Clermont County (2016)

2016 County Highlights
Clermont County

1000 Locust St., P.O. Box 670 Owensville, Ohio 45160


Phone: 513-732-7070
Director:
Kelly Royalty
royalty.9@osu.edu
Health and Wellness

Public health assessments conducted within the past three years indicate more than 60 percent of Clermont County adults are overweight or obese based on body mass index. Frequent chronic diseases associated with obese adults and children are heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and musculoskeletal problems. OSU Extension – Clermont County taught 395 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) programs in 2016 (22 percent increase), directly reaching 7,563 residents (30 percent increase). Senior citizens, families with/without children and youth participated in interactive classes developed to improve quality of diet and basic cooking skills, better manage food resources impacting family budget, practice safe food preparation and increase physical activity resulting in positive lifestyle changes. Post-class participant evaluations show positive behavior change was reported comparing pre-test and post-test results in 17 out of 18 outcome measures. The highest positive change occurs in drinking water instead of soda (14.8 percent), making meals using whole ingredients (18.3 percent), and eating more fruits and vegetables of different colors (13.8 percent).

Partnering with Clermont-based Pill Box Pharmacy owner Robert Westbrook, Certified Diabetes educator, Extension provided nutrition education and food preparation strategies focused on managing diabetes to 40 residents and family members. Post-class evaluation forms from the Dining With Diabetes participants showed 100 percent experienced positive results after attending the classes and planned to use the information to make changes in their diet. After the three-class series, individuals reported to be more accepting of diagnosis, intend to cook more at home using recipes supplied in class, plan to increase physical activity and eat smaller portions.

Do You Have Food $ense is the title of a program with the aim of educating participants from Inter Parish Ministries Mobile Food Pantry the importance of planning and preparing nutritious meals. Participants learn through “dialogue approach to adult learning” including hands-on food preparation and food tastings. Six-month evaluation self-reporting shows the following behavior changes. “I now eat smaller portions of food because I am a Type II Diabetic. I don’t use grease and I bake instead of frying. I eat rawer vegetables and less meat. Learned how to budget my money and make healthier food for my family.”

Job Skills and Careers

LOOK to Clermont is a teen leadership and workforce preparation program that is preparing tomorrow’s leaders today. LOOK to Clermont graduated 24 youth from 10 different school districts. Participants engage in a series of practical learning experiences designed to develop and enhance all dimensions of leadership as well as provide opportunities to practice their leadership skills and instill a lifelong commitment to community service.

4-H school enrichment programs occur to enhance the youth development skills in various programs. For example:

  • Real Money. Real World. was used to enhance the financial interest of 238 youth
  • ChickQuest was used to enhance the animal science curriculum for youth to understand where their food comes from, food safety and embryology with 53 elementary students being educated
  • 4-H provided a weekly summer program at “Wild about Kids” day care to enhance their understanding of agriculture, leadership, STEM and more. 10 sessions were conducted with 242 students enhancing their knowledge. 

Perennial School was held to increase the knowledge of horticulturist and backyard gardeners who are enthusiastic about pollinators and growing through five educational presentations with 84 total participants and 10 vendors. Five hours of Master Gardener Volunteer continuing education was presented.

Through collaborative partnerships the Clermont County Organizational Leadership Academy was formed to provide sixteen hours of hands-on leadership workshops. The Academy is designed for elected officials from county, municipal, and township governments, and appointed individuals serving on local government committees, zoning and planning commissions, school boards or task forces. 

Thriving Across the Life Span

4-H youth development education occurred in 40 community clubs, with 900 members enrolled in various enhancement projects.

Clermont County has a diverse audience that attends the county fair; rural, urban and suburban. To educate the audience, posters (Ag in the Community) were created with facts from USDA statistics, county statistics and various commodity organizations to educate the public on agriculture and community development. Each poster has a QR code linked to a blog page for data collection.

376 viewed QR code. Fair attendance was approximately 65,000 people who could have viewed the educational materials, but may not have viewed the QR code.

Electronic newsletters, social media, blogs, and a county website were used to educate multiple disciplines of residents in Clermont County communities in the latest research-based information to assist them in being competitive in their respective fields.

Sustainable Food Systems

Assuring Quality Care of Livestock for youth who raise food production animals provides Good Production Practices to educate youth and adults on safe handling, biosecurity, medication and more. 338 youth plus their parent/guardian attended one of seven in county programs to increase their food animal production knowledge to provide a safe product for the consumer market.

A local foods demonstration garden on the Clermont County fairgrounds provided an educational opportunity not only for visitors of the 2016 Clermont County fair, but also nutritious products to be used in Preserving the Harvest and Canning Series programs.

One in six people get sick from contaminated food each year. Food safety is a shared responsibility of all parties in the food production and consumption continuum, meaning that home food preparers can preserve the safety of home-grown and whole food products by practicing safe food handling in the home. To help families meet this responsibility for safe home food preservation, four Preserving the Harvest programs were offered. Post-evaluations from 54 participants showed increased knowledge in safe food preservation techniques and self-confidence in freezing, water bath and pressurized canning. Additionally, because families with young children are at a higher risk of contracting Campylobacter during summer break, OSU Extension recruited 18 individuals to participate in a six-week educational Food Safety Intervention to emphasize at-home and vacation food preparation practices. Study results are forthcoming.

Engaged Ohioans, Vibrant Communities

4-H CARTEENS had 587 juvenile traffic offenders receive peer-to-peer education on safe driving practices.

Master Gardener Volunteers accounted for more than 4,914 miles driven with 200+ hours of continuing education and 600+ hours of volunteer time.

Through educational outreach with 16 townships and villages in Clermont County, the Village of Williamsburg will envision a strategic plan with the assistance of community development professionals. Increased engagement is anticipated to enhance a growing number of the vibrant communities of Clermont County.

A total of 185 people participated in Real Colors training. All participants learned new information to assist them with building rapport quickly with clients, peers and family members. 

Environmental Quality

Partnering with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, a recertification session was held with 26 pesticide applicators attending to update their license. Participants who attended Pesticide Applicator Recertification received training on core, agronomy and horticulture categories. Additional categories were taught via video.

Fertilizer certifications were conducted with one 2-hour session for those with a pesticide license with 18 applying for fertilizer certification.

Clermont County receives $126,917 in federal funding for nutrition education for low-income people, thanks to Extension’s local-state-federal partnership. Visit fcs.osu.edu/programs/nutrition for more information.
Clermont County receives $90,475 in gifts and grants to magnify the impact of federal, state and local funding and partner with citizens, families and business owners to strengthen the lives and communities of all Ohioans. Visit extension.osu.edu/give-now for information about opportunities to support OSU Extension.