Extension Update: November 2007 Archives

The dust has settled, the leaves have fallen, and the 2007 camp season now lives on in the hearts of 875 youth, from Allenstown to Alaska. This past year the camps’ program prepared for a challenging summer: we asked for the help of the community to recruit volunteers, identify and fund campers, and provide overall support to the camp. We wanted to let you all know how things turned out, and the good news is that we’ll be back next summer.

In addition, here’s what we accomplished:

• For the first time in many years, we finished the year with a positive balance. It is projected that revenue will exceed expenses by over $15,000. This will allow for continued capital improvements.
• Capital improvements were made to Bear Hill, through a combination of budgeted and donated materials and labor. (For a list of specific donors, see the recognition portion of the 4-H Foundation of NH 2007 annual report.)
• A lower rate was negotiated for propane, resulting in an ongoing rate 30 percent less than the advertised price. We coordinated with UNH Thompson School again this year for the use of its two vans, a savings of over $6,000 to camp.
• 4-H Camps identified, and responded, to a strong demand for quality teen summer programming.
• There has been a strong response to the camper survey used for 4-H Camps participation in a research study at UNH, to determine the impact of camp on youth development. Initial results will be available January, 2008.
• Our 2008 programs are in the planning stages. UNH 4-H Camps will have some old favorites as well as exciting new programs to prepare our youth for fun and learning lasts a lifetime.

UNH President Mark Huddleston delivered his first State of the University address recently, citing his outreach visit through Cooperative Extension's joint Belknap and Carroll County Conversation, which took place in September.

You can read the full text of President Huddleston's speech, which also touched on the university's sustainability efforts, and how UNH "gets it right" in a variety of ways.

For more than four years, Paul Bonaparte-Krogh has served in the role of Assistant Director for County Operations. This position was newly created following the recommendations submitted to me in May, 2002, by the Committee to Review the UNH Cooperative Extension Structure (CRAS).

Key components of the position have been to manage and coordinate county and field operations, supervise County Office Administrators (COA), support County Advisory Councils and provide leadership for external relations. Effective December 3, 2007, I will be reassigning some of the responsibilities associated with the position currently held by Paul to the Associate Director and will be adding new responsibilities, including volunteer management, to Paul's position.

As a result of these revised responsibilities, I will be dropping the designation of "County Operations" and referring to the position as Assistant Director. The responsibilities associated with the supervision of County Office Administrators will transition to the Associate Director on December 3. UNH Cooperative Extension currently has more than 4,000 volunteers. A new component to the revised responsibilities of the Assistant Director position will include an emphasis on volunteer management.

Our five year (2007-2012) Strategic Plan acknowledges that volunteers extend the reach of UNH Cooperative Extension, multiplying the educational effect and increasing visibility of the organization. Three related strategic plan implementation action steps include: 1) recruit high-quality volunteers and retain them by offering continuing education and recognition; 2) provide better access to facilities, equipment and other resources for volunteers to carry out their duties; and 3) determine how volunteer management can be made more effective to achieve the desired outcomes.

An additional strategic action step is to effectively utilize each County Advisory Council to communicate UNH Cooperative Extension program impacts to legislators, key decision-makers and the media. The Assistant Director, in keeping with the volunteer management responsibilities and in conjunction with the Associate Director, will continue to serve as the administrative liaison with County Advisory Councils. Here is the revised description for the position of Assistant Director in PDF or Word.

The green roof planted on Manchester City Hall's roof was officially recognized last Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by city officials, contributors and partnering organizations.

UNH Cooperative Extension conceived the idea for the demonstration project and began recruiting partners from the Manchester community in 2002. The essential project components, an appropriate site, city approval, and funding, finally came together last May, enabling us to us to move forward and get the roof in place.

I participated in the event, noting our longtime involvement with the people of Manchester. In the past 12 years alone, our staff has become increasingly active here in the urban heart of New Hampshire. Much of our work has centered around organizing grassroots coalitions that have brought together local residents, Extension staff and volunteers, various city departments, nonprofit organizations, and the business community to improve the beauty, livability, safety, natural resources and social integration of Manchester's low-income neighborhoods. The new green roof is but one such example of these collaborative efforts.

Stepping in for Mayor Frank Guinta to open the ceremony was City Clerk Leo Bernier, who talked about the large coalition of public, private and non-profit agencies and volunteers that came together to develop the green roof without spending any tax dollars. Phil Bryce, State Forester, NH Division of Forests and Lands, talked about the important role of natural resources and our urban forests and how green roofs contribute to both. Mayor Guinta was later on hand to view the new sign in front of Manchester's City Hall that provides information about the new green roof and to comment on its importance to the city.

UNH Cooperative Extension's Community Forestry Educator, Mary Tebo, was the driving force behind this effort. She thanked the funders and partnering organizations as well, and noted that there will be another green roof growing in Manchester next summer. Congratulations, Mary!

(Shown in the above photo are State Forester Phil Bryce, Extension Educator Mary Tebo, Mayor Frank Guinta and Dean John Pike. )

Carl Majewski received an achievement award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents. Majewski, the agricultural resources educator in Cheshire County, was recognized during the organization's annual meeting, held recently in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The achievement award recognizes Majewski's work in the field of agricultural resources over the past year. Congratulations, Carl!

UNH Cooperative Extension has a new, searchable professional development blog. The blog contains timely postings of upcoming professional development opportunities.

You also can subscribe to any of the Cooperative Extension blogs.

You may also want to check out the entire professional development web site, which has been revised to include more links and information on resources on a variety of topics.

Charlie French is working with Michele Gagne and Fabienne Fonseca (NRES Doctoral Student) to compile a 10-Year Retrospective of the Community Profiles in New Hampshire.

To date, UNH Cooperative Extension has helped nearly 50 New Hampshire communities conduct the process. We have tracked these communities' outcomes through an extensive evaluation process over the past six years.

Using this data, as well as data from a survey of Extension staff, interviews with community stakeholders, and interviews with the key architects behind the process, the report will highlight the various successes and challenges that communities faced.

One such interview French has already conducted is with Sen. Judd Gregg, who shared his knowledge about Extension, the Community Profiles process, and the Living Legacy program. Sen. Gregg chartered the commission that catalyzed the latter two.

The report will provide textured portraits of individual communities, as well as trace the evolution of Community Profiles from its origin with the Governor's Commission on New Hampshire in the 21st Century over a decade and a half ago.

With funds from the NH Endowment for Health and the NH Charitable Foundation, UNH Cooperative Extension collaborated with UNH's Complex Systems Research Center and Research Computing to develop a GIS-based repository for community assets, known as CAP-Map. CAP-Map is a web-based system to help communities, organizations and agencies in New Hampshire share information with the public (and each other) about a range of community, regional and statewide assets and resources. Through CAP-Map, any entity will be able to contribute data into a web-based data management system. Data can be about:

• Particular assets or resources - information such as the nature of the resource or service, its location, and how it can be accessed.
• Geographic area data to be used for statistics, or to delineate service areas of resource-type assets.
• Social and health statistics related to service or geographic areas.

You can now access the CAP-MAP demonstration. For more information about CAP-Map, contact: Charlie French at 603-862-0316 or Shane Bradt at 603-862-4277.