Extension News: Extension programs Archives

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.

The NH Method: Practical wetlands guide updated and online


New Hampshire communities, conservation groups and natural resources consultants now have an updated, practical method for evaluating wetland functions. The NH Method, originally published in 1991, has been updated for the first time in 20 years through the efforts of its two main authors from UNH Cooperative Extension and the NH Method Work Group.

Wetlands play a key role in maintaining water quality, reducing the amount and volume of stormwater runoff, and storing floodwater to prevent downstream property damage.

First update since 1991

First developed in 1991, the NH Method was long overdue for an update, according to one of the authors, Amanda Lindley Stone, UNH Cooperative Extension land and water conservation specialist.

"The NH Method is widely used in New Hampshire, so the update was needed to incorporate new information, studies and technologies. It also was an opportunity to incorporate feedback we have received from users over the years."

Officially known as the "Method for the Inventory and Evaluation of Freshwater Wetlands in New Hampshire," it has always been known as the NH Method, providing a science-based method designed that both professionals and non-professionals will find easy to use.

The format provides a step-by-step process that allows users to learn about wetlands and wetland evaluation. It is available only through its website and can be downloaded as one document or by chapters.

Over the past 20 years, the NH Method has been used frequently for community and watershed-based wetland assessments throughout the state and has been demonstrated as both useful and accurate.

Easy to use, educational, and objective

Its ease of use, educational value and the overall objectivity of the resulting function evaluations have contributed to its popularity. Since 1991, the NH DES Wetlands Bureau Prime Wetlands Regulations have recommended it as the preferred method for evaluating wetlands for the purpose of Prime Wetlands designation.

"The original NH Method was published before the wide availability of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in the early days of desktop computers, before the availability of the Internet," Stone says.

"Eighteen years later, it was ripe for an update that included new information sources and technologies. In addition, the update incorporates changes suggested by past users."

The update includes the addition of new scientific information and new technologies, along with revisions that improve clarity and that incorporate new data from recent studies. Intended uses include:

• Educating members of conservation commissions, other town boards, non-wetland professionals and the public about wetland functions and values.
• Evaluating one or more wetlands in a study area, such as a town or a watershed.
• Evaluating Prime Wetlands (see: RSA 482-A:15)
• Collecting baseline information about the wetlands in a study area.
• Creating a database of the scores for the evaluated wetlands for a number of functions, as well as other data about the wetlands in a study area.
• Supporting local planning and decision-making.

Stone and Frank Mitchell, a UNH Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus, are the main editors. Contributing authors are listed within the document.

Check out the new resource. You can download it as one document or by chapters.

This year, six families will have the chance to build a boat while making memories during the UNH Marine Docents' annual Family Boat-Building Workshop.

Each family will build the Oyster River Cat, a 12-ft. sailboat that can carry a family of three for a day of sailing on quiet water. It is easily transported and also serves as an excellent rowboat.

Construction will take place Friday through Sunday, May 13-15, at UNH's Kingman Farm in Madbury. Families must include at least one adult and a youth age 12 or older.

No prior woodworking experience is required, but participants should have basic skills using hand tools. An experienced docent boat-builder will help each family to ensure a successful experience. The $975 fee includes all of the boat-building materials, a professionally made sail, and a day of sailing instruction on June 4.

Because space in the program is limited, each family interested in participating must submit an application by May 1.

For more information or to apply
Or contact Mark Wiley at mark.wiley@unh.edu or 603-749-1565.

Photo credit: Ray Belles

4-H science education initiative kicks off with Science Discovery Institute Feb. 12

Across the nation, Cooperative Extension's 4-H Youth Development program has embarked on a mission to expand activities that engage young people in science education.

Given the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to our nation's continued economic vitality and to young people's future job prospects, the National 4-H Council has launched a major campaign to promote STEM education, called "One Million New Scientists, One Million New Ideas."

Science Everywhere event Feb. 12

A free 4-H Science Everywhere Discovery Institute at UNH on Saturday, Feb. 12, kicks off New Hampshire's 4-H science plan.

Youth and adult teams will spend a day of hands-on science learning, interacting with UNH faculty and students as they participate in one of four science education tracks: engineering/physical science, environmental science, food/health science and plant/animal science.

As 4-H Science Ambassadors, these youth-adult teams will return to their communities and share their experiences with youth 4-H clubs, schools and other youth programs across the state. Any interested youth-adult teams in New Hampshire are welcome to join and participate in this event.

More 4-H science-ed programs in the works

Our statewide 4-H Youth Development program recently received grants from the 4-H National Council and the Noyce Foundation to expand opportunities for students to experience hands-on science learning.

Four 4-H staff also attended a National 4-H Science Leadership Academy and returned with a plan for the Granite State. At the academy, Rick Alleva, Claes Thelemarck, Michael Koski and Julia Mawson participated in workshops with science education leaders across the country, gathering a wealth of resources to implement here in New Hampshire.

If you'd like more information about 4-H science activities or other 4-H Youth Development programs, contact Rick Alleva in Rockingham County at (603) 679-5616/ e-mail rick.alleva@unh.edu or visit our 4-H web pages.

Good Forestry offers comprehensive guidance for forest landowners & professionals

"After more than two years and many hours of discussion, writing and revision by hundreds of landowners, foresters, loggers, conservation activists and average citizens," the second edition of Good Forestry in the Granite State: Recommended Voluntary Forest Management Practices for New Hampshire is ready for distribution," says Extension Forest Resources Specialist Karen Bennett, who coordinated the project.

New edition reflects advances in knowledge; changes in markets, practices, laws

Originally published in 1997, the revision of Good Forestry incorporates advances in knowledge and changes in forestry markets, practices, and state laws. A 24-member steering committee, representing conservation organizations, state agencies and the forest industry led the revision process.

The guide gives landowners and the professionals who work with them practical recommendations to care for their woodlots.

According to Brad Simpkins, State Forester and director of the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands, "A guide like Good Forestry is important because New Hampshire is 84 percent forested, and most of that forest is owned by private landowners. We depend on these private lands for clean air and water, scenic beauty, recreation, abundant wildlife, and a forest industry that's important to the state's economy. Good Forestry helps private landowners take care of their land."

New Hampshire relies on landowner education, rather than mandates, to keep forests healthy

"Unlike many other heavily forested states, New Hampshire ensures a healthy forest through education, rather than state mandates," says Bennett. New Hampshire law directs the State Forester to develop educational tools to manage 'ecologically sensitive and unique natural features of forestland.' The product of landowners, specialists, and others, Good Forestry is the tool the State Forester developed for landowners, foresters, and loggers to use.

New topics, expansions of those previously covered

"New topics include setting objectives, management plans, estate planning and land protection, staying safe in the woods, choosing the right timber harvesting system, stream crossings, invasive plants, wildlife species of greatest conservation need, steep slopes, forest products, maple sugaring, and ecosystem-services markets," Bennett says.

"We've also expanded topics covered in the first edition, notably those related to silviculture (the art and science of growing trees), vernal pools, and riparian forests (forests along rivers). Knowledge gained from the N.H. Wildlife Action Plan was incorporated into the wildlife-related chapters."

Tim Fleury, Extension forest resources educator in Merrimack County, says he's excited about the new version. "Good Forestry in the Granite State gives background and practical tips to help landowners interested in taking care of their land," he says.

"It starts out encouraging landowners to think about what they want for their land and encourages them to develop some objectives and a plan and to work with professionals. Good Forestry isn't a cookbook for woodlot management. It says the actions of a landowner can be based on landowner interests, looking at the land, and getting help."

How to get your copy

Good Forestry is a 225-page guide, in a three-ring binder format. Each copy comes with a cd.

An online version is available free at www.goodforestry.org, as well as links for ordering print copies of the book. You can call 800-444-8978 to order a copy.

"We hope the guide will be used as an on-the-ground reference for day-to-day decision-making," says Bennett. "It's a must-read for all forest landowners and the professionals who work with them."

We started the NH Outside writers' collaborative in 2004, recruiting natural-resources volunteers who love to write from among our Master Gardeners, Wildlife Coverts, Community Tree Stewards, Marine Docents and others.

The project's only purpose: to produce essays that would connect readers to the natural world in some meaningful way. Every week, we send out a new essay to print media statewide.

Because the classical Japanese poetic form called haiku works so well to help writers improve their writing, we encourage NH Outside writers to write haiku as often as possible. (Some of our Cooperative Extension staff have also taken up the practice.) In 2009, we began introducing each month in our award-winning NH Outside calendar with a haiku.

To welcome 2011, we offer 12 of our favorites from over the years:

January
ice-storm surgery
leaves trees with splintered scars and
amputated limbs

Alice Mullen

February
snow whirls around leaf
dancing across empty field
dreaming of spring

Juli Brussell

March
winter melt warm day
droplets off roof and trees
cold music soothes me

Stephania Pearce

April
writing, gardening
one on your butt, one on knees
both require good seeds

Helen Downing

May
running through
clouds of lilacs
spring in every step

Gini Cornila

June
jumble unfolding,
an otter
slips into the water

Susan Poirier

July
one last strawberry
hides in mulch, small, misshapen--
no less delicious

Peg Boyles

August
glossy bronze beetles
feast on plants, then drop like bombs
leaving leaves of lace

Arlene Laurenitis

September
chipmunks' constant chirps
upset by the looming cat
the woodpile is home

Charlene Andersen

October
bobbing, gobbling birds
turkeys prancing through fall fields
dinner on the go

Peeps Bogaert

November
a cat convention
patiently waiting, tails twitch
mouse safe under stove

Terry Handel

December
chilled bare fingertips
soft powder snow wraps around
breath puffs float on air

Lisa Jackson

Etching by J. Ann Eldridge. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

To help farmers learn new production and business management strategies that will ensure the long-term viability of current and future family farms, UNH Cooperative Extension continues its tradition of winter risk-management workshops.

