My name is Gabriela Martinez Coto, an international student from Santa Bárbara, Honduras, pursuing a degree in Human Biology with an emphasis in Health Science at UW–Green Bay. During the summer of 2026, I had the opportunity to serve as a Health & Well-Being Intern with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension in Brown County, working alongside the FoodWise team and the Oneida Nation while learning how nutrition education and community partnerships can positively impact the health and well-being of a community.

Throughout the summer, I gained valuable experience supporting community health initiatives, collaborating with educators and community partners, and helping deliver nutrition education in engaging, culturally respectful, and accessible ways.

One of the most meaningful parts of this experience was learning from the dedicated professionals at FoodWise and seeing the positive impact they make every day. Their commitment to improving community health inspired me and strengthened my appreciation for the role that education, collaboration, and community engagement play in promoting well-being.

This internship helped me grow both personally and professionally. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from such an incredible team, and I will carry these experiences with me throughout my future education and career.

Are you looking for an easy way to connect your clients, families, community members—or even yourself—to trusted local resources? This handbook is designed to do just that.

The Community Resource Handbook brings together contact information for nearly 200 organizations serving Brown County, all in one convenient place. Developed by Brown County Extension, this resource supports food security and helps increase access to low-cost services for individuals and families with limited incomes.

Whether you work directly with the community or want to keep valuable resources on hand, this guide is a must-have tool.

What You'll Find Inside:

👉 Want your own copy?

Click the button below to download a digital copy (free) or purchase a printed copy ($4, printed on-demand with a 2-3 week wait for pickup).

Our free Zoom sessions are on pause for the summer. We will return with fresh topics this September to May on the second and fourth Thursday 8:30-9:30am.

While we plan our fall schedule, we want to hear from you!
Please reach out if you:

Get in Touch:
Contact Patrick Nehring at 920-391-4616 or patrick.nehring@wisc.edu.

Are you ready to become a confident, informed renter? Rent Smart teaches you the essential skills needed to successfully navigate the rental market, understand tenant-landlord rights, and protect your interests.

Why Attend?

August Afternoon Session Details

UW-Madison Extension Brown County offers custom educational programs live online or in-person on a variety of topics related to nonprofit operation from starting a nonprofit, board roles and responsibilities, meeting operation, fundraising and grant proposals, organizational and strategic planning, volunteer inclusion, partnering with others, personality temperaments (Real Colors), team building, and other topics.  

Contact Community Development Educator/Professor Patrick Nehring at patrick.nehring@wisc.edu or 920-391-6160 to learn more about what program may be a good fit for your organization.

Have you picked up seeds from the Brown County Seed Library, saved seeds for the Seed Library, packed seeds, joined in one of the educational programs, or read the newsletter?    

Join us for an interactive, engaging storytelling session hosted by UW-Madison Extension.  Your stories will help us understand the impact of the Brown County Seed Library, so we can tell others why the Brown County Seed Library matters.  Your experiences directly help us secure funding, partner support, and media coverage so we can keep providing the Seed Library in our community. Enjoy chatting with fellow local gardeners and seed library enthusiasts.

Pick a date and time that works best for your schedule:

Brown County Central Library
515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI 54301
Lower Level, Monroe/Madison Room

Registration is  appreciated but not required.

Please note that due to fair preparations, there will be no August 4-H at YWCA meeting.  The next meeting will be September 8, 2026.

4-H at YWCA is open to youth grades K-12 and is held the second Tuesday of the month 5:30-6:30pm, with at different activity at each meeting.  Previous activities included:  screen printing, brush bots, elephant toothpaste, paper rockets, and archery.

Prior membership in 4-H or YWCA is not required.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Club Leader and 4-H Program Educator, Jon Hill, at 920-391-4653 or jon.hill@wisc.edu.  If you'd like to register for any future activity nights (to ensure adequate supplies), click the button to fill out the short form.  

Throughout the summer, Brown County 4-H will be popping up at libraries near you to engage young people in learning - and READING!  As part of the summer reading program, with the theme of Unearthing a Story, 4-H is holding sessions on Earth Exploration, Mythical Creatures, and Reading Rescue Story Solvers.  

Designed for any young person, these super hands on projects have young people learning without knowing they are learning, and leaving with a fun summer memory! 

Programs are one hour in length, pre-registration is encouraged.  Contact your local library to learn more today!

The second session of Level Up! Leadership at the Brown County Library was held on July 21, 2026. The middle and high school youth library volunteers who attended learned about having a shared vision, growing our own and others' ideas, and working together in collaboration to meet goals.

There is one more session of Level Up! Leadership, that will be held in August at the Central Library. Following the third session, the library youth volunteers will be invited to meet regularly and help brainstorm and plan youth activities at libraries across the county.

Level Up! Leadership is a program designed to empower youth to lead now - if you work with a group of young people and want to support their leadership experience, reach out to Melinda Pollen at 920-391-4613 or melinda.pollen@wisc.edu to see if Extension can help in advancing youth leadership and voice!

Learning doesn't stop when school lets out. Neither does the need for good nutrition! 

This year's Summer Meals Program will run until August 14, 2026.

All children (not only GBAPS students) 18 years old and younger can receive free summer meals from GBAPS. Families do not have to qualify for free/reduced meals to participate.

