Teacher adopts CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Imperial County pilot of online nutrition education to promote healthy living during COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place 

The Issue

Imperial County is located in the rural Sonoran Desert with 181,000 residents. Sixty (60) out of 66 schools qualify for SNAP-Ed services in the County. In the town of El Centro at De Anza Magnet Elementary School, 55% of 5^th graders and 47% of 7^th graders are overweight (ED-Data, 2018). When the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic first surfaced in the County, the 16 School Districts reacted initially by closing school sites to those not enrolled, this includes parent visitors and CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE Imperial County (CFHL, UCCE).

Partnership collaboration can spawn innovation, especially during times of uncertainty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, delivery of direct education lessons in schools has required a major pivot to an online platform for CalFresh Healthy Living, UC programs in California. An example of this is displayed in the Imperial County pilot experience.

How UC Delivers

CFHL, UCCE began a partnership with De Anza Magnet Elementary School's Special Day Class in 2017 by piloting garden-enhanced nutrition education. Over the past 3 years, the partnership has grown to include activities in CATCH PE, and nutrition education. This relationship culminated with Special Day Class teacher, Carmen Hernandez, and the CFHL, UCCE team pilot testing a remote lesson delivery of My Amazing Body, a nutrition curriculum, due to COVID-19 shelter-in-place requirements. 

CFHL, UCCE Imperial County collaboratively structured the 30 minute interactive lesson with Mrs. Hernandez.

My Amazing Body, Lesson 3 “Germs are not for Sharing” which highlights handwashing/hygiene, getting enough sleep, eating right, and being physically active to stay healthy was pilot tested with 16 students from 3^rd and 4^th grade. CFHL, UCCE Imperial County started the presentation with an introduction of the lesson and a Google Map, indicating the location of the school and CFHL, UCCE offices. Mrs. Hernandez then read “Germs Are Not For Sharing” utilizing YouTube. After the reading, CFHL, UCCE Nutrition Educators facilitated a discussion of the book on Zoom, followed by an interactive PowerPoint highlighting simple strategies to be, and stay, healthy. CFHL, UCCE staff finished the lesson with an online physical activity break for students and teachers.

This My Amazing Body pilot illustrates a strategic approach to direct education delivery online.

Remote Pilot of My Amazing Body curriculum with UCCE Nutrition Educator Paul Tabarez

The Impact 

As a result of this partnership, a new form of education was adopted by a De Anza Magnet Elementary School teacher as the first online direct nutrition education class delivered during the pandemic. My Amazing Body is an evidence-based curriculum that has been evaluated across counties and can lead to behavior changes such as students identifying healthy foods, being willing to try new foods, bringing healthy snacks to school, and washing hands before handling food. This pilot also illustrates how online delivery can be a tool to not only reach but potentially expand programmatic delivery in environments with high numbers of SNAP-Ed eligible populations that may otherwise not be served due to limited staffing. This lends an opportunity for CFHL, UCCE Imperial County staff to increase capacity to target the most vulnerable areas in our large, rural county by reaching multiple classrooms with one presentation, and creates the potential to serve more schools and communities that staff would otherwise be unable to reach. COVID-19 rates are increasing (Imperial County Public Health Department) which may require more pivots to online education to meet the needs of schools and families. Healthy eating behaviors can lead to a decreased risk of chronic health diseases and thus, this example demonstrates how CFHL, UCCE partnerships contribute to health for all and promotes healthy families and communities during this pandemic.

I really enjoyed it! The students were engaged! It was something different and I would want to do it again. They loved it! – Carmen Hernandez, Special Day Class teacher, De Anza Magnet Elementary School

Pilot testing a 30-minute interactive lesson on Zoom

Collaboration between CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE San Mateo County and local school increases access to green spaces and empowers youth through a Garden Buddy system.

The Issue

Woodrow Wilson Elementary school is located in Daly City, San Mateo County, a densely populated urban area near San Francisco. Over 72% of its 371 students qualify for the Free and Reduced Meal Program. The school has had no dedicated green space. There are documented health benefits received from spending time in green spaces, yet a 2019 landscape and urban planning study found inequities in access to urban vegetation in communities that have lower income levels and are more ethnically and racially diverse.

