Extension News: Volunteers 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.

In 2010, UNH Cooperative Extension volunteers gave 76,000 hours of service to their communities, working with kids and elders, speaking for wildlife, protecting land and water resources, and connecting people with each other in meaningful ways. Here, some of them tell their own stories.

Linda Lauer

For the past 18 months, my partner and I have been volunteer speakers for the "Speaking for Wildlife" program, in which Coverts volunteers provide free nature walks or talks on various aspects of wildlife habitat management to community groups.

In fact, the lure of the "Speaking for Wildlife" program is what led me to apply for the 2009 Coverts training in the first place after a year of urging by my partner, who attended the 2008 training. "Speaking for Wildlife" seemed like a good way to reach out to local landowners and make a difference in the future of New Hampshire.

We spent 28 years living in central Florida. I've seen what uncontrolled growth can do, and I want to do my part to avoid the same problems in New Hampshire.

We've given talks to a number of groups in Grafton County since the Speaking for Wildlife program started, and we've gotten as much from the program as our audiences have.

It seems that during every talk someone in the audience has an ah-ha! moment that makes me realize that I'm making a difference--like the woman who, when we were talking about woodcock and tried to imitate their call, suddenly realized that she hadn't been hearing frogs at night--she had woodcock on her property.

Another woman listened to a description of grassland-bird habitat requirements and made the connection between early mowing of a large field on her property and the disappearance of bob-o-links.

In both cases, the Coverts training gave us the ability to provide information on how to keep the landowners' properties attractive to wildlife. We were also able to refer the landowners to the local UNH Cooperative Extension forester for help in managing their property.

The Coverts program itself has been valuable to us as well. We are now more effective members of the Town of Bath's Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and we are currently participating in a Natural Resources Inventory of the town.

We've met some great people who share a common interest in preserving wildlife habitat, we've learned things that make us more aware and appreciative of our surroundings, and we've made contacts with experts at UNH Cooperative Extension who helped us set up a woodcock-management strategy for our own little piece of New Hampshire.

Cindi Wiggins

I serve as site coordinator for the Seymour Osman Community Center--part of the Dover Public Housing Authority--which provides after-school programming for 140 low-income kids, as well as other other family services.

I've been involved with 4-H for about six years now. I started with gardening and Strafford County agricultural educator Geoffrey Njue's "Kids Can Grow" program.

The more I learned about 4-H and the positive impact it had on the youth I worked with, the more immersed I became. The way the program treats young people, all of the resources available to us--4-H offers youth some of the most well-rounded and comprehensive curricula and opportunities in many project areas.

I began volunteering for the Strafford County 4-H Advisory Council, and eventually became the chair. I was introduced to 4-H County Activities Day as a judge and was so impressed with the youth I was meeting from around the state, that I included State Activities Day and Favorite Foods Festival into the events I brought to my organization.

I've taken many 4-H trainings that have served as professional development for me: youth at risk, afterschool provider training, science, engineering, and technology projects. They all transfer to so many aspects of my life and work.

I also decided to look into state 4-H opportunities such as Teen Conference, and began by chaperoning two of our Center participants one year. Again, I was hooked. We've worked with a lot of our kids since they were in first grade, and I want to keep them immersed in healthy, meaningful activities as they move into adolescence.

The following year I became an Adviser at Large and watched the Teen Conference planning process. After watching this impressive group of teens come together and take on responsibility for everything from planning workshops to even the smallest details of the theme, I realize the leadership impact this will have on them in their futures.

This year I stepped up to Teen Adviser and was much more involved with the whole process and continued to be impressed with these youth and their spirit and energy, which I needed to keep me going sometimes.

In only three years, our site has sent 10 youth who wouldn't have otherwise had such a life-changing opportunity. Had it not been for our county educator and all of the other devoted staff with Cooperative Extension, they might not have been given this chance to participate.

I have seen shy individuals blossom at the podium during county activities day. I have seen confidence grow in socially awkward individuals, taking a chance by putting themselves out there, and receiving nothing but positive reinforcement and constructive suggestions to make them better. Even youth who were at first skeptical about the other 4-Her's make fast and true friends that they will cherish for a lifetime.

