Silver Clovers started during pandemic. Program continues to enlighten older adults
Cooking, retirement planning and health are just a few of the topics you can learn about through Silver Clovers. The program, operated by Johnson County Extension, aims to provide a variety of classes for those 50 and older in the county.
It started in 2020 to help push back against the isolation and loneliness people were experiencing during the pandemic. Initially, Silver Clovers was only offered online, but now it features a mix of in-person and virtual events.
“Some people like on-demand. Some people prefer a virtual program. Some people prefer in-person. Meeting these desires and needs in a multitude of formats is a challenge in itself,” said Joy Miller, family and community wellness agent for Johnson County Extension.
Miller said the programming gives people the opportunity to socialize both with Extension staff and with others who share their interests.
“What I really enjoy about this is you will see people connecting with each other in classes or events, because they find commonality together,” Miller said. “They just get to connect with their peers on different things. That’s always exciting, when they get to share with each other what they know, what they learned.”
That might be gaining knowledge about growing things in the backyard from the master gardeners or figuring out how to cook in a way to accommodate dietary restrictions or a shrinking household.
“They’re usually participants who are exploring their personal interests, or they’re going through certain scenarios of their life, whether they’re entering retirement or looking to learn more to fulfill things they need,” Miller said.
Many of the classes are free, though some have a small charge of $5 to $10.
Shawnee resident Janette Duffey recently attended a cooking class and said she’s gone to many events through Silver Clovers.
“I love all the classes I’ve been to. The information they provide — you know some of it, but it is good to have a reminder,” Duffey said.
Her favorite was a class on how to sell things online.
Attending one class can lead people to broaden their interests and try new things.
“Somebody comes in or calls with a gardening question or attends a gardening program, and they learn that our extension office offers the senior health insurance counseling for Kansans related to Medicare,” Miller said. “I would say the experience is they get to learn about other opportunities, programs and resources that they may not have known about that are offered in our county or within our extension office.”
The classes happen all over the county, so chances are if one class is too far away for you, the next one might not be. Locations include the extension offices in Olathe, Roeland Park Community Center, Matt Ross Community Center, Johnson County Central Resource Library and the Gardner Senior Center.
“Our charge is to do community education on the things people are needing and wanting. We’re always evolving in what the topic is or the subject matter is to meet that resident’s need,” Miller said.
Each year, those involved in running the group offer an event tied to the Johnson County Fair in August. This year, they’re adding two more Silver Clovers events to the summer season. Both will be at the extension office.
Those will include a tour of the extension garden and nearby nature trail as well as a pop-up farmer’s market. The new events will happen June 3 and July 15, and the fair will be Aug. 1.
“I think it’ll be fun. It’ll be, I call it, lighthearted. It’s not heavy education. People are excited when they come to the fair to see the 4-H’ers and see what’s going on, so I think they will be excited to learn something new about the community they live in and get to meet staff and just learn what else is available to them throughout the year,” Miller said.
For more details of upcoming Silver Clovers events, visit johnson.k-state.edu/programs/silver-clovers.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.