The Kentucky Community Partners for Healthy Farming ROPS Project

The Kentucky Community Partners for Healthy Farming ROPS Project : Quick Start

Quick Start: Locating and Using the Materials

The ROPS Notebook materials are being made available in two ways, (a) in this hard copy threering loose-leaf notebook, and (b) as a set of computer files that can be accessed through the Internet, examined, downloaded, and printed. Some of the web-based materials are in interactive multimedia format and more multimedia materials will be made available in the future.

What’s Available Now

The items listed in this notebook include the project materials available to date. Additional materials will be developed and added to both the paper and web-based collection.

Notebook Organization and Use

The notebook materials and instructions for using them are divided into the major sections listed in Box 1. A spacer page and tab is included in the notebook for each item listed in Box 1. The notebook tabs for all the items in Box 1 are printed in red. The red tabs identify the key parts of the notebook that allow the user to determine what materials are available and then to quickly locate selected materials of interest.

The last six items in Box 1 begin with a number. These are the sections of the notebook where the community education materials and activities are located. Within the notebook, each of these numbered sections begins with its own table of contents that lists all the activities and materials within that section. The tabs printed in black located behind the numbered section tabs printed in red mark the locations of the materials for each activity within that section. The materials needed to conduct individual activities can be quickly located by looking for the black notebook tab with that activity’s abbreviation and name. The section of the notebook marked by the “INDEX” tab (page 10) lists the abbreviations and names of each activity within each section of the notebook.

Box 1: Major Sections of the Notebook

INTRODUCTION QUICK START: Locating and Using the Materials INDEX of Materials and Activities DESCRIBE -Descriptions of Activities and Materials 1. GOALS - Project Focus, Goals and Materials 2. WTP –What’s the Problem 3. MASS COM - Mass Communication Messages 4. ACT -Activities for Farm Community Meetings 5. SIMS -Simulation Exercises 6. OTHER -Other Activities and Materials

How to Find What You Want

1. To locate and use these notebook materials follow these four steps.

2. Examine the chart on page 6 that lists “The Problem,” “Project Goals and Their Reasons,” and “Community Education Activities and Materials.” The last part of this chart describes the major categories of materials included in the notebook.

3. Next, examine “Table 1: Index of Notebook Materials and Activities” that begins on page 10. This section of the notebook is marked by a red “INDEX” tab. The Index table lists the name of each item, its abbreviated file name, the content of the item, its format, its length and size, its intended audience, and the typical time required to complete the activity. The three pages immediately following the Index explain how to get the messages and materials to farmers, the types of materials included in the collection, and the way they are organized within the notebook.

4. Once you have located an item of interest in the “INDEX” section, look for and open the notebook to the red tab labeled “DESCRIBE - Descriptions of Activities and Materials.” The “DESCRIBE” section begins with a table of contents. The next five pages provide brief descriptions for each of the materials and activities included in the notebook.

5. Once you have located an item of interest in the “DESCRIBE” section, locate the notebook tab printed in red that lists the number and name for that section of the notebook. Then look at the tabs printed in black within that section of the notebook to find a particular activity of interest.

For each activity these black tabs open to a “Tips” section. The “Tips” explain how to conduct each activity. In most cases, reading the tips and looking over the materials that follow is all that you need to do to prepare to conduct an activity. The tips describe the purpose and content of the activity, its learning objectives, the intended audience, the components that make up that particular activity, and provide suggestions for how to use the materials effectively. In summary, to use the notebook, first turn to the notebook’s red INDEX tab. Examine Table 1: Index of Notebook Materials and Activities starting on page 10. When you find something of interest, open the notebook to the red tab labeled DESCRIBE. This section will tell you more about the activity in which you are interested. Then open the notebook to the numbered tab printed in red that identifies the section to which the item of interest belongs. Within that section, look for the tab printed in black that locates the particular materials you need to conduct the activity.

---