The series begins Jan. 6 with the New Hampshire Small Family Farm Conference, Equipping Yourself for Farm Ownership at the Holiday Inn in Concord. This workshop will answer questions such as How do you make the transition to being a farmer? What's the best way to acquire land? How do you protect your business investment?

Next up: Organic High Tunnel Production on Jan. 21 in Concord, followed by the N.H. Women in Agriculture Conference on Feb. 19 in Charlestown, and the Northern New England Nursery Conference on Mar. 8 in Concord.

Over the course of these workshops, UNH Cooperative Extension, partnering with the USDA Risk Management Agency, the N.H. Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food, the USDA Farm Service Agency, and NH NOFA, will provide tools and techniques for managing business risks. Financial support from the USDA Risk Management Agency has enabled UNH Cooperative Extension to offer these programs at minimal cost to participants.

For more specific information visit our Risk Management page or call 603-862-3234.

Extension's Nutrition Connections program makes a difference for recipients

UNH's Carsey Institute published a studythis month that documents a 52 percent increase in the number of American households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called the Food Stamp Program) benefits since 2007. One in 10 American households currently receives SNAP benefits.

Surprisingly, so do one in 10 New Hampshire residents.

New Hampshire SNAP recipients: a 76 percent increase since 2006

"Many people may be shocked to learn that, despite being the state with the highest median household income, 10 percent of our population receives SNAP benefits," says Debbie Luppold, an Extension specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension's Nutrition Connections program. Nutrition Connections has provided nutrition education to SNAP recipients since 1989.

"A just-published USDA data sheet shows that 104,375 New Hampshire individuals received SNAP benefits in 2010. That's a 24 percent increase since 2009 and an increase of more than 76 percent since 2006," says Luppold.

"And many people probably don't realize that many low-income New Hampshire residents also rely on a network of more than 400 emergency food providers--pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior centers and day-care facilities for low-income children--to feed themselves and their families."

Nutrition Connections: a lot more than teaching the basics of a healthy diet

"UNH Cooperative Extension received our first grant from USDA Food and Nutrition Service to provide nutrition education to food-stamp recipients in 1989, and we've continued that work in New Hampshire ever since," says Luppold.

She continues, "Our outreach involves a lot more than teaching the basics of a healthy diet. We also help people improve their skills in budgeting, food shopping, cooking, and food safety. We help them identify and access emergency food resources in their communities. In recent years, we've begun emphasizing the importance of regular exercise for all members of the family.

Referrals, word of mouth

"Our participants learn about us through referrals by schools, faith organizations, and agencies such as Head Start and the WIC program. Some refer themselves after learning about us by word of mouth," says Luppold. "We conduct our educational work through one-on-one home visits, with groups at agencies, schools and after-school programs, through community youth groups, and through a learn-at-home series.

"In 2010, we engaged directly with more than 1,000 adults (who influence 2,800 family members) and 3,600 youth in schools and after-school programs. We also publish two newsletters, Smart Choices and Senior Smart Choices three times a year and mail them to all SNAP recipients in the state."

Healthy Schools initiative aims to improve schools' nutrition environment

"In 2003, we started our Healthy Schools NH initiative, which works with nurses, teachers, and others in schools with high populations of low-income children," says Luppold. "Teams in participating schools improve their schools' nutrition environment and find ways to increase physical activity levels during the school day and in after-school programs."

Many changes since 1989

"A lot has changed since I arrived in 1989," says Luppold. "We've gone from paper food stamps to Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, which can be used in stores and also at some farmers' markets and farm stands. These days, we're seeing more and more working families who can't make ends meet, as well as people who've lost their jobs and never had to ask for any kind of assistance before."

"Interestingly, our survey data suggest that people may not need the supplemental assistance as long as they once did. In 2002, our survey found that people had been on food stamps an average of 18.5 months; in 2003 it was 14 months, and in 2008, the last time we asked, more than half of recipients surveyed said they'd received food stamps for less than one year.

Nutrition Connections makes a real difference

Hard data from Nutrition Connections' participant surveys shows:

• 81 percent improvement in one or more food resource-management practices: they now use grocery lists, plan meals, compare prices, and/or don't run out of food.


• 90 percent showed improvement in one or more nutrition practices: they make healthy food choices, prepare foods without adding salt, read nutrition labels and/or make sure children eat breakfast.


• 55 percent showed improvement in one or more of the food-safety practices: thawing and storing foods properly.

Equally telling: the feedback we receive from our participants

"I have more confidence in the nutrition decisions I make for my family. We compare unit size and price. I'm bringing home more new kinds of [fruits and vegetables]. I have noticed my food stamps seem to go a little further. It's fun to see how I can get the most nutrition from the most affordable ingredients available."

"My daughter is into reading labels on all the foods we buy. I'm finding it easier to get her to eat healthier because she's involved in the grocery shopping. She likes to look at all the ingredients. We have fun with it."

"Now I know what to buy. Before I didn't. I just went down the aisles and was confused."

"Since doing my goals; I've lost 12 pounds. I have completely stopped drinking Mt. Dew and replaced it with water. More physical activity for me and my son means we are more energetic than we were before."

Nutrition Connections Learn more about what we do and how to participate.
Healthy Schools NH Learn more about our work to improve the school nutrition environment.
More Than One in Ten American Households Relies on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance December, 2010 paper from the Carsey Institute.

Geospatial Technologies Training Center offers mapping-based advertising & digital marketing workshops

"If you want people to find you--your customers, for example--you need to put your location into the digital databases people use when they're looking for information,"says Shane Bradt, UNH Cooperative Extension's geospatial technology specialist.

"People are turning increasingly to online maps, especially via mobile communication devices, for all sorts of information," he says. "As people move about during their typical day--especially when traveling or on vacation--GPS-based devices are guiding their choices about where to go, what and where to eat, where to stay and what to buy.

"Built-in, car-based GPS navigation units are becoming standard, and stand-alone car GPS units are more affordable than ever. More than 53 million Americans are already using smartphones with built-in GPS technology, both in the car and on the run."

Being seen and found requires getting your information into digital mapping databases.

"To be seen by these map-users, businesses, organizations and towns need to have their information listed correctly in the databases that power the maps and mapping applications in these devices.

That's why we developed a workshop called Putting your Business on the Digital Map.

"The three-hour workshop will teach business owners and organizations how to get their business information into the databases used by mapping applications in car GPS units and smartphone applications. It's quite different from the other workshops we've offered since the Geospatial TechnologiesTraining Center opened in 1998," says Bradt.

Bradt will offer the three-hour workshop 10 times in the coming weeks, twice in each of five locations: October 18 in Manchester, October 25 in Keene, November 1 in Dover, November 4 in Conway, and November 15 in Plymouth.

What you'll learn

"In half a day, you'll learn about the new types of marketing opportunities offered by GPS and smartphones, load your own accurate and descriptive business information into numerous databases and maps used by online, GPS and smartphone mapping applications, and acquire the skills to maintain and update your listing in the most important mapping databases. Quite a bargain!" says Bradt.

Not just for businesses

He adds, "Although business is in the name of the workshop, these events will also be relevant to towns, non-profits, state government departments, or any group looking to promote and/or draw people to locations."

Interested?

Learn more about putting your business or organization on digital maps

Learn more about Cooperative Extension's Geospatial Technologies Training Center

Slate of topics: using GPS, developing roads and trails, forest management techniques, selling timber

Forests occupy more than 80 percent of New Hampshire's land base. Nearly three-quarters of these forested acres are in the hands of private landowners.

We depend on the stewardship of these landowners to deliver the many benefits our working forests provide, from our billion-dollar forest products industry, to wildlife habitat, to the scenic backdrop that makes New Hampshire such a desirable place to live and visit, to the many invisible environmental services such as flood buffering, water quality protection, and carbon storage.

Caring for Your Forest workshops
Each year, Cooperative Extension foresters partner with other natural resources professionals to offer a series of workshops on timely topics that inform forest landowners on how to meet their private objectives while protecting the many public values the forests provide.

This fall's Caring for Your Forest workshops all take place at the Merrimack County Extension office. Topics include:

• Using GPS on your woodlot.
• Constructing and maintaining roads and trails.
• The basics of silviculture, the art and science of regenerating and tending trees and forests
• Basics of a successful timber sale (covers contracts and timber-harvesting laws).

Interested? Get the details

Farm estate-planning videos now online

Farm-succession planning tough to do

"Because it involves talking about the deaths of family elders and who gets the farm after their passing, farm estate-planning isn't easy for farm families to do," says John Porter, retired UNH Extension dairy specialist.

"Fear of the unknown, dislike of the subject, or just plain procrastination often shove this topic down the priority list. However, it's better to have those conversations with all the players around the table, rather than trying to second-guess what mom or dad would have wanted in the emotion-filled days after they die."

"After all," Porter says, "what's more important to a farmer than seeing a life's work--maybe generations of work--continue on?"

And what greater public benefit than keeping agricultural land open, since working farmland allows groundwater recharge, buffers against floods, filters pollutants, provides wildlife habitat, and delivers the scenic views that make New Hampshire such a great place to live and visit.

Real families tackle the issues

To help break the ice on this subject and hear from families who have dealt with estate-planning issues, a team of Extension colleagues that included Family Resource Management Specialist Suzann Enzian Knight, Program Assistant Katherine Fredette, Porter, and Agricultural Business Management Specialist Mike Sciabarrasi, has produced a series of six videocasts of farm families telling their farm-succession stories. The Family Farm Finances website Knight organized three years ago also contains a wealth of additional farm-family financial management information.

Opening their hearts, serving up practical advice

The videos feature three New Hampshire farm families interviewed at their farms about the estate planning steps they have taken: Charlie and Ruth Bachelder and their son Keith of Epsom; Ralph and Sandy LeClair and their sons Mark and Matt and his wife Beth, of Mason; and Martin and Lynda Connolly and their sons Patrick, Michael and Chris of Temple.