Around every corner is a new and challenging event to bring to these youth. Because there is something for every grade level it is easy to target each youth with a project area and help them grow and be the best they can be.

I am so in awe of this organization. I don't understand why [4-H] isn't offered in the public school system. Everything about the organization is geared to make sure youth learn and grow into the best they can be and become contributing members in their communities.

The challenges I face on a daily basis with my agency's demographic, makes 4-H the perfect fit for us. With training for staff and free, high-quality curricula, we were poised for success. Having a county educator and other staff in a variety of fields, available to us through the UNH Cooperative Extension Office, meant help for successful programs that we offer our participants that develop life skills and expose them to career opportunities they had only read about.

Losing the Strafford County office (which closed this year due to budget cuts) has meant the loss of 4-H for us, as these youth struggle with transportation and other factors which make it impossible to go to another county to participate.

I will support 4-H and volunteer with this wonderful organization for the rest of my life. And since I plan on living a good long time, I urge you to help me keep the fire burning and ignite it in everyone throughout our state and county.

Anna Boudreau

When I moved to New Hampshire from Chicago in 1985 for a job with a small dot-com software firm, the thing that struck me the most was the amount of trees that grew here in the Granite State. When I got off the plane I could SMELL the forest!

Fast forward to 1991. I'd gotten married, quit my job, and was expecting our first daughter. I opened the newspaper one morning and saw a small notice announcing that, as part of the then-Gov. Gregg's volunteer initiative, UNH Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with other organizations, was offering the N.H. Community Tree Stewards Program.

The program promised training in various topics such as tree identification, planting and pruning techniques, urban forestry training, hazard- tree identification, public speaking, etc. In exchange for the months of training, each participant had to agree to give back at least 30 hours of community service in the field of urban forestry in the community of their choice.

Sounded fair enough and it looked interesting , so I applied and was thrilled to learn I'd gotten in. During the training, I met various folks from across the state including Extension educators and other key people I would come to know and work with for years to come: Frank Mitchell, Sue Hoey, Phil Auger, Stanley Knowles, JB Cullen, Sharon Ossenbruggen and many others.

But the one who stood out above the rest was Don Black, Strafford County forest educator. He lumbered into our classroom, bellowed out his hellos and introductions to a group of citizen volunteers, who he admitted to me years later, he wasn't sure would amount to much, as we knew nothing about forestry and trees.

Don's towering height, booming voice, and serious demeanor intimidated me at first. Once he started speaking about his work on the ground with the many landowners he'd met throughout the county, his knowledge and passion for forestry came through, and I was hooked.

By the time our class graduated the following spring, we had visited several sites throughout the state, including Don's wooded property in Strafford. Walking in the woods and seeing everything that we had learned about in our class was exciting. For a moment I thought I wanted to be a forester.

After graduation, all of us newly appointed "Community Tree Stewards" (now called Natural Resources Stewards) wondered what we would do in our communities to pay back our 30 hours. I gave birth to "baby steward" Maria Boudreau that summer and was out of commission a few weeks but soon enough, Don started calling and putting me to work. Some things I helped out with, (often with Maria on my back) included:

• Clearing trees on the Strafford County Farm demonstration forest on the Cochecho River to create trails and then use the wood from the trees to make bluebird boxes.
• Coordinating a bluebird box-building class for 4-H students and their parents
• Digging holes and planting trees at various sites.
• Pruning trees for various municipalities which had small or no tree-care budgets.
• Helping the city of Rochester prune and thin out a large patch of overgrown lilacs.
• Training city of Dover's public works employees on how to prune a tree
• Clearing out the overgrown banks of the Cochecho River at Henry Law Park in Dove
• Traipsing into the woods to measure and record possible trees for the Big Tree Program. We did submit two for the record!
• Assisting with a variety of neighborhood "twilight meetings," where Don and usually another Extension educator met in a neighborhood and answered residents' questions about certain trees, did pruning demonstrations, and planted woody shrubs or trees.

By the end of that first year when we had to report our volunteer hours, I was shocked to find that I had put in more than 300 hours of service!

In 1995, I took Extension's Coverts Project training, where I first heard about conservation easements and how only a conservation easement deed can legