Extension Update

Recognizing Wildlife Habitat

2009-06-23T14:18:33-05:00

Four new brochures join UNH Cooperative Extension's New Hampshire Wildlife Action Plan: Habitat Stewardship Series. The eight-brochure series helps landowners learn about and conserve important wildlife habitats found on their land.

The new brochures cover four habitat types critical for wildlife species at risk in New Hampshire: peatlands, Appalachian oak-pine forests, shrublands, and lowland spruce-fir forests. Previously published brochures in the series include brochures on grasslands, vernal pools, marsh and shrub wetlands, and floodplain forests.

The colorful brochures include practical information for landowners. Pictures and text explain how to identify habitat types, describe the major threats to the health of those habitats, and offer information about wildlife species that depend on each habitat. The brochures also provide specific recommendations for landowners interested in helping protect and conserve the wildlife that depend on each critical habitat type.

The brochures were produced by UNH Cooperative Extension with support from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and NH Fish and Game Department. Landowners may download brochures or receive a single set free through the UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry Information Center at 1-800-444-8978 or by email: forest.info@unh.edu

Email issues

2009-06-22T09:52:23-05:00

UPDATE (6/23, 11AM): Thanks to Judi Strauss (who came in from vacation) and the technical assistance of David Bird of UNH CIS, the email server is coming back on line. It may be a while before all of the queued messages get processed, but things are in progress. Thanks for your patience! UPDATE (6/22, 6PM): The email server had a catastrophic failure of its multiple, redundant hard drives. We are working on assessment and repair and may need to get some parts rushed in. Hoping to be back online by Wednesday afternoon at the latest. Will post updates here. Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience! ORIGINAL: As of 8:00 AM Monday, 6/22/2009, the UNH Cooperative Extension email server is down due to a hardware failure. Users are not able to send or receive messages, whether using Eudora or the webmail interface. We are working to repair the server and restore email service, but have no estimated time for having services back in order. I will update this post when we have new information.

Grants Awarded to Extension

2009-06-02T10:51:05-05:00

UNH Cooperative Extension recently received the following grants and awards:

Matt Tarr, Extension Specialist, Wildlife, received $14,245 from the NH Charitable Foundation for the "Critical Habitats Outreach" project.

Mike Koski, Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, also received a grant from the NH Charitable Foundation for $4,845 for the 4-H Community Garden at Alvirne High School.

Darrel Covell, Program Leader, Forestry & Wildlife, received $135,389 for the 2008 Forest Stewardship/Forest Resource Management/Conservation program and 2009 Urban and Community Forestry program from the NH Dept. of Resources & Economic Development (DRED,) Division of Forests and Lands. Covell also received $19,665 from the USDA Forest Service for the 2008 Urban and Community Forestry program.

George Hamilton, Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources, received several individual grants of $4,987 each from the NH Dept. of Agriculture for 2009 monitoring efforts in Hillsborough County; they include monitoring efforts for oriental fruit moths, European corn borers, corn earworms, fall armyworms, squash vine borers and for comparing sex pheromone lures for Dogwood borers.

Julia Peterson, Extension Specialist, Water Resources, received $25,000 from NOAA for the Coastal Communities project.

Juli Brussell, Program Leader, Agricultural Resources, received several individual grants from the NH Dept. of Agriculture for teaching IPM concepts to farmers to minimize pesticide risks; $4,362 in Belknap and Merrimack Counties, $3,632 for Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties, $3,858 for Carroll and Strafford Counties, $3,828 for Cheshire and Sullivan Counties, and $3,927 for Grafton County.

Grady, Covell Named Liaisons

2009-05-29T09:22:29-05:00

To improve communications related to funding opportunities, in particular funding related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA,) colleges and institute liaisons have been appointed. For Cooperative Extension, Jim Grady and Darrel Covell will serve on the committee.

Their role will be to connect Extension staff to funding opportunities, to initiate collaborations where appropriate, and to promote interdisciplinary research by connecting with faculty across the university.

Grady and Covell also will serve as points of contact for companies or outside parties seeking expertise within Cooperative Extension.

CYFAR Teams Recognized at National Conference

2009-05-27T15:15:19-05:00

What does it take to enhance the odds for vulnerable young people across the nation? Just ask youth, families, schools and agency partners from Hillsboro and Seabrook.

Over the past five years these communities have worked closely with UNH Cooperative Extension educators and volunteers through a collaborative grant funded project of USDA, CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension System) program for Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR).

