HARRISBURG, Ill. – Community partnerships are fundamental to the mission of Extension. Collaboration with community organizations, schools, and local businesses enables staff to broaden their impact and create more opportunities for local residents.
A new partnership has formed between Sol Systems and the Extension through the Eldorado Solar Project. Thanks to funding from this project, Extension was able to cover Saline County 4-H registrations, purchase virtual reality simulators, acquire hydroponic garden towers for East Side Intermediate's 4th-grade class in Harrisburg and Eldorado Elementary's 3rd-grade class, as well as support some local food insecurity initiatives.
Extension staff began by coordinating with Saline County school districts to determine classroom schedules and developing lessons to engage students in workforce development, agriculture, and nutrition programming. In-classroom lessons have begun, and hydroponic towers will be planted in February. Students will not only gain knowledge but will have a full hands-on experience in gardening, seed to fork, celebrating by enjoying their harvest together in early Spring. In addition to student lessons, school faculty have taken part in teacher-training workshops, learning how to monitor the hydroponic towers as well as ways to integrate them into their own science, math, English, or other existing lesson plans. The plants for the towers were started by Ag Gardener Julie Zakes at the Dixon Springs Ag Center greenhouse to ensure there are plenty of healthy, strong seedlings by planting time.
Elementary students, in grades 4 and younger, will have the opportunity to experience a virtual reality welding simulator. The simulator can be brought directly into their classrooms, introducing students to the basics of welding through an age-appropriate, interactive experience.
These educational initiatives showcase a collaborative effort among the Local Foods, SNAP-Ed, and Youth Development teams, enhancing Extension's accessibility for the youth in Saline County.
Sol Systems is an Independent Power Producer (IPP) committed to building, owning, and managing clean energy infrastructure that benefits local communities. With a 7 GW pipeline across 38 states, Sol integrates energy storage and grid resiliency solutions to deliver reliable, sustainable power to Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, utilities, and schools. Through strategic partnerships and community reinvestment, Sol ensures clean energy development drives long-term economic and environmental benefits. Founded in 2008 and led by its founder, Sol Systems is dedicated to shaping an energy future we can all believe in.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.