(Charleston Gazette) West Virginians can get a feel for the first LiveWell Community Challenge: Summer Steps—a county-by-county challenge in the state to motivate people to get active—during a kickoff event in Charleston on Thursday.

The one-mile walk along Kanawha Boulevard begins at noon at Haddad Park. Everyone is invited to get out and walk, especially during their lunch break, said Cassie Waugh, communications and marketing manager for West Virginia University Extension Service.

Starting June 1, participants will track the number of miles they walk, run, bike, swim, or play a sport through WVU Extension’s online tracker.

Since it is a county-by-county challenge in the state, participants will identify which county they want their miles to count toward. Participants can check their progress on the site, Waugh said, and mile markers motivate people to exercise more.

The winning county will be announced in September. That county will be designated as a “Live Well West Virginia Community” and will receive a community sign and a free walkability study provided by WVU Extension Service’s Community, Economic and Workforce Development program.

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(WV Farmers Market Association) At the 2012 WV Small Farm Conference (March 1-3, 2012 in Morgantown), the West Virginia Farmers Market Association (WVFMA) and the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition partnered again with the WV Small Farm Center to co-organize a track for farmers markets. We had a wonderful group of presenters.

The presentation materials from the Farmers Market Track are posted here.

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(News Tribune) Students from across the Potomac Highlands traveled to Hampshire Park near Romney recently for a regional outdoor science Water Wise Day to celebrate National Earth Day.

The day was designed by West Virginia University Extension Service (WVU-ES) faculty members to provide hands-on learning experiences focused on outdoor science and water quality education.

Participants gained leadership skills and active learning by rotating through workshops. Participants discovered the many creatures that can be found in a healthy stream through the Mountain Institute’s “Save our Streams” workshop.

The West Virginia Department of Forestry partnered with the program to offer “Tree Planting.” “Chesapeake Bay Watershed,” and the ProjectLearning Tree workshops.

The WVU Extension Service added a tasty learning treat when they created an “Edible Aquifer.”

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(Herald Dispatch) Several adults, both volunteers and employees with the West Virginia University Extension Offices in Wayne and Putnam counties, spent about six hours Monday at Kellogg Elementary learning about robotics.

Todd Ensign, the program manager for the NASA Educator Resource Center through Fairmont State University, travels throughout the state to teach adults about various programs so they can then lead after-school programs with youth.

“We train the trainers,” Ensign said.

Julie Tritz, the Wayne County extension agent, said they plan to use the program for after-school programs offered through 4-H.

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(WBOY) West Virginia University’s Harrison County Extension Office opened its new doors to the public Friday.

The extension offices moved from the Harrison County Courthouse earlier this year to its new location by the 4-H center in Clarksburg.

Extension agents said the new location will help their programs serve the entire county better.

“It’s an opportunity to show the community how much more accessible we are to them. They’re able to come here, they’re able to park so much easier, and just gain access to the different things we do for them so much easier,” said Extension Agent Larry Campbell.

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(Fayette Tribune) Regional fruit and vegetable growers are encouraged to attend a training session on food handling and agricultural practices.

The training takes place Tuesday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in room 1317 of the main building at WVU-Parkersburg in Parkersburg.

The training will help food producers ensure the quality and safety of the foods they grow and market. Topics covered include everything from food safety to production and delivery.

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(News Tribune) The Mineral County Energy Express program is losing funding to provide meals for participating children. The program is in urgent need of sponsors and donors to be able to offer and breakfast and lunch to children in the program this summer.

The necessary grants and matching funds have been secured to operate four sites serving 232 children for five days a week during six weeks in June and July. However, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsor is no longer able to operate the family-style meal component of the program due to a shortfall in funding.

The SFSP program component is required, however, to operate an Energy Express site.

“The Energy Express program was created for the dual purpose of meeting children’s literacy and nutrition needs over the summer months,” says Margaret Miltenberger, WVU Extension Service 4-H agent.

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(Charleston Gazette) A new website invites West Virginians to find help, inspiration and information to support healthier eating and exercise habits.

The site—livewellwv.org—is a project of the West Virginia University Extension Service and The Charleston Gazette. It grew out of an existing Extension web site and a collaboration with the Gazette’s “The Shape We’re In” project on obesity and chronic disease.

“LiveWell West Virginia, aims to inform, inspire, connect and encourage all West Virginians, wherever they are, on their journey toward ever more healthful days,” writes Ann Bailey Berry, associate director of the WVU Extension Service. “Because of this partnership and website, our wellness information is available through our offices in every county as well as online.”

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(USA Today) Despite being more than 125 years old, the Hatfield & McCoy feud will be a surprisingly hot subject in the national media this spring and summer.

A host of cable series, shows and books will focus on one of the world’s most notorious feuds, most prominent among them a three-day History channel miniseries, The Hatfields and McCoys: An American Vendetta, starring Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton that begins airing Memorial Day, May 28.

On the coattails of what the channel bills as an “epic three-night event,” several of its other shows will do Hatfield and McCoy-themed programs. History’s popular American Pickers will lead up to the series with a program that recently brought hosts Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz to the Mountain State, checking out some little-known feud memorabilia. How the States Got Their Shapes will tape a show of its own this June.

All this is music to the ears of Bill Richardson, who for years has toiled at turning the feud into tourism gold for West Virginia and has fingers in several of these projects.

Richardson, a West Virginia University Extension associate professor who does community development work in Mingo and Logan counties, also is a filmmaker, artist and author who, several years back, produced his own 57-minute Hatfield & McCoy documentary, Feud.

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(WBOY) Registration is now open for the 2012 West Virginia State Conservation Camp that will take place June 11 through June 16 at Camp Caesar in Webster County, according to a news release from West Virginia University.

The camp combines outdoor recreation activities with conservation and environmental education.

Registration is open to teens between the ages of 14 and 19 and can be made by visiting www.wvconservationcamp.com or by calling WVU Extension Conservation Specialist and Camp Chairman Ben Spong at 304-293-9425, according to the release.

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