Volunteers performed the work-equivalent of 38 full-time employees in 2010

Read 1st-person volunteer stories

"Cooperative Extension volunteers--Master Gardeners, 4-H leaders, Natural Resource Stewards--provided 16,717 hours of educational outreach work in Hillsborough County last year---the equivalent of more than eight full-time employees," says Dan Reidy, community development educator and office administrator for Hillsborough County Extension. "That's amazing!"

Impressive in scope and depth

Impressive, indeed, but so is the scope, geographic range, and depth of the educational outreach Cooperative Extension volunteers deliver statewide.

Last year thousands of UNH Cooperative Extension volunteers devoted about 76,000 hours to educational work in communities throughout New Hampshire--the equivalent of 38 fulltime workers.

Well trained and well supported, these volunteers create dense networks of close and caring connections between and among local residents and their common environment whose value is impossible to measure.

Extension volunteers inventory natural resources, organize community gardens, test water quality in New Hampshire lakes, deliver the acclaimed 4-H youth programs, answer questions at our toll-free Info Line in Manchester, present educational talks and workshops on wildlife, home gardening, marine and estuarine resources, and more. Plus, volunteer advisory councils guide the activities of Extension county field staff.

Since the 1920s, when New Hampshire's 4-H programs began training volunteers to work with children, Cooperative Extension has joined forces with local residents eager to share their own time and knowledge with others. In the late 1970's, other Extension program areas began "extending" the reach of their professional staffs with volunteers.

Extension volunteer managers have twice won New Hampshire Volunteer of the Year awards, 4-H educator Deb Cheever in 2000 and 4-H program associate Nancy Evans in 2010. Both are charter members of The New Hampshire Association of Volunteer Administrators.

Check out all UNH Cooperative Extension's volunteer programs

4-H Youth Development programs are delivered by trained, screened, and well-supported volunteers. Adult volunteers play many roles: mentors, advisors, friends. The primary requirement: a desire to make a positive impact on a child's life.

Master Gardeners conduct hands-on horticulture projects with community groups through New Hampshire, give talks and workshops on horticultural topics, and answer questions at our Manchester Education Center's Info Line.

Natural Resources Stewards engage those who enjoy learning about New Hampshire's natural history and resources and their role in sustaining communities. The program emphasizes hands-on learning and can be taken for college credit.

The New Hampshire Coverts Project is a wildlife-focused program that helps landowners and other conservation-minded residents promote wildlife habitat conservation and forest stewardship in their communities.

The New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program trains volunteer citizen scientists to conduct water-quality research at more than 300 freshwater lake sites and 70 tributaries in a unique, "neighbor-to-neighbor" approach.

Marine Docent volunteers provide a lens through which students, educators, and the public view and explore the saltwater marine coastal environment.

Energy Answers trains volunteers to answer energy-related questions at our Education Center.

Extension Advisory Councils help identify the educational needs of county residents and work with Extension staff and volunteers to meet those emerging needs.

Read first-person stories from Extension volunteers.