"The future is not completely beyond our control. It is the work of our own hands."
Robert F. Kennedy

For several decades the public sector has experimented with a variety of techniques to look to and plan for the future from forecasting in the 1950s and 1960s, strategic planning processes in the 1970s, futures projects in the 1980s, to visioning in the 1990s (Ames, 1993). As the techniques have evolved, so has the level of public participation. Today public involvement is an essential element of planning for the future. Not only is public participation valuable from a planning perspective, but it also provides individuals with the opportunity to "make a difference" (Theobald, 1987).

Simply put, visioning is a process by which a community envisions the future it wants and then plans how to achieve it (Ames, 1993). Community visioning projects are commonplace throughout the country. They take a variety of forms and are unique to each locality. Many visioning processes ask four fundamental questions: "Where are we now?" "Where are we going?" "Where do we want to be?" and, "How do we get there?" (Ames, 1993).

Visioning processes engage the public in many ways through a variety of tools, including community surveys, focus groups, public meetings, workshops, blue-ribbon committees, community tours, newsletters, and special events. Each technique is designed to garner public input regarding the future of the community. An innovative tool for the visioning "tool box" is community mapping. Community mapping is a technique that takes public participants past more passive, traditional inputs into a more interactive and tactile method of creating a future vision of a community. The process is especially useful with blue-ribbon committees or visioning core committees.

There are three main components of an effective community mapping process. First, participants must become familiar with the community (study area). Inevitably, participants will have varying levels of familiarity and understanding of the community. The first task, then, is to level the playing field, so that all participants can contribute equally. This can be done in a couple of different ways. If the study area is small - a neighborhood or downtown - have participants walk or tour the area. Ask them to identify and document activities and characteristics along the way. Polaroid cameras enhance this activity tremendously by allowing participants to capture images for future reference.

If the study area is larger - a city or county - participants can take a visual tour with the assistance of a video. In the City of Wausau, WI, a video documenting the current situation was created for the visioning process. Video clips and still images of the city were combined to illustrate various land uses and activities throughout the city. Demographic and statistical information were voiced-over the tape to give the audience a more complete picture. This allowed the group to visualize the good and not so good attributes of the community together, fueling an energetic discussion.

Actual mapping by participants is the next component. Participants are grouped into teams of five-to-six members and assigned to a portion of the community shown in a large format map. The large format maps ideally contain elements such as roads, municipal boundaries, bodies of water, existing commercial, industrial and residential land uses, parks, trails and conservancy areas, and public service infrastructure, including fire and police stations, sewer and water treatment facilities, hospitals, schools, and public transit lines. Still pictures of the area are a valuable tool.

During this segment, each group develops a graphical "plan" for the future of the community, limited to the boundaries on their map. The groups are given a variety of colored markers and community element icons to create their vision. Community element icons are used to delineate the need for a specific community service or development need and may include schools, single- and multi-family homes, parks, playgrounds, museums, medical facilities, churches, libraries, community centers, parking lots, retail and commercial operations, theaters, industrial uses, green spaces, pedestrian and bicycle paths, sidewalks, trees/landscaping, and street lights.

The community mapping exercise is consensus-based, so participants are encouraged to discuss and agree upon an idea before it is placed on the map. Groups are asked to consider the location of existing land uses and facilities to determine if these need to be revised, expanded, or improved to better serve future needs. The process of placing group ideas on the map is usually limited to an hour to an hour-and-a-half. At the end of the idea generating session, each group is asked to identify its "Big and Bold Ideas." These ideas are what the group considers to be their best or most influential in defining the future of their portion of the community.

The final component of community mapping follows the completion of the mapping exercise. At this point, the large group reconvenes and each group shares their "Big and Bold Ideas." The facilitator records all ideas on flip charts for the group to view. Time is allowed for discussion regarding individual group ideas and the future graphic vision that has been developed. As ideas are shared, it is interesting to note where groups came up with similar ideas for the community, which helps reinforce the shared vision for the future.

