG/FCS
Funding Received: $950
This enrichment program will consist of monthly hands-on lessons to prepare students and adults with the skills to create their own hydroponics/aquaponics system. We hope to spark an interest that could lead to jobs in our economically challenged area of Southeastern Kentucky, infusing our economy and inspiring hope by bringing new industry to Leslie County. By utilizing the supplies and commodities in our area we can restore hope that people can make a good life and a good living in our community. This project will provide hands-on learning for elementary and high school youth and will reach adults through AG/FCS programming to present as many viable options as possible for our community members to have a better life mentally, physically and spiritually.

Kentucky 4-H Livestock Quiz Bowl & Skillathon Contests
Project Leader: Zach Bartenslager
Department/Program: Kentucky 4-H Youth Livestock Programs
Funding Received: $1,000
Held annually in April, the Kentucky 4-H Livestock Quiz Bowl and Skillathon contest has continued to grow over the years. This year (2022), 40 contestants over five counties participated in the first annual Livestock Quiz Bowl contest, while Skillathon garnered 105 participants over 25 counties. Both of these events have 30-plus volunteers helping. Entry fees are required for the contests but do not cover the full scope of the expenses. Awards are given to the top five teams in quiz bowl and four categories in skillathon (both team and individual awards). Both are practical learning activities that help students learn the basics of all aspects of the livestock industry. Both contests' winning senior teams go on to the National Contest in the fall.

Meal Support for International Grassland Tour
Project Leader: Jimmy Henning, Ray Smith, Krista Lea, Brandon Sears
Department/Program: Plant and Soil Sciences
Funding Received: $750
For only the third time in its history, the International Grassland Congress is being held in the U.S. in 2023, and Kentucky has been the conference host twice. In 2023, the IGC will be held in Covington, and Dr. Smith from UK is the IGC chair. Kentucky is offering four different mid-Congress tours to show attendees the full scope of our unique forage agriculture landscape. Hosting these tours will incur expense for meals, which will be mostly defrayed by registration fees. The Kentucky IGC tour planning committee would like to secure funds from the Barnhart Awards Committee to offset a small portion of these costs. Funding this project would further accentuate the commitment and support of the UK CAFE to the concept of the IGC and this specific meeting. These funds will ensure the attendees will have a quality experience in the Bluegrass State.

Mosquito/Tick Identification Workshop
Project Leader: Caitlin Stamper, Stephen Dobson, Reddy Palli
Department/Program: Entomology
Funding Received: $870
The Barnhart Fund for Excellence will provide funds to run a full-day mosquito/tick workshop for extension agents, public health workers, pest control organizations and other interested parties. The course would take a half day for a hands-on demonstration of trapping/sampling for ticks and mosquitoes along with techniques for specimen preservation. The remainder of the day would be for teaching proper identification techniques, which entail learning microscope techniques and working with mosquito taxonomic keys. We would also provide contacts and resources for pathogen testing. Our target is 30 attendees initially, and with positive feedback and additional demand we would investigate making this a recurring, self-supporting workshop. The requested funding is for the initial workshop.

University of Kentucky Collegiate Soil Judging Team: Investigating Soils of the Southeastern US
Project Leader: Christopher Shepard
Department/Program: Plant and Soil Sciences
Funding Received: $1,000
Every fall, approximately 100 undergraduate students from across the Southeastern United States (SE) participate in the SE Regional Soil Judging Contest. Twelve to 14 other universities participate in this activity in any given year, and represent eight other SE states. This is an opportunity to teach undergraduate students how to describe and evaluate soils, which are necessary skills for careers in natural resource management, agriculture and research. Participation also allows our students to broaden their understanding by engaging with soils and ecosystems that are not easily found close to UK main campus, such as forested, coastal and wetland ecosystems. To maintain the success of the UK Soil Judging Team and further soil science education at UK, the Barnhart Fund for Excellence will be used to support travel to the SE Regional Soil Judging Contest.

Adolescent Brain Health Workshop
Project Leader: Kenna Knight, Amy Kostelic, Alex Vazsonyi, David Weisenhorn, Alex Elswick
Department/Program: FCS Extension
Funding Received: $994
By understanding the developmental changes taking place within the adolescent brain, teenage judgment and decision-making can be better appreciated, and such understanding reinforces the importance of brain health. Brain health includes getting enough sleep, avoiding drugs and alcohol, managing emotions, participating in physical activity and healthy eating, engaging in meaningful relationships and practicing personal safety. A healthy brain enhances the ability to concentrate, learn, plan and remember, and throughout the lifespan can also reduce some risks associated with aging, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Due to success with adolescent brain health materials in Pendleton County, an FCS curriculum was developed on adolescent brain health, launched at the FCS in-service in 2017. Forty-two FCS agents participated in the training, but to date, no agents have reported evaluation data. To help encourage agents to teach this program, the goal of this project is to elevate the program to "major program" status. Materials and activities will be reviewed and the program revised. The program will then be piloted in 15 counties across Kentucky.

Bee Keeping for 4-H Summer Camp
Project Leader: Nicole Blanzy
Department/Program: Kentucky 4-H Camping
Funding Received: $929
Each summer West Kentucky 4-H camp sees thousands of visitors from the surrounding 38 counties in the service area. In 2019 a new record was set with 3,200 campers. As part of a renewed agricultural education initiative, in 2019 a greenhouse and 12 raised beds were constructed to better connect campers with their food source and to inspire curiosity for the natural world. Agriculture interns are selected and trained to deliver experiential, place-based education and will reach up to 1,500 campers in 2020. The 2019 program was wildly successful, and the goal of 2020 is to expand offerings and reach. Partnering with Butler County, the camp will receive two honey bee hives this spring to offer lessons on pollinators, their role, and observing the wonders and order of a bee colony. The objective of the new bee program is to offer a close encounter with bees. While honey bees are not native to North America, they play an important role in agriculture. By learning about the care and operation of a hive, the goal is for campers to be inspired to return to their home county and get involved with their local pollinator programs.

Breckinridge County Extension Council Pollinator Education and Habitat Program
Project Leader: Alexandria Bryant Popham and Troy Dupin
Department/Program: Breckinridge County Extension Council
Funding Received: $1,000
A Breckinridge County Extension Council committee aims to plan and implement a county-wide pollinator education and habitat program to provide education to youth and adults on bee keeping, native pollinator services and habitats; develop teen and adult leadership through teaching and service projects; and plant pollinator gardens and patches of pollinator habitats to support pollination and increase community pride through beautification. A new program will create functional pollinator habitats in the county by spreading native seeds attractive to a variety of pollinators. The Extension Council will partner with the 4-H Council Bee Ambassador program to teach pollinator lessons to youth, including hands-on lessons from the KY 4-H Bee Ambassador manual. Completed butterfly and native bee houses will be incorporated into the pollinator habitats throughout the county. Pollinator lessons would be included in the county-wide Youth Ag Expo (300+ 6th graders), Farm Safety Day programs (300+ 4th graders), club settings such as the 4-H Bug Club and 4th/5th grade school clubs (500+ youth), school enrichment in the 6th-8th grade science classrooms (600+ youth), as well as special interest programs led by teen and adult volunteers (e.g. Cloverbud programs for 100+ K-3rd graders).

DroneDeploy Access for Specialists and Agents
Project Leader: Joshua Jackson
Department/Program: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $779
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), or drones, are increasingly being used by extension specialists and Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) agents across the state. Creating UAV flight paths to collect images to evaluate pastures, crop and other resources is free, but the actual analysis of the images isn't free as the stitching-together of the images requires dedicated software platforms. While agents could obtain their own licenses for the software, it would not be an efficient use of financial resources. Thus, obtaining a license to be used by all agents and specialists would be ideal. Agents have stated they need a resource for UAV image analysis that could be viewed by other agents and specialists. The software platform under consideration (DroneDeploy) is cloud-based, so images are uploaded to the cloud and processed on the provider's servers, and the 2-D and 3-D maps developed could be viewed by all interested agents. This project will provide access to UAV-related image analysis and stitching software to all ANR extension agents, staff and other specialists across the state; allow for a gauge in interest and utilization in drone-related measurements and research; and introduce undergraduate and graduate students across departments to a new form of data analysis.

