Wheatland County
Wheatland County
Published: 2022By Mandie Reed
Big Sky, Big Leadership making ripples in Wheatland County
Published: 2022By Mandie Reed
Big Sky, Big Leadership, is a local program offered by Montana State University Extension. Each county can adapt it to meet local needs. The program has three areas of focus: personal leadership skill development, community process and working collaboratively, and community-based experiences planned to improve participants' knowledge about the community.
Through the ripple mapping process, we learned the value participants place on skills they learned and "use daily" in their personal lives, family businesses, and local leadership roles. Participants felt they were better equipped to engage in difficult conversations at a community level because of practicing in the program. This has resulted in the community finding better solutions to complex problems while maintaining working relationships. The opportunity to build relationships and strengthen community connections was one of the outcomes that participants valued most.
Community members were more willing to volunteer to serve on boards or for projects, or felt they had the skills to move forward on projects. The Harlo Farmers Market and the Farm Stress Seminar were successful projects initiated by the BSBL class participants.
The Middle School Retreat
Published: 2022By Mandie Reed
The students wanted to know more about mental health, brain science, and goal setting. They also wanted to have fun, be with their friends, and relax. The planning team met those goals with interactive, engaging activities. They built in plenty of time so kids didn't feel rushed, and made sure the content was hands-on and applied to what students wanted to learn. At the end of camp, youth shared the most valuable things they learned: "I learned a lot about what I can do to achieve my goals and about my strengths from REAL Colors personality training.' "I am going to be better at not procrastinating." "I will not use bad self-talk, like saying I am stupid."
They also built in activities to build community and teach life skills. They created a middle school menu with ramen bowls, street tacos, and omelets in a mug. Students were excited they could make their breakfast in one minute. The youth helped cook each meal and clean up. One ground rule the students added to The Retreat list was that everyone would eat together, continuing to create community. At the end of the program, one youth commented that The Retreat was "kind of a break from my life; it was fun to learn and be with friends."