Strengthening Sibley’s Future program builds skills
Angela Everson and Liz Nicholas donned hard hats and snapped a selfie before touring the facilities at Michael Foods, an egg processing plant in Gaylord that sells most of its products to restaurants and wholesalers. It was just one day in the life of Strengthening Sibley’s Future.
The leadership and civic engagement program brings residents together to build skills and deepen their understanding of county and regional assets. But it’s also about people like Everson and Nicholas.
“One of my favorite things about the program is watching relationships develop,” said Abbey Guggisberg, an Extension leadership and civic engagement educator.
Participants gather for sessions led by Extension leadership and civic engagement educators on topics including conflict resolution and decision-making. Participants also explore communities across the county, network with local business and political leaders, and learn about key industries.
Highlights
- People don’t have to be mental health professionals to support friends, neighbors and colleagues in times of need. But they may not know how. Extension helped bridge this gap by providing in-person Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory (COMET) training in Winthrop.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: The Panning family
- Master Naturalist volunteers participated in National Public Lands Day at the Ney Nature Center in Henderson. This annual event of the National Environmental Education Foundation promotes enjoyment and volunteer conservation of public lands.
- 4-H delivered a Life Skills Day Camp for youth in grades 8-12 to teach them how to make a budget and stick to it, as well as tips for finding and succeeding at part-time employment.
- SuperShelf: Sibley County Food Share. Extension staff also helped design a mobile food shelf using SuperShelf principles.
- The Climate Adaptation Partnership is helping characterize future flood and drought extremes in the High Island Creek watershed, equipping natural resource managers, farmers and communities with education and resources to inform resilience strategies.
Sibley County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Sibley County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.