Porter asked each family a series of questions about how they dealt with estate planning. These became five segments, entitled How to start succession planning, How to prepare the generations, How to talk about succession planning, How to transition from discussion to documentation, and How to plan for life after farming.

"The families opened their hearts and gave a lot of honest, practical advice that could help another family get started in succession planning," says Porter.

Website, videos jumpstart the estate-planning process

Knight adds, "We've also posted to the website many downloadable resource materials that go along with the videocasts. Site visitors will find retirement budget calculators, sample documents, planning templates, and many other documents that can facilitate planning."

"The family farm financial website isn't a substitute for getting legal advice for finalizing the estate plan," says Knight. "But it can help get things started or reactivate stalled plans to promote the family discussions needed before sitting down with an attorney.

"Viewers will find that a lot of their apprehensions are shared by the farm families interviewed.Their discussions of how they worked through things can be a real encouragement."

Photo by John Porter Porter writes:

Farming is a family affair at Bachelder's Spooky View Farm in Epsom. Charlie and Ruth have been concerned about the business continuing on to the next generation and have done estate planning to help transition the farm to their son Keith. They still own the real estate and live in the house, but Keith runs the farm, and many extended family members are part of the activities and help out as needed. Shown above left to right are: Charlie Bachelder the dad and grand-dad; Amanda Bolduc, wife of another son, Brent; their children Alex, Ethan, and Adam Bachelder; son and operator Keith; and mother and grandmother, Ruth Bachelder.

The project was sponsored by the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education.

Learn the basics of starting or expanding a natural-resource-based business

Interested in starting or expanding a business using natural resources such as the farmland or forests on your property?

If so, you'll learn all the essentials you need to be successful by attending UNH Cooperative Extension's 13-week Agriculture and Natural Resource Business Institute (ANRBI). Running from September 8 through December 8, ANRBI will take place at Alvirne High School in Hudson.

Extension staff team up with industry experts to help ANRBI participants develop an operating plan for a farming or forestry-based business.

Topics include:

• Biological systems, soils, and natural resource inventories.
• Product and service marketing, enterprise profitability, and legal matters relevant to natural-resource businesses.
• The human dynamics of running a family business such as defining roles and responsibilities, handling conflict, managing time, and hiring outside labor.
• How government agencies and financial institutions work with farm and forestry ventures. When the course ends, participants leave well connected to a wide variety of advisers and technical experts.

Side benefits: Help qualify for a loan, earn CEUs or college credit

ANRBI meets USDA Farm Service Agency borrower training requirements. In addition, participants can earn continuing education credits through the UNH Professional Development and Training program or credits toward N.H. forester licensing. College credit is also available with completion of an extra project and additional per-credit fees.

Basic information

When Wednesday evenings, Sept. 8 through Dec. 8, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Where Alvirne High School, 200 Derry Road in Hudson.
Cost $175. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a partial refund. No one will be turned away due to financial need.
Join the class Register online

For more information

Call George Hamilton at 641-6060 or Mike Sciabarrasi at 862-3234. If you need special accommodations, please contact George or Mike at least 10 business days of the course start date so we may honor your request.

New Web pages help you use less energy, save money, lower your carbon footprint

Every year, New Hampshire spends some $5 billion to heat, cool and light our buildings, run our vehicles, and power our industries.

Granite State households consume about 30 percent of this energy. Some experts believe most New Hampshire homeowners could reduce their overall energy consumption by 20 percent or more. This would produce a collective savings of more than $200 million a year in New Hampshire.

To make it easy for you to learn more about energy-efficient home building or home renovation, saving energy inside your home, and financial incentives to help you make energy improvements, we've added a section of online energy resources to our website.

These resources complement the Energy Answers Info Line at our Education Center in Manchester. If you can't find answers to your home energy questions on our Web pages, call the Info Line, 1-877-398-4769, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Also, check out the extensive home-energy resources available at our national eXtension site. You may want to take advantage of the Ask-an-expert feature of that site.

Gearing up for some yard and garden work? Take advantage of our low-cost diagnostic and testing services:

Soil testing Following the recommendations from a soil test will help your ornamental and food plants grow well this season.

Insect and tick identification Most insects cause no harm to plants, humans, pets, or structures, and many perform useful roles in our environment. Accurate identification lets you distinguish friend from foe.

Plant diagnosis The long wet summer of 2009 wreaked havoc on yard and garden plants. If you have a plant, crop, or patch of lawn that's not doing well, get an accurate diagnosis of what's going on, along with a recommendation for managing the problem.

Late blight update: Speaking of plant diseases, learn what you can do to help prevent a repeat of last summer's devastating late-blight attack on the region's tomato and potato crops.

"Grass farming"--the practice of raising livestock on pasture and hay with less or no grain-feeding--has attracted much interest among small farmers in the Northeast in the past 15 years. Advocates point to research showing that animals raised on grass can improve animal health, minimize costs to farmers, increase farm profits, improve soil health and fertility, and improve the nutritional quality of the meat, eggs, and dairy products they provide," says Dorothy Perkins, UNH Cooperative Extension agricultural program coordinator.

"However, grass farming requires a wide variety of specialized skills and knowledge best learned from experienced graziers."

On Saturday, March 6, the 4th N.H. Statewide Grazing conference will be held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester.

"This year's theme, 'Growing Greener Pastures' will focus on using leased land for grazing and building soils to increase herd health," says Perkins, the conference coordinator. "New Hampshire doesn't have a lot of big tracts of agricultural land that lend themselves easily to grazing," That makes grass farming more difficult than it is out West. As a result, people trying to raise animals on pasture must learn how to adapt grazing principles developed for Western livestock production to Granite State farmland."

Greg Judy, author of "No Risk Ranching" and "Comeback Farm", will discuss his success with high-density grazing, and custom grazing on leased land, while Doug Gunnick, author of "Sustainable Farming Guide book", will guide folks through the fundamentals of growing pastures with animal nutrition and health in mind.

Throughout the day, New Hampshire speakers will lend insight into grazing fundamentals: developing grazing plans, parasites as they relate to grazing practices, fundamentals of balanced rationing, benefits of converting your dairy to a pasture based operation and fencing fundamentals.

Directions: Academic Center, Building #23, across from parking lot 9W

For more information or to register: Mary West, or call 603-796-2151.

Sponsored by the Granite State Graziers, the USDA-NRCS, UNH Cooperative Extension, and the North Country RC&D Council.

Brochure & comprehensive training package available for parents, parent-educators, community groups

"Many years of research have shown that bullying in our schools and in our society is a much more damaging and dangerous experience for children than we ever suspected. Unfortunately, it's also much more widespread and is occurring at an earlier age than ever before," says Malcolm Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension family life and family policy specialist.

"We've also learned that bullying has many serious consequences for the children who are bullied, for the bullies themselves, and for the bystanders who witness it."

Debunking common myths about bullying

To debunk common myths about bullying and offer parents, schools, and communities concrete, practical advice about what to do, Smith has summarized the latest research findings in two publications (order online)

• Understanding Bullying, a 16-page booklet for parents or for schools, agencies and community groups that would like to have a good discussion-starter for parent groups.
• Understanding Bullying: an expanded training package for professionals who work with parents. "This is a comprehensive 'take-and-go' curriculum for parent educators, school personnel, social service, court and other professionals who want to provide parents with the latest research on bullying," Smith says. "The package includes a CD with handouts and resources, a PowerPoint presentation with narrative, links to Web sites and recommended reading on bullying, as well as teaching recommendations and evaluation materials."

"We've included concrete steps parents of victims and parents of bullies can use if they learn their child is being bullied, or has bullied others. We've also included information about the increasing problem of cyberbullying, since today's kids spend so much time online and on cell phones."

Bullying a top priority for agencies and nonprofits

"Bullying is an important priority for several state and federal agencies," says Smith. "The issue is so important that the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire has made bullying its top educational priority for 2010."

House Bill 1523, currently wending its way through the legislative process, would update the state's current bullying law," Smith says.

"It defines both bullying and cyber-bullying and emphasizes that bullying isn't just peer conflict, but always involves an imbalance of power. It will require schools to have clear bullying policies and to use only evidenced-based information to educate teachers about bullying.

"The bill also requires schools to develop policies for reporting incidents of bullying, and procedures for notifying parents of both the victim and the bully." Smith says.

"Cooperative Extension will be offering a series of parent educational forums this spring--at least one in each county, as well as through our 4-H Youth Development program. We will also be offering train-the-trainer workshops for professionals who work with parents.

"These forums will cover evidence-based information on bullying and give them specific information about what to do if their child is bullied, is a bully, or becomes a bystander to acts of bullying."

Contact your county Extension office to learn when the forums and trainings will take place in your area, or email Malcolm Smith for more information.

Download

Understanding Bullying, a 16-page brochure that summarizes the latest research on bullying and provides parents and professionals who work with youth a variety of concrete tips on how to identify and help victims, bullies, and witnesses to acts of bullying.

Order online

Understanding Bullying A 16-page booklet for parents, or for schools, agencies and community groups that would like to have a good discussion-starter for parent groups.

Understanding Bullying: A comprehensive, research-grounded curriculum for professionals who work with youth, parents, and families. includes a CD with handouts and resources, a PowerPoint presentation with narrative, links to Web sites and recommended reading on bullying, as well as teaching recommendations and evaluation materials.

Vegetable growers: Here's your opportunity to voice your concerns, opinions, and frustrations about the 2009 Late Blight outbreak.

UNH Cooperative Extension will host two listening sessions:

February 8, at Edgewater Farm in Plainfield

February 18, at the N.H. Higher Education Assistance Foundation (NHHEAF) building in Concord.

Cheryl Smith and Becky Sideman from UNH Cooperative Extension and Tom Durkis from the N.H. Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food will be there to hear your comments and give a brief update. We need your input, so please plan to attend.

I found old cans of soup when I cleaned out my grandmother's cupboard. Are they safe? How long will eggs last in the refrigerator? Can I store a frozen turkey in the freezer indefinitely?