2026-2027 School Year Meals

This school year 23 GBAPS schools are enrolled in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, which allows students to have access to free breakfast and lunch daily, regardless of their ability to pay.  For details and list of participating schools, go to foodservice.gbaps.org/cep.

For families with students in non-CEP schools may be eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals.  To learn more about qualifications and to apply, go to foodservice.gbaps.org.

Terri Kolb, UW Extension Maternal Child Health Title V Educator, offered education at a July mobile farmers market at the Brown County WIC office in collaboration with WIC, Wello, and Full Circle Farm. 

Pictured: Mirra Black, WIC Intern (left) and Terri Kolb, Maternal Child Health Title V Educator (right).

Information was shared with WIC participants about the ability to use Food Share at farmers markets and a Double Your Bucks incentive program offering up to $20 worth of produce for those that use their EBT card at the market.

For more information:

The Extension Brown County team had a blast at the Green Bay Kids' Day Karnival at Bay Beach Amusement Park on July 30, 2026!  Sarah Chisholm, Nutrition Educator, Jeremy McClain (pictured left), Health & Well-Being Educator, and Gabriela Martinez Coto (pictured right), Health & Well-Being Intern, brought food education to attendees with a fun twist.

Fishing Game
Children used magnetic fishing rods to “catch” picture cards of different fruits and vegetables from a small pool. As they played, they practiced identifying a variety of healthy foods while strengthening their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. The activity also encouraged conversations about healthy eating in a fun and interactive and educational way.

Sensory Vegetable Hunt
Children explored a sensory bin filled with dried beans (grains) to search for hidden vegetables. As they uncovered each vegetable, they identified its name and learned about different healthy foods while engaging their sense of touch. This hands-on activity promoted sensory exploration, fine motor development, and healthy eating awareness.

While children participated in the activities, their parents learned about the educational programs and community resources offered through UW–Madison Division of Extension. They received information about nutrition education, gardening opportunities, family wellness resources, and other Extension programs available to support healthy lifestyles and connect families with local educational opportunities.

Join DATCP, NRCS, UW-Extension, and the SnapPlus team for a day of nutrient management updates and planning guidance.

Meetings will be 10am-1pm, followed by an optional SnapPlus V3 training from 1-2:30pm.  For those planning to attend the SnapPlus V3 training, please bring a laptop.

Registration is free, but required. CEUs have been requested.

If you are unable to access the registration website, email kelli@wisconsinlandwater.org.

If you use SnapPlus for nutrient management planning, you're likely aware that Version 3 brings some significant changes. Extension, DATCP, and the SnapPlus Team are hosting a free six-part webinar series to walk through the new features in detail so you don't have to figure it out on your own.

Each session focuses on a specific part of the software and runs from 11am-12:30pm, including a 45-60 minute tutorial followed by one-on-one office hours with staff. Sessions cover:

You can register for all sessions or the ones most relevant to you. Registration is free.

On July 20, 2026 staff from DNR, LWCD, NRCS, and local consultants gathered the the Brown County STEM Innovation Center to learn about karst geology and how agriculture practices in these areas can impact water quality.  This one-day training hosted by Kevin Erb, Program Manager of the Conservation Professional Training Program, was designed to dig deeper into the geology and groundwater flow in Northeast Wisconsin, discuss the basics and limitations of depth to bedrock and karst mapping, and provide real case studies of groundwater concerns and examples of local approaches to concerns.  The afternoon field session included a site visits to discuss methods of sinkhole and karst feature identification.

Sue Swanson, Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, explains how low level aerial remote sensing technology was used in Northeast Wisconsin to determine the depth of soil over bedrock. Knowing how much soil is present is key to managing farm fields to reduce the chances of groundwater contamination.

Extension's Chris Clark discusses the research-driven farm management practices that reduce field runoff of nutrients and soil. Practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage and nutrient management reduce edge of field losses, improving both surface and groundwater quality.

Brown County Parks Director Matt Kriese and UW Green Bay Geology Professor John Luczaj speak on the geology and rock formations at Fonferek County Park, and the natural forces that created the waterfall.

Learning about the differences in the bedrock layers (and how that impacts groundwater flow and availability), participants in the Geology of Northeast Wisconsin  workshop view one of the Midwest's only natural arches in Fonferek County Park. Differences in rock composition and hardness impact not only how contaminants flow in the aquifer, but also the quality of concrete created from locally mined limestone.

 UW Green Bay Geology professor John Luczaj discusses the pros and cons of sinkhole remediation and the impact on groundwater with Wisconsin DNR spills staff at a field site in southern Brown County. 

Outdoor meals are fun, but food safety is critical. Cold foods should stay at or below 40°F, and hot foods at 140°F or above. Food left out for more than two hours (or one hour in temperatures above 90°F) should be discarded. 

For more picnic safety guidance, contact the AnswerLine at
1-866-540-4636 or go.wisc.edu/answerline.

Support local youth and look great by shopping here! Wisconsin 4-H is an official affiliate of the National 4-H Council Shop 4-H store.  

When you use our unique affiliate link, 5% of your purchase is returned to the Wisconsin 4-H program at no extra cost to you.

2019 Technology Way
Room 113
Green Bay, WI 54311
920-391-4610
extension@browncountywi.gov

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.