In Hillsboro, CYFAR expanded an elementary afterschool program for fourth and fifth graders, and provided intensive staff training on experiential science-based after-school activities. The project also partnered with the school district to create and sustain a growing 21st Century afterschool program for sixth to eighth graders. These programs annually reach over 120 youth who might otherwise be unsupervised during afterschool hours. Program evaluations find these youth do better academically and socially, and have fewer conflicts at home and with peers.

In Seabrook, youth from four surrounding seacoast towns are benefiting from a growing youth center. Prior to CYFAR involvement, Seacoast Youth Services, Inc. served court-referred youth in a diversion program. Now over 50 middle school youth are active in constructive programs each day afterschool and during the summer. Through a partnership with local organizations and businesses, these youth gain nutrition and fitness skills, exploring science, engineering and technology through a "Techno-Team," and contributing to community resources through service learning projects.

At the 2009 annual CYFAR Conference in Baltimore, attending CYFAR site coordinators Michael Koski and Rick Alleva accepted recognition on behalf of their projects from the federal partner, USDA/CSREES. Joining them were technology specialist Trent Schriefer, project director Paula Gregory, and community partner Heath Jackson. Extension team members not able to attend from Hillsboro County: Heidi Bennett, Jolee Chase, Sharon Cowen, George Hamilton, Jonathan Nute, Dan Reidy and Julia Steed Mawson. From Rockingham County: Karyn Blass, Claudia Boozer-Blasco and Terri Schoppmeyer.

UNH staff actively participated in the conference program. Alleva and Schriefer were joined by community business partner Heath Jackson of RC Maximus Raceway, in facilitating an interactive demonstration of the remote control cars being built by the Seabrook youth as part of their Techno Team activities.

Extension Educator Kathleen Jablonski and Gregory facilitated an interactive discussion on implementing 4-H in afterschool programs. Gregory also co-presented a research poster with Barbara Prudhomme White, Ph.D., UNH Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy on findings from a pilot study on stress interventions with highly stressed pregnant women.

Also attending the conference were Extension Specialist Charlotte Cross, coordinator of the state’s Operation Military Kids (OMK) project, Belknap County Extension Educator Becky Levesque and Sullivan County Extension Educator Robin Luther.

Accepting certificates of recognition for New Hamsphire’s CYFAR projects are from left to right, Paula Gregory, project director; Trent Schriefer, project technology specialist; Michael Koski, Hillsboro project coordinator; Rick Alleva, Seacoast project coordinator; and Heath Jackson, business partner with Seacoast project.

Preparing remote control cars for the "Learning Games Arcade" featured during the CYFAR program is RC Maximus Raceways owner and CYFAR project partner, Heath Jackson.

NH Outside Calendar Wins Gold Again!

2009-05-27T14:21:31-05:00

UNH Cooperative Extension's 2009 NH Outside Calendar took first place in the "one-to-three-color popular publications" category of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) 2009 Critique and Awards program. It won the same honor last year.

ACE is an international association of communicators and information technologists who work in universities, government agencies and research organizations in the public sector, as well as companies and firms in the private sector.

The gold-winning Extension design and production team of Peg Boyles, Pam Doherty, Alice Mullen, and Holly Young has already begun planning the 2010 edition.

The judges awarded 100 of 100 points to the NH Outside calendar, calling it, "an outstanding publication."

Congratulations to Peg, Pam, Alice and Holly!

Outreach Scholars Graduation

2009-05-08T18:38:51-05:00

On May 7, 12 faculty members graduated from the 2009 UNH Outreach Scholars Academy. Among the graduates were two UNH Cooperative Extension specialists: Paula Gregory, Extension Specialist/Professor, 4-H Youth Development/Family Studies and Brian Krug, Assistant Extension Specialist/Professor, Floriculture and Biological Sciences, shown in the photo below with me. Paula and Brian, along with faculty from other departments and institutes on campus, were recognized at a ceremony and luncheon held in their honor for their successful completion of the academy.

The Outreach Scholars Academy is a professional development program where faculty members from a range of academic disciplines learn best practices in engaged scholarship as they participate in a series of workshops, interact with faculty experts, enjoy interdisciplinary discourse, and capitalize on coaching opportunities. They also learn about national funding perspectives from federal and foundation program officers. The academy helps faculty move from a public service perspective to an engaged scholar's perspective, knowledgeable about how to develop and sustain mutually-beneficial partnerships with external collaborators.

