Extension Update: January 2008 Archives

As we observe the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on campus this week, I want to affirm my commitment to UNH Cooperative Extension's Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity responsibilities.

I am committed to the implementation of unbiased employment practices and the delivery of educational programs that serve all people of New Hampshire, with particular efforts to include under-served and under-represented groups. I'm proud to be part of an organization that values Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, and is consistently sensitive to the needs and rights of others.

I commend the efforts I see throughout the organization demonstrating your spirit of accommodation and inclusion. Our current Strategic Plan incorporates this commitment in its Statement of Values, reiterating our responsibility to involve citizens in identifying the needs of diverse audiences, providing educational opportunities to meet those needs.

A new resource available to us through eXtension will help us meet these important needs. (eXtension is a new, educational web-based resource that uses Extension-based expertise from across the country.) This effort, Diversity across Higher Education, will be a component of the eXtension web site. The site contains resources and tools for Extension educators to reach out to new audiences. The site contains frequently asked questions and a calendar of events from across the country, as well as professional development opportunities and specific information to help us be more effective at inclusion and understanding of the diversity of our state.

Along with our UNH Cooperative Extension Guide to Civil Rights, we continue to focus program delivery and outreach to underserved audiences. Thank you for your personal and professional commitment to all people in New Hampshire.

The Forestry and Wildlife Program specializes in partnering with organizations and agencies, helping private landowners and others with stewardship of their land. Our primary payoff has been the furthering of our mission, but since 2004, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has contracted with us, providing a financial payment as well.

We help NRCS accomplish its goals by providing forest landowners with technical assistance. They can then sign up for and complete forestry and wildlife improvement practices for cost sharing payment through the USDA Farm Bill programs. The County Extension Educators in Forest Resources work with County Conservation Districts and NRCS staff to help landowners determine which practices are right for them, develop applications, and assist with layout and design.

We also help with outreach and education. This agreement has been renewed a number of times and proved so successful, this year we developed a new, additional agreement and we were able to hire Emma Carcagno as a wildlife program assistant.

Though New Hampshire is geographically small, its NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) leads the nation in allocating resources to address forest land environmental concerns. Recognizing this, last year our cooperative effort received the "Two Chiefs Award." Our agreement was one of the first (if not the first) of its kind in the country. Other state forestry agencies and NRCS now use this approach and we have shared our contract with them.

Visit our "financial assistance for landowners" page to review the outreach assistance we provide through this agreement.

Ellen Rondina, Rick Alleva, Christina Parshall and Malcolm Smith will join the Family and Youth Development Advisory Team for two year terms starting in February.

These four join continuing members Sue Cagle, Linda Willard and Trent Schriefer. The team provides direction and guidance to the program leaders and the program areas, helps identify issues within Family and Consumer Resources and 4-H Youth Development, and plans and develops format and content for statewide staff meetings.

Lorraine Merrill, New Hampshire's new commissioner of agriculture, made two stops this week to learn more about UNH Cooperative Extension. Her first visit was Tuesday night at Rockingham County, where over 80 residents of the county learned more about agriculture.

Her next stop Wednesday was to Taylor Hall on the UNH campus, where she learned more about Cooperative Extension's efforts from me as well as from our program leaders, and about the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture from Dean Tom Brady.

Those present at the Rockingham County event included growers, legislators, former and current Rockingham County Advisory council members, and Future Farmers of America students and their vocational teachers from Coe Brown Academy.

The Rockingham event began with a segment featuring locally-grown products such as fresh apples, maple syrup and fruit punch made with local strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Refreshments were prepared by Associate Prof. Gino Alibrio, Kelly Matteson and their students from the UNH Thompson School of Applied Science, Restaurants and Food Services Management Programs.

Merrill spoke about how the face of agriculture continues to evolve, how farms continue to be a vital part of our communities, and how growers are selling through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), where community members buy a share of the farm produce harvest as well as many other agricultural products.