Kentucky 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest
Project Leader: Zach Bartenslager
Department/Program: Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $779
Held annually in February, the Kentucky 4-H Livestock Skillathon has continued to grow over the years. This year 288 contestants entered from 40 counties and has another 80-plus volunteers assisting. The entry fee is $20 per contestant, and the assisting adults pay $10 to help cover expenses. Awards are given for four categories to the top 10 individuals and top five teams in three age divisions. It is a practical learning activity that helps students learn the basics of all aspects of the livestock industry. The winning senior team goes on to the National Contest in the fall. The completion teaches 4-H members a broad background of information, similar to but on a much smaller scale as a college Animal and Food Sciences freshman class. Students learn about feeds, breeds, meats, equipment, quality assurance and teamwork, and the competition allows individuals to work for a common goal.

Pumpkin Days
Project Leader: Daniel Wilson, Martha Yount, Jessica Morris
Department/Program: RCARS and Cooperative Extension
Funding Received: $1,000
Children living in Breathitt and surrounding counties served by UK’s Robinson Center (RCARS) rank at the absolute bottom of the Robert Woods Johnson County Health Rankings for overall health outcomes (Breathitt #120, Wolfe #119, Owsley #118, Leslie #117, Perry #116: 2018 data). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists childhood obesity as a contributing factor to many health issues, and says one way to combat this is to consume a diet high in vegetables and fruits. RCARS and extension partner with schools and community (Kentucky River Medical Center, Breathitt County Public Health Department, Breathitt County Public Library and others) to host a regional Farm to Preschool/School event at no cost to students aged 3–6. Pumpkin Days provide around 15 educational stations for students and their families to discover how pumpkins grow and to sample healthy recipes prepared with pumpkin. Students also experience agriculture firsthand as they walk into a pumpkin patch and select their own pumpkin. Teachers will use the Pumpkin Day experience to reinforce classroom activities throughout the school year.

Sequence It Like a Pro: An Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics for Agricultural Research
Project Leader: Carlos Rodriguez Lopez and Paula Sumner
Department/Program: Horticulture
Funding Received: $983
The development of high-throughput technologies in the last two decades has ensured bioinformatics will be indispensable for the modern practice of virtually every life sciences field. This has placed a scientific premium on the availability of skilled bioinformaticians, a qualification that is scarce on the field of plant biology. This dearth of expertise is even more pronounced within traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM. Kentucky’s Council of Postsecondary Education has identified diversity as an area for improvement in postsecondary education. This project will create an annual workshop on Bioinformatics in Plant Molecular Biology Research for high school students from Kentucky, to be taught by UK faculty (Lopez), undergraduate and graduate students in CAFE, thus making a contribution to their career development plans. Special care has been taken to include instructors that can be role models for the underrepresented groups the workshop is targeting. The workshop will offer theoretical and hands-on experience to high school students for wet-lab techniques needed for Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) (DNA extraction, Nucleic Acid quantification and quality control, NGS library preparation) and an introduction to the use of bioinformatic tools for NGS results quality check and analysis.

Southern Forest Insect Work Conference (SFIWC) Annual Meeting
Project Leader: Beth Kyre and Lynne Rieske-Kinney
Department/Program: Entomology
Funding Received: $1,000
The Southern Forest Insect Work Conference was organized by federal, state, university and private sector forest entomologists working in the southern U.S. SFIWC fosters cooperation and information exchange between forest entomologists by allowing and encouraging state and federal foresters/entomologists and academic personnel to actively participate together in SFIWC activities. Participating students present a 12-minute talk highlighting their research in forest entomology and pathology. All students are given feedback from professional entomologists, with the top two contestants receiving awards. Students are also encouraged to present posters. SFIWC provides a constructive platform for students to gain experience in effectively communicating their research and interfacing with professional forest entomologists. The meeting is in Kentucky for the first time in the 61-year history of SFIWC. The objectives of this meeting are to advance the science and practice of forest entomology; to provide a medium of exchange of professional thought; and to serve as a clearing house for technical information on forest insect problems of the southern U.S.

Support for Awards for the 4-H National WHEP Competition
Project Leader: Matthew Springer, Laurie Thomas, Ashley Osborne
Department/Program: Forestry and Natural Resources and Forestry Extension
Funding Received: $1,000
The Wildlife Habitat Education Program is a hands-on conservation education program to teach youth aged 8-19 about wildlife and fisheries conservation. Students test their wildlife and fisheries knowledge in a friendly competition at the state level with the hopes of representing their state on the national stage at the National WHEP Contest. The WHEP is the only 4-H and FFA Career Development Event focused on wildlife and fisheries conservation for youth. The annual competition has participation from more than 25 states across the U.S. At the National WHEP Contest, students apply the knowledge, concepts and terminology learned through the program to solve real-world wildlife and fisheries conservation scenarios. Students must identify various wildlife species by sight and sound and answer general ecology questions about those species. Students must also write a wildlife management plan for a specified site for specific wildlife species. To do this, students must evaluate the habitat condition on site, understand certain wildlife species' habitat requirements and prescribe the right management practices to improve the habitat for those species. Students must also present their management plan to professional wildlife and fisheries biologists.

The Stressors of African American Students
Project Leader: Melinda Murdock and Bruce Ross
Department/Program: Family Sciences
Funding Received: $779
All undergraduate African American students in the college will have the opportunity to participate, with a goal to identify actual and perceived stressors of African American students on UK’s campus. In fall 2019, over 170 African American students were enrolled in the CAFE. Research indicates African American students usually face a greater number of stressors than any other racial group on college and university campuses, and stress factors can lead to physical and mental complications, which might explain the steady average yearly decrease of undergraduate African American student enrollment in the CAFE since spring 2017. For this project, four semi-structured interview focus groups consisting of six individuals will be asked questions, and each participant will be allowed to express their own responses, and the data will be analyzed. Plans are to incorporate findings into university programming to attempt to minimize the stressors experienced by African American students and/or to help them cope.

Watershed Table and Water Pollution Class
Project Leader: Kevin Pettigrew
Department/Program: 4-H Environmental Education
Funding Received: $756
This project is centered around the development of a lesson plan titled "Watersheds and Water Pollution" as an Environmental Education class, hosted every spring and summer at Feltner 4-H Camp. The purchase of a 3D Enviroscape Watershed model is necessary to provide hands-on learning and interactive demonstration of the sources and effects of water pollution. The goal of the project is to teach elementary students (primarily 4th-5th grade) about point-source and non-point source water pollution and the best practices to prevent this type of pollution from occurring.

4-H Military Teen Leadership Camp
Project Leader: Marla Stillwell, Kaitlyn Metsker, Shane Browning, Tyrone Atkinson, Jennifer Tackett
Department/Program: 4-H Military Partnership (Hardin and Christian counties)
Funding Received: $1,000
In an effort to provide a unique opportunity for military teens to connect and form relationships with caring adults and other military teens from Kentucky, a 4-H Military Teen Leadership Camp for teens from both Fort Knox and Fort Campbell will be held at one of Kentucky's 4-H Camps. With the mission of Kentucky 4-H Camping to improve people through intentional life skill development, this camp will provide a fun, safe, educational bonding experience through collaboration with local and state partners, research-based methods and programming, service-oriented practices, long-term strategic planning and play. One of the goals of this program is to offer the camp to our military families at no charge as a "thank you" for their sacrifice.

