Volume 9 Number 1

Crosby Arboretum is a living memorial to L. O. Crosby, a philanthropist, forester, and civic leader who loved nature. In the early 1980s, his family turned his former strawberry farm into a place that could instill a love of nature in others.

From 2010, when Dr. Gary Bachman was named host of Southern Gardening by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, until January 2023, the popular horticulture-advice news column and video series has bloomed!

Once a quiet, shy teenager with a love for hunting and the outdoors, Jaxon Cook decided to join 4-H to meet other young people with shared interests, and the experience improved his confidence.

He had always been very good at math and science in school, and when Caleb Zumbro earned the chance to study chemical engineering at Mississippi State University, the young man from Franklin County was excited to move away from Mississippi’s Pine Hills.

Ray Henderson’s love for the outdoors began in his youth with learning by doing in 4-H Forestry. He won the State 4-H Congress competition, went to nationals, and placed fifth. After he aged out of the youth development program, he pursued a career with the U.S. Forest Service, and he volunteered in the 1990s as a coach for a few 4-H Forestry teams in Wayne and Greene Counties.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service recently relaunched its Nurturing Homes Initiative. The program’s mission is to improve the quality of the early educational experiences provided in family childcare homes through mentoring, improving the learning environment, and delivering research-based information.

At 4-H Day on October 15, 2022, part of the 163rd Mississippi State Fair, Mississippi 4-H’ers of all ages enjoyed many different activities, from grilling to singing, modeling to public speaking, livestock showing to STEM activities. 

With 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and cotton, row crops are the most abundantly grown commodity on Philip Good’s land, but he has made strides during nearly 45 years of farming to diversify his inventory.

In an industry where every piece of equipment can seriously hurt the operators and crew, one Mississippi logging company has not recorded an accident during more than 40 years of operation, from Brandon to Gulfport.

The Application Guide was created by a writing team of Extension and engagement professionals across the country, and Dr. Renee Collini was the lead author.

Corey Proctor describes New Augusta as a small town with a big heart.

He would know as well as anyone. He has called the seat of Perry County home for most of his adult life and was elected to serve on its board of aldermen in 2021.

When Kathryn Reed saw that young people in her community needed more opportunities to participate in activities to help them grow spiritually and personally, she took action.

“We have a lot of activities for adults in our community, but there was nothing for our pre-teens and teenagers,” explains Kathryn. “We are losing them when they get to that age.”