The answers to these and many other questions can be found in The Food Keeper, a publication developed by the Food Marketing Institute. Each food listed includes information about how long it can be safely refrigerated, frozen or stored for optimal quality.

Many of the consumer questions we answer at the UNH Cooperative Extension Info Line relate to food safety and storage. The Food Keeper is a great reference on food storage and how to maintain the freshness and quality of foods. It also provides helpful tips on handling food safely at home and preventing foodborne illness.

Whether you're cleaning out the pantry or loading up the refrigerator for a celebration, make sure the food you serve to friends and family is not only good-tasting, but safe as well.

More food-safety questions? Contact the Info Line at 877-398-4769 or email answers@unh.edu.
Photo credit Robert Banh, some rights reserved.

For more than a century, New Hampshire 4-H Youth Development programs have recognized health as one of the four H's of the well-known 4-H clover leaf (joining head, heart, and hands).

With the epidemic of childhood obesity as a backdrop and $50,000 from the Wal-Mart Foundation for Healthy Living and the National 4-H Council, the New Hampshire 4-H program is boosting its statewide commitment to youth wellness with its new 4-H Healthy Living Challenge.

According to Extension 4-H specialist Paula Gregory, "The Healthy Living Challenge will link youth and their families, community wellness groups, 4-H volunteers and after-school staff, and land-grant university experts to mobilize young people and get them excited about healthy living. The program tackles nutrition, physical fitness and safety in three interrelated phases."

• Ready, set, go provides opportunities for youth to learn how to be healthy and fit, discover nutritious foods, and become engaged in physically active games.


• Keep going challenges young people to reach a daily goal of 5-2-1-0: five fruits and vegetables, spending no more than two hours watching TV or using electronic games, one hour or more of exercise, and eliminating sugary drinks and snacks.


• Go public involves young people spreading the word about healthy choices, becoming active locally to foster creative approaches to individual, family, and community wellness. Many 4-H youth will be showcasing their experiences through posters, speeches, demonstrations, and media productions.

"The project will create a statewide 4-H action plan for future healthy-living programs," says Wendy Brock, UNH Extension 4-H program leader. "We hope the plan and the activities that emerge from it will trigger the young people involved to create their own long-term action plans for health."

Project kicks off

The 4-H Healthy Living Challenge was launched in June during the annual four-day 4-H Teen Conference on the UNH campus." Two-thirds of conference workshops featured health and fitness topics. Teen participants received pedometers and a pledge card challenging them to eat nutritious meals, get lots of exercise, and make decisions that help them stay healthy," says Gregory.

"We used the same approach--workshops, pedometers and pledge cards--at the Northeast Regional SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Forum and a 4-day career tour to New York City.

"During the Career Tour, 42 participating teens and chaperones collectively logged 1,037 miles as they walked city streets learning about careers in the fashion industry. Many 'trained' for the trip by increasing their daily walking during weeks preceding the tour," says Gregory.

More Healthy Living Challenge activities

• In Hillsborough, Grafton and Merrimack counties, gardening programs reached more than 250 children working alongside UNH Cooperative Extension volunteers. For example, at the Massabesic Audubon Center in Auburn, children from inner-city 4-H afterschool and summer programs participated in the 4-H Green Thumb Team initiative. Activities included planning, planting, tending and harvesting theme gardens and individual yardstick-size beds. The Green Thumb teams helped harvest their crops, bringing some to their own tables and donating the remaining 1700 pounds to the New Hampshire Food Bank.


• In August, military youth affected by family member's deployment participated in an Operation: Military Kids (OMK) You're the Chef camp, where they learned about many topics related to food and meal preparation, including nutrition, food purchasing, food safety, meal planning, and cooking techniques. During the weekend, campers prepared four different meals and also enjoyed recreational and social activities such as hiking, nature study, and team-building games.


• 4-H Microwave Magic and Up for the Challenge: Lifetime Fitness, Healthy Decisions are two wellness curricula being rolled out this spring in afterschool programs and 4-H clubs across the state in conjunction with our Nutrition Connections staff.

Learn more

Stayed tuned to our 4-H events calendar Find upcoming health-and-fitness based events.

If you work with youth and want to get involved in the Healthy Living Challenge, call the 4-H Youth Development educator in your county.

NH HEALthy Schools Initiative Learn more about this UNH Cooperative Extension initiative to improve New Hampshire schools' nutrition and fitness environments.

New Hampshire farmers, large and small, want to know what financial risks they may face, what strategies they can use to reduce those risks, and how to be as productive as possible. Farmers also know it's a matter of balancing farm and family life.

Continuing the risk-management workshop series we started last fall, the winter presenters will provide tools and techniques for managing business risks while explaining the benefits of participating in crop and revenue insurance programs.

Here's a list of upcoming workshops and information about how to register:

January 5: N.H. Small Family-Farm Conference
The conference, on the theme of Growing Your Small Farm into a Profitable Business, takes place Tuesday, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Concord. Cost is $20.00 per person for lunch and refreshments. The conference features a farmer-panel discussion on Growing the Business, along with presentations on dealing with strategies for reducing risk, and supportive government programs. Register online or contact Mike Sciabarrasi at 862-3234.

January 9: N.H. Women in Agriculture
This conference takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Antioch University, 40 Avon Street in Keene. Cost: $20.00 per person for lunch and refreshments. Kathy Soder from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service will speak on Balancing Farming and Family, and Annette Higby on Legal Issues for Women in Agriculture. Also featured: a farmer panel discussing balancing farming and family, as well as an update on crop insurance. Register online or contact Carl Majewski at 352-4550.

January 26: Organic Producers' Workshop: Focus on Marketing, Farm Infrastructure, and Disease Management Workshop runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Stonewall Farm in Keene. Cost: $20.00 per person for lunch and refreshments. Speaker presentations include Growing and Marketing Organic Herbs and Botanicals, Walking the Line Between Direct Marketing and Wholesale, Setting Up a Winter CSA, and Organic Management of Late Blight and Other Diseases. Event also features a panel discussion on funding opportunities and an overview of crop and revenue insurance options. Register online or contact Carl Majewski at 352-4550.

February 10: Organic Producers' Workshop: Focus on Season Extension, Farm Planning, and Disease Management Workshop runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Common Man Restaurant in Plymouth. Cost: $20.00 per person for lunch and refreshments. Presentations include High Tunnels and Other Season Extenders, Winter Production, Farm Planning and Evaluating Profitability, and Organic Management of Late Blight and Other Diseases. Also featured: a panel discussion on funding opportunities for farmers and an overview of crop and revenue insurance options. Register online or contact Heather Bryant at 787-6944.

UNH Cooperative Extension, partnered with the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), the N.H. Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food, and the USDA Farm Service Agency to sponsor this workshop series. Financial support from the USDA RMA has enabled UNH Cooperative Extension to offer these programs at minimal cost.

Further workshops take place through the spring of 2010. Stay tuned.

"It's all about connecting"

Cori's story
In May, 2008, 13-year-old Cori laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery during an 8th-grade class trip to Washington D.C. She'd won the honor in a school essay competition.

"It was so emotional for me," she says. "All my classmates were like, 'Oh it's breathtaking! It's so beautiful!' But my mom was training to deploy to Iraq, and all I could see were the crosses and the tombs. I kept thinking about the lost lives, the brutality of war, thinking, 'What if my mom comes home as one of the Unknowns?'."

Cori's mom, a New Hampshire Army National Guard professional, trained for nearly a year but didn't deploy because of medical problems discovered at the last minute.

"But it had come to the point that my brother and I were already packed, even though we didn't know where we were going to live [during her deployment] because of a family legal issue," Cori says. "I was feeling incredibly anxious."

Last summer, Cori and her brother got involved in Operation: Military Kids (OMK), a program designed to connect military kids with each other and rally community support for the state's more than 4,000 children whose parents are in the National Guard, the Reserves, or on active duty.

UNH Cooperative Extension has managed the program in New Hampshire since 2005 in partnership with the various branches of the U.S. military and numerous state and local organizations.

Cori attended several OMK summer camps--You're the Chef, Adventures in Babysitting, and Flight Command, an introduction to space science--a Speak Out For Military Kids training, and the Family Adventure Camp, as well as the 4-H Teen Conference.

More than just something to do
"OMK started out as just something for us to do in the summer instead of just hanging out," she says. "But it's turned into so much more--a support system. We're the only military kids in our town, so it was great to get connected with other military kids. We're all so open with each other. Nobody is judgmental. It's so great, just having a good time and leaving the problems behind.

"I've made a lot of new friends from all over New Hampshire through OMK," says Cori. "We're in touch all the time, on the phone and through Facebook. In fact, a few of us are on a team to develop a Speak Out For Military Kids Facebook page," says Cori.

"Every military kid has a different story and a different kind of stress," she says. "But we understand each other. I want to stay involved in OMK as a mentor to other military kids."

Upcoming deployment largest in N.H. history
"With as many as 1,600 New Hampshire Guard and Reserve troops about to deploy in 2010, involving more than half the state's military kids, OMK operations have kicked into high gear in the past few months," says Charlotte Cross, the UNH Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development specialist who directs the OMK program in New Hampshire.

"This project is all about connecting--connecting military kids to each other and to their nonmilitary peers, connecting communities to the needs of kids. Military kids are geographically dispersed throughout the state," Cross says. "Whether their parents serve in the Guard, Reserve, or active military forces, New Hampshire's military kids don't live on or near military bases, so they don't have a lot of interaction with other military kids.

"Kids have told us they don't feel comfortable talking to their friends who don't have a parent in the military, because they think they won't understand," says Cross. "They really like getting together with other kids who know what it's like to have a parent about to be deployed, who has already gone, or has come home again, and the whole family dynamic has changed."