Woodrow Wilson school grounds with garden beds

How UC Delivers

For over 5 years, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE San Mateo has partnered with the school to offer physical activity, nutrition education, cafeteria promotions, Safe Routes to School and limited garden-enhanced education to students. An assessment in the fall of 2019 identified the need for technical assistance and training to bring more students and school staff to the garden for year-round learning. A six-person School Garden Committee composed of four teachers, the principal and a CFHL, UCCE San Mateo County Educator worked tirelessly to develop an expanded garden and more robust garden-enhanced learning program.

Challenges of teaching in an outdoor environment include multiple distractions around the school and neighborhood. To address this problem, a garden peer mentor program, modeled on the existing Reading Buddy System, connected older elementary students with younger ones. Garden Buddies offered older students leadership roles to serve as ambassadors to younger students and lead them through garden lessons taught from CFHL's Teams with Inter-Generational Support (TWIGS) and the Junior Master Gardener curricula.

CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE San Mateo found through observation and discussions with teachers that students participating in the Garden Buddy system remained focused on program content and assisted in each other's learning, even though there were more students in the garden at that time. As a result, teachers did not need to expend their class time managing behavioral issues and instead more fully explored curriculum content and activities.

Woodrow Wilson Garden Buddies program pair older and younger youth.

The Impact

This collaboration resulted in the garden growing from 5 to 18 - 4'x4' garden boxes for garden-enhanced nutrition education throughout the year. As a result of adopting the Garden Buddy system, the school was able to engage 371 students in the garden and build leadership skills. Furthermore, because Garden Safety rules were established the garden became distinguished as a versatile site on campus hosting English and Art classes. During recess periods the garden was a quiet zone for mindfulness exercises, or an area for socializing. A CFHL, UCCE San Mateo Educator described it as often being “a quiet haven for students who did not want to play sports or run around, but rather chat with classmates or look for bugs.” The garden is now accessible throughout the school day and after school. Students can be found in the garden discussing composting and showing their vegetables growth proudly to family members. Community members have also been able to see and feel how the school has greened their formerly concrete recess yard as they visit a food bank distribution site, which is right next to the garden. In these ways, CFHL, UC collaborations have improved access to positive built environments. Research shows that living, working, and playing near green spaces promotes healthy people and communities in San Mateo County.  

My fifth graders really enjoyed spending time with their kinder buddies in the garden.  Not only was it fun, it also allowed some of my quieter students to take on a leadership role.  For some of my more outgoing students, it was a time to have them try to get their buddy to participate more.  Students were able to practice listening, speaking, sketching, and writing together in the garden. -Mrs. Kious-Noda, 5^th Grade Teacher

Children chat and look for bugs in the garden.

75% of teen-teachers reported being physically active on 5 or more days while gaining confidence and leadership skills through innovative Healthy Choices in Motion programming in San Mateo County.

The Issue

Increasing physical activity in San Mateo County is vital, as 67% of SNAP-Ed-eligible adults and 23% of SNAP-Ed-eligible children ages 12-17 were overweight or obese in 2019. Additionally, there is a lack of leadership opportunities for teens especially for those in remote school districts in their county. 

How UC Delivers

CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California Cooperative Extension (CFHL, UCCE) in San Mateo County sought to address these issues with innovative teens-as-teachers programming in which older youth led younger youth in Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) activities as part of a summer school program. Once a week teens would facilitate approximately 30 minutes of structured physical activity (PA) games that build PA engagement and skills.

While this creative approach was a hit with school teachers and students, CFHL, UCCE looked to further improve the project by increasing their teen-teachers' self-confidence as leaders, as well as their PA knowledge. In response, the UC Davis Center for Nutrition in Schools (CNS) and CFHL, UCCE collaborated to pilot the addition of Healthy Choices in Motion (HCIM) to this innovative teens-as-teachers project in the summer of 2019.

Led by UCCE San Mateo educator Marisela Ceron, five HCIM lessons were taught to increase the teen-teachers' PA knowledge and the understanding of the overall importance of PA before leading CATCH activities for younger youth. HCIM is one of the curricula featured as part of the Shaping Healthy Choices Program, a multi-component, evidence-based intervention that is implemented across California in partnership with CFHL, UCCE. This curriculum features lessons about the benefits of PA, the five components of physical fitness, recommendations across the lifespan, and why a variety of PA is important.  

Through this novel programming, teen-teachers were able to gain teaching and leadership experience in their community, in addition to their own growth in the practice of PA and PA knowledge. To assess the success of the addition of HCIM to the existing CATCH teens-as-teachers program, PA knowledge questionnaires were administered before and after the HCIM lessons. Teen teacher surveys and a focus group were conducted near the project's end, after which teen teachers taught one additional CATCH acitivity lesson.The project spanned 1 month in Summer 2019.