In celebration of the fifth year anniversary, Associate Vice President, Research and Outreach Scholarship, Julie Williams, spoke of the broad interest in UNH's Outreach Scholars Academy as a national model for professional development for faculty in all disciplines interested in engaged scholarship work.

Provost Bruce Mallory and Faculty Fellow Cameron Wake also spoke to the importance of keeping the university’s public service mission in the forefront by working with our community partners in mutually beneficial ways, and stressed the importance of faculty being recognized and rewarded for this type of work. Extension Specialist Lisa Townson serves as a coach for the Outreach Scholars Academy as well.

Paula and Brian now join 72 faculty/staff at UNH who are now Outreach Scholars, including 12 other Extension Specialists and Educators: Rick Alleva, Charlotte Cross, Charlie French, Suzann Enzian Knight, Ken LaValley, Julia Peterson, Jeff Schloss, Malcolm Smith, Sarah Smith, Catherine Violette and Mark Wiley.

UNH Recognition Program

2009-05-08T14:30:10-05:00

Please join me in congratulating the following staff for their years of service to UNH Cooperative Extension and to our Presidential Award of Excellence winner, Karen Bennett.

They were formally recognized Friday during the UNH 2009 Staff Recognition Program, hosted by UNH President Mark Huddleston and the UNH Council Chairs. This year, 209 Operating Staff, PAT and Extension Educator staff were recognized for their years of service and outstanding contributions to the University. Their combined years of service equal 3,625 years.

Recognized for 10 years of service:
Sharon Blake, Administrative Assistant, Dean & Director’s Office

Peg Boyles, Staff Writer/Editor

Annette Cram, Administrative Assistant, Carroll County Office

Maryann Kasprzak, Program Associate, 4-H Youth Development

Gail Kennedy, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Resources

Joanne Knowlton, Educational Program Coordinator, Nutrition Connections

David Leonard, Educational Program Coordinator, Nutrition Connections

Lynn Roy, Administrative Assistant, Merrimack County Office

Terri Schoppmeyer, Educational Program Coordinator, Nutrition Connections

Wendy Scribner, Extension Educator, Forest Resources

15 Years:
Robert Craycraft, Educational Program Coordinator, Lay Lakes Monitoring Program

Jean Hussey, Administrative Assistant, Rockingham County Office

Cheryl Smith, Extension Professor/Specialist, Plant Health

20 Years:

Diana Fiorey, Administrative Assistant, Cheshire County Office

Ann Hamilton, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Resources

Andrea Sawyer, Extension Program Associate, 4-H Youth Development

Steven Turaj, Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources

Barbara Wright, Staff Development & Instructional Design Coordinator

Holly Young, Educational Marketing & Information Coordinator

25 Years:

Charlene Baxter, Program Leader, Family & Consumer Resources

Linda Gosselin, Administrative Assistant, Strafford County Office

Suzann Knight, Extension Professor/Specialist, Family Resource Management

30 Years:

Alan Eaton, Extension Professor/Specialist, Entomology

Stanley Swier, Extension Professor/Specialist, Entomology

Presidential Award of Excellence Recipient Karen Bennett
Karen Bennett, Extension Professor/Specialist, Forest Resources, is the 2009 Extension Educator Presidential Award of Excellence recipient. She received her award during the annual UNH recognition program May 8.

Only five awards are bestowed annually, one of which is reserved for staff classified as Extension Educators. This honor is awarded to staff members in recognition of outstanding performance and distinguished service to the University of New Hampshire.

Karen has been helping landowners, communities, natural resource professionals and others care for New Hampshire’s forests for 29 years. Last year brought significant challenges, and Karen led Extension’s efforts to citizens and communities impacted by the tornado and ice storm. She ably communicated between our staff on the ground and government officials. Through Karen's exceptional leadership and with the support and confidence of her adept colleagues, UNH Cooperative Extension responded quickly and decisively to citizens' needs.

In nominating her for this award, it was noted that “Karen has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to the University of New Hampshire and its land grant mission to provide education, research and outreach to the residents of the state. All those who enjoy, work, and recreate in New Hampshire’s forested landscape have benefited from her dedication.”

Staff Recognition Awards

2009-05-08T14:14:07-05:00

Extension’s Recognition Committee has recognized many of our staff over the past few weeks, including two new awards developed by the committee, the Innovative Delivery Method and Rapid Response awards.

