Bluegrass across the pond: UK Extension brings international connections back to Kentucky counties

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 15, 2026) — University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension agents, specialists and campus staff embarked on a 12-day education abroad program in the United Kingdom to learn about food insecurity, public engagement and agricultural landscapes found just across the pond.

Led by Jason Swanson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Retailing and Tourism Management, this experience highlighted the global agricultural community, showing how interconnected and similar it is to Kentucky counties.

“It was awesome to watch the agents and staff learn while traveling as they recognized similarities and differences between their work and what they experienced,” Swanson said. “Likewise, many of the professionals we met while traveling were eager to learn more from us and about what we do at the University of Kentucky.”

The program began in London, England, where the group saw famous landmarks like Big Ben, Tower Bridge and the London Eye from a red, double-decker bus driving on the left side of the road. 

Drawing on expertise from their own counties, the group saw similarities and differences when meeting with their first international partner, the Kensington Gardens Allotment. This public garden system is used to grow local food and promote volunteerism in the heart of London.

Alivia Stevens, family and consumer sciences agent from Scott County Cooperative Extension, shared the importance of this allotment system for food access.

“It’s very similar to our structure in our counties, where we have our farmers market and we have our community gardens,” Stevens said. “I’m most excited to learn more about food access that they have through the food allotment system and how we can better provide for our communities more accessible, nutrient-dense food.”

Cambridge University was the next stop, starting with a punting tour along the River Cam with views of the historic colleges of the prestigious university. During the visit, the group met with director of public engagement Lucinda Spokes to learn about community engagement efforts by the university and share the impact of UK Extension in all 120 counties in Kentucky.

“I’m absolutely astonished by the scale of the work that you do within communities, with older people, with young people,” Spokes said. “Incredible piece of work. Slightly envious, actually, of the organization and the ability to talk to communities directly.”

Extension isn’t the only thing deeply rooted in Kentucky counties; horse racing is, too.

Newmarket, England, one of Lexington’s sister cities, was the group’s third stop. A market town northeast of Cambridge, Newmarket is known as the “Home of Horseracing.” Exercise fields, or training gallops, overtook the small town, offering a close-up look at horse training. The group learned the history of horse racing in the United Kingdom by visiting stables of award-winning horses and exploring both the National Stud and the National Horse Racing Museum.

Between the Bluegrass and horses, Newmarket could have been mistaken for Lexington, said Steven Musen, Jessamine County agriculture and natural resources agent, who was curious about the forage turf species in the grass on the horse exercise field.

“It’s a mix of different forage species, predominantly fescue, probably a fine leaf fescue. As I looked around, I noticed there are some fescue and some Bluegrass,” Musen said.

A 4-mile walk through the town of Little Downham showed the group different aspects of the agricultural landscapes of this village, including a community orchard and fields of row crops.

A train brought the group to Edinburgh, Scotland, for the final leg of the trip. Edinburgh Castle was the focal point of the hilly city, with stores lining the Royal Mile, history seeping through the halls of the Royal Yacht Britannia, and impeccable views from the top of Arthur’s Seat. As the group admired the beauty in the city, the focus shifted to the organizations working to better the community.

Edinburgh Community Food provided insight into food insecurity issues in Scotland. Chief Executive Officer Brenda Black explained the organization’s mission of prioritizing food access, providing nutrition education, creating local partnerships, designing community programs and cultivating a joy for food.

“People want a chance to move on in life and not to just be held in poverty,” Black said. “What we want to do is give them the opportunity to move on in life using great local projects, connecting with the community and having increased life chances."

The group visited one of the local partners, The Out of the Blue Drill Hall, a community arts café with locally sourced produce. Similar to the community needs assessment conducted by UK Extension, Edinburgh Community Food creates programs and partnerships based on local needs.

“We’re building programs and we’re reacting to their needs on the ground and not just doing it from the top down, but actually really helping them and listening to them and making programs that meet their needs and meet their desires,” Black said

Another community aspect in Scotland is the importance of the wool industry, including cashmere, tartan and Harris Tweed. The group visited the Scottish Textiles Showcase, a local organization that promotes authentic Scottish craftsmanship through partnerships with local artisans and mills. The value of a product is the story behind it, and part of that is the sheep. Venturing out of Edinburgh, the group visited one of the partnership farms, Kilburns Farm.

The Kilburns Farm owners called their approach “farm with nature” and practice rotational grazing to promote long pasture growth and support wildlife. They prioritize livestock that thrive in the environment, including a cross-breed Scottish Merino and Dexter cattle.

 “We’ve had an absolutely lovely visit from the University of Kentucky, who’ve been incredibly supportive of our farming ventures,” said Rachel Ives, owner of Kilburns Farm. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to have them come and visit and show how we farm with nature and how we farm taking our sheep all the way through to yarn and established our brand of Scottish Merino wool, which is called Balmerino.”

Whether the group was learning about food insecurity in London or Edinburgh, discovering  the impact of public engagement at Cambridge University, or watching the Scottish Merino sheep run at Kilburns Farm, there were parallels back to the work done by UK Extension in Kentucky counties.

Visit University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension online to learn more.