Breckinridge County 4-H Biotechnology Program for Middle School Youth
Project Leader: Alexandria Bryant and Donna Shartzer
Department/Program: Breckinridge County 4-H Council
Funding Received: $500
Biotechnology is part of our daily lives, from the food we eat and plants we grow to the medicines we use. The Breckinridge County 4-H Council and local middle schools aim to make biotechnology in agricultural science more concrete by providing hands-on and visual science labs for youth. Monthly hands-on science labs adapted from the Illinois 4-H Biotechnology curriculum and National 4-H Biotechnology curriculum will include lessons such as cell structure and function, inherited traits, gene splicing, DNA extraction and career exploration. Each lesson will connect with real-world applications in agriculture. This program will be implemented in local 8th grade science classrooms, introducing 260+ youth to biotechnology. If the program is successful, middle schools would expand the program to 6th and 7th grade science classrooms. Project leaders hope to spark an interest in agricultural science among participants, encourage them to pursue advanced agricultural science degrees and career paths, and develop life skills such as communication, teamwork and self-confidence.

First Generation Major Exploration (Focus Groups)
Project Leader: Seth Riker
Department/Program: UK CAFE Center for Student Success
Funding Received: $1,000
Incoming college students are increasingly attentive to the earning potential associated with a given major and assign its value accordingly. Studies have shown this outcome-orientated mindset is most extreme among first generation college students, especially those from low socio-economic backgrounds. While attention to "return on investment" is understandable, this is often problematic for first generation students who have little social capital, poor academic preparation and little comprehension of their chosen field. These characteristics lead to bad major fit, poor academic performance and failure to progress to graduation. In order to combat this trend, higher education communication professionals must understand what communicative interactions most influence first generation students' major choices. This project will host a series of focus groups for first generation students who have changed their major at least one time. The students will actively reflect on their matriculation to the university, their original major decision and subsequent major choices. The author will qualitatively analyze focus group transcripts to uncover communicative themes throughout students' college journey and major choices. 

Kentucky 4-H Livestock Skillathon
Project Leader: Steve Austin
Department/Program: Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $500
Held annually in February, the Kentucky 4-H Livestock Skillathon has continued to grow over the years. This year 277 contestants entered from 40 counties with another 80-plus volunteers helping. The entry fee is $20 per contestant, and the adults helping have to pay $10 to help cover expenses. Awards are given for four categories to the top 10 individuals and top five teams in three age divisions. It is a practical learning activity that helps students learn the basics of all aspects of the livestock industry. The winning senior team goes on to the National Contest in the fall.

Leadership Development Class: 4-H Camp
Project Leader: Joseph Barnard
Department/Program: 4-H Summer Camps
Funding Received: $1,000
4-H Summer Camps will incorporate "Omnikin: Kin-Ball" activities to our Leadership Development class beginning in summer 2020. The introduction of Kin-Ball activities will offer the youth we serve new opportunities to develop individual skills, teamwork, coordination, cooperation and development through leading games to their peers. This is a 50-minute class and occurs three times during a traditional week of summer camp. The revisions include a lesson plan centered on practicing communication techniques, increased self-confidence, group decision-making and improving teaching techniques through practice leading games to peers.

Low Ropes Course
Project Leader: Krystal Johnson
Department/Program: Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $650
Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp offers a low ropes course program for campers, teens, adults and rental groups from across the state. We plan to use these funds to renovate and rebuild several elements that had to be relocated at camp. Our hope is that these new elements are sturdier, more efficient and have a lasting impact on all who use them. The primary purpose of these elements is to challenge members of a group to overcome a series of obstacles by working together. As the group overcomes each obstacle in the course, teamwork will increase dramatically.

Ohio Valley Entomological Association (OVEA) Annual Forum
Project Leader: Beth Kyre and Dr. Daniel Potter
Department/Program: Entomology
Funding Received: $1,000
The Ohio Valley Entomological Association Forum is a one-day gathering of students and professional career entomologists from the academic, government and industry sectors to sponsor student paper competitions in three classifications: B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. Students in each of the three categories present an eight-minute talk showcasing their research in various entomological disciplines including medical, agricultural and forest entomology. All students are given feedback from both academic and industry professionals, with the top three contestants from each category receiving awards. The forum provides a constructive platform in which students gain experience in effectively communicating their work and interfacing with professional entomologists.

Tree Week 2019
Project Leader: Dr. Lynne Rieske-Kinney
Department/Program: Urban Forest Initiative
Funding Received: $500
Tree week is a celebration of Lexington’s trees and all the ways trees impact our lives. The week celebrates and synthesizes the roles trees play through creative, informative and fun-filled activities focusing on tree planting, tree care and tree benefits, trees in art and culture, and trees’ roles in our bodies, minds and spirits. The inaugural Tree Week (October 6-14, 2018) featured dozens of daily events and engaged hundreds of people, including: UK students, faculty and staff for tree plantings and mulching events; Fayette County Public Schools children, families and staff for tree plantings; Lexington Public Libraries with 16 tree events at seven different public libraries; UK Arboretum with tree plantings and educational walks; Lexington Fayette Urban County Government parks and natural areas tree plantings and tree hikes; Lexington Cemetery tree ID walks; Kentucky Arborists' Association tree climbing competition; a 5K run, yoga under the trees, a bicycle tour of Lexington's trees and more.

UK CAFE Insectarium
Project Leader: Blake Newton
Department/Program: Entomology
Funding Received: $911
This year, the Department of Entomology wishes to transform laboratory S202 (Ag North) into a permitted containment facility for USDA-regulated exotic insects. This will allow us to maintain and display exotic species, such as giant walking sticks and tropical mantids. These exotic species will join the non-regulated species that we already maintain (including tarantulas, giant roaches and multiple species of native insects and spiders) to create a diverse collection of live arthropods. Currently, the species we maintain are seen by thousands of Kentuckians every year, but because we do not have a physical display location, we are limited to showing the creatures at remote venues. And because we cannot adequately control the environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) in the space, we are restricted to just a few species. Thanks to recent departmental renovations, S202 is ready, structurally, to become an insectarium. However, we lack the control system needed to maintain the environmental conditions these new creatures will require. We are seeking funding for specific equipment that will allow us to create appropriate conditions to turn the space into a true insectarium. This equipment includes a space heater, a humidifier and two large retail glass terraria. This equipment is expected to function for 5-10 years or more.

University of Kentucky High School Crop Scouting Competition
Project Leader: Dr. Kiersten Wise, Dr. Carrie Knott, Dr. Chad Lee, Dr. Raul Villanueva, Dr. Travis Legleiter, Dr. Ricardo Bessin, Dr. Edwin Ritchey
Department/Program: Plant Pathology, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Entomology
Funding Received: $1,000
The Crop Scouting Competition will consist of 10 hands-on field scouting exercises in both corn and soybeans that will focus on basic crop agronomics, pest ID (weeds, insects, diseases) and the decision-making processes for improved management. Judges, primarily university extension specialists and graduate students, score teams based on the students' answers to various questions. They also instruct and interact with the students as time allows. Prizes will be awarded to the three teams with the highest scores. The competition will begin in the morning and conclude with a provided lunch. Winners of the Kentucky Crop Scouting Competition are eligible to compete in the National Crop Scouting Competition and compete against high school teams from other states. The long-term goal of this project is to make this an annual event and eventually host a national competition at the Grain and Forage Center of Excellence at UKREC at Princeton.

Women with Engines: An Outreach Event
Project Leader: Dr. Laura Rice
Department/Program: Community and Leadership Development
Funding Received: $1,000
Engaging students in authentic, real-world experiences provides an opportunity to cultivate a deeper understanding of content and its application. The agricultural education program at UK has created a learning experience for both undergraduate students and community members through a small gas engine operation and repair event. Students participate in an inquiry-style small internal combustion engines course with a workshop for women in the community eager to develop their mechanical knowledge. The event will not only bolster students’ confidence and skill level, but it also meets a need within the local community. Women with Engines was first held on November 19, 2018, but there are high hopes to expand the event, engage more community stakeholders and provide more in-depth training opportunities for the women of central Kentucky.