Components of the OMK project

Ready, Set, Go! "This is one of the core programs offered by OMK," says Cross. "These are presentations we make to school guidance counselors, social service providers, mental health professionals, youth workers, clergy, and others who serve kids and families to educate them about the impacts of deployment on kids and families."

OMK summer camps "In 2009, we held eight camps that served 192 participants. Our Family Adventure Camp at Mt. Ascutney attracted 84 military family members."

Partner Project "This project offers up to $500 to community groups or businesses to help defray costs of sponsoring a program for military kids," Cross says. "This year for example, we helped sponsor a fishing derby, an apple-picking festival, yoga classes, and a kayaking adventure."

Speak Out For Military Kids (SOMK) "This project brings both military kids and their non-military peers together to teach effective ways to raise awareness about and advocate for military youth using a variety of different media, says Cross. "In the process, the young people gain leadership, teamwork, research, organization, and public speaking skills. This year, we're hoping to expand into social media such as Facebook," says Cross.

The Mobile Technology Lab "The lab travels around the state a lot," says Cross. "It features laptop computers, cameras and video equipment, printers, laminators, and other equipment that helps military kids communicate with their deployed parents and share their message with non-military citizens."

"But the Hero Packs are our big project of the moment," Cross says. "These are backpacks filled with items such as disposable cameras, calling cards, journals, and age-appropriate fun items presented to military youth when a parent or loved one deploys, in recognition of the sacrifices these young people make. In 2010, we expect to distribute more than 2,000 of them. We put out a call for help gathering donations for the Hero Packs last summer. It's amazing the follow-up calls we've been getting from schools and community organizations throughout the state.

"A Timberland High School student wants to do a townwide project with a goal of filling 1,000 packs. The Service Credit Union, which has 17 branches, plans a big Hero-Pack collection project. Epping Elementary School, Northwood Elementary School, the UNH sororities, Hampstead Congregational Church, the Pemi-Baker Youth Center, and 4-H programs in Cheshire, Grafton, Merrimack, Strafford, and Sullivan counties have completed or are planning Hero Pack projects. New England Employee Benefits Co. in Concord is raising money among its employees. The N.H. Red Cross has offered us a storage space, and the Department of Education Service Learning Program is urging its grantees to take on Hero Pack projects during the Martin Luther King Day of Service."

Military kids need community support
"Our experiences with N.H. military kids mirror the findings of recent research studies," says Cross. "New Hampshire military teens do take on increased responsibilities at home, including the care of younger siblings. Kids may have to restrict extracurricular activities. They experience less involvement with the parent at home. Their grades can drop, and they may engage in acting-out behaviors. Also, studies indicate that when a parent is deployed, the rates of child abuse and neglect may increase. Military kids have higher rates of stress, depression and relationship conflict than their non-military peers.

"However, being a military child can also foster maturity, encourage independence, provide an opportunity to build new skills, and strengthen family bonds," Cross says.

"Findings indicate that military kids who feel supported by others are more likely to develop successful coping strategies. For this reason, it is so important for us to keep building a network of support for New Hampshire's kids living in military families."

There are many ways you can connect to military youth and families. We have opportunities that will accommodate even the busiest schedule. Contact us.

Operation: Military Kids is a partnership of Army Child, Youth and School Services, National 4-H Headquarters/USDA and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development Program. New Hampshire Operation: Military Kids is funded by the 4-H/Army Youth Development Project under Kansas State University Special Project #2007-48661-03868.

Workshop trains small-town K-9 officers to assess and document dogs' skills

Twenty K-9 handlers and their dogs gathered October 26 at the N.H. Police K-9 Academy in Newington for a workshop on using geospatial technology to assess the scent-tracking skills of the dogs.

"It was the first time I'd worked with police officers and the first time I'd worked with a group who had such specific ideas about what they wanted me to do. It went extremely well," says Shane Bradt, UNH Cooperative Extension geospatial technology specialist, who taught the workshop.

"We had gorgeous weather and a lot of fun. The group made tremendous strides in their use of GPS and their mapping skills."

Police K-9 Academy supports small-town K-9 units
The New Hampshire Police K-9 Academy, a nationally accredited K-9 training site on the grounds of the Pease Air Force National Guard base, allows small-town K-9 units to train by holding training sessions every Monday year-'round.

"Most towns can't afford to be without an officer for the 12 weeks it takes to go through the State Police K-9 training," says Mark Ericson, who chairs the board of the Working Dog Foundation, a non-profit that founded, operates, maintains, and raises funds for the Academy.

Since its founding in 1995, the Foundation has raised more than $200,000 to purchase dogs, bullet-proof vests for police dogs, and to retrofit police cruisers for qualifying police departments in New Hampshire, Maine, and northeastern Massachusetts.

Erickson says the Foundation purchased 10 GPS units, two computers, and the mapping software, but, "We soon found ourselves behind the 8-ball. We found there was more to this GPS stuff than we'd realized. We started looking around for someone who could teach us to use it. We're lucky we found Shane."

Officers learn to use high-tech tracking and mapping equipment
During the morning session, Bradt taught the handlers to "take points," to mark a trail, and to navigate using the hand-held GPS units.

"I put together short manuals on the specific GPS units they were using," said Bradt. "Most GPS units have similar functions, but each has different buttons and menus to learn. It's fairly simple, once you figure out which buttons to click."

"They asked very specific questions, like, 'What if I'm tracking in the woods at night and catch the bad guy, how do I notify my partner where I am?', Bradt says. "The answer: 'You collect a way point that records your GPS coordinates; the unit has a built-in radio which sends your partner the point where you're located.'"

"After lunch, we went back outside to work with the dogs," Bradt says. "The officers worked in pairs, each with their own dog. One would lay down the trail; the other would track him with his dog. Then they'd reverse roles.

"Afterwards they went to the computers to download and map the data they'd collected and project their tracks and trails onto the computer monitor. I installed free GIS software and loaded high-resolution aerial photos on the computers for the officers to map their tracks. We were able to see buildings and roads clearly, even cars in parking lots."

"It was a lot more chaotic than I'm used to," says Bradt with a laugh. "I'm usually the one doing all the talking. I'm not used to workshop participants taking that much initiative. These people all know each other and train together. They had specific things they wanted to learn, and helped each other do more and more as the day wore on. By the middle of the afternoon, I was standing on the sidelines and they were teaching each other.

Objective GPS records replace hand-drawn maps
John Usher, head trainer at the Academy since 1995, says, "It was originally my idea to bring GPS to the Academy. Small towns often incorporate large areas of woods. In addition to its other benefits, GPS technology could prevent officers from covering the same area twice during searches, more accurately set a point if you found evidence somewhere out in the woods, and help officers get out of the woods at night."

Retired from the Dover Police Department after 21 years, he now works full time on the Kittery, Maine, police force and part-time as dog handler for the Strafford County Sherriff's Department. Usher says police departments use the highly-trained dogs "to track and catch bad guys," as well as to find lost people. Some dogs are cross-trained to sniff for drugs and other substances.

"We purchased the GPS units and the computers, but found we needed to put A and B together," Usher says "Shane was a great find. He did a great service for us and we had a great time. He stayed eight or nine hours, making sure everyone knew how to use the equipment and even said he'd make himself available in the future."

"It was exciting to download both the scent trail and the path of the dog and actually see the tracks [projected onto a map]," Usher says. "We'd been evaluating the dogs by hand-drawing maps from memory on graph paper." In addition to providing objective validation of handlers' understanding of their dogs' skills, the GPS units will provide a standardized record of each dog's tracking skills that could stand up in court," Usher says, adding that he hopes to raise the funds to purchase GPS units for each Academy team (officer and dog) to use at home.

View a slide show of the daylong training event. Click on "Show info" in upper left of photo to see captions.

UNH Cooperative Extension's Geospatial Technologies Training Center Provides educational outreach programs that help community organizations, government agencies, and ordinary citizens make more informed decisions.Offers a wide variety of instructional workshops, from two-hour introductory sessions to 10-day intensive courses.

Learn more
New Hampshire Police K-9 Academy
Working Dog Foundation

Photo by Shane Bradt

Small farms in New Hampshire grew to nearly 4,200 in recent years, with an increasing trend towards organic and small-farm production.

To help navigate the inherent risks and learn new strategies for managing production, marketing and financing, a team of UNH Cooperative Extension staff will offer a series of workshops beginning Nov. 2 and continuing through spring of 2010.

The workshops will provide tools and techniques for managing business risks while explaining the benefits of participating in crop and revenue insurance programs.

November workshops: Marketing strategies, tree fruit

10+ Marketing Strategies and Tips to Consider When Selling Farm Products kicks off the series November 2 at the Rockingham County complex in Brentwood. Featuring a panel of expert growers, this workshop will talk about potential farm markets for next season and the importance of branding and pricing products, along with different views on the pros and cons of crop insurance.

Tree Fruit: The Year in Review and Planning for the Future takes place November 14 at the Hillsborough County complex in Goffstown. The featured speaker is the Northeast's leading tree-fruit pathologist, Dr. David Rosenberger.

Winter-spring topics

Early December features a weekend seminar on growing specialty crops for New Hampshire's expanding ethnic populations. In January, the series continues with two events: the N.H. Small Family Farm conference in Concord, and the N.H. Women in Agriculture conference in the Keene area.

In the winter and spring of 2010, the series will offer workshops for organic producers, dairy farmers and nursery operations.

Financial support from the USDA Risk Management Agency has enabled UNH Cooperative Extension to offer these programs at minimal cost to participants. Other partners include the N.H. Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food and the USDA Farm Service Agency

"UNH Cooperative Extension professionals have extensive experience in educational programming for farmers and a proven record of successful partnering with other agencies," says Extension agricultural business management specialist Mike Sciabarrasi. "Extension educators believe outreach education is the best way to help New Hampshire farmers discover what's available to them."

Learn more and register

10+ Marketing Strategies and Tips to Consider When Selling Farm Products, November 2.

Tree Fruit: The Year in Review and Planning for the Future, November 14.

