Silver Bow County

Located in Southwest Montana along the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains, you will find the “Richest Hill on Earth”. Known for its vast history as a mining town, rich in its Irish heritage, and recognized by the “Our Lady of the Rockies” stature and the Berkley Pit, Silver Bow County is unique in many ways. It is one of two counties in Montana with a combined city-county government, run by a Chief Executive and 12 county commissioners. There is a county population of 34,400 with a land area of just over 718 square miles, making it the smallest land-mass county in the state. The county’s economy is driven by health care, education, mining and tourism. It is home to filming of 1923, the latest Yellowstone prequel, St. James Hospital, NorthWestern Energy, and Montana Tech. The MSU Extension Office is staffed by 4-H Youth Development and Family Consumer Science Agent, Kellie Kahtani, and SNAP-Ed Instructor, Jen Friedberg.

4-H & Youth Development

MSU Extension Focuses on Local Foods with Youth

How can you bring a focus on local food systems and healthy eating to area youth in a fun way? MSU Extension agent, Kellie Kahtani, brought lessons and activities from the Montana Harvest of the Month to West Elementary and Ramsay School throughout the school year and collaborated with SNAP-Educator for Butte-Silver Bow, Jen Friedberg, to rebuild the school garden at West Elementary. Harvest of the Month lessons were taught on dairy, beets, whole grains, and chickpeas at Ramsay with the assistance of kindergarten through 5th grade teachers, at West Elementary with the 3rd and 4th graders through PE classes, and at PAWS After School. Through this program, 102 youth in Ramsay, 100 students at West, and 45 youth at PAWS4-H learned about the local foods, incorporating physical activity and tastings into the lessons. Many youth had never tried beets before the February lesson, but as the school year progressed, many youth at both schools commented about making the beet smoothies from class at home for family. As the harvest of the month lessons continued, a collaboration between Extension agent and SNAP-educator on how to bring more opportunities to West Elementary started. With the help of 4th-6th grade students, the garden came back to life for the first time since 2019. Students helped with the bed preparation, tilling soil and mixing peat moss into the beds in May. The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), who previously worked in the garden through the FoodCorp grant, partnered with MSU Extension to provide a planting plan as well as vegetable starts. A parent group was also organized to help rebuild one of the garden beds and organize the caretaking of the garden over the summer. In early June, the students were brought back in to plant the garden beds prior to the end of the school year, working with NCAT and MSU Extension. Throughout the summer, parents, MSU Extension personnel, and school district employees volunteered to care for the garden ensuring that plants were watered, beds were weeded, and produce was harvested at its peak. The overall plan is to continue the garden through the beginning of the school year to bring fresh picked vegetables into the Harvest of the Month program and Youth Understanding MyPlate (YUM) classes at West.

Extension agent, Kellie Kahtani, teaching a 5th grade class at West Elementary about the plants being grown in their school garden during Harvest of the Month.

Caption: Extension agent, Kellie Kahtani, teaching a 5th grade class at West Elementary about the plants being grown in their school garden during Harvest of the Month.

Credit: Shelly McLaughlin, PE Teacher

4-H & Youth Development

4-H Youth Development Grows Here!

The 4-H program focused on getting kids outdoors in healthy environments this year. There were new programs started, fun themes added to existing programs, and a new location for the Butte-Silver Bow County Fair. One of the new programs that was started this year was the Youth Outdoor Day, hosted at McGruff Park in May. For this event, MSU Extension partnered with government organizations (FWP, USFS), educational organizations (4-H, CFWEP, NCAT, Boone & Crocket Club), and community organizations to host tables showcasing activities youth could do outside in a fun, educational way. Thanks to donations from Northwestern Energy, Walmart, and Western Meat Block, a free lunch was also provided for all participants. Overall, there were over 400 community members who participated throughout the day. With the addition of a new theme for this year’s 4-H camp, “Camp Bug Juice”, 4-H members from Silver Bow County also participated in a 3-day camp focusing on bugs and nature. Twenty-three members and 6 volunteers participated in camp this year, located on Loon Lake in Flathead County, learning about wildlife, fishing, fly tying, cooking on an open fire, and participating in art projects such as building a nature bug following a scavenger hunt. During the final campfire, members were also invited to participate in a “bug tasting” where roasted crickets, earthworm jerky, and mixed bugs were on the menu. We also finished out the year at the Butte-Silver Bow County Fair, hosted at The Original Mine Yard in uptown Butte, with a theme of “Catch the Fair Bug”. Some of the indoor projects featured what was learned during 4-H camp, and the animals were housed in the open-air tents on the grounds to highlight what was learned this year in 4-H. In all, over 50 members of the Silver Bow County 4-H program participated in multiple facets of the fair, with overall community participation and attendance at the fair being the highest in years!

Members at 4-H camp with their fairy lanterns

Caption: Members at 4-H camp with their fairy lanterns

Credit: Denise Smith, 4-H volunteer/leader

Agriculture & Natural Resources

Silver Bow County SNAP-Ed and Partners Promote Healthy Living through Community Garden Project

During the spring and summer of 2023, the SNAP-Ed Instructor for Silver Bow County, Jen Friedberg, partnered with the Silver Bow public library, Park Stret Community Garden and Silver Bow Developmental Disabilities Council (SBDDC) to provide a large garden plot to a sober living house in Butte whose residents were also SNAP recipients. Beginning in April of 2023 the County’s SNAP Educator taught a six-week nutrition education class at the house that included basic skills for grocery shopping, increasing physical activity and cooking nutritious meals. At the end of each class an employee of SBDDC, who was also a former Food Corp member, taught a brief lesson on basic gardening. The SNAP Educator also applied for and received a small SNAP grant to purchase tools, supplies and seeds for the garden bed. The seed library housed at the Silver Bow public library was also utilized. The residents of the house then planted seeds and cared for these plant starts inside their residence until it was time to plant the garden. With the help of the Park Street Community Garden’s master gardener the residents then planted and maintained the garden bed over the summer. A variety of herbs, squash, and brassicas were planted alongside select flowers to help control pests and attract pollinators. The residents were able to harvest fresh produce from the bed and increased their physical activity levels as the garden was within walking distance of their house. A cooking class is being planned to use much of the produce harvested from the garden this fall.

The community garden plot in full bloom