STILLWATER, Okla. – During the first quarter of 2025, Oklahoma State University Extension provided hands-on learning, fostered new partnerships and helped Oklahomans of all ages build practical skills for everyday life. From classrooms that sparked curiosity to youth-led service projects reaching across state lines, county educators met local needs with creativity and dedication.
In Beaver County, 4-H educator Loren Sizelove kept a long-running classroom program thriving with the chick embryo project, a hands-on incubator experience for students from elementary through high school. Over the past two years, the program added two new incubators and even introduced duck eggs alongside the chicken eggs.
'I was shopping in the grocery store when a young girl’s voice rang out, ‘Mom, there’s the chick guy,’” Sizelove said.
Moments like this show how consistent outreach can create lasting community connections. In addition, teachers value the program for reinforcing science curriculum and real-life concepts, while also helping to boost poultry entries at the county fair as students create stewardship contracts to raise birds over the summer.
Pottawatomie County 4-H’er Grace Hobbs turned a family project into a nationwide movement with her “4-H Has Heart” campaign. What started four years ago as handmade Valentine’s Day cards for a local nursing home has grown through county clubs, intercounty kits and now social media outreach, reaching other youth organizations, FFA chapters and schools.
This year, 16,032 youth from all 50 states and Canada created and delivered 41,517 valentines to nursing home residents. The project demonstrates how youth leadership can both address loneliness among seniors and teach service and empathy to a new generation.
In Ottawa County, agriculture and natural resources educator Kathy Enyart helped grow a tribal partnership around maple and walnut syrup production that blends traditional practices with new technology. Working with the Seneca Cayuga Tribe and several partners, the project added a reverse-osmosis system that dramatically increased syrup yields.
“Over 11 days, we collected 175 gallons of sap and ran it through a reverse osmosis machine, which concentrated it to 55 gallons. In the end, we produced 5.75 gallons of syrup,” said William Tarrant, director of culture and historic preservation for the Seneca Cayuga Tribe.
The effort featured demonstrations of traditional bucket tapping along with new equipment distribution, and participants have already begun experimenting with walnut sap while planning future expansion efforts.
Creek County 4-H educator Randi Myers tackled barriers to sewing participation with a new series called Sew and Grow, designed to prepare youth for the county’s Duds to Dazzle contest. Organizers combined the program with the Impressive Dress Contest and introduced progressive workshops that guide students from threading a sewing machine to completing a project for the county fair.
“This is the best class I’ve ever taken!” one student exclaimed.
Students who had never used a sewing machine learned both basic and hand-sewing skills, then applied what they learned to repair items and create original projects. The series is about building confidence, practical skills and a growing group of youth ready to create and take on new challenges.
In Woods County, agriculture and natural resources/4-H educator Katherine Hittle addressed a critical topic with the Farm and Ranch Succession Planning program aimed at helping families begin conversations about passing land to the next generation. Succession planning workshops provide families with tools to preserve operations, reduce conflict and plan for long-term viability. Hittle noted that strong program attendance reflected the importance of the topic and the program’s value to the community.
“This could have been a boring program, but it wasn’t. I could have listened for another hour,” one participant said, calling it “the best program Extension has to offer.”
Grant County agriculture and natural resources/4-H educator Emily Franke hosted a feeder calibration clinic to help livestock producers improve feeding accuracy and reduce costs. Producers tested their cake and cube feeders, with results ranging from 55% to 167% of expected feed delivery.
“One producer confirmed her feeder was accurate to 104% of her expectations,” Franke said.
The clinics also provide one-onone guidance on herd management, including cow body condition, forage quality, feed testing and calving dates, giving producers practical tools to improve their operations.
These stories represent just a portion of the work accomplished by OSU Extension. A total of 123 success stories were submitted from January through April, showcasing the dedication and impact of Extension educators across Oklahoma.
OSU Extension uses research- based information to help all Oklahomans solve local issues and concerns, promote leadership and manage resources wisely throughout the state's 77 counties. Most information is available at little to no cost.