For more information about fall and winter workshops and conferences, contact the agricultural educator at your county UNH Cooperative Extension office or call Mike Sciabarrasi at 862-3234.

UNH Cooperative Extension is playing a central role in educating employers and recognizing effective workplace flexibility practices through When Work Works, a national initiative focused locally in greater Manchester.

"The Manchester project is part of a family resource center founded by the Family Education Collaborative to strengthen families and individuals," says Sharon Cowen, the Extension Family and Consumer Resources educator who serves as project director. "The Collaborative includes Cooperative Extension, UNH-Manchester, the YWCA, and Child and Family Services."

According to Cowen, Manchester joins 29 other When Work Works community and statewide initiatives throughout the U.S. Malcolm Smith, Extension's family education and policy specialist, received the grant that funded the project.

Workplace flexibility important in stressful economic circumstances
"A challenging economy, changing workforce demographics, and a dynamic and demanding workplace, have increased burdens on New Hampshire families and employers," says Cowen. "When Work Works encourages and recognizes effective workplace practices that help bridge the needs of working families and employers, promoting healthier individuals and families and a more productive workforce. The initiative provides national education, research, and resources," Cowen says.

"According to Ellen Galinsky, president of Families and Work Institute, a partner in the national initiative, 'Research consistently reveals that flexibility is linked to a return on investment. The perception of flexibility is changing from a perk...to a strategic tool for doing business,'" says Cowen.

Local companies and organizations win Sloan Award for workplace flexibility
When Work Works sponsors the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, an annual award honoring organizations that score in the top 20 percent of a national employers' survey. An employee survey is included in the Awards process.

"Four Manchester area employers are winners of the 2009 Sloan Awards: Dynamic Network Services, Inc., Image 4, the YWCA, and Child and Family Services," says Cowen. "They'll be recognized locally and nationally for their accomplishments," she says, adding, "The Family Education Collaborative will present the Awards on September 22 at the Manchester YWCA.

"We've been working to get the message out about the advantages of workplace flexibility to employers and employees. We're thrilled to recognize these exemplary New Hampshire employers."

For more information about workplace flexibility, including research reports, business briefs, and other resources, please visit When Work Works, or contact Sharon Cowen at 641-6060.

Against a backdrop of recent news reports citing an increase in child abuse, more than 200 pediatric nurses, family-support professionals, child care providers, social workers and home visitors attended two Oh Baby! trainings held in Manchester and Portsmouth in the past month. A third training, scheduled for May 21 at Plymouth State University, is filling fast.

Designed by UNH Cooperative Extension Parenting and Child Development team members, the program helps participants use Extension's popular child-development newsletters, Cradle Crier and Toddler Tales, as part of an ongoing effort to educate New Hampshire parents and reduce the incidence of child abuse and neglect in New Hampshire.

The programs featured Dr. John Hornstein, a former UNH professor and a consultant to Harvard Medical School, who presented, "Culture, the Brain, and the Wisdom of the Young." Hornstein gave participants an update on current brain research with infants and toddlers and new methodology for educating young parents. Other highlights included presentations by Sarah Leonard, infant and toddler teacher at UNH's Child Study and Development Center, and Extension Specialist Dr. Malcolm Smith.

The Manchester training was co-sponsored by Early Learning New Hampshire and hosted by the Family Education Collaborative at the Manchester YWCA. The Portsmouth Community Campus hosted the Portsmouth event, which was co-sponsored by Families First, a parent resource and education center.

Learn more about the Oh Baby! programs and register for the Plymouth State training.

Explore UNH Cooperative Extension's Families & Parenting pages

Backyard vegetable gardens have come back into fashion across the U.S and New Hampshire. But many New Hampshire residents don't have backyards of their own.

Some communities and nonprofit organizations manage tracts of land as community gardens, where individuals can rent (or otherwise get) plots to grow their own food.

Photo by Peg Boyles, UNH Cooperative Ex

As part of a planned Web site on non-commercial food gardens, Cooperative Extension wants to publish the locations of community gardens throughout New Hampshire, along with information about starting and maintaining these productive spaces.

If you manage a community garden, tend a plot in one, or just know about a garden in your town, please email charlie.french@unh.edu with the garden location and contact information.

We're also looking for photos and stories about people's experiences with community gardens. If you're willing to share yours, please email peg.boyles@unh.edu.

Photo by Peg Boyles, UNH Cooperative Extension writer/editor

Residents of New Hampshire's seacoast region can soon purchase locally and sustainably caught shrimp and lobster directly from local fishermen at seacoast-area Winter Farmers Markets.

With shrimp and lobster prices at near 20-year lows, this is an economic boon to consumers and local fishermen alike.

Fishing: A vital component of the N.H. economy
Throughout our history, New Hampshire's commercial fishing industry has helped to shape the state's character and sense of community.

As a vital component of the state's economy for more than two centuries, commercial fishing has grown to a multi-million dollar industry in New Hampshire, employing approximately 100 commercial fishermen and supporting approximately 250 jobs in other sectors, including food processing, tourism, and boatyards.

Tough times for local fishermen
However, the state's seafood industry is at a critical juncture that will determine its future viability. Fishing regulations aimed at protecting declining fish stocks have made it difficult for commercial fishermen to turn a profit. Coupled with rock-bottom prices for shrimp and lobster, commercial fishermen worry that their livelihood is in jeopardy.

Extension initiative to help fishermen develop direct marketing strategies
But how can the shrimp and lobster industries both sustain the resource and increase profits from fish sales?

The answer may lie in establishing direct markets for local and sustainably caught seafood. By selling directly to consumers, fishermen get to keep more of the profits.

Combining a Significant Issues grant from UNH Cooperative Extension with other grant funding, we began conducting research to look at the prospects for direct marketing of seafood. We're conducting a survey to build a marketing profile of consumers and also surveying fishermen and retailers.

We've also been working with the fishermen of the Yankee Seafood Co-op, based in Seabrook, to build stronger links between commercial fishermen and local fresh markets and area restaurants.

Winter Markets the first step
As one result of our initiative, the Co-op will begin selling shrimp and lobster at Winter Farmers' Markets sponsored by Seacoast Eat Local. What better venue for fishermen than a farmers market where agricultural producers are already selling a variety of locally produced foods?

While the financial benefit may be modest for fishermen this first season, we see the farmers' markets as a way to get the word out, give fishermen an opportunity to talk to consumers about sustainable seafood harvesting, and provide information about cooking and preparing fresh seafood.

The Winter Markets help lay the groundwork for a variety of direct marketing opportunities, including community-supported fisheries (similar to community-supported agriculture).

If you're interested in buying fresh, local, sustainably harvested pre-packaged shrimp and live lobsters, visit one of these Winter Farmers Markets:

Saturday, February 7, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., 21 Front Street, Exeter
Saturday, Saturday, March 7, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Stratham Town Hall, Stratham

By Charlie French, UNH Extension community economic development specialist and Ken La Valley, fisheries specialist
Photo of shrimp trawler by Ken La Valley

Managing Money When It's Hard to Make Ends Meet

Does your emergency fund add up to less than three months of living expenses? Are you paying only the minimum amount due on your credit cards each month? Are you arguing about money in your household?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, it's time to talk about money.

Money is a common problem
Regardless of your income, age or education, money can cause hassles and arguments. Lack of open discussion about money and feelings about money often lie at the root of family financial problems.

When talking about money:

• Clearly identify the issue at hand.
• Recognize that whoever earns the money doesn't also earn the right to dictate how it should be spent.
• Let each household member freely state wants, needs and personal feelings.
• Listen carefully.

A spending plan helps you spend less than you make. Here's how:

Write down every dime, quarter and dollar you and your household members spend. Record your expenses on the Monthly Expense Chart. You may be surprised to see how you are spending your money.

After a month of charting your expenditures, think about how you and your household members spend money. Can you make changes that allow you to pay more than the minimum on your credit cards?

• Did you find yourself buying lottery tickets?
• Are you buying coffee you could make at home?
• Are you making unnecessary trips with the car and using more gas? Can you combine trips or eliminate trips by carpooling?
• Are you bringing your lunch to work or are you buying lunch at work?

For more information
Develop a Savings/Spending Plan
Browse our money-management Web pages
Attend a workshop or other money-management event
Consult a county Extension family & consumer educator

Written by Suzann Enzian Knight, Extension Family Resource Management Specialist

Project seeks public comment

New Hampshire is unique among heavily forested states in that forestry practices and standards aren't mandated by state law, but upheld by voluntary compliance with best-practices guidelines.

This voluntary process is guided by Good Forestry in the Granite State: Recommended Voluntary Forest Management Practices for the State of New Hampshire (GFGS), a publication for both public and private forest landowners, and an essential tool for resource professionals working in all sectors of the State's $3 billion forest economy.

GFGS is currently being revised to consider new scholarship in the field of natural resources and to address changes in forestry markets and professional forestry practices, changes in natural communities, and changes in state statutes and administrative rules.

Looking for public input
Public input is an important part of revising GFGS. To that end, Cooperative Extension has set up a Good Forestry Web site to inform the public of the status of the project and to collect public opinion on the first edition of GFGS via an online survey.

We encourage all forest stakeholders to take the survey, which asks the public about their own use of GFGS, their assessment of the first edition, and their suggestions for the revised document.

The survey, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete, will remain open through December 1, 2008. The committee considers the survey responses an important contribution to the GFGS revision process.

GFGS history and new steering committee
The first edition of GFGS, published a decade ago and written by 24 New Hampshire forestry stakeholders, was a joint effort of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands. The effort also included thoughtful comments provided by hundreds of individuals and organizations statewide.

The update project's steering committee represents stakeholders all segments of the forestry community, including

• N.H. Division of Forests and Lands
• N.H. Fish and Game
• UNH Cooperative Extension
• N.H. Timberland Owners Association
• N.H. Tree Farm, the U.S. Forest Service
• The forest products industry
• Many conservation organizations

Besides identifying information gaps and needed improvements to the current best-practices manual, the steering committee will recruit the technical teams to handle the writing and revision process.