Challenge Me 4-H Club
Project Leader: Janeen Tramble, Jonathan Sink, Jennifer Sink
Department/Program: Trigg County 4-H
Funding Received: $900
Special education students will explore, reflect and apply learning processes in a 4-H Challenge Me Club. This club will develop leadership, initiative, self-reliance, sportsmanship and other desirable traits to be responsible at school and their community. Each special needs child will be paired with peer mentors, students who have gained skills in 4-H or other agriculture areas. They will have an opportunity to apply those skills and knowledge to assist and improve the life of a school peer they may never have met outside this club; therefore, an underlying message is promoting inclusion in our local school. Our goal is for the special needs students to explore activities in a variety of agriculture areas in a safe, friendly environment. All club members and peer mentors will make friends for life, learn valuable skills, experience pride of working and accomplishing success by their responsibility to each other and their animals or projects.

Eastern KY Winter Bee School
Project Leader: Charles May, Tammy Potter, Chad Conway
Department/Program: Perry County Cooperative Extension Service
Funding Received: $900
The Eastern KY Winter Bee School will be in its 10th year in 2019, having offered a series of classes to beekeepers in topics ranging from queen bee production, swarms, candles and lotions, bee diseases, honey production and more. Attendance at this school has been a consistent 150-175 attendees. As the first beekeepers' school of the year, the Eastern KY Winter Bee School has aimed for a high caliber of speakers to keep attendees returning each year and also to stay abreast of national initiatives impacting beekeepers. Beekeepers from West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee also routinely attend this school.

Environmental Education Curriculum Training Workshops
Project Leader: Jackie Gallimore
Department/Program: The Arboretum
Funding Received: $250
The Arboretum will offer workshops to train formal and non-formal educators in environmental education curricula including Project Learning Tree and Project Wild. Each curriculum has dozens of hands-on activities that can help K-12 teachers meet academic standards and non-formal educators fulfill their organization's missions. Gallimore, a trained facilitator through the Kentucky Association for Environmental Education, is able to certify participants in the curricula so they can use them in their classroom or organization.

HMT570 - Service Learning Projects
Project Leader: Tracy Lu
Department/Program: Retailing and Tourism Management
Funding Received: $900
Events and festivals have great social impacts on communities. Students in HMT570: Event Planning and Coordination will plan and host a series of events that aim to contribute to the quality of life in Lexington. Each student group will plan a small event that strengthens community life through unique activities, building awareness of diverse cultures and identities, and acting as a source of community pride. Event topics and themes will be proposed by students, discussed in class and finally determined by the instructor and advisory board of the class. Recycling and sustainability issues of a local park, an unemployed or undereducated parent, or a collection of perspectives from local community is a call to learning and service.

Jr. Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Leadership Institute
Project Leader: Ashley Holt and Dale Morgan
Department/Program: Office of Diversity
Funding Received: $900
The 7th Annual Jr. MANRRS Leadership institute will be December 7-8, 2018, at the UK CAFE. The institute is for youth grades 7-12 and will have interactive workshops, contests, general sessions and tours to promote academic and professional advancement by empowering and exposing underrepresented, underserved, first generation and diverse student, faculty and staff leaders to the career pathways in Kentucky agriculture while learning how to become the next generation of diverse leaders. The goal is to encourage students to attend college and to explore the agriculture, natural resources and environmental sciences fields. The institute provides activities to help students discover firsthand how agriculture, engineering and technology relate to the world around them and discover the excitement of academic excellence, leadership, technical development and teamwork. The two-day institute focuses on the subject areas of science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics. Signature to the institute, students have the opportunity to participate in three contests of impromptu speaking, interview and quiz bowl.

Meade County 4-H Homeschool Experience
Project Leader: Deana Reed
Department/Program: Meade Co. 4-H Youth Development
Funding Received: $900
The homeschool population in Meade County has recently discovered the multitude of opportunities available to them through the 4-H Youth Development Education program. The Meade County 4-H Homeschool Experience program will take this audience through experiential learning adventures by immersing members in each of the seven KY 4-H Core Curriculum areas: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Family and Consumer Sciences; Science, Engineering and Technology; Health; Communication and Expressive Arts; and Leadership. In the monthly four-hour program, members will be engaged in hands-on learning and will attend one out-of-county field trip. A community service aspect will be infused by way of a fleece lap blanket project. These blankets will be made by members and delivered to a local nursing care facility for their residents.

Quiz Bowl Team: Learning, Challenge, Recruiting
Project Leader: Leigh Maynard
Department/Program: Agricultural Economics
Funding Received: $900
The Agricultural Economics Quiz Bowl Team is the two-time defending national champion and has potential to win this year with three strong seniors. This is also a rebuilding year, with four new members who are all freshmen, so we want to maintain continuity during the transition.

Rockets
Project Leader: Christina Bradley
Department/Program: Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $600
The rocket project explores rocketry and the principles of space flight and how rockets have been developed over the years. Campers will work in teams to build a water rocket out of two-liter bottles that will be launched with an air pump and water pressure. They will observe the rockets launch with different pressures and predict the height based on air pressure. Campers will then observe engine rocket launches and compare the different methods and learn about actual space rockets. After the launches, the campers will learn and discuss forces, Newton's laws and other aerospace principles and the real world challenges of actual space flight.

STEM Class - Rocketry
Project Leader: Shane Browning
Department/Program: West Kentucky 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $600
The West Kentucky 4-H Camp will offer a new class to its 400-plus attendees per week during the summer, in addition to two specialty camps. The STEM class will allow students to learn about rocketry through building their own engine rocket and water bottle rocket. The class will be offered four times each day for three days during the week. Each student will have the time to learn about the science of rockets, safety and build their own rocket on day one. Day two will consist of the construction and launch of water bottle rockets. Day three will allow for students to launch their engine rockets.

Supporting Professional and Personal Development of UKY Food Science Students via IFTSA College Bowl Participation
Project Leader: Rachel Schendel
Department/Program: Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $250
The Institute of Food Technologists' Student Association, the largest professional organization for food science students, sponsors the College Bowl competition for teams from across the U.S. Teams from individual universities compete in their respective regional/area competitions, and each area winner goes on to compete at the national level at the IFT Annual Meeting. This team activity provides a wonderful positive catalyst for food science students to maintain a broad knowledge base in their profession, enables students to interact with other food science students from around the country, and builds students' confidence, discipline and team-player skills.

Sustainable Ag Capstone Class Learning Experience
Project Leader: Mark Williams and Lee Meyer
Department/Program: Sustainable Agriculture, Horticulture and Agricultural Economics
Funding Received: $900
All sustainable ag majors take a capstone course, SAG 490, to help integrate their education experience and enhance their ability to critically analyze farming operations from the perspectives of the three pillars of agricultural sustainability: environment, economy and community. An essential element of SAG 490 is a spring break trip outside Kentucky, where students visit farms and related operations dramatically different from their past experiences. Students are expected to interview farmers and organization personnel and observe all aspects of the operation. Upon their return, they write one-page papers for each stop, including a summary and critical analysis of its sustainability. Past spring break trips have been to more than 15 states, and even Washington, D.C. While students are expected to pay for a portion of the trip, the cost exceeds the ability of many to pay. We use a variety of grant sources to make this trip available to all of our sustainable ag students.

