UW–Madison Extension outlines 2024 outreach in Milwaukee County, highlights youth programs, urban agriculture and nutrition work

Milwaukee County extension officials told the County Parks and Culture Committee on May 6 that University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension programming in 2024 reached hundreds of young people and supported community gardening, nutrition education and financial training across the county.

"We're the outreach arm of UW–Madison," Jerry Bratz, area extension director for Extension Milwaukee County, said as he summarized the office's 2024 work. He described Extension's mission as bringing university research to residents and community partners across Wisconsin.

The presentation grouped multiple programs under the single Extension umbrella. Athena Mays, 4‑H associate educator, said the county's 4‑H partnerships operate inside Milwaukee Public Schools and with community organizations. "Some of those programs are chess, we do robotics, we do STEM, we do creative writing and expressions," Mays said. She told the committee 4‑H served about 400 young people in 2024 and listed ZIP codes where programming is concentrated.

Extension staff also described a youth-led site called the Beehive at Fifth and Beecher that combines food production, place-making and employment. Committee materials show the Beehive received roughly $800,000 in…