Merrill further discussed how growers and farmers have a valuable role in educating the population about agriculture and how growers could become more involved in their town as part of an agricultural commission.

Phil Auger, Land and Water Conservation Extension Educator, facilitated a forum following Merrill's remarks. Those in attendance voiced their concerns about current use assessments, the direct sale of milk, land conservation related to farmland and how conservation funds could be used to save farms, if conservation funds can be used for alternative energy, and agriculture education at the university level.

Shown in the photo above is NH Dept. of Agriculture Commissioner Lorraine Merrill addressing the group at Rockingham County.

Extension Specialist Suzann Knight and Dr. Elizabeth Dolan, Dept. of Family Studies, have been involved in a research project on rural poverty selected for recognition through an exhibit during the Agricultural Science and Education Exhibition/Reception, Nutrition and Health, on March 5, on Capital Hill.

Rural Families Speak: Health and Food Security is a 17-state research project, ongoing since 1998, focusing on rural low-income families, an understudied population, who are the recipients of public assistance, especially public food assistance. The purpose of the research is to assess changes in the well-being and functioning of rural families in the context of policies that reform welfare.

Rural Families Speak examines the interrelatedness of low-income rural families as it relates to labor force participation, health, including food security, and social support of family within the context of community forces, and opportunities that can strengthen or weaken rural families and communities.

The project is widely cited as an exemplary model of multi-state, multidisciplinary work. The outcomes are helping researchers, policy makers and practitioners gain a deeper understanding of the issues and challenges of rural, low-income families. The exhibit will feature results of the multi-state research, fact sheets and state-specific findings and information.

UNH Cooperative Extension Forestry and Wildlife staff members are showcased in new videos developed by Matt Tarr and Karen Bennett. Each video introduces staff members, highlighting ways they can provide assistance to our clientele.

These videos were recorded with help from Adam Donovan, a student intern from the UNH Communications Department. The videos were posted on our web site through the efforts of our ITDE staff. They are listed on a New Hampshire map on our Forestry and Wildlife Program Web page.

In addition to staff postings, videos about specific programs also are included. One example is Phil Auger's on Protecting Your Land. This project helped improve visibility of our forest resource educators and strengthened our partnership with the UNH Communications Department. Check it out!

The 4-H Foundation of New Hampshire recently accepted a check for $57,000 from the NH Rural Rehabilitation Corporation Foundation Board.

The Rural Rehabilitation Board donated the money as part of its decision to dissolve the corporation. For many years, it provided small scholarships to New Hampshire 4-H and Future Farmers of America members who planned on attending either a two or four year college. The corporation's mission was to provide educational opportunities, both formal and non formal, to enhance the expertise in programs of interest to rural youth. Rural communities in New Hampshire are defined as those with 10,000 or less in population, thus qualifying most of the state as eligible for the Rural Rehabilitation Corporation Foundation funds.

The corporation voted to divide its assets evenly between the 4-H Foundation of NH and the New Hampshire Future Farmers of America Foundation. The 4-H Foundation will place the money into endowment accounts to carry on the mission of supporting activities related to New Hampshire's rural youth. Tom Frangione, chair of the 4-H Foundation of NH board, accepted the check for $57,000 from Richard Barker, president of the Corporation Foundation Board. Each year, the 4-H Foundation will use the income from the endowments for 4-H educational events and activities.

Shown in the photo is Tom Frangione, right, accepting the check from Richard Barker.

UNH Cooperative Extension has funded graduate assistantships since 2006 to increase faculty and student involvement in engagement and outreach, provide graduate students experience working with community partners, and increase Extension’s ability to provide programming that improves the lives of people living in New Hampshire.