"Seed Funding” for the Future Crop of UK Agronomy Club
Project Leader: Ben Goff
Department/Program: Undergraduate Agronomy Club
Funding Received: $200
The UK Undergraduate Agronomy Club is in the process of being “rebooted” again, and one of the issues has been fundraisers to generate annual revenue to support club activities. The funds requested are for the initiation of four annual fundraisers the club will utilize to become a self-sustaining student organization in the college. These fundraisers include growing and selling fall décor (e.g. fodder shock, “Indian” corn and pumpkins) to sell to the Ag Roundup and the general public, selling popcorn in Ag North once a week while classes are in session, selling burgers and other items purchased from the UK Butcher Shop for lunch at the Alumni Plaza, and creating soil texture kits to sell to FFA/4-H soil judging teams. It is anticipated that these projects will result in several thousands of dollars in profit that the club will use for future fundraisers and other endeavors.

"Where I'm From Festival": Promoting Appalachian and Kentucky Heritage
Project Leader: Jessica Ritchie
Department/Program: Breathitt County 4-H
Funding Received: $1,000
In order to promote our Appalachian culture and heritage to youth, Breathitt County 4-H will host a one-day event for all fourth-grade students within the county (public, private, independent and home schools). The Where I'm From Festival will teach and engage youth about Appalachian/Kentucky heritage and culture through a variety of hands-on activities and stations. Areas to be covered include, but are not limited to, storytelling/poetry/writing, music/dance, cooking, visual arts, clothing and quilting. Community members will be asked to share their knowledge in these areas, as students rotate from station to station and learn more about the traditions and concepts that surround them.   

4-H Robotics Program Teaches Life Skills
Project Leader: Alexandria Bryant and David Roach
Department/Program: Breckinridge County 4-H Council
Funding Received: $1,000
In 2017, the Breckinridge County 4-H Council was approached by teachers and parents who felt youth needed opportunities to learn about coding, problem solving and careers in STEM fields. Breckinridge County 4-H, Hardinsburg Elementary School and the Breckinridge County Public Library have planned robotics programs aimed at reaching youth of all ages, including a brand new 4-H Robotics Club, robotics school enrichment opportunities and after-school robotics programs. The programs will provide opportunities for youth to solve problems using lego robotics kits and junk drawer robotics kits in teams. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to travel to UK to learn about STEM fields and meet professionals in fields throughout Kentucky using computer coding and other STEM skills. The program aims to provide hands-on learning opportunities to increase youth's confidence, spark an interest in STEM careers, and develop life skills such as teamwork, cooperation and self-confidence.

DHN 313 Experiential Learning Visit - Whitesburg, KY
Project Leader: Liz Combs, Tammy Stephenson, Dawn Brewer
Department/Program: Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition
Funding Received: $800
Students in DHN 313: Life Cycle and Community Nutrition II will work as a group to plan a health promotion project throughout the course of the semester. The identified target audience is the Eastern Kentucky community of Whitesburg. To help students gain a deeper understanding of the needs of this community and the individuals who reside there, the students will take a service learning field trip to Whitesburg. On this trip students will be exposed to current, innovative projects taking place in the area, community stakeholders, the food environment of Letcher County and opportunities to further promote health in the community. This experiential learning opportunity will help students gain a deeper understanding of community nutrition and health and challenges that individuals encounter based on their environments. This additional knowledge will strengthen student success in future careers because they will have a deeper understanding of the varied levels of impact that healthcare professionals can have on a community.

Furs and Skulls for Kentucky Native Wildlife Education
Project Leader: Matthew Springer and Laurie Thomas
Department/Program: Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Funding Received: $500
Funds from the Barnhart grant will be used to purchase a fur and skull educational kit for youth and adult educational programming in wildlife and forestry. Primary use will be dedicated to youth education programs. The use of furs and skulls of native Kentucky wildlife offers a hands-on learning experience in which the importance of wildlife and natural resource conservation, evolution, anatomy and physiology, and their roles in ecological systems can be delivered. Last year alone, this tool would have been used in several successful programs including Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Academy (70 students), Kentucky Forest Leadership Program (25 students), Robinson Forest Field Day during Mountain Ag Week (97 students), and Win with Wood (221 students). The use of these materials will also highlight STEM-related fields that are natural resource and outdoor oriented.

Geocaching Class for 4-H Summer Camp
Project Leader: Kevin Pettigrew
Department/Program:
Funding Received: $1,000
Every year, nearly 2,000 summer campers and over 900 environmental education participants attend J.M. Feltner 4-H Camp. Some camp classes are taught by educational interns, but due to limited staffing, a much larger number of classes are taught by volunteer instructors at the county level. Some volunteers will arrive with training and experience in certain areas, while others will not. Geocaching is a social and educational activity that teaches youth how to work together through intentional life skill advancements such as problem-solving, decision-making, communication and following directions all while exploring nature. This course material will include supplies for up to eight hand-held devices, moveable caches and instructions so any county volunteer can easily step in to teach this class at camp. The material will allow children to learn about longitude and latitude while getting out in nature and looking for caches hidden by their friends each week. This course will also encourage campers who are not usually comfortable in nature to get some exercise outside and discover something new.

Junior Master Gardener Program
Project Leader: Ashley Osborne
Department/Program: 4-H State Office
Funding Received: $700
Junior Master Gardener is an international youth gardening program developed by Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. The curriculum includes hands-on, interdisciplinary activities that foster leadership development, responsibility and community involvement. The JMG curriculum is identified as a Kentucky 4-H core curriculum resource approved for use by Kentucky 4-H agents. The first train-the-trainer JMG in-service is planned for fall 2017 for county extension teams. Five county teams, consisting of the 4-H, FCS, Horticulture and/or Agriculture and Natural Resource agents, have been identified as pilot groups to attend the training and pilot the curriculum in their counties. After piloting the program, county teams will be asked to evaluate the curriculum and assist with future in-services offered to all Kentucky extension agents. Funding is being requested to purchase curricula for each of the five county teams and for meal-related expenses at the in-service training.

Kentucky 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest
Project Leader: Steve Austin
Department/Program: Department of Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $600
4-H members from across Kentucky gather to test their knowledge of the livestock industry. There are three levels of age divisions with a varying degree of difficulty for each division. The team that wins the senior division represents Kentucky at the National Contest in November held at the North American Livestock Exposition. There are a total of 34 stations of competition, and each station has either activities on paper, pictures, actual equipment, meat cuts, feedstuffs, live animals or team activities.

KYH2O Podcast
Project Leader: Carmen Agouridis and Amanda Gumbert
Department/Program: CAFE Water Initiatives
Funding Received: $600
CAFE Extension Specialists will develop and host a podcast series (KYH2O) focused on pertinent water topics, presented in an audience-friendly manner. Example topics include stream life, riparian buffers, urban forests, rain gardens, livestock BMPs and green lawn care. The podcasts, produced in cooperation with WUKY (Lexington's local National Public Radio affiliate with an audience of over 30,000 across Central Kentucky) and CAFE Agricultural Communications, will feature expert scientists in various water resources topics. Recordings made in the field with expert scientists, combined with narrative explanations from the hosts, will increase awareness of the listener while piquing their interest to learn more. The listener will be directed to CAFE web-based resources for additional information about water stewardship. The goal is to begin airing the podcast in fall 2017.

Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp Bird Blind
Project Leader: Christina Bradley
Department/Program: Lake Cumberland 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $600
Birding is an activity that encourages better health through walking and hiking, exposure to biology, ornithology and other science careers, increased sense of community through participation with other like-minded individuals and increased environmental stewardship through appreciation of birds and their habitats. Lake Cumberland would like to bring this increasing activity to our campers and youth and provide them with the opportunity to learn about birds and birding to encourage campers to explore and engage in birding in their own communities. This project will consist of lessons in ornithology and adaptations and give campers a chance to participate in identifying birds in Lake Cumberland's bird blind.

