UNHCE in Merrimack County ~ What we do for you.

Since 1915, UNH Cooperative Extension continues its tradition of partnership among county, state and federal governments. Here in Merrimack County, we bring research-based information and educational programs to county residents in the broad program areas of natural resources, youth development, families, and community.

Agricultural Resources
County agriculture staff provide educational programs and direct, on-farm assistance to many groups, including both conventional and organic farmers, orchardists, greenhouse operators, dairy and livestock producers, nurseries, fruit and vegetable growers, garden centers, farmers’ markets, municipal and school officials, pesticide applicators and home gardeners.

Collectively, our agricultural resources staff handled 500 phone calls and took care of 150 walk-in visitors who needed help identifying insects, weeds, or plant diseases last year.

Our dairy specialist helped preserve open space on two farms, helped a producer design a new barn after a fire, and helped three producers design environmentally-sound manure storage facilities.

Our agricultural educator and IPM coordinator conducted 40 on-farm consultations and 10 educational workshops to provide scientific information to farmers. She also organized a 5K road race to raise awareness about the benefits of purchasing locally grown agricultural products.

Merrimack County Master Gardener volunteers taught basic vegetable gardening to Merrimack Academy participants. They also participated in the rehabilitation and maintenance of perennial gardens at Hospice House in Concord, delivered more than 1,300 lbs. of surplus vegetables to food pantries, consulted on gardening issues with numerous groups, including the Child Development center at the N.H. Technical Institute, participated in and consulted on many beautification projects throughout the county. A Master Gardener speakers’ bureau reached more than 550 citizens with accurate information on various subjects relating to gardening and pesticide safety. Finally, Master Gardener projects helped many Merrimack County high school students meet their community service requirements for graduation.

Forestry, Wildlife, and Water Resources
Merrimack County is predominately forested: 82 percent of the county’s 599,000 acres is covered with trees. Eighty-six percent of our forested acres—409,000—are held by private forestland owners, which means the vast majority of natural resources in Merrimack County are under private stewardship. This interplay of people and trees results in an active interest by county residents in issues related to their natural surroundings.

Helping private landowners make informed decisions about their timber, wildlife, water, recreation and cultural resources is a primary goal of the program. Last year, the County Forester made 65 woodlot visits, provided phone or face-to-face educational consultations with another 30 forest landowners, and answered telephone questions or mailed educational publications to another 375 county residents. He also held 28 group events, which included workshops, field days, logger safety training, and school visits, which collectively reached 724 people.

4-H and Youth Development
The 4-H program helps young people ages 5-18 develop life skills, acquire knowledge, and form attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society. Extension 4-H professionals work primarily with caring adult volunteers, providing them with training, support, curriculum and other educational materials, and recognition.

Last year, 4-H Clubs, special interest groups, and camp programs served 765 Merrimack County youth from all 27 Merrimack County towns. Three hundred seventy-three county 4-H volunteers helped support and deliver 4-H programs in our county, collectively contributing 10,195 hours valued at $178,921.

In partnership with the Boscawen Police Department, eight volunteers conducted a 16-hour 4-H youth shooting sports program involving 20 youth and their families by teaching firearm safety, environmental awareness, and life skills such as responsibility, decision making, and self discipline.

We held trainings for adults on topics that ranged from bullying to child/adolescent development, experiential learning, and after-school programming. Collectively, these trainings served 166 adults, who then reached more than 562 youth. Our partnership with NH Plus Time, a statewide nonprofit organization that has taken the lead in helping community groups fund and sustain after-school programming—we help train staff and provide curriculum materials to the programs—plus relationships we’ve nurtured with the communities of Concord, Danbury, and Hill, contribute to the continuing growth of quality after-school programming in Merrimack County.

Family and Consumer Resources
Last year Extension Family and Consumer Resources educators provided information about parenting, family financial management, healthy lifestyles, conflict and anger management, good nutrition, food safety, and food preservation to more than 13,000 Merrimack County residents, through classes, newspaper articles, television and radio shows, telephone and e-mail contacts and fact sheets.

Approximately 3,850 parents received parent education information through classes and educational materials tailored to the ages and developmental stages of their children. Nearly 100 early education/early care professionals participated in workshops that enhanced their skills for working with young children. Staff were also involved in community coalitions that strengthen the underpinnings of family well-being in the county: the Concord Children’s initiative, the Concord Community Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, and the Franklin Asset Building Coalition.

Budgeting, food safety, food preservation and healthy lifestyle programs included:

• Training 48 employees from commercial food establishments in food safety practices that reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
• Teaching 12 recently-settled Somalian families safe home food-handling practices.
• Financial management workshops that attracted more than 170 adults seeking to improve their money management skills.
  
• Extension’s Nutrition Connections program reached more than 270 youth with a series of nutrition and physical activity lessons in two in-school and two after-school programs. One hundred and fifteen adults participated in our nutrition and physical activity lessons through home study, home visits, or group classes. More than 200 food stamp households received three issues of our nutrition newsletter, Smart Choices.

A Nutrition Connections survey found that 93 percent of our program participants improved their overall nutrition, 82 percent got better at managing their food budgets and more than half improved their food safety practices.

Working with County Government
As an active component of Merrimack County government, Cooperative Extension staff support the county in the following ways:

• Extension educators teach many life skills to Merrimack Academy participants, offering classes in money management, nutrition and food safety, parenting and family relationship issues, and home vegetable gardening.
• Master Gardeners support the gardens that surround some county buildings by planting and maintaining the areas.
• The Extension forester and Agricultural Resources educator work with the Commissioners in managing County lands and grounds.

In addition, Merrimack County residents have taken advantage of many statewide Cooperative Extension programs, which include:

• A toll-free Info Line at our Family, Home & Garden Education Center in Manchester, which last year handled more than 800 telephone requests from Merrimack County residents looking for information on topics ranging from landscaping and lawn care to insect pests and nuisance wildlife.
• A large and growing Web site that features a wide range of educational materials, including home and garden fact sheets at http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Common/Documents/hginfo.htm
• The Granite State Distance Learning Network, a public-private partnership that brings affordable, high-speed, interactive video networking and Internet access to communities statewide. The network N.H. currently connects residents with educational teleconferences from 32 videoconferencing sites statewide, including the Merrimack County Extension office.

For more information about any of our programs, please call 225-5505 or 796-2151,
weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.