This effort was in response to both Extension's Strategic Plan and UNH’s Academic Plan, promoting and supporting university engagement and partnerships between Extension and UNH’s academic departments. Nine high-quality proposals were reviewed by the Leadership Team this year and I'm pleased to announce the 2008 awards:

Becky Grube, Extension Associate Professor/Specialist in Sustainable Horticulture, teamed with Kelly Cullen in the Department of Resource Economics, Robert Mohr at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and Charlie French, Extension Associate Professor/Specialist, Community Development, to submit the successful proposal, On-Farm Biodiesel Production and the Establishment of the New England Energy Consortium. The objectives of this project are to comprehensively examine the viability of on-farm and community-scale biodiesel production in New England, create research-based educational materials about on-farm and community-scale biodiesel production, and network with other researchers, farmers and educators to compile information about innovative strategies for a sustainable energy future for New England.

Matt Tarr, Extension Assistant Professor/Specialist, Wildlife, and Kim Babbitt, professor in the Department of Natural Resources, were also awarded a graduate assistantship for their project, Vernal Pool Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Wetland Policy Analysis for the State of New Hampshire. This project will help New Hampshire communities better conserve and manage wetlands through analysis of the ecologic, social, political and economic processes controlling wetland stewardship. The project has two phases. In Phase I, BMPs for forestry activities near vernal pools will be developed, widely communicated, and incorporated into a guidance document in cooperation with NH Fish and Game and the NH Dept. of Environmental Services. Phase II will be a much-needed evaluation of the efficacy of existing wetland-related policies in New Hampshire, resulting in planning tools designed to improve community-level wetland management decision-making.

Both projects were funded for two years with a full graduate assistant stipend, tuition wavier, and graduate student health insurance. Congratulations and we look forward to sharing the results of these exciting projects.

You may have noticed something different recently about our web site. There's a blue box in the upper right corner that asks users to click on it and provide feedback.

The UNH Cooperative Extension web sub-committee developed a brief survey designed to collect data about our internal and external users and their thoughts about our site. The survey will remain in effect throughout the month of January and results will be used in conjunction with other data to help us improve the function, navigation, and content of our web site.

Staff, advisory council members, volunteers and other users are encouraged to provide feedback so please encourage any one who uses our site to participate in the survey. Once you've completed the survey, the box won't reappear (provided you're accessing the web site from the same computer). If there are questions or you would like to provide additional feedback, contact Lisa Townson (Web sub-committee chair) - lisa.townson@unh.edu

UNH Cooperative Extension’s Family Life Education Work Team plans to intensify its educational effort in 2008 to help improve the lives of New Hampshire’s families. “We have one of the most knowledgeable and skilled educational teams in the nation,” says Family Education and Family Policy Extension Specialist, Dr. Malcolm Smith, “And our 2008 educational strategy will allow our team to really demonstrate its abilities.”

To maximize its collective and individual strengths, Cooperative Extension’s family life education team has divided its concentration into five distinct areas of leadership and expertise. Each team will examine and strengthen existing programming while identifying and developing new curricula to distribute throughout the Extension network and eventually throughout the state. They also will explore new and exciting means of getting the Extension message out by strengthening collaborations and employing innovations in web-based and electronic media distribution of programs.

The specialization areas for these new expert teams will include:

Parenting: This group will work to improve a family’s understanding of child development, including brain development and attachment issues, and promote healthy family relationships.

Families Under Stress: These educators will develop and strengthen existing programs for incarcerated and court-involved parents, with programming dealing with prevention of family violence, and efforts to assist families facing mental illness, poverty, grief and loss, and divorce.

Work/Life Balance: This team will work to help employers strengthen their workforce by providing parent and family life education in New Hampshire workplaces and to provide support to policy makers.

Unique Families: The focus of this expert team will be to provide programming to support immigrant and culturally diverse families, military families, foster and adoptive families, gay and lesbian parents, step-parents and other unique family structures.

Family Caregivers: Through this team’s work, relatives such as grandparents who are raising children, children who are providing care for elderly parents and other family care providers, will find educational support.

This renewed effort to intensify Extension’s diverse family life programming will produce community-based training programs, educational campaigns and internet-based resources for families and professionals in New Hampshire who support them. According to Smith, it will be “our best year for New Hampshire families yet.”