Pushing the Pathways Toward Global Success, 2018 Hopkinsville Youth Summit
Project Leader: Kendriana Price and Ruth Lynch
Department/Program: Christian County 4-H Youth Development
Funding Received: $500
As the signature youth program for the UK Cooperative Extension Service, the 4-H Youth Development Program in Christian County will be partnering with local academic institutions to expose all undeserved high school juniors and seniors, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, race and socioeconomic status, to opportunities in higher education and career paths, both traditional and non-traditional. The vision for program implementation is to strengthen the high school to higher education pipeline and expose youth to opportunities that will assist in their futures. Not only will this program take special interest in youth who are average performers, but focus will also be placed on the adults surrounding those youth to create a foundation necessary in launching a teen into the lifestyle of a successful young adult. A summit will be held (inclusive of both adult and teen sessions, college and career fairs, guest speakers and presenters), to expose, excite and equip our audience for life after graduation.

Student Agronomy Day at UK
Project Leader: Rebecca von Groot, Elisa D'Angelo, Ben Goff
Department/Program: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Funding Received: $600
A field day for local schools at one of the UK farms will introduce agronomy to potential students and demonstrate all of the potential career paths this major may provide. Emphasis will be on high school students but may be expanded to middle and elementary schools if the capacity of the field day allows. Speakers will include UK faculty/staff, various members of industry in the agronomic sector and local producers who are alumni of the HPLS major. Each speaker will have a hands-on demonstration that relates to and exemplifies the importance of their career. In addition, students will have the opportunity to meet with academic coordinators/advisors for the HPLS major, as well as representatives from any other CAFE majors interested in attending, in order to provide students the opportunity to discuss how UK curricula differ from other schools they are considering.

Water Pollution and Watersheds
Project Leader: Joseph Barnard
Department/Program: North Central 4-H Camp
Funding Received: $1,000
The North-Central 4-H Camp has developed a lesson plan titled Water Pollution and Watersheds as an Environmental Education class. The purchase of a 3D Enviroscape Watershed Model is necessary to provide hands-on learning and interactive demonstration of the sources and effects of water pollution. It is the goal of the project that each environmental camp students becomes a Steward of the Environment, taking action to take better care of the environment. The excellent hands-on learning provided in the Water Pollution and Watersheds class will foster lessons in how each student can lessen negative impacts on the environment.

2016 UK CAFE Mountain Ag Week
Project Leader: Charles Stamper, Tom Keene
Department/Program: Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability
Funding Received: $900
The 2016 UK College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment Mountain Ag Week will be held September 26-October 1 on the campus of the Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability (RCARS). The week's events are designed to promote the diverse resources within the Appalachian region and highlight the role of UK and CAFE in the sustainability of those natural resources. The week will begin with middle school and high school students spending the day at the Robinson Forest and the Research Center learning about natural resource education. The next two days will focus on primary-age school children learning about agriculture, with the lessons centered on pumpkins. The week will culminate with a day-long field day at the RCARS Research Center focusing on the research and practical applications of sustainability within the region.

Alternative Careers in the Equine Industry
Project Leader: Krista Lea and Bob Coleman
Department/Program: Equine/Forage Working Group
Funding Received: $950
The Equine/Forage Working Group will host a one-day tour for undergraduate students looking at alternative career options in the equine industry. The majority of equine students plan to be veterinarians (or vet techs), trainers or farm managers. However, many will ultimately change their plans with little or no other idea. This project will introduce students to several viable and profitable career choices in the equine world to provide them alternatives. Students will visit professionals at their workplace to see what a day in the life of these alternative careers is really like. Careers highlighted will include: equine nutritionist, pasture consultant, research tech/graduate student, hay broker, office administration, facility design, racetrack official, equine marketing or insurance or pharmacy sales rep.

Couponing for a Cause
Project Leader: Jennifer Hunter
Department/Program: Department of Family Sciences
Funding Received: $500
Couponing for a Cause will be a service-learning component integrated into the FAM 402: Issues in Family Resource Management coursework. The class will be divided into five groups; each group would identify a community/nonprofit organization that provides a service to individuals and/or families, such as The Nest or The Hope Center. Each group will meet with a representative from the organization and discuss the donation needs of the organization and the people they serve, such as toiletries, diapers, cleaning supplies, etc. Each student group will then be responsible for planning, coordinating and completing an "extreme couponing" buy for the organization. The goal is not to teach the students to become extreme couponers but to reinforce many of the course concepts (spending-saving plans, budgeting, resource management and organizational skills). Furthermore, many of our students will graduate and seek careers in helping professions; this activity would provide them an opportunity to explore potential career paths and learn about some of the everyday struggles experienced by the audience they seek to work with in the future.

Creating Diverse Leaders in Preparation for the 21st Century
Project Leader: Javiette Samuel, Quentin Tyler, Antomia Farrell, Natasha Saunders
Department/Program: Program and Staff Development and the CAFE Office of Diversity
Funding Received: $1,000
The nature of careers in agriculture, food, natural resources and human sciences is evolving, as well as the skills and educational requirements needed for those jobs. A multidisciplinary team is developing a curriculum and materials to help prepare underserved young people for a 21st century global workforce. Spring 2016 is being utilized to finalize materials and prepare for trainings that will begin this summer. An introduction of trainings will take place at the national 2016 Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 1, 2016. The audience will consist of collegiate high school MANRRS advisors, government employees, industry representatives, 4-H and youth development agents and other college personnel. Students and their advisors will be invited to attend the UK Jr. MANRRS Conference December 9-10, 2016. Participants will apply components of the curriculum through workshops, tours, contests and speakers.

CSI Environmental Camping Program
Project Leader: Alexandria Bryant and Shane Browning
Department/Program: Breckinridge 4-H Council
Funding Received: $1,000
West KY 4-H Camp will offer CSI-themed Environmental Day Camps to teach elementary-age youth about natural resources. Students will rotate between stations solving crimes using evidence from the environment. Students will gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to examine their own environments and become better stewards of the environment in which they live. They will also be encouraged to explore careers in environmental science through interactions with community leaders in different fields (e.g. USGS, Fish and Wildlife, Soil Conservation, USDA, etc.).

Developing a Field Lab to Provide Experiential Learning in Forages Systems
Project Leader: Ben Goff and Kelly Prince
Department/Program: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
Funding Received: $1,000
Funds will be used to develop a field (3.5 acres) into a teaching lab on the Spindletop Research Farm at the corner of the Agronomy Building and drying facilities. The existing infrastructure is in optimal condition and would create the opportunity for experiential learning of the management principles associated with forage-livestock systems. The field will be renovated into KY-31 tall fescue in fall 2016, and demonstration plots will be constructed on this area in spring 2017. The topics for these proposed demonstration plots include, but are not limited to: the benefits of rotation grazing, methods for proper forage establishment, the importance of forages in rotation with grain crops, integrated forage pest management, etc. Semi-permanent fencing and temporary waterers will be used for grazing demonstration so they may be rotated throughout the field lab to allow for renovations. In addition, an area of the field lab will be devoted to a forage identification garden containing over 60 species. The field lab will be maintained by graduate and undergraduate students in the forage program.

Extrusion Process for Making Healthy Snacks
Project Leader: Akinbode Adedeji, Mark Mains, Martha Welch, Karin Pekarchik
Department/Program: Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $950
Barnhart funding will be used to organize a two-day workshop for 25-30 high school teens. Extrusion is a unique processing technology that allows the demonstration of science, engineering and technology in food processing. It is a simple food processing technology that enables forming and cooking of foods, among several other functions. It is a sustainable technology that allows food transformation with minimum use of water and energy compared to other cooking methods that achieve the same purpose. The opportunity of access to a lab-scale extruder at UK is a unique one, which will support our research, teaching and outreach programs.

Growing Independence
Project Leader: Andy Rideout
Department/Program: Henderson County Extension and Hugh Edward Sandefur Center
Funding Received: $425
Hugh Edward Sandefur Center participants will join the Henderson County Extension Office and Master Gardeners to learn to grow, harvest and market fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers, retailing them at the local farmers market. First-year plans include three to four raised beds with at least one of them wheelchair accessible. Plans also include planting some perennial plants such as asparagus and raspberry bushes. Through the summer, participants will concentrate on basic production skills such as weed control, pest control, water management and soil health. Later this fall, plans include to market our flowers and vegetables at the local farmers market.

