Week Seven with Extension by Heather Knauss

Gretchen, Joy and I preparing for a 4-H lesson that we will be giving in the coming two weeks.

Everyone has heard of equity vs equality, but what does that mean? Most people think equality means equal opportunity for everyone. In my research I have found that equality means providing access to the same tools and resources to help people succeed in life. Equity takes this one step further. Equity means to tailor those tools and resources to individuals and groups of people which provides a more equal way for everyone to succeed in life. The issue is that different people and groups of people struggle in different ways in life, the tools that are offered are often created to suit a specific group of people. If we offer these tools and resources to everyone without addressing the issues causing the inequality and tailor the tools and resources to fix those issues, there is still the problem that the people who did not have access to the tools and resources in the first place are still much less likely to succeed.

Progress of the pumpkins on the Urban Farm. 

 An example of equity I have seen in my internship is when we took a trip to Baltimore to see examples of urban farming and learn how they help the community. Spring Forward is an indoor hydroponic farm run by the Philips School. This farm provides opportunities for intercity kids to get experience with farming and a chance to boost their resume, putting them more ahead. The produce is all given to local stores and markets that would otherwise have a hard time finding fresh produce locally and cost effectively. This not only helps the students and the stores but also the consumers who don’t always have the easiest access to healthy and environmentally conscious options for their diet.

Extension work provides equal opportunity for information to everyone. The phone number for every office is easily accessible for people to ask questions, as is the website. I have experienced people calling our office for even neighbor disputes over the use of fertilizer or planting advice. The resource of the extension experts’ knowledge truly is available to everyone, farmers’ and individuals’ concerns all the same. The research that we are doing on the Urban Research Farm is also important to providing equity. People in urban areas have less access to farming resources and land to work. With the one acre plot of land we have we are proving just how much and just how easily crops can be grown and maintained on a small plot of land. This will hopefully push our future forward in cities where good, locally sourced food is less available.

The 4-H program is also a very good resource for equity. It is an outreach and education resource for children to learn about environmental issues and agriculture. The 4-H leadership at the Anne Arundel County Office and I are teaching a few groups of children this week and next, about carbon emissions and what role people play in that and what we can all change to improve the state of our world. 4-H is dedicated to the education of young people, providing another tool in their toolbelt to understanding the world and succeeding in life.