The community mapping process serves several purposes. First, it provides additional public input into the visioning process. Second, it allows participants to have a "hands-on" experience which, in turn, leads to participants having a sense of ownership and commitment to the project. Third, it provides a valuable visual representation of the future of the community to share with other residents which provides a richness and value that may not otherwise be realized. Finally, it provides a platform for implementation of the community's future vision.

Ames, S.C. (1993). A guide to community visioning: Hands-on information for local communities. Portland, OR: Oregon Visions Project, Oregon Chapter, American Planning Association.

Theobald, R. (1987). The rapids of change: Social entrepreneurship in turbulent times. Indianapolis, IN: Knowledge Systems, Inc.

The World Wide Web is changing the way educational materials and programs are delivered. The new electronic frontier has meant that "the locus of information has shifted from the expert to the consumer." (Smith, 1999, p. 31). In addition, learning has become more self-paced as the consumer is able to access a wide variety of family life educational material via the web (Elliott, 1999). The use of e-mail, listserves, webpages and on-line courses is on the increase. Typically, the exchange of information over the web has been one-way or non-interactive. Families and clients, adept in the use of and application of technology, are calling for interactive web-based educational programs that are self-paced and user friendly.

In response to this new demand, a team of Extension specialists at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University created a web-based Family Check-Up. The Family Check-Up is a public internet site where families can access several self-scoring assessment programs in the areas of family life, financial management, and nutrition and food safety. The goals of the Family Check-Up were to create a brief user-friendly, web-based self-assessment tool for families. The tool would provide immediate feedback to the user and would have multiple programming applications. These programming applications include needs assessment, access to Extension educational materials and programming, enhancement of collaboration and referrals among family and consumer science disciplines, program marketing, and potential outcome evaluation tools.

The Family Check-Up assessments provide immediate feedback to the consumer and offer a variety of on-line educational materials and Extension contacts. The data from the assessments are stored in a database for later analysis by the specialist. The Family Check-Up tool serves as a brief needs assessment in each area. Feedback allows the clients to gain an understanding on how they are doing with respect to their family life, financial management, and nutrition and food safety practices. Once scored, the Family Check-Up provides the user with educational materials and programming opportunities available through Virginia Cooperative Extension. Clients can contact an Extension professional within their locality for educational programs or simply access materials via the web.

Besides serving as a needs assessment, the Family Check-Up can be used as a marketing tool for Family and Consumer Sciences agents. Armed with a laptop and connected to the web, agents can promote Extension programming at events such as health fairs, school functions, community meetings, or county fairs.

In addition, the Family Check-Up has research/outcome applications. Demographic and assessments data collected are stored for later analysis. As data are accumulated an overall picture of client needs emerges. Analysis of these data will assist in determining the direction of current and future educational programs.

Program impact is an area in which the Family Check-Up also can be beneficial. For example, the financial management section of the Family Check-Up assesses financial management practices. Clients, before participating in financial management Extension educational programming, can complete the Financial Management portion of the Family Check-Up as a pre-test. After the educational program, the assessment can be used as a post-test to determine whether financial management practices have improved as a result of the educational intervention.

The Family Check-Up promotes collaboration across disciplines and referrals among Family and Consumer Science Extension professionals. For example, a Family and Human Development agents using the family life assessment at a health fair could, based on the results of the individual's assessment in financial management, refer the person to a financial management colleague for educational programming.

Experienced Extension educators know that multi-problem families need a wide range of interventions. For example, a client with nutrition-related problems may be the result of financial management difficulties or financial management problems may be the result of relationship issues such as divorce. Each area is interrelated and must be addressed as a whole in order for the family to make needed changes. The Family Check-Up therefore offers increased opportunities for both clients and Extension educators to better meet the needs of clients.

In summary, the web-based Family Check-Up has multiple programming advantages. The Family Check-Up serves as an individual self-appraisal and also functions as an overall group needs assessment. The Family Check-Up can be utilized as a marketing tool to capture clients, attention since the web-based program provides immediate feedback to the client. Collaboration and referrals among family and consumer science disciplines are enhanced. The Family Check-Up can assist in outcome research by providing a tool for assessing change in practice in the case of financial management and nutrition and food safety, and changes of levels of satisfaction with family life due to Extension educational programming.

