AgrAbility News for May 2019
Maine AgrAbility Project News
May 9, Sally Farrell, UMaine Cooperative Extension 4-H professional working with the youth pre-employment and peer mentoring program, attended the parents night at Massbessic High School and met with parents and students involved in the summer workprogram.Then May 16, Sally brought 4 lambs to the school and the students worked on halter breaking the lambs to lead.
Maine AgrAbility’s veteran outreach coordinator, Anne Devin, and Kelley Smith, ATP and AgrAbility specialist, met with the Extension marketing team on May 15 to launch the marketing campaign for the upcoming Educate-2-Cultivate symposium this Fall. https://extension.umaine.edu/agrability/e2c/. Staff have also started talking with the recreation therapist at the VA hospital in Augusta to assist them with their raised garden beds, making the space more accessible for both in-patient and out-patient use.
Lani Carlson exhibited LogAbility information May 17-18 at the Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Exposition (Loggers’ Expo), sharing space with the Northeast Center (NEC). This indoor and outdoor show features over 200 exhibiting companies and attracts 5,000 to 7,000 attendees with a mix of live demonstrations and static displays.
Maine AgrAbility’s Ellen Gibson presented an adaptive gardening class for the Gorham Garden club on April 30. She covered topics that included how to 
continue gardening with barriers, how to work smarter & conserve energy, and a discussion of simple ergonomic techniques. On May 22, Ellen gave a similar presentation to a community group in Waterboro. Then again on May 24, Ellen gave a presentation at the Union Maine farmers’ market, where she set up an AgrAbility exhibit with demonstration AT and ergonomic tools, and provided hands-on demonstrations on how to lift, bend, and shovel.
AgrAbility News from Across the Nation
- Save the Date for NTW 2020!
The AgrAbility National Training Workshop will take place in Madison, WI, March 23-26, 2020. - Two AgrAbility Regional Training events are in the planning stages. One will be in State College, PA, October 8-9, 2020. Considerations are being given to hosting the second in CA in December.
- News from other State AgrAbility Projects
Toolbox Spotlight:
The Pressure Washer Surface Scrubber Attachment is a long-handled circular device with twin rotating jets inside its protective housing that eject water under high pressure to remove dirt, debris, grease/oil, etc. from any flat surface (e.g., concrete floor, sidewalk, deck, patio). Some scrubbers also include rotating brushes.