Last month (June 2020), a needs assessment was sent to recipients of Express and others.  Responses do not necessarily represent the county as a whole since survey respondents were mainly existing Extension contacts.  This survey is one piece of a larger needs assessment process that will be rolling out over the next year.

Most beneficial resources

Question: Thinking about the larger topics mentioned previously, select up to three topic areas where information and educational resources would be most beneficial to you

• Yard, property and land management (yards, gardens, personal land management, home wildfire mitigation, pests) was selected by the greatest percentage (23.91%) with Natural Resources and Environment close behind (21.87%).
• Respondents with children in their household (37.3% of respondents), however, selected Youth Development and Support as most beneficial.
• Natural Resources was selected by the greatest percentage of non-white full-time residents.

How familiar are you with Extension?

Of the 408 individuals who responded to the survey:

Beneficial Information and Resources

When identifying specific categories where information and educational resources would be most beneficial, respondents could select up to three categories in each of seven main topic areas.

The top two selections in each of the main topic areas are listed below:

Community Support – % of 1156 responses

• Increasing access to resources and information at CSU (23.62%)
• Increasing civic engagement and leadership, including engaging with policymakers to address local issues. (16.52%)

Food & Agriculture – % of 1041 responses

• Supporting local food production and distribution (e.g. local farmers markets, farm to table, connecting food pantries with local farmers, etc.) (36.29%)
• Food handling and safety practices (e.g. for restaurants, cottage foods, schools, etc.) (16.27%)

Natural Resources & Environment – % of 1273 responses

• Healthy ecosystems, including managing invasive species (26.0%)
• Nature and environmental education (24.19%)

Yard, Property & Land Management – % of 1314 responses

• Choosing sustainable landscapes (e.g. low water use plants, xeriscaping, wildlife, friendly plants, etc.) (25.57%)
• Maintaining trees, gardens, yards, and landscape (20.78%)

Health & Well-being – % of 1144 responses

• Physical health and exercise, including outdoor activities (22.12%)
• Nutrition and healthy cooking (20.45%)

Family, Household & Finances – % of 1064 responses

• Emergency preparedness (20.86%)
• Food safety and preservation (e.g. canning, storage, etc.) (20.49%)

Youth Development – % of 1151 responses

• Youth developing good stewardship of natural resources (18.25%)
• Developing youth life skills (e.g. resume building, conflict resolution, credit, etc.) (15.81%)

This information will help to inform decisions as the Jeffco Extension staff review priorities in the months ahead. Program decisions will be affected by the results of this assessment, combined with additional assessments in coming months, direction from county leadership, and available resources.