This summer, PCCE Director Claire Zucker met with the Pima County Supervisors and their staffers and also with the Pima County Administrator to share about our many programs and to discuss partnership opportunities. Pima County provides critical support to PCCE through operations funding and housing support at all of our locations. We were excited to follow up with visits for District 3 and 5 staff members to our South Tucson location, The Garden Kitchen. This site offers hands-on education about nutrition, health, and physical activity for the whole family. During the tours, each team learned about the history of the site, including EPA’s Brownsfield restoration and early environmental sustainability projects. We shared how we pivoted programs to effectively serve the community during the pandemic, including being a distribution site for enrichment at early childhood centers and working with mutual aids to increase food security. Current programming includes community gardening, edible food forests, and culinary classes. Both teams were excited to brainstorm how to match the needs of their constituents with opportunities through The Garden Kitchen. PCCE continues to reach out and work with local governments to find ways to work on shared objectives.

People are beating the heat by bringing their groups to the PCCE 4-H High Ropes Course. PCCE has had a ropes course for many years, but with the expansion of Tucson Village Farm and the Culinary Education Center on Roger, just east of Campbell, an entirely new and upgraded ropes course has been built. While dangling from ropes, leaping from poles, and swinging high in the sky, teams develop their leadership and life skills. Groups vary from businesses and clubs to youth groups and schools, but each one works on problem-solving skills, developing trust, and setting and accomplishing goals all while having a safe and fun shared experience! We recommend a group size of at least 12 people and ages 9+. We are so happy that this unique community resource is open. If you or your group would like to learn more, please visit our PCCE 4-H Ropes Course Scheduling page.

The PCCE Family Engagement Program is hosting a series of free virtual screenings of a groundbreaking documentary, Resilience, which addresses the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress on an individual’s life trajectory. ACEs are traumatic incidents during childhood such as abuse or neglect or characteristics of a child’s environment such as divorce, incarceration, domestic violence, or alcoholism. Research shows a correlation between the number of ACEs an individual experienced in childhood and risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, depression, teen pregnancy, ischemic heart disease, financial problems, STDs, and COPD. The film makes a compelling case for reducing ACEs and mitigating their effect on people’s lives. In some parts of the country concerned individuals organized to create change after viewing the film. In various counties in Washington state, communities addressing ACEs report the following results: a 39% reduction in teen arrests for drugs, a 59% drop in the youth suicide rate, and a 37% drop in domestic violence.

Since March 2020, the Family Engagement Program has offered seven virtual screenings and approximately 175 community members have watched the film. To sign up for a screening that is convenient for you, visit the Family Engagement website for screenings of “Resilience” the documentary. You can also organize a custom screening for specific groups or reach out to PCCE agent Debbie Curley (dcurley@arizona.edu) for more information.