Funding for the GFGS revision is provided by the Northeast Utilities Foundation, Inc.

To receive a paper copy of the GFGS survey, contact Kristina Ferrare at (603) 862-3883 or kristina.ferrare@unh.edu. For more information on the Good Forestry in the Granite State project, contact Karen Bennett, Project Manager, UNH Cooperative Extension, (603) 862-4861 or email karen.bennett@unh.edu

ESRI award recognizes innovation and leadership in geospatial technology outreach

Environmental Systems Research Institute, of Redlands, California, has honored UNH Cooperative Extension's Geospatial Technologies Training Center with its 2008 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award.

The Center "has demonstrated vision and leadership using ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology to better serve the world," said ESRI in announcing the award.

"We're very excited to be recognized by ESRI for our geospatial outreach and training efforts," said Extension's Geospatial Technologies Specialist Shane Bradt, who directs the Center.

"We were one of only four university-based programs to receive the Special Achievement in GIS award in 2008, highlighting the importance of our programs on a national, even international, level.

"We very much appreciate the acknowledgement of our work in such a public forum and look forward to expanding and enhance our training center in the future. Our program is especially strong because of our extensive collaborative efforts with other agencies and departments," Bradt said.

Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) combines computer hardware, software, and data to capture, manage, analyze, and display all forms of geographic information. Almost any information can be linked to a geographic location, allowing users to see that information as part of a complete picture to be analyzed and applied to a problem or issue.

Extension's Geospatial Training Center offers a wide variety of instructional workshops, which range from two-hour introductory sessions to 10-day intensive courses. The goal of the Center is to provide educational outreach programs that help community organizations, government agencies, and ordinary citizens make more informed decisions.

"As two of many examples, the technology is used to identify areas of natural resource importance in coastal communities, and to track and analyze the forestry management plans of privately owned forestland, which accounts for 80 percent of New Hampshire's forestland," Bradt said.

"At ESRI, we are always deeply impressed by the innovation of our users," said Jack Dangermond, ESRI president in announcing the awards. "We want to recognize the efforts of these individuals with our Special Achievement in GIS Award. This recognition is well deserved for how they've applied geospatial technology to address the needs of their industries and communities. They are defining GIS best practices."

The award recognizes the contributions of former and current UNH Cooperative Extension and UNH staff who have served as workshop creators and instructors at the Center since the late 1990s (parentheses indicate their current affiliations):

• Nancy Lambert (Strafford Rivers Conservancy)
• Shane Bradt (UNH Cooperative Extension)
• Sharon Hughes (UNH Cooperative Extension)
• Fay Rubin (NH GRANIT)
• Jennifer Lingeman (NH GRANIT)
• Anne Deely (Neatline Associates)
• Brad Anderson (independent)
• Byard Mosher (CA EPA, Air Resource Board)
• Jeff Schloss (UNH Cooperative Extension)

Photo credits: Shane Bradt

Top photo: GIS allows you to bring to together photos, maps and GPS data to create custom views of any place in the world.

Lower photo: With GPS, you can find your way in the world and collect information about your community.

An interdisciplinary team of UNH Cooperative Extension staff collaborating with outside experts will offer the third Natural Resource Business Institute (NRBI) this fall.

The 13-week course provides individuals and families who want to start or expand a natural resource-based business with the essential information and preparation they need to be successful.

"Sustainably profitable farms and forestry enterprises, so-called 'working landscapes', are essential for preserving New Hampshire's natural resources for future generations," says Extension agricultural business management specialist Mike Sciabarrasi.

Course covers all aspects of starting a natural resource business

NRBI participants will:

• develop an operating plan for a farming or forestry business or business expansion as they learn about biological systems, product and service marketing, enterprise profitability and legal matters particular to natural resource businesses.
• learn to take inventory of a site's natural resources
• explore the human dynamics of running a family business (e.g., defining roles and responsibilities, handling conflict, managing time, and hiring outside labor).
• understand how government agencies and financial institutions work with farm and forestry ventures
• receive valuable feedback from a peer support network of other natural-resources entrepreneurs leave well-connected to a wide variety of advisors and technical experts

Target audiences

• individuals and families starting or planning a natural-resource business
• current land-based business owners considering changes or expansions to their operations
• families looking for ways to pass viable operations on to the next generation
• high school and college students exploring career options

Classes meet Wednesdays, September 10 through December 10, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Barton Hall, at the UNH Thompson School in Durham.

Cost is $175.00/person. The registration deadline is August 30, 2008

For more information or to register

Contact Michael Sciabarrasi at 862-3234, download a brochure, or sign up online.

Last year 59,000 New Hampshire residents received more than $62 million in food stamp benefits, nearly all of which was spent supermarkets and convenience stores.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire fruit and vegetable growers have increasingly turned to marketing their crops directly to consumers through farmers' markets and farm stands. This summer, 75 or more New Hampshire communities will host farmers' markets.

Growers typically receive only about 20 percent of a retail shopper's food dollar, so direct marketing not only enables consumers to get fresh, locally grown food, but it also allows farmers to capture more of the profit.

In 2004, UNH Cooperative Extension received a three-year grant from the Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) to connect food-stamp recipients with local growers by piloting the process of accepting food-stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards at farmers' markets.

Demonstration projects at markets in Nashua, Manchester and Enfield proved that the process would work. Extension's Helen Costello (who now heads the N.H. Food Bank's Recipe for Success Program) then developed a manual for market managers and farmers' market managers and vendors.

Published this month, Accepting Food Stamp Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards at Farmers' Markets and Farm Stands: A Primer for Farmers and Market Managers highlights step by step the process by which an individual farmer or an entire market can become authorized to become a food stamp merchant, as well as listing the various ways to process transactions, the equipment needed for each, and other technical aspects needed to be successful.

Learn more

Download a copy of the manual

The New Hampshire food stamp program

N.H. farmers' markets

When Rockingham County 4-H Educator Rick Alleva began work in the fall of 2002, he began by asking around about programs for youth in what he calls the Lower Seacoast--Seabrook, Hampton, North and South Hampton, and Hampton Falls. "The answer? 'Not much,'" Alleva says.

Responding to the need
"Forty percent of adult males in Seabrook never finished high school, and the town has one of New Hampshire's highest unemployment rates. Hampton has one of the state's highest homeless and transient populations, including a lot of kids.

"Drug and alcohol issues are huge across Lower Seacoast towns. Yet the whole area had no special youth development programs for kids who needed them most," he says. So Alleva convened a November meeting of all the local agencies that deal with young people: social service agencies, schools

, police. "Like many such community initiatives, we decided to apply for a grant to fund a comprehensive program of youth development services," Alleva says. “We didn't get the grant, but we had energy. We kept on meeting. In fact we've met monthly ever since."

The Seacoast Youth Leadership Project kicks off
"At that first meeting, I connected with Vic Maloney of Seacoast Youth Services, a nonproft at the time working primarily as a diversion program, providing drug and alcohol education, anger management, and community service opportunities."

Alleva wrote a proposal that was awarded a $200,000 Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant to jumpstart an after-school program for the middle-schoolers most at risk. Paula Gregory, the 4-H Youth Development specialist who directs the CYFAR program in New Hampshire, notes that Alleva's proposal "is one of six five-year, community-based New Hampshire projects collectively awarded more than $2 million since the CYFAR program began in 1991."

"The Seacoast Youth Leadership Project kicked off as a two-day-a-week after-school leadership program for middle-school kids who were dealing with personal, social and emotional challenges," says Alleva. "Vic had no staff for an after-school program, so the grant covered the cost for two new staff and I began bringing in interns from the UNH family studies department. We've had five to date, and they've all have been great. "We've gradually migrated most of the annual CYFAR funding to Vic, allowing him to hire a recent UNH graduate and former intern Stephanie Charron full time this year."

The project gets a home
"When the project began, Vic was working out of a condo office in Hampton. At one of our monthly meetings, Bruce Pierce, pastor of the Church of Christ, brought up that his church owned an1845 brick school building they weren't using in Seabrook. Bruce gave Vic a tour of the old Dearborn School that had been mostly a storage facility for years and they worked out a lease.

"With $10,000 cobbled together from small grants and more than $200,000 in volunteer services, we scrubbed and we renovated. We moved in in 2004. Today we have 5000 square feet at SYS with a new kitchen, floors, bathrooms, fresh paint—and the lights all work."

The original two-days-a-week after-school program evolved rapidly to become a five-day a week after-school program with SYS expanding its in-school supports for kids as well. A four-days-a-week, three-week summer program begun in 2006 has expanded into this year's five-days-a-week, eight-week Summer Extreme, featuring field trips, hiking, biking, adventure treks, and more.

Alleva brought special skills
Alleva came to the job after years of experience as a community youth organizer and a direct service provider who'd worked the streets, managed homeless shelters, and run a residential treatment center for youth. The best way to start a program? "You just start hanging out with kids," says Alleva. "All kids are cool. Parents will get involved if you show respect, commitment, and care for their kids."

Alleva adds, " One important feature that distinguishes our programs from many others: we don't kick anybody out. We work around their problems. If a young person has difficulty reading, you need to give him or her extra help and teach them to read better. If a kid has emotional or behavior issues, you don't exclude them, you give them a place to belong where others can help them feel and act better."

Besides hanging out with kids, "I've served as a sort of jack of all trades in the project," says Alleva. "At various times, I've served as grantwriter, participant recruiter, activity leader, and staff trainer."

Wider Extension involvement
"We've also had other Extension staff involved," Alleva says. "Rockingham County Nutrition Connections coordinator Terri Shoppmeyer does food and fitness activities--healthy food is part of everything we do, and the kids are planting a garden this summer. 4-H specialist Trent Schreiffer co-leads our after-school technology program. He has kids building rockets and remote-controlled cars, doing digital videography, and educational computer gaming. Our county family and consumer resources educator, Karyn Blass, co-leads a Girl's Space group and helps with other family activities, and our other family educator, Claudia Boozer-Blasco, has helped with family and parent programs as well."

