What’s New in Extension

A group of people standing in front of trees.

A group of people on a deck and using binoculars to look out over a lake.

A man beside a table of plant samples shows a group of people one of them.

A group of people examines a plant with flowers being held by a person.

A group of people watch a man at a table with mock turkeys and real turkey feathers.

A person seated in a wheelchair smiles at a turtle being held by another person.

Click one of the images to open gallery.

New REACH program serves adults with disabilities

Compiled by Leah Barbour | Photos by Kevin Hudson

It began with a field trip to the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, and now, it’s becoming a fully developed Extension program, designed to serve adult residents of care homes.

Resources of Extension Accessing Communities for Hope, or REACH, is one of the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s newest programs. REACH connects adults with disabilities to the outdoors through experiential activities. So far, care home residents from Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Choctaw, and Winston Counties are participating, and organizers plan to expand the program.

The adults in the program visited the refuge and watched birds and alligators with binoculars. They also handled pelts of different fur-bearing animals, including squirrel, skunk, deer, beaver, and coyote.

Participants recently visited the Mississippi Horse Park to meet and learn about horses, and they’ve toured MSU athletic facilities, including the baseball field and the drill field at the center of campus. Upcoming activities include visits to the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station’s Black Belt Branch Experiment Station in Brooksville and the Louisville/Winston County Airport.

Organizers hope that, as care home residents experience the outdoors through hands-on learning activities, these participants will connect with nature.

Filed Under:

Community, Natural Resources