West Virginia State University has plenty to celebrate during Founder’s Week, taking place March 15-19.  In addition to its 119th birthday, the University is celebrating the 10th anniversary of regaining its land-grant status.  Thanks to this designation, citizens statewide have reaped the benefits of WVSU’s various outreach and research programming initiatives.

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Introduction

All universities engage in research and teaching, but the nation's more than 100 land-grant colleges and universities, have a third critical mission—extension. "Extension" means "reaching out," and—along with teaching and research—land-grant institutions "extend" their resources, solving public needs with college or university resources through non-formal, non-credit programs.

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Reusable bags: Put them on your shopping list, keep them in sight, make them washable

Great story by Jura Koncius from the Washington Post on being greener with reusable bags

Here are tips from our bag-savvy readers on buying totes and making them part of your shopping routine.
-- Stash two or three bags in the trunk of every car, rather than in a coat closet. When you leave for the grocery store, move them to the front passenger seat.

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This article comes to us from Seth Liss with SunSentinel.com. The Douglass Institute thanks him for his permission to reprint this article. Please visit www.sunsentinel.com to read more of his work.

As social media usage expands, how will it change us?

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Groups of youth from Huntington gather regularly at the Barnett Center’s Community Learning Garden. It’s here that they learn about gardening and have formed a group called the Junior Master Gardener Huntington Urban Gardeners.

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Retweeting a post has huge traffic-driving power on the Web. So, writing compelling Twitter headlines is an important factor in ensuring that your message is retweeted. “With one click, any of your readers can spread your post to hundreds or thousands of their followers,” Dan Zarrella, author of “The Social Media Marketing Book,” writes for Copyblogger.

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KEYS 4 HealthyKids has been awarded a $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to affordable, healthy foods for children and families in Kanawha County. Based on a rigorous selection process that drew more than 500 proposals from across the country, Kanawha County is one of 41 sites selected for the RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative.

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and have a wonderful 2010!

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Readers, WVSU Extension Service wants to hear from you!

We would like to see your gardens or trees with the best decorations for the holiday season. Send us pictures of your favorite garden spot or best decorated Christmas tree.  You can reply to this blog post and attach a picture, or simply email your photographs to me at toddbeane@wvstateu.edu. And be watching for them to appear on the Douglass Institute blog!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Making your holiday GREEN

The Douglass Institute (GRDI) of WV State University is giving this holiday season. GRDI along with other departments and divisions on campus are giving life to the earth this holiday season. The Institute is joining with the University and the Kanawha County Solid Waste Authority in creating a campus wide recycling program.

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