Extension News: October 2010 Archives

Channel 11's NH Outlook airs discussion of the issues and New Hampshire's new anti-bullying law

Bullying and its often tragic consequences have grabbed national headlines over the past year and spurred the enactment of New Hampshire's new anti-bullying law.

NH Outlook examines the nature of bullying, addresses some of the myths and looks at solutions to a problem that has expanded beyond the playground to cell phones, and online social media. The program airs Friday, October 22 at 6 p.m., Sunday, October 24 at 9:30 a.m. and again Monday, October 25 at 6 p.m.

Guest host Ally McNair discusses bullying and New Hampshire's new anti-bullying law with Dr. Malcolm Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension family life and family policy specialist; Maxine Mosley, a Manchester School District guidance counselor; and Carol Croteau, co-founder of Bully Free NH. Two teenagers also talk about their experiences of being bullied.

Learn more

UNH Cooperative Extension's anti-bullying programsee

Two new books by UNH Professor John Carroll are now available.

"Pastures of Plenty: The Future of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Conservation in New England," with a foreword by former NH Dept. of Agirculture Commissioner Steve Taylor, is a sequel to his earlier work on sustainable agriculture at the local level, "The Wisdom of Small Farms and Local Food: Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic and Sustainable Agriculture."

Prof. Carroll’s latest work takes a close look at the prospects for our own region. If you live in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, you’ll want to get to know this book well. If you live elsewhere, you might want to apply this New England case study to the needs and circumstances of your own locale.

Prof. Carroll's second book, "The Real Dirt: Toward Food Sufficiency and Farm Sustainability in New England," with forewords by Mark Lapping and Matthew Simmons, is based on the twin foundations of The Wisdom of Small Farms and Local Food and Pastures of Plenty. This volume focuses on the support system of food sustainability in the six New England states, concluding the trilogy.

Both books are illustrated by Karen Busch Holman, and one of her illustrations is used here. For more information or how to order, contact Prof. Carroll directly by email or by calling 603-862-3940.

Visit our Home Energy pages or call Energy Answers: 1-877-398-4769

As the days lengthen and the nights get colder, home energy bills begin rising along with questions about cutting their costs: What's an energy audit, and do I need one? What's this "phantom load" I keep hearing about that supposedly wastes electricity even when my computer and other appliances are turned off? When should we consider trading our old hot-water heater for a new, energy-efficient model?

Energy questions on your mind? Call toll free

Call our Energy Answers Info Line toll-free, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or email answers@unh.edu.

Energy Answers will connect you with New Hampshire-specific information to help you find cost-effective ways to reduce your electric and heating bills, buy energy-efficient appliances, avoid expensive marketplace scams, and find experienced energy contractors to conduct audits and make energy improvements to your home.

Or visit our Web pages

Lots of links here to good information on energy-efficient living.

Maximize the energy-efficiency of new construction
Weatherize, remodel, or add to an existing home
Make energy improvements/lower energy costs inside your home
Heat with wood, our native energy resource
Save energy even if you rent
Find out if you qualify for financial incentives to make energy improvements
eXtension home energy pages

Energy stakeholders gather, collaborate on outreach communication strategies

UNH Cooperative Extension staff facilitated the first-ever gathering of the state's major energy stakeholders September 8 at PSNH Energy Park in Manchester.

Stakeholders meet to develop outreach communication strategies

Sponsored by the Outreach & Education Committee of the state's Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy (EESE) Board, the Summit brought together diverse stakeholders to identify communication strategies that will result in increased awareness of---and demand for---energy conservation, efficiency and use of renewable energy sources.

Participants included utility executives, municipal officials, environmental organization representatives, state lawmakers, marketing specialists, energy service providers, and others. This was the first time that such a diverse gathering of energy stakeholders had sat around the table together for a broad, open discussion.

They discussed communication outreach strategies for four key audiences: the commercial energy sector, business and industry customers, households, and local and state decision-makers.