Healthy Choices in Motion

The Impact

Overall, the teen-teachers increased their physical activity and felt that they gained confidence and leadership and life skills. Upon completion of the HCIM lessons, teens significantly increased their PA knowledge (pre = 11.65 ± 2.9; post = 14.70 ± 3.1; p = .001). When asked about their own physical activity engagement in the teen teacher survey, 41.7% of teens that participated in the project reported being physically active for more than 60 minutes 5 days the previous week and 33.3% reported being active all 7 days.

With ample opportunities to gain involvement in leadership and teaching during this project, students were also asked to rate their level of agreement on statements related to engagement and experiences in the program on a four-point Likert scale. Some noteworthy results were: I am more confident in helping others (83.3%) and in myself overall (83.3%), I gained skills through serving my community that will help me in the future (83.3%), I can apply knowledge in ways that solve "real life" problems through community service (75%).

A focus group with the teen-teachers showed common themes and testimonials of enjoyment working with younger students and being more physically active (Table 2). 

Table 2

Being active in childhood is linked to being active as an adult, in addition to improving heart health, mood, sleep, and strengthening muscles and bones (2009 review, 2018 guidelines). In this way, CFHL, UCCE contributes to health for all and the public value of promoting healthy people and communities.

Red imported fire ant (RIFA) control routine guidelines adopted by Los Angeles County school , protecting 500 school students from stings and contributing to improved community health and wellness.

The Issue

Red imported fire ant (RIFA, Solenopsis invicta, Fig. 1) is a venomous ant that was accidentally brought into California in 1989. Since its introduction, it has spread to many new territories in Southern California and Central Valley.  RIFA infests lawns on parks, cemeteries, schools, houses, farms, etc. RIFA bites and stings people and its venom may cause anaphylactic shock in susceptible individuals. RIFA is currently found in many areas in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. It is also becoming increasingly more problematic in the Merced County. In the Los Angeles County, it occurs near the borderline of Orange and San Bernardino counties. In 2017, the California School for the Deaf in Riverside experienced a severe RIFA infestation and school's ground crew had little success in trying to control RIFA on their 70-acres of land. 

How UC Delivers

Dr. Siavash Taravati, an IPM advisor at UC Cooperative Extension office in the Los Angeles County was contacted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation about this infestation. Taravati visited the school, spoke to the grounds crew on the field, inspected infested areas for RIFA mounds, collected some ant samples for identification, and took some pictures for the study. Later, Taravati created a new pest management program to help the school management reduce the level of RIFA infestations. This study was part of a RIFA management research program and was sponsored by the California department of pesticide regulation. Four different active ingredients were used for suppressing RIFA populations. Granular insecticides were distributed using a handheld spreader or manually by hand. Construction flags and marking spray paint were used to mark areas with RIFA activity. The school was visited by Taravati 2-3 times a month for insecticide applications and monitoring the infestation levels. The project duration was one year. RIFA activity was measured prior to and after treatment. RIFA population declined drastically shortly after the onset of UCCE's RIFA management efforts. After a few months, the number of RIFA mounds in many areas was decreased by 50 percent, and ultimately up to 95 percent in some of the athletic fields that used to be one of the most heavily infested spots. Similar results were obtained in other areas with 90 percent or more reduction in the number of mounds. Even when new mounds appeared periodically on the lawn, they were often small in size. Furthermore, unlike mature and large colony mounds, only a small number of ants emerged from these new mounds when they were poked with a rod. 

The Impact

The RIFA control routine guidelines were adopted by the school staff upon finding the best practices from this research. They changed their primary pesticide management method from liquid insecticide applications to using granular baits as much as possible and talked to their supervisors and asked them for more support for their RIFA management efforts. As described above, this research shows that implementing this method decreases RIFA population, thus, protecting 500 school students from stings. Research shows these stings that can cause pain and discomfort and in some cases, life-threatening anaphylactic shock requiring immediate care. In this way, this applied pest management research and extension effort contributed to improved community health and wellness.

Testimonials

School ground crew: I really want to thank you for your great help. It was nice to have help with the fire ants. There aren't many places to get free help for fire ant control. Your work helped us to protect our school kids from being bitten during your reach for sure. We really liked your method of granular bait application and adopted it for better and more efficient fire ant control. Thanks