Kentucky 4-H Livestock Judging Top 12 Week
Project Leader: Steve Austin
Department/Program: Kentucky 4-H Livestock Judging Program
Funding Received: $225
The Kentucky State 4-H Livestock Judging Contest is held on the third Tuesday in June. The contest consists of evaluating classes (four animals in a class) of beef, sheep, swine and goats as well as presenting oral reasons on four classes of stock and answering questions on two classes of animals. The top 20 high-scoring individuals in the senior age division (14-19 years of age) are potentially eligible to attend Top 12 Week to strive to be on the elite 8 Kentucky 4-H Livestock Judging traveling team in the fall.

Mini-Symposium on Infectious Diseases
Project Leader: Peter Nagy
Department/Program: Department of Plant Pathology
Funding Received: $425
A half-day mini-symposium on infectious diseases at UK will include speakers Craig Roy, professor of Microbial Pathogenesis and of Immunobiology and vice-chair of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University; Dr. Nihal Altan-Bonnet, Laboratory of Host-Pathogen Dynamics NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda; and speakers from UK, including Becky Dutch and Dr. Nagy. The goal is to bring together the leaders of the field of infectious diseases to form a working group that will be involved in new areas of research, such as pathogen effector biology, and to organize a future international KEYSTONE meeting on cellular membrane remodeling by pathogens in 2019. This mini-symposium will likely foster collaborative research work with grant applications to NIH and NSF.

Shop Like a Local
Project Leader: Kenna Knight and Lindie Huffman
Department/Program: Pendleton County Extension Service
Funding Received: $425
Pendleton County Cooperative Extension Service will conduct a Shop Like a Local Challenge in summer 2016. Goals for the challenge will be to raise awareness of locally owned small businesses and encourage area residents to shop at them. The challenge will run each month and will encourage community members to record their spending at locally owned businesses. Those who spend and visit the most businesses will be rewarded. We will also market the challenge at all small businesses, on social media sites, the local paper, on a billboard in the county and with yard signs throughout the community.

Travel Support for Southern Cover Crop Conference
Project Leader: Edwin Ritchey and Paul Vincelli
Department/Program: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Department of Plant Pathology
Funding Received: $1,000
This comprehensive cover crop conference is focused on providing producer leaders, agricultural extension personnel and researchers the most current information on all aspects of cover cropping practices and extension priorities for the southeastern U.S. A charter bus to and from the conference in Goldsboro, North Carolina, has been arranged through SSARE funds. Hotel scholarships have also been provided for a few extension agents and producer leaders; however, not all expenses are covered. The intent is to help offset as much cost as possible for Kentucky participants for this conference.

Urban Forest Initiative Seminar Series
Project Leader: Lynne Rieske-Kinney and Mary Arthur
Department/Program: Urban Forest Initiative, Department of Forestry and Department of Entomology
Funding Received: $900
Dr. Charles Nilon, University of Missouri, will be invited as a key speaker in the Urban Forest Initiative Seminar Series. Dr. Nilon’s research provides perspective into critical links between urban forests, urban wildlife and human behaviors and will help the community appreciate urban forests and their connection to the human condition. The UFI SS highlights the importance of urban forests and urban forest research. In the 2015-16 year, UFI hosted four speakers and a film with over 150 attendees each. These free events were funded in part by the Departments of Entomology and Forestry, TFISE, the UK SCC and a 2015 Barnhart Award. A number of NGOs and NPs contributed further support. The series’ success reflects the positive momentum garnered by UFI, with significant contributions from UK CAFE. This year's project will extend the series and our success into 2016-17, with free evening presentations featuring three to four speakers with wide-ranging appeal that will help the community connect to urban forests and realize their importance in sustainable communities.

Wildlife Acoustics for Forestry Educational Programming
Project Leader: Laurie Thomas and Billy Thomas
Department/Program: Department of Forestry
Funding Received: $1,000
The Barnhart grant will be used to purchase technology initially for two of the Department of Forestry’s educational programs, with the potential for ongoing use in other programs. In the Kentucky Forest Leadership Program, students are taught forestry and natural resources subjects in an integrated hands-on process so that at week's end they have learned what information is needed and how to collect it to create a forest management plan for an assigned piece of property. The program typically accommodates 25 to 30 students per year from around Kentucky. The program directors determined a wildlife module needed to be included. The second program is the Kentucky Master Woodland Stewards Program, which cultivates a group of people who embrace woodland stewardship, want to learn more about sustainable woodland management and are willing to share what they learn with others. The program teaches woodland management practices and leadership skills, and in return, participants will apply these principles to property they own or manage and encourage others to practice good woodland management. Last year, 24 individuals participated in this three-day field program at Robison Forest.

Win With Wood
Project Leader: Bobby Ammerman, Laurie Thomas, Rosalee Bradley
Department/Program: Department of Forestry
Funding Received: $800
Win With Wood is a unique opportunity for Kentucky’s youth to learn more about forestry and the impact forest activities have on our state. This annual competition allows 4‐Hers, middle school and high school students to compete in eight forestry-related events. Another important component has been the development of support materials and training aids for each event that can be used by county extension agents and leaders, as well as by students and teachers. The competitive events include wood and tree identification, tree measurement, compass and pacing, forestry tool and woodworking tool identification, and soil judging. WWW is held at the Wood Utilization Center at the Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability each October. Awards are presented at the closing ceremonies. In 2015, 191 students participated, and we anticipate 250 students for this year’s event. Noncompetitive educational events and forestry industry displays are available to students and teachers throughout the day.

4-H Micro Truck and Tractor Pulling Project
Project Leader: Torey Earle
Department/Program: Science, Engineering and Technology in McCracken County
Funding Received: $1,000
Through the use of 1/10 scale remote control vehicles in a small scale version of what many rural and farm youth have seen in full scale, the 4-H SET program will introduce youth to the technology, engineering, math and physics behind the sport of truck and tractor pulling. By allowing youth to experiment with power requirements, gear ratios, weight transfer, motor size and type, friction and more, this project will bring real world challenges to a manageable and portable size for club and classroom use. Educational workshops for youth and adults further include the safety behind proper implement hitching and trailer hookup while letting them see what could result from improper hitching and towing practices. This initiative will begin on the district level, but project leaders are optimistic this will become a national 4-H project and curriculum.

Creative Culture Camp
Project Leader: Lora Stewart and Joyce Doyle
Department/Program: Gallatin County and Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service
Funding Received: $1,000
Youth who participate in Creative Culture Camp will explore cultures through visual arts, music, dance and drama. Students will explore the arts of various cultures to better understand and appreciate each culture and its history and traditions. They will also explore the diversity of media, genres, materials, processes, ideas and purposes in the world of art. Students will also take a virtual trip around the world exploring different genres of music. The camp will develop students' conceptual and creative skills and instill the discipline and confidence to investigate their own self-expression. Students will learn to be constructively critical of their own and others' artwork while gaining the tools to be competitive in a creative environment. With the knowledge that being an artist is a forever developing process, students learn the hard work and focus to push them beyond minimal expectations. Projects will be posted on YouTube, the extension website and Pinterest, giving them worldwide exposure.