Receiving Professional Courtesy awards this year are Sharon Hughes and Michele King. Sharon was noted for “her commitment to professionalism and her dedication to providing the best possible experience for our workshop participants, critically important reasons for the success of the Water Resources Program.” In nominating Michele, it was noted she “consistently performs beyond expectations. She was the guiding force behind the very successful Northeast Regional Volunteer Leader Forum. This conference showcased Michele’s great organizational skills, creativity and dedication.”

The Diversity and Pluralism award this year went to the HEAL Web Development Team. As an organization, Cooperative Extension promotes a culture of mutual respect, teamwork, and productivity and in nominating this team, it was noted it provides an outstanding example of this standard to which we aspire as an organization. Recipients include Deb Luppold, Karen Balnis, Charlene Baxter, Peg Boyles, Sue Cagle, Brenda Carey, Deb Cheever, Kim Dorval, Scott Estle, Andy Fast, Patricia Halpin, Colette Janson-Sand, Martha Judson, Robin Peters and Terri Schoppmeyer.

The Rapid Response award, recognizing those who develop a new educational tool, process or collaboration in response to a critical or emerging issue, went to the Cheshire County staff and Karen Bennett this year.

The Cheshire County staff received recognition for development of “Now What? Coping with the Ice Storm” of December, 2008, providing immediate information on how county residents could recover from the devastating storm. Cheshire County staff recognized included Carl Majewski, Nancy Bradford-Sisson, Christine Parshall, Steve Roberge, Andrea Sawyer, Diane Dugray, Diana Fiorey and Lauren Bressett.

Karen Bennett received her Rapid Response award for her leadership of the forestry educators in response to the July, 2008, tornado. She also provided leadership for the NH Division of Forests and Lands' response as well.

The Innovative Delivery Method award went to Michael Toepfer, for development of an online database system used to record, track and three-dimensionally observe marine debris.

The Performance Beyond Expectation this year went to Geoffrey Njue. Nominated by his colleagues in the Strafford County Extension office, they noted he had successfully worked through a complete office move, a County Conversation, a Civil Rights review, and an unexpected county budget crisis. “Throughout our current County budget crisis, Geoffrey displayed an outstanding mix of leadership, courage, effort, patience, and coordination skills, along with a much-needed and inspiring "Obama-like" coolness.”

Thom Linehan was this year’s recipient of the Program of Distinction award for his NH Grandparents and Relatives as Parents (NH RAPP) program. The first NH Grandparents and Relatives As Parents conference October 16, 2008 was the result of strong leadership and effective collaboration with partners. At the center of this educational focus was Extension Educator Thom Linehan, who continues to provide management and coordination of NH RAPP.

Seth Wilner, who received the award at the April 30 State Advisory Council, was this year’s recipient of the Maynard and Audrey Heckel award, recognizing Cooperative Extension educators for exemplary program accomplishments achieved through innovative and creative approaches.

You can learn more about Seth’s Whole Farm Planning Using the Holistic Management Process program from my earlier announcement of the award, and take a look at his State Advisory Council presentation. Seth is shown in the photo to the right with his wife, Ann Spencer, as I presented him with his award.

2009 Northeast SARE Grant Awards

2009-05-06T14:51:25-05:00

The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program recently awarded $2.9 million to 23 farmers, 18 agricultural service providers, 14 researchers, 10 community groups, and four agricultural educators. In all, 69 projects will explore new sustainable techniques that focus on improved profits, good stewardship, and strengthening the social fabric of farm communities.

This year's awards range from $4,271 to refine perimeter trap cropping in organic winter squash to $400,000 to support agroecosystems research in sustainable cropping systems on dairy farms.

SARE awarded two grants to UNH Cooperative Extension. Extension Associate Professor/Specialist Becky Grube received $9,981 for her work on winter sprouting broccoli as an alternative tunnel crop in New England.Trials will be refined according to specific farm conditions, and the plan also includes twilight meetings, workshops, and a fact sheet.

Extension Educator Seth Wilner received $5,828 for his work on tracking labor for time and enterprise budgeting. He will evaluate whether an electronic hand-held tool, which captures the times and locations of tasks, can be used to compile data about farm labor and equipment use. The project will result in enterprise budgets and a feasibility assessment, disseminated through field days and conferences.

Golf Tournament, Red Sox Tickets Help Raise Money for 4-H Foundation

2009-05-01T14:21:25-05:00

Join me in supporting the 4-H Foundation of New Hampshire in its spring and summer fundraising activities. Each event will be fun for your or your whole family while supporting a great cause.