The Family Check-Up enables Virginia Cooperative Extension to provide web-based users of technology an interactive self-assessment that links them to educational materials and programming. If you would like to visit the Family Check-Up site you can do so at the following URL: http://doriant.ext.vt.edu/cf/family_checkup/

Elliott, M. (1999). Classifying family life education on the World Wide Web. Family Relations, 48, 7-13.

Smith, C. A. (1999). Family life pathfinders on the new electronic frontier. Family Relations, 48. 31-34.

The second edition of the "Specialty and Minor Crop Handbook" published in 1998 by the Small Farm Center, University of California, is a great reference for agriculture and horticulture personnel interested in specialty crops. It is also a great resource book for small-scale family farmers interested in producing and marketing specialty crops to various ethnic groups.

The handbook is divided into four major sections specialty and minor crops, glossary of Asian vegetables, annotated bibliography, and index to scientific and common names. The specialty and minor crop section includes 63 crop sheets covering specialty vegetables, culinary herbs, salad greens, specialty fruits, and other crops. The comprehensive annotated bibliography section lists helpful books, useful free publications, recommended trade journals, and seed sources. The final section has an index to scientific and common names of the crops discussed.

A brief introduction, botanical and common names, market information, culture, seed or plant sources, and additional references on all 63 specialty and minor crops are provided in a reader-friendly manner. There is at least one color picture for each of the 63 crops. In many cases, two to three pictures are included to show crops in the field, market, or different parts of the crop. High quality pictures in the handbook are a great resource to readers unfamiliar with these crops.

Some of the Asian vegetables discussed are bok choy, bitter melon, baby corn, nappa cabbage, Chinese water spinach, Chinese broccoli, daikon radish, and yard-long bean. Many popular culinary herbs such as anise, basil, chive, cilantro, fennel, leeks, lemongrasses, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme receive their share of attention as well. Some of the specialty fruits in this handbook include Asian pear, figs, gooseberry, European current, red current, and white currant. There are crop sheets on such salad greens as arugula, Belgian endive, cardoon, endive, radicchio, Swiss chard, and vegetable amaranth. Unique crops such as bottle gourd, jicama, luffa gourd, okra, and prickly pear cactus are discussed in great detail.

Each crop sheet has a brief description of botanical and economical characteristics and origin. In the market information section, authors have done a great job addressing the current production and yield, uses, and nutritional value of these crops. In the culture section, such critical information as climatic requirements, propagation and care, pests and disease, and harvest and post-harvest practices are provided as well. Information in the handbook is easily adapted for other states.

The glossary of Asian vegetables is unique. In addition to common and botanical names, authors list the names of these vegetables in six different languages commonly spoken in Asia to minimize confusion about the crop names. There is also a selected bibliography on specialty and exotic crops. The publications listed include are practical, covering topics such as propagation, nutrition, soil, water, and cultural requirements.

There is an extensive section of reference materials included in the handbook. Authors thoughtfully divided this section into books for your shelf, books from the library, useful free publications, and recommended journals. Some national and California specialty and minor crop seed sources are listed in the handbook. The index to scientific and common names is very straightforward and helpful.

In brief, the Specialty and Minor Crops handbook is a great reference for agricultural and horticultural Extension personnel with interests in specialty crops. Small-scale family farmers will also find it an invaluable tool when they explore the wonderful world of specialty crops. This handbook is definitely worth $35 even though it is more expensive than most Extension publications.

The Specialty and Minor Crop Handbook is 186 pages long with 95 high quality color photos, and carries the University of California Extension publication number 3346. Its ISBN is 1-879906-38-4. This handbook is only available in softcover for $35 per copy (U.S. funds), plus $5 shipping and handling, from the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Communication Services-Publications, 6701 San Pablo Avenue, 2nd Floor, Oakland, California 94608-1239. The handbook can also be ordered by calling 1-800-994-8849 or (510)642-2431 or visiting the web site http://danrcs.ucdavis.edu/.

This article is online at http://joe.org/joe/1999december/ent-tt.html.

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