Consensus on important goals

While many areas of disagreement emerged from the dialogue -- not surprising given the diverse interests at the table -- the group reached consensus on a number of important goals. They include:

• Increasing the number of communities that create local energy commissions, adopted consistent with RSA 38-D.
• Providing energy consumers more choices with regard to rates, energy sources, and financing options.
• Increasing funding provided by energy suppliers, non-profits, and others; and promoting existing energy-efficiency programs for residential customers.
• Increasing the number of households that take advantage of existing programs to reduce their energy use.

For each of these goals and others, the group set specific objectives and communication strategies for specific audiences. While the goals may sound trivial, reaching agreement across such diverse sectors has proven challenging in the past.

"This conversation was made possible by the skilled facilitation of UNH Cooperative Extension," said Meridith Hatfield, the state's Consumer Advocate. Dick Ober, Chair of the EESE Board, personally thanked Extension for its key role in mediating the summit.

"Extension was vital to the success of this summit," added Beth Fischer, co-chair with Hatfield of the Outreach & Education Committee. "They have incredible experience facilitating groups like this and brought strength and energy--no pun intended--to the process."

Indeed, UNH Cooperative Extension has a long history of bringing diverse partners to the table around many state and local issues of broad public concern. We have a unique position as a neutral convener, due partly to our extensive network of field staff that reach into every New Hampshire community, the fact that Extension operates in so many domains of daily life, has neither regulatory responsibilities nor commercial interests, and is well-respected across multiple sectors.

What's next?

The committee's next steps include:

• Expanding the discussion to and getting feedback from a broader base of stakeholders.
• Drafting an overarching strategic communications plan other organizations/entities can incorporate into their own plans and activities.
• Honing the messages to key audiences so that entities concerned about energy efficiency/conservation are sending the same message.
• Securing funding to implement strategies in the plan that may require it.
• Working to create the political will to craft strategies that require political to implement.

by Charlie French, UNH Cooperative Extension Community and Economic Development Specialist

Largest troop deployment in state history adds new sense of urgency to program

Operation: Military Kids (OMK) New Hampshire had just wound down a successful summer camp season for military kids and families, when another 700 New Hampshire National Guardsmen and women were deployed.

"The September 11 deployment brought to 1,800 the number of National Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty service members who have deployed from New Hampshire in 2010--the largest deployment in state history," says Charlotte Cross, the Extension 4-H specialist who directs the N.H. Operation Military Kids program.

"This large deployment adds a new sense of immediacy to our ongoing work supporting military kids."

Supporting New Hampshire's military kids since 2005

Since 2005, UNH Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has served as the local hub of this nationwide program funded by the Army/4-H Youth Development Project.

In New Hampshire OMK supports more than 4,000 geographically dispersed children who have a parent in the Armed Services, as well as the additional 2500 New Hampshire youth who have an older sibling, stepparent, or other close family member serving in the military.

The program, run in partnership with the various branches of the U.S. military and an OMK State Team, consisting of numerous state and local organizations, provides broad support and helps OMK tie into existing resources for kids and families, including after-school programs, Scouts, and Boys and Girls clubs. 4-H clubs throughout New Hampshire get involved in various ways.

Special challenges underscore the need to support military kids

"Because New Hampshire no longer has any military bases, children of military families often feel isolated from other kids with whom they can share their feelings and experiences," says Cross. "Many of these youth have limited opportunities to interact with other military kids for support and connection, and their unique needs may go unrecognized in their schools and communities.

"Military kids who worry about the safety of a deployed family member or react to major changes in their home life, may experience increased anxiety, anger, and impaired concentration. This can lead to decreased academic performance, social withdrawal, and increased risk behavior.

"Deployment often results in changing family roles and destabilization of family systems," Cross continues. "Older youth may need to take on some of the roles of the deployed parent by doing chores or watching younger siblings, leading to less participation in usual after-school or weekend activities.

"Military families have a higher rate of divorce and separation, substance addiction, and child neglect and abuse. And the strain doesn't end once the deployment is over."

Learn more, get involved

It's all about connecting Read Cori's story. Scroll down to bone up on the components of the OMK program and how you can get involved.

