City Council - workshop

Good afternoon and welcome. I would like to start the work of the Suffolk City Council. Please note that the right of the council members is not available and they have been allowed. This afternoon we have a topic for discussion where we will discuss the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the services provided by them.

Good afternoon. I am very happy to be back with you all. I came to meet you all in the last summer as well. I am Andrea Sley from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. And we just wanted to give you an update of last year so that you can know what is going on and in this hope that we can help the community more in the coming years. So if you have forgotten who we are, let me remind you that we are an academic outreach of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University and we are basically doing research there and putting it in such a way that our communities can use it to influence their lives. So there are many different things included in it. Today we will look at some of our programs and what we are doing in the community. And again, we are part of a very large network. We have offices all over the state. We also have four facilities. You may be familiar with Wakefield Airfield from Charit Center. This is the place where our children go to camp and we also do activities. Apart from this, there are also research facilities. One of which is right above the road in Holland, which is one of our research facilities. So our services are again the same, which we provide throughout the state. Here at SAFOC, our workshop focuses on agriculture and natural resources, youth development and family nutrition programs. But if you like something else there, we can talk about other things later, which we provide. In SAFOC, there are also some family and employment programs. So, to introduce you to our people, as I said, I was here last year and some of our employees were also here, but we also have some new members with whom I would like to introduce you. If you ever want to come and meet us and talk to us, then we are right across the road. We are Purani Manav, Sinsadhani Marat, 440 Market Street, 3rd Manav. We are open from Monday to Friday morning till 8 am. So, please come at any time and meet us. We are happy to talk to you, to show you our work and other things. But let me tell you again, Andrea Slye, I am a farmer and a naturalist in the city. Whatever is related to plants, my work, my attention is centered on the garden. I am also a unit summoner. That's why I run my workshop on the other side of the road and my email address is up here. But in your folder, I also have my business card, which we have with you this afternoon. We have a new member from February this year. Aaron Clemens is our Chua Vikas agent. He has 20 years of experience in teaching in the classroom. That's why we are very excited to work with him on youth programs for the city of Sapolk.

This is Lisa and both of them are sitting here in the audience.

Lisa is with our family nutrition program. She is an adult nutritionist. They are teaching people about nutrition, budget, and other things in the community. So, our programs and what we are doing this year, a little more update about this. As far as agricultural practices are concerned, I have worked to prove the benefits to more than 170 agricultural users in Hampton Roads. Plant-based education is a big part of my work and it is a big part of our economy. We have many businesses from farms to lawn and landscape companies and domestic plant-based companies, which require that license to work. And that's why I am here to educate them, to help them prove their licenses and to educate them. As you can see, in Safolk city, we had a company whose 12 employees needed their license so that the company could work. That's why we went to them and spent time preparing them for the exam. Currently, I am working with the Surgeoning Department and I am trying to join them with their license. One more thing about which I am really very excited is Farm to School. That's why I am working very hard in the Hampton Roads area, which also includes Suffolk Public School, and I am trying to join our school staff, producers and agricultural education. So this year, to bring these people together, we have organized several different programs in the entire community, from the grower workshop to where we invite school nutrition professionals to meet them and provide them with information. We have organized an excellent program, which you can see here in the picture. where we invited different aggregators and some school nutrition professionals to discuss how you actually get local food, along with making those connections and helping to clarify those processes. And we took a delicious meal prepared by the School Nutrition Department of Virginia Beach Public Schools, including aggressive blue catfish. This is something that we are trying to present in school programs so that our environment gets help and our children also get a nutritious meal. Anyway, water testing is something that we do annually for all the owners of our ponds. You do not do any other research other than your ponds. That is why we have established our campus in Salana Blacksburg through the lab. and provide testing facilities at a low cost. And this year, we have succeeded in increasing our testing capacity by 36% compared to last year. Therefore, we will continue to promote this so that people can get their water tested and know how to use this type of water. Lakeland and King's Fork High School farmers visited our research facility in Holland. They learned about all the modern techniques used in agriculture because you know that most of our students are born with the help of technology. That's why we want them to see that they can still connect with agriculture. It's not limited to only Nalli and Pitchfork, right? And that's why we introduced them to it. We also took drones to their classroom and showed them how to use them in agriculture. And no doubt, I could not do all the work that we do in Safok. I have a very great sensei, who is an extension master gardener. I have 46 dedicated self-service workers who have dedicated more than 900 hours in 2026 and educated more than 43,400 residents of Sapok city. They are a great help and in fact, you have got a small card in your folder. If you want to see what they are doing or you want to participate in it, their information is given for you. and we are always in search of entrepreneurship. Therefore, if you know of any organization that is not well-informed or if you think we can work with them, then please let us know. We try to work with other municipal departments, other communities, schools and libraries. Narthafak Library has been an excellent partner for our seed library program, where residents can get free seeds for their home gardens. Now we are moving towards 4-4-H. 4-4-H means youth group and we want to prepare our youth for the future. That is why we are doing various things with them like STEM, Public Connection, Agriculture, Health, Life and we try to introduce them to these things. This year, we took Arun directly to the camp. As soon as he came in February, we said it is time for him to go to the camp. Friends, he did a great job. This year, he increased the unemployment rate by 40% in the camp. 52 children from Safak went to the Airfield Forage Camp. They spent a very good time there. You can see some pictures there. This is actually his stamp trust. This was one of the things that he presented this year. Instead of a carnival, he wanted to introduce them to such interesting things that would be beneficial in the future career. So, you will see a student riding a cycle, which makes a smoothie. And then some kids got information about drone technology. To help the children's development, they also added some healthy life experiences this year. The programs and day camps during the school are also included in 4H. These are the things for which Aeron is preparing for the coming year. They also support a club called Barneyard Buddies in the city. If you know a person who wants to grow a farm, then we have information in your folder. This is an animal science club and they have strengthened it a lot. They have invited some guests and what you are seeing here is an animal therapist and this is a horse's tail which he showed to the children to teach equine physiology. And of course, camp is a summer activity. That is why we are waiting for the camp in 2027 and have started planning for it. That is why if you know any such youth who is interested in going to the camp or becoming a counsellor, then go with us as a counsellor. Please ask them to contact us. We also provide scholarships for the camp. As far as Lisa is concerned, some of the programs presented by her in your folder have been given. All of their programs are free for the communities who have come. You can see there that anyone who gets support through our various co-operative programs, he can take part for free, he can take part for free. Support is also given with these programs. So now a few days ago, they came with a box of slow cooker, which was given to the students of their previous class to complete the course.