The Tom Fairchild 4-H Golf Tournament on Friday May 15 at Candia Woods Links features breakfast, lunch and 18 holes of golf with a cart. Unique to the event is a "pudding break" sponsored by Echo Farm Puddings (an off-shoot of an original 4-H project). The event also features a silent auction, starting May 1 with on-line bidding that ends at the event. (Joanne Fairchild is shown in the photo below as the golfers headed out to the course last year.)

Candia Woods Links and The Oaks support the event by providing a one-year membership, so if you golf but can't make the tournament, purchase a $25 ticket from Wendy Brock before May 14 for a chance to win the membership.

The golf fees are $125 for an individual or $400 for a team. Sign-up as soon as possible or to make a bid on the on-line auction.

Take me out to the ball game with Boston Red Sox tickets, and yes, tickets are available for the July 29 game against the Oakland A's and Aug. 27 against the Chicago White Sox. Some seats are box seats ($100 per seat) and others are bleachers ($52 per seat).

Cost per ticket is payment for your ticket with half a tax-deductible donation to the 4-H Foundation. Check with Wendy for available seats. These seats, once purchased can't be resold or the 4-H Foundation will lose its opportunity to get tickets in the future.

Closer to home is 4-H Day at the Fisher Cats on Sunday, Aug. 9. Tickets are $8 each and you can order them from 4-H Youth Development educator.

Share all these opportunities with your friends and help make this spring and summer a successful fundraising season for the 4-H Foundation of New Hampshire.

Latest Issue of JOE Available

2009-04-28T14:59:38-05:00

The latest issue of the Journal of Extension (JOE) continues to offer excellent resources, including an article on New England Workshops Increase Participant Knowledge of Farm Transfer Issues. One of the authors is UNH Cooperative Extension Specialist/Professor Mike Sciabarrasi.

JOE expands and updates the research and knowledge base for Extension professionals and other adult educators to improve their effectiveness. In addition, JOE serves as a forum for emerging and contemporary issues affecting Extension education, and the latest issue is no exception.

UNH 4-H Camp at Barry Conservation Ready to Go!

2009-04-24T13:49:36-05:00

Over 100 New Hampshire youth already have shaken off the snow of a long winter, signing up for summer fun at 4-H Camp. UNH 4-H Camp is currently offering four weeks of environmentally-related camps at Barry Conservation Camp, located in Berlin and offered in partnership with N.H. Fish and Game.

Aquatic Adventures! kicks off the summer from July 5-10. Novice anglers will learn the basic skills and equipment needed to start fishing, while campers with more experience will work on improving their fishing skills and explore the finer details of the angling world.

From July 12-17, campers will learn marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, principles of hunting and archery, conservation ethics, and much more as they explore the 4-H disciplines of black powder, riflery, pistol shooting and archery at Shooting Sports Sampler.

4-H partners with the N.H. Dept. of Fish and Game Hunter Education Program staff and volunteers to teach safe hunting skills and behaviors July 19-July 24 for the Hunter Education and Certification week, open to youth ages 12 through 16.

The final session, Walk on the Wild Side, takes place July 26 - July 31. Campers will experience nature and reunite with the great outdoors as they create a meal from gathered plants, climb a mountain, swim in a pond and more.

To find out more, information is available on the Web site for the UNH 4-H Camp at Barry Conservation Camp.

Henniker Participates in Community Profile

2009-04-23T09:07:22-05:00

Henniker had its Community Profile on April 17-18, with about 60 citizens in attendance over the two days. Projects resulting from the event include:

Create a comprehensive facility that incorporates many programs now in separate locations (i.e. after-school, health, education, recreation, athletics for all ages of the community.)
Create a riverwalk project.
Conduct a study to determine the socio-economic potential of the natural resources while maintaining the rural character of the town's natural resources.
Improve the town's Web site with a central community events calendar that ensures easy navigation, developed by a professional who maintains the site.
Improve communication about volunteer opportunities and requirements, by having more personal contact with them through an e-newsletter.

The follow-up meeting, facilitated by UNH Cooperative Extension, takes place May 4 to help guide the project groups in outlining goals, objectives, strategies and timelines.

Special thanks for UNH Cooperative Extension staff for facilitating the success of this event: Dan Reidy, Thom Linehan, Charlie French, Tim Fleury, Mike Koski, Gail Kennedy and Seth Wilner. Seven students from UNH helped scribe. For more information, contact Michele Gagne at michele.gagne@unh.edu