Development of Educational Materials for Avian Bowl Contests
Project Leader: Jacquie Jacob and Tony Pescatore
Department/Program: Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $500
Avian bowl is a double elimination contest for teams of two to four members patterned after other knowledge bowls. Contestants must have a comprehensive knowledge of subject matter for several species of poultry, food safety, physiology, nutrition, eggs and other related subjects. Questions are drawn from the National Avian Bowl manual, which includes the Eggcyclopedia from the American Egg Board which references different cooking equipment as well as finished dishes that are hard to explain without showing. A series of educational materials will highlight these different pieces of equipment, the finished dishes and what can go wrong if you don't follow the instructions correctly (such as over- heating, beating, etc., or using the wrong equipment). Different pieces of cooking equipment will be purchased and used to create the dishes identified in the Eggcyclopedia using local 4-Hers. This material will be developed for use at the county level and to train top senior avian bowl participants at the state level to compete at the national level.

Eagle Exhibit Facility
Project Leader: Mitch Whitaker
Department/Program: Letcher County Wildlife Rehabilitation Program and 4-H Raptor Program
Funding Received: $500
Built in 2011, Letcher Co. Wildlife Rehab facility is 3,300 square feet and is located on 30 acres of land. The facility houses injured hawks and owls and meets all Department of Fish and Wildlife requirements for rehabilitation, maintenance and care of migratory birds. Currently the facility has 22 residents, consisting of four different species of hawks, three species of owls, a turkey buzzard and a crow. The goal of this project is to build a facility to house non-releasable eagles. This addition to our existing facility would increase our ability to present new native species for educational and recreational purposes, not to mention the popularity and awareness such an exhibit would bring to our area. This project involves extension, 4-H, Kentucky and Virginia wildlife officials, public schools and colleges. Students will gain leadership skills, engage in community involvement and explore careers in wildlife management.

Exploring Aquatic Environments
Project Leader: Alexandria Bryant and Jenny Armes
Department/Program: Breckinridge County 4-H Council and Breckinridge County Middle School
Funding Received: $1,000
In 2015, the Breckinridge County 4-H Council was approached by local teachers who felt youth did not have an understanding of the aquatic environment or its importance in Kentucky. An enrichment program, Exploring Aquatic Environments, is planned for middle school science classes and will consist of monthly hands-on labs to give students the skills and confidence to examine a watershed themselves during a field trip at the end of the program. We hope to spark an interest in the environment by highlighting Kentucky's watersheds and showing youth the diversity and importance of our waterways, including career opportunities. This project will provide a hands-on learning experience for approximately 240 youth in the county.

Food Safety Internal Audit for Small Food Businesses in Kentucky
Project Leader: Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar and Melissa Newman
Department/Program: Animal and Food Sciences
Funding Received: $500
This project will create an Internal Auditor Training Program uniquely adapted to engage small food processors and producers in Kentucky. The new Food Safety Modernization Act proposed by the FDA requires small businesses to go through an accredited third party audit. An auditing procedure is an expensive affair, especially for small, local food companies. Further, failing an audit would require fixing the non-conformances and re-audit, adding to their financial burden. This one-day program will train current employees on how to conduct an internal audit of the facility against Global Food Safety Standards. Offered jointly between the UK Food Systems Innovation Center and the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, this process will increase the success rate of the third party audit. Students interested in food business/food safety will have an opportunity to attend the one-day training program. We anticipate 75 regional start-ups and small businesses will use this training program.

Machine Systems Senior Design Project
Project Leader: Michael Sama, Aaron Shearer, Robin Caudill, Seth Hubbard, Jade Walker
Department/Program: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
Funding Received: $1,000
The four students listed as co-leaders on this project are enrolled in BAE 402/403: Biosystems Engineering Design I and II. The students will design a front loader weighing system in the spring 2015 semester, followed by fabricating and testing a prototype in the fall 2016 semester. The funding from the Barnhart Fund for Excellence will be used to purchase sensors and raw materials to fabricate a prototype front loader weighing system. The system will be developed and tested on campus and then deployed at a Kentucky dairy in Oldham County for validation. The system is intended to be used to measure the amount of compost in a front loader bucket before it is loaded into a manure spreader. Because the moisture content and composition of compost can vary significantly, knowing the actual weight will improve the practice of land application of compost for plant nutrient and soil structure requirements. This project will contribute to excellence in student involvement. The scope is statewide, with a goal of becoming national.

Methods for Rare Plant Conservation in Kentucky
Project Leader: Todd Rounsaville
Department/Program: The Arboretum
Funding Received: $500
In Kentucky, various groups and agencies are involved in rare native plant species, performing a variety of services including surveys, research, land protection, propagation and ex situ conservation and more. Unfortunately, these groups rarely (if ever) work in concert; thus, there are a number of missed synergistic opportunities. This project proposes to bring together representatives from these groups to share their perspectives with each other as well as with a broader public at the Kentucky Botanical Symposium, an event co-sponsored by The Arboretum and held at the Good Barn. In the state of Georgia, various agencies including the university, the native plant society, the state botanical garden and the state government have allied to form the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance. These efforts were led by Jennifer Ceska, currently the Conservation Coordinator for GPCA. Funding from the Barnhart Fund for Excellence will bring Ceska to the Kentucky Botanical Symposium as the keynote speaker. Through her presentation and other panel discussions, we hope to move toward creating a plant conservation alliance in Kentucky. If successful, we could become a model for neighboring states.

Standard Soil Sample for Instruction, Extension and K-12
Project Leader: Chris Matocha, David McNear, Brad Lee
Department/Program: Plant and Soil Sciences
Funding Received: $1,000
The introduction of soil science concepts is enhanced by having hand samples with quantified characteristics. This project group will develop a resource of well characterized soil samples to serve as standards for collegiate level soil science courses, secondary science and agricultural teachers, and county extension agents. These samples will enrich the education experience of university and high school students that utilize soils in coursework, Envirothon competitions, FFA and 4-H Soil Judging competitions. The CAFE Agronomy Club will market these samples to high school teachers and soil/land judging teams across the nation.

Urban Forest Initiative Seminar Series
Project Leader: Lynne Rieske-Kinney and Mary Arthur
Department/Program: Entomology and Forestry: Urban Forest Initiative
Funding Received: $1,000
The Urban Forest Initiative is developing the UFI Seminar Series to highlight the initiative and the importance of urban forests and urban forest research from the UK campus to broader regions. The seminar series will include four to six speakers in the 2015-16 academic year, broadly reflecting the research, teaching and extension/outreach missions of CAFE. The research focus of the series will be represented by two speakers presenting on innovative research in urban forests. The teaching facet of the series will be represented by two speakers that will provide insight on enhancing CAFE's urban forestry instruction and steps to develop an Urban Forestry Certificate for CAFE undergraduates. Finally, representing the extension/outreach mission, two evening presentations will feature speakers with wide-ranging appeal to help the broader community appreciate and connect to urban forests and the UFI. The seminar series will help create linkages within and across departments, colleges, agencies and organizations. Secondary, undergraduate and graduate students will be involved.

Women in CAFE: Empowering Our Future
Project Leader: Natasha Saunders, Quentin Tyler, Carol Hanley, Pam Sigler, Esther Edwards
Department/Program: CAFE Office of Diversity
Funding Received: $1,000
Women in CAFE: Empowering Our Future will be a one-day program for faculty, staff, students, industry and community leaders in agriculture. The event aims to serve as a platform for the past, present and next generation of Women in Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. With only 28% women in CAFE faculty positions and 38% women in leadership (Dean, Assistant Dean, Director, Associate Director, Assistant Director and Chair positions), the program emphasizes the importance of appreciating diversity in the workplace, recognizing and empowering women and educating women on how to overcome gender barriers. The event will inspire students to continue their education and form mentoring relationships with women in agriculture. The program will include a lecture/seminar, a women’s empowerment luncheon, roundtable discussions and the presentation of awards honoring an alumnus, administrator, faculty, staff and students. The awards will be presented in Instruction, Research, Extension and a Legacy Award to be presented to a current outstanding student in recognition of an Outstanding Woman in Agriculture. This project will have statewide, national and/or international reach by honoring women who have had an impact in agriculture.

Pre-2016 Recipients