It's the time of year when we experience chillier months and longer nights. In nature, winter is a time to rest and wait for the eruption of life and color that comes with spring. For many people, winter can be a time of high stress. The pressure of holidays with travel or family tension, a never-ending parade of germs coming home with your kids from school and feelings of loneliness are all too common experiences. This winter season, VSU-Virginia Cooperative Extension is introducing a locally-grown idea for a DIY wellness activity to combat stress and take an intentional moment to slow down.

In 2024, Dr. Theresa Nartea, the Extension Specialist for Marketing and Agribusiness at VSU-VCE, began a new agri-therapy program named VSU Floralpy®, inspired by the words "floral" and "therapy." Dr. Nartea launched this fresh approach at VSU's Randolph Farm with the goal of improving the integrated well-being of the community. Participants learned how being immersed in a field of fragrant flowers and herbs enhances well-being. Dr. Nartea said, "I noticed during field days how participants would walk into the blooming flower fields, and instantly their faces lit up. They would touch the leaves and smell the flowers; you could instantly see people relax and smile just being one with nature." During several VSU field days, participants could cut their own flowers and herbs to make a personal bouquet to take home. This Floralpy® process of creating a personal aromatic bouquet straight out of nature instead of a store is a fun way to reduce stress. "I believe making your own wellness bouquet is a form of focused meditation," says Dr. Nartea. Local growers also learned about the possibility of adding this valuable activity to their on-farm offerings.

Collaborative partnerships are a cornerstone of Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) at Virginia State University (VSU)’s mission to help people put scientific knowledge to work through learning experiences that their well-being. In 2024, VSU is proud to celebrate successful collaborations across programming areas in community development, 4H, human nutrition and health and food, ag systems and agroforestry.

VSU’s Associate Specialist of Community Development Ms. Novita Epps collaborates with the Concerned Citizens of Ettrick, one of VSU’s surrounding communities. This group is dedicated to addressing local issues, and promoting the cultural, spiritual, economic, educational, physical and social well-being of the Ettrick community.

At Virginia State University (VSU), the College of Agriculture is committed to the integrated well-being of communities, and agricultural innovation and sustainability. The natural intersection of these is at a farmer’s market, where local producers and the community come together to celebrate and strengthen local food systems. This November, VSU and the Virginia Farmers Market Association (VAFMA) partnered to host the first Mid-Atlantic Farmers Market Conference in Richmond, Virginia, to bring farmers, market managers, agriculture policy makers and community partners together to share passion and ideas for small and local farms, increasing food access, healthy communities and farmers markets.

For over 30 years, Sheree Press and Bernadette “Bee” Darrow have run a program aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. February of 2025 will mark 15 years of their program, Family Focus, coming under the umbrella of Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) thanks in part to some out-of-the-box thinking from Virginia State University (VSU)’s Special Assistant to the Associate Administrator Doris Heath, who at the time was a local extension agent familiar with Family Focus. Previously, the program was a part of the Virginia Mental Health System’s Prevention services  when funding issues forced a temporary closure of the program. After years of struggling to grow and applying for grants acting as financial band-aids for their critical work, Press and Darrow are driving program growth to expand their impact. “We’re at the moment of growth for the first time in 14 years,” says Darrow. “We joined the VCE Human Development Team and the VSU Extension Program Team during the pandemic. We’ve been uplifted and elevated as people and a program more in the last four years than ever.”

The goal of establishing these institutions was to develop practical solutions to problems, as the approach to university level education in America continued to evolve from a narrow liberal arts education towards the diverse fields available today. At the time, these institutions were for white male students. It wasn’t until 1882 that the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now called Virginia State University (VSU), was founded for the purpose of providing higher education opportunities for African Americans.

First thing in the morning, you can find Rachel Lawmaster caring for rabbits and working with greenhouse plants. The rest of her day might include more farm work, office work, or hosting a weekly program at the Petersburg Boys and Girls Club to introduce students to agriculture (her favorite day of the week). Lawmaster is Virginia State University (VSU)'s Program Assistant for the Urban Agriculture program, and she combines passion, commitment and a broad array of outreach efforts to impact her community positively.

When Second Baptist Church (SBC) in Richmond, Virginia, grappled with the issue of stormwater runoff from its extensive roof, it collaborated with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to develop an efficient solution. But with the challenge of managing the collected water emerging, specialists from Virginia State University's Cooperative Extension (VSU-VCE) and assistants from the Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) saw an opportunity: start an urban garden.

The Harding St. Urban Ag Center in Petersburg, Virginia has one mission: to address existing food deserts in the City of Petersburg by building a sustainable food production system and distribution hub. This includes educating the community about indoor food production operations, marketing, and entrepreneurship. To help further this mission, Virginia State University’s (VSU) Extension Program is spearheading efforts to change the policies behind some of the local problems of quality food access.

The mission of the Urban Ag Center is to address existing food deserts in the City of Petersburg by building a sustainable food production system and distribution hub that includes educating the community about indoor food production operations, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Creating urban land-use policies would expand VSU’s Extension’s ability to impact the community in terms of providing greater access to food in Petersburg.

Virginia State University’s Extension Program has numerous communal garden projects across the state. Dr. Leonard Githinji, who leads the Sustainable and Urban Agriculture program at VSU and was recently appointed as a state program leader for agriculture with Virginia Cooperative Extension, says the top goals of community agriculture are to “address food insecurity, encourage healthy eating, and provide exercise opportunities.”

There is something growing year round at the Harding Street Urban Ag Center in Petersburg, Virginia. But it’s what you can’t see growing that makes the center a success and a unique model for sustainable urban agriculture.

Navy Veteran Says Best Part of VSU’s Sustainable Agriculture Program is Getting Your Hands Dirty