Get involved! Opportunities for families, individuals, and community groups to support the military kids in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities.

Hero Pack Guidelines The large 2010 deployment has resulted in requests for hundreds more 'hero packs', small backpacks filled with age-appropriate items, including toys, journals, and cameras, given out to military children when their parent is deployed. Hero Packs are tangible way to salute these youth for their strengths and sacrifices. The packs and their contents are usually donated and put together as a community service project.

Operation: Military Kids 2009 Report Discover all we did last year.

WMUR's Positive Parenting segment on OMK

OMK in the news: UNH student volunteers stuff Hero Packs for military kids

Head for thinking, Heart for caring, Hands for working, Health for better living

Over the past 100-plus years, Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has touched the lives of tens of thousands of New Hampshire's young people aged five to 18 with an approach that imparts essential life skills through learning by doing.

Today's 4-H still offers the club structure and projects in animal science, clothing design, carpentry, and vegetable gardening that grandma would recognize.

But you're as likely to find today's 4-H'ers exploring career options, entrepreneurship, nutrition and fitness, computer technology, GPS mapping, rocketry, public speaking, entomology, shooting sports, photography, and much, much more.

Interim results from an ongoing research project at Tufts University suggest that 4-H participation provides measurable and significant advantages for kids across a great range of variables studied. Compared with other youth, 4-H kids had higher grades in school, more community involvement, fewer risky behaviors, and less susceptibility to peer pressure.

"Kids thrive in 4-H because of sustained involvement with caring adults, the sense of belonging that comes from connecting with their peers in safe environments, and engagement in projects and activities that follow their own interests," says UNH Extension Educator, Rick Alleva. "There's no topic a kid can't explore in a 4-H club or afterschool program. All projects encourage mastery, independence, generosity, healthy living, citizenship and civic engagement."

How do we do it?

Well-trained, well supported volunteers actually conduct a high percentage of 4-H programs, as club leaders, project leaders, and on-tap community resource volunteers.

In 2009 4-H programs touched the lives of more than 20,000 young people and involved more than 2,600 adult and youth volunteers.

All 4-H programs engage youth in core activities that emphasize leadership, citizenship and lifeskill development. But because the needs and interests of children, adult volunteers, and families differ from one New Hampshire region to another, you'll find the 4-H clubs and activities in one county differ significantly from those in a neighboring county. Contact your local Extension office to learn more about 4-H in your county.

New forms of outreach: Training afterschool providers, supporting military kids

Nationally and locally, Cooperative Extension's youth outreach never stops growing to meet society's changing needs.

In recent years, the 4-H program has become involved in training afterschool program staff in the 4-H positive youth development model, and in the process increasing access of young people to 4-H.

Since 2005, UNH Cooperative Extension has also coordinated a statewide support system for the more than 4000 children of National Guard, Reservists, and active military personnel called Operation: Military Kids.

Cori's story A military kid speaks for herself.

Operation: Military Kids 2009 Report

Today's 4-Hers tell their stories

Shaping a Life: "I never dreamed I would achieve as much as I have through 4-H"

From farm to 4-H to Dartmouth for Walpole's Kirsten Beaudry

Bridget Aznive, a UNH junior majoring in animal science, grew up on Aznive Farm in Loudon, where her family raises purebred Hereford cattle. Here she shares the story of her 13 years in 4-H.

Ask 100 4-H'ers what 4-H is and what it means, and I doubt you'll find two answers exactly alike. To every member 4-H is a little different as their experiences are never the same.

I began 4-H in Cloverbuds when I was five years old. It was a fun meeting once a month, where I got to make interesting crafts, and the meetings were filled with fun events and snacks.

Learn at your own pace

I moved up into 4-H when I was eight, but I still didn't expect my experience to go beyond making friends and exhibiting the things I'd made at the fair. That's truly the best thing about 4-H, it lets you discover your goals and learn at your own pace.

I compare 4-H to college: the first day of class your professor hands you a syllabus with the goals of the course clearly laid out on paper. In a way there's little room for discovery; by the end of the class you're expected to have learned all the objectives on that sheet of paper.