"But this isn't the sort of project where Extension can come in and give a few isolated workshops," Alleva says. "While our role will change, we need to stay involved and engaged here on an ongoing basis. Vic and three of his staff have all signed on to become trained 4-H volunteer leaders, which will expand their own capacity as well."

Making a difference
"Cooperative Extension programs are supposed to answer the question, 'How did you make a difference?'" says Alleva. "In our case, that's both tough and easy to answer. With very limited financial resources, we now have a program for middle school kids in grades fifth to eighth that began with an idea, started up as a two-days-a-week after-school lifeskills program that in less than five years has evolved into a dynamic five-days-a-week after-school and summer program.

At the same time, substance abuse prevention and intervention activities for middle- and high-school-age youth have been greatly expanded at SYS as well. "We have monthly family nights, when kids cook a meal for their families, movie nights, substance-abuse support groups, cooking classes, a leadership program that does service projects (including adopting a half-mile stretch of Seabrook beach to keep clean). We teach media literacy, team building, healthier living, food and fitness, science and technology, and help kids make good decisions for themselves and their community. This fall, our Techno-Team will be 'going green' and exploring sustainable energy (wind and solar) and environment-sensitive activities."

But the project's evolution hasn't followed a smooth, linear path. "I'd characterize what we've been doing as building the merry-go-round while we're whirling around on it," Alleva says. The network of organizations and individuals that began meeting in 2002 has recently formalized itself as the Lower Seacoast Youth and Family Coalition by drafting a memorandum of understanding that articulates its mission and commitment.

Their vision: The youth and families of the Lower seacoast area are engaged in positive community activities and are empowered to do whatever it takes to lead healthy lives. "You got that?" says Alleva. "Whatever it takes."

Beginner basics and more

Who needs to understand the basics of geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) and how to use them?

"Everyone," says Shane Bradt, Cooperative Extension's geospatial specialist and head of the Durham-based Geospatial Technologies Training Center. "Everyone should have basic skills and understanding of geospatial technologies, because these technologies influence the way that people look at the world today and make decisions about it."

"Geospatial technologies include software and hardware that receive, integrate, store, edit, analyze, share, and display spatial/geographic information," says Bradt.

"Most data have locations. A GIS can contain all kinds of data that relate to a location, providing you with a context for asking questions about your environment and how things in the natural environment and society are changing around you. Geospatial technologies are used extensively in forestry, agriculture, marine science, criminal justice, public health, marketing, transportation planning, site design, pandemic planning, disease tracking, disaster management, conservation planning, even cultural anthropology--scientists recently used geospatial tools to study the topography of fossil teeth of early humans to determine their diet.

Follow these links to learn more and to register for our July workshops:

The GPS & You series allows people to acquire GPS skills without taking up an entire day and to choose topics based on their own interests. Workshops cover using GPS to navigate, using GPS to map features in your community, and using GPS to make interactive maps that display digital pictures. You don't need your own equipment to participate, although you may use your own.

GPS & You I: GPS Basics July 1 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

GPS & You II: Pictures, Points & Places - July 10 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

GPS & You III: Tracks & Routes - July 23 - 5:30pm-8:30pm

Community Mapping July 7-11 & 14-18 - 8am-4pm A 10-day course designed for educators and others interested in exploring natural and societal resources using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.

GIS on Pennies a Day - July 23 - 9am-4pm Learn GIS basics and explore a variety of GIS programs you can get for little or no cost (for PCs and Macs).

Introduction to ArcGIS 9.2 July 28-30 - 9am-4pm Learn the basics of working with ArcGIS 9.2 in a hands-on learning environment; 3-day course useful for people who have no prior GIS experience, as well as those who have used ArcView 3.x, but are new to ArcGIS 9.2.

Photo credits: Shane Bradt
Top photo: With GPS, you can find your way in the world and collect information about your community.
Lower photo: GIS allows you to bring to together photos, maps and GPS data to create custom views of any place in the world.

Tree Farm Program a strong component of New Hampshire forestry

The American Tree Farm System has recognized six UNH Cooperative Extension educators for their significant contributions toward sustainable forestry on private lands.

Phil Auger received the Tree Farm Silver Hard Hat award for having certified 50 new Tree Farms. Jon Nute, Sam Stoddard, Nory Parr, Matt Tarr and Karen Bennett received the Tree Farm Bronze Hard Hat award for certifying 25 new Tree Farms.

What's a Tree Farm?
A Tree Farm is a privately owned forest managed to produce timber, with added benefits of improved wildlife habitat, water quality, recreation, and scenic values. Some municipal watersheds, school forests and other public ownerships are also certified as Tree Farms.

The oldest, most successful forest conservation program in the nation, the American Tree Farm System was founded in 1941 to encourage private forest owners to actively manage their forests in a sustainable manner for multiple values.

To qualify as a Tree Farmer, a landowner must:

• Dedicate at least 10 acres to growing and harvesting forest products.
• Have a written plan for the future management of their forest.
• Follow management recommendations prescribed by a licensed forester.
• Demonstrate a commitment to stewardship of their forest for multiple values.

These Tree Farmers contribute every day to the timber production New Hampshire needs to help meet the increasing demand for forest products. The do so while caring for our wildlife, protecting water quality, and providing recreational and scenic resources. Learn more about the New Hampshire Tree Farm Program.

UNH Extension offers forest landowner education
Forestry is the primary land use in New Hampshire, with 84 percent of our land base in trees. Private landowners own 75 percent of our forested landscape.

Since 1925, UNH Cooperative Extension's Forestry and Wildlife Program has provided statewide forest landowner education, with a licensed forester in each county Extension office, and three specialists housed at UNH's Durham campus.

County foresters educate landowners about woodlot care, long-term planning, timber sales, wildlife habitat, land protection, current-use taxation, and more. They work with communities through support to town boards, public officials, and community organizations. And they support a healthy, working forest landscape by offering the state's 1400 loggers, 250 licensed foresters, and 100 sawmills a broad range of information and technical assistance.

To learn more about managing your woodlot, call your county Extension office and ask for the forester.

Photo: Marty Boisvert of Pittsfield receieves his Tree Farm sign from Karen Bennett, UNH Extension forest resources specialist

National program focuses on building wealth, not debt

We invite New Hampshire residents to "save more, reduce debt" by joining with other Americans nationwide in the second annual America Saves--New Hampshire Saves campaign. Register now to become a New Hampshire Saver and be entered in our drawing for a $50 U.S. Savings Bond (there will be two winners).

Your challenge: find a way to save money, then do it.
Unfortunately, the national trend is to borrow more and save less. The nation's personal savings rate has declined to less than one percent for the third year in a row. A recent study commissioned by Consumer Credit Counseling Service, revealed that overall consumer debt increased 38 percent for households at all income levels in recent years.

How do we turn this trend around?
Do what works! A few ideas: save something out of every paycheck, no matter how much or how little. Have the money automatically deposited into a savings account or your 401(k) plan at work if you have one. Save some of your tax refund or part of your next raise.

Our UNH Cooperative Extension family resource management team is dedicated to helping individuals and families increase savings, decrease debt, and increase confidence in managing their finances. Get started by browsing the informative 66 Ways to Save Money.

Commit to saving; make your decision concrete and specific
Then commit to the challenge of becoming a New Hampshire Saver by filling out our online form--a contract with yourself that makes your decision to save concrete and specific.

Anyone who submits a form will receive the quarterly America Saves newsletter and other information from the national program in addition to receiving a "Where To Find The Money You Need Calculator" free (while supplies last).

Save a little; end up with a lot
Some people think they need to win the lottery or receive an inheritance before they will ever be able to save. Can saving $5 or $10 a week really make a difference?

Yes! Imagine a couple buying two coffees each per day because they believe neither one of them can make a decent cup of coffee. Four coffees a day, seven days a week at $1.79 each adds up to more than $2,600 a year. This represents a significant portion of their yearly electrical bill or payment towards an outstanding medical bill.

Cutting their coffee purchases in half by improving their home coffee-brewing skills would free up more than $1,300 in one year this couple could add to their savings. Try this coffee calculator to see how much you might save. To solve a disappearing dollar mystery in your household, download The Disappearing Dollar.

Participants in our Extension money management educational programs often comment on the value of writing a savings goal, and learning how saving a little bit of money goes a long way toward helping them to achieve that goal.

To learn more about how money grows over time and how little you'll need to grow an emergency fund of $5,000 or a nest egg of $100,000 or more, check out The Time Value of Money.

Cooperative Extension has money management info and programs for you
Our Family & Consumer Resources educators offer numerous workshops throughout the year that help individuals and families improve their money management skills. Download Maximizing Your Personal Finances for details.

Visit Managing Money for information on a variety of topics. If you have questions about any of our money management programs, or for printed copies of any of the articles mentioned above, contact the Family & Consumer Resources educator in your county, or call our Family, Home & Garden Information Center Info Line toll free at 1-877-398-4769.

Project Teams Master Gardeners with Retail Centers

UNH Cooperative Extension (UNHCE) has partnered with a group of retail garden centers throughout New Hampshire in a pilot program called "Ask a Master Gardener." The program will tap the knowledge and expertise of highly trained Master Gardeners to help garden center staff answer home gardening and lawn care questions.

The program has two goals:

1. To increase statewide awareness of the UNHCE Master Gardener Program and the Family, Home & Garden Education Center toll-free Info Line (1-877-398-4769).


2. To form working relationships between retail growers/garden centers and the Master Gardener program that will benefit the volunteers, the businesses, and the customers.

The pilot program will run in 18 outlets from mid-April through June of 2007. For more information about the program, contact Family, Home & Garden Education Center Coordinator Rachel Maccini at 629-9494, ext. 130.