This is really a very good program.

They are teaching them how to prepare food, how to make healthy food, and how to make a budget for food. And these are for different people. One group for which they work is 12 years old or people who take care of small children. So, anyone who takes care of 12-year-old or younger children, who get training for those programs, they can take part. They have a new hobby. We are really looking for those people who are interested in this programming. Like many youths who are finishing school. Those people who are 18-25 years old, who are now walking on their path. And they only teach classes for them so that they can prepare food, nutritious food and make snacks. So, if you know a group of people in the community who can take interest, then definitely contact Lisa and she can help to set it up. She has already collaborated with several different groups of the city. Apart from this, just a few more things. To represent your local agriculture, we have also kept a small packet of Virginia peanuts in your folder. These are from our Virginia peanut board. This is a special 250th anniversary wrapper. And if you look at the back, then Saphok is depicted as one of the few peanut products of the Kingdom of Virginia. So we hope you enjoy them. But again, the purpose of our being here is to help the community. We hope that you have seen some programs that may be of interest to you or your audience, about which you will help us to promote. And if there is anything that you would like to see, or if you have any questions for us, we are always here.

Thank you. Any questions or tips?

and this is a very important outreach. And I wanted to say something because I wanted to say thank you, but I also wanted to tell everyone that Andrea is our advisor for the local agriculture agent.

So thank you for your service there too.

Council Member John.

For a long time, we were not able to run that 4-H program properly.

. . . . . . .

That's why I think it's good that she's still here.

I would like to thank you for the wonderful presentation. I just have one question about the license. Do you have any specific time in the year when you provide this lesson or course? We provide both proof and full proof.

We are really ready to start a new round. That's why we are launching a new calendar with all the classes.

Is it on your website?

Yes, it is. You can see that last year's schedule is available until June and then we will start a new one. But this is our website.

Does anyone have any questions or tips? If not, thank you very much for your presentation. Once again, I think the most influential thing is the scope of services that you provide. And when you say, you know, usually the Virginia Cooperative Extension is associated with farmers, but what you do is much more than that. That's why I thank you for whatever you do for the service of our city. I have a question about the test of well water. Is it only for farmers? If yes, then how do people get informed?

So, this is the rain. This year, it was in July. We post this on our Facebook and our website. And we also provide information in our office. And I usually have information for this in Vasant Retu. I usually have nothing.

Now, do you have information from the city?

Is this something we are working on?

I have a well and I wanted to test it. But I didn't feel like it. I felt that this is your job. I felt that they test wells. Now I don't know for sure if they test the same kind of well or not.

We have 14 different measurements and we are looking for things like heavy metals. Now I feel that most of the time we have to go to the lab to get those results. and that is why we present it to you. Our test is done through the Javik System Engineering Department of our lab and Virginia Tech. So the measurements are the same. The only thing is that our test is not authentic, which means that if you want to sell your house, then you cannot use it for buyers. But you can use it for your information and any kind of system that you want to prove.

I know that when you sell your house and get your water tested, they are actually only looking for E-coli. So the fact is that you are seeing, I believe that E-coli is also part of your analysis. But the fact is that you are doing 13 different tests, it is influential. And it is good for people to know this, especially if they go to a new house that has a well and they are from outside this area and they want to know a lot about this water that they are going to consume. . . . .

Yes, we have some different characters in school.

Anyway, because I have never heard of it. You know, it is very influential. I just want to say how you treat the community. How will I know what is going on in my community?

So we can go out with different programs in the community. We use the library system to explain some of our programs. And we do some things with them, like during summers, where students can come in and get free food. We also have our website and Facebook. And then we have a small display next to the registrar's office. So as soon as our students come in and out, they can also see that information. But if you have other options, which you think we can also do, please let us know. Does this go on all year round? Absolutely. Okay.

Do you go to the citizens' beach? We don't go to any citizens' beach right now.

But if we can get some contacts and other things, we will be happy to do so. I will contact Firehouse 11. Yes, we have a beach. I will contact you. . . . . . . . . . .

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