But when you join 4-H, no one sits you down and says, "Okay, you're a 4-H'er now. By the time you leave you should have developed the skills to make you a better community member, and have improved your public speaking and leadership skills."

4-H lets you discover and build these skills over time, at your own pace and you really learn and remember them better than you will ever remember how calculus applies to everyday life. It becomes a part of you, it envelops you, and you don't even realize the skills you've gained until you sit down and really think about it.

Perseverance, responsibility, teamwork

Everyone learns things differently. I learned the most in the ring with the horses. One of my first-ever goals in 4-H was to get the horse I was riding to trot all the way around the ring without stopping, an endeavor that was extremely difficult for me and probably took close to a year to achieve.

Through the 4-H horse program I learned responsibility. I learned how to fall and get back on afterwards. Although I didn't realize it at the time, each time I fell I had a setback. By getting back on, I learned to overcome those setbacks and succeed.

Working with the horses I learned a lot of lessons in teamwork and patience. You can't force a horse to do something they don't want to do, and in order to work as a successful team, you need to be patient and let things go at their own pace. I learned that I couldn't just give up, that sometimes there is no easy way out without giving up, and that sometimes the best choice is the hardest.

Leading and teaching

As my experiences in 4-H evolved, I focused less on the awards and more on the workshops and trips that catered to my interests, as well as the leadership roles available to me. These experiences not only provided me with immense knowledge but with skills that I was able to build on and develop as I progressed in 4-H and life.

I learned to balance a budget and stay on track as treasurer of both my local 4-H club and my Junior Leaders group, a valuable skill that I have been able to apply in college, to help keep the costs of my education in check.

As I got older I began to help my mom and other 4-H leaders teach the younger members some of the skills I had learned. At times this came naturally to me---encouraging new members to participate in the meetings, being used as an example, demonstrating the different gaits of a horse, demonstrating an emergency dismount, or explaining what I had learned in different projects.

Other times I experienced many difficulties, giving me a new outlook on just how much the leaders had done for me when I was younger. When I helped with the sewing group, I learned that simple tasks like the right amount of pressure on the pedal for the speed I wanted the sewing machine to travel at, and I struggled to find a way to explain it to someone who had never sewn before.

When I joined the Junior Leaders group, I experienced an entirely new side of 4-H. While the number of projects decreased, my level of involvement in the club planning increased immensely. Until then the leaders had a large part helping to keep the meeting running smoothly and coming up with projects that involved members of all ages.

In Junior Leaders everyone was closer in age, and we took more control in planning meetings and events. The level of community service also increased immensely. Large community service projects that everyone could organize and plan took over much of our time both inside and outside of meetings.

Discovering a career path

4-H has taught me so much that helped shape me into the person I am today. As I became active in the horse project, I overcame my initial fear of horses and also learned about the need for large animal veterinarians across the nation. This, along with the love of animals that developed over time in 4-H, helped me set my sights on a career in veterinary medicine.

In college I discovered just how difficult my selected major was, but through the lessons I learned as a 4-H'er, I was able to get through the difficult times, setting realistic goals and ways to meet my goals for each class. 4-H also helped me to overcome my shyness. Today I have the skills to deliver a well-organized presentation and communicate my ideas to others.

These skills have also helped quite recently in the UNH CREAM class, where 29 other classmates and I manage a herd of 26 cows at the Fairchild Dairy. Being able to work as a team makes the process of selecting bulls for our cows, and deciding how to improve our herd while increasing our profits easier.

For me 4-H wasn't just a club I was involved in as a kid, it's a part of my life that has helped me set realistic goals for myself and stay the course. I truly can't get enough of 4-H, and I can't wait to become re-involved with 4-H as a leader after I finish my schooling.

Looking back, I never dreamed I would have achieved as much as I have through 4-H; it's been a life- shaping experience I could never regret.

Another 4-H story

From farm to 4-H to Dartmouth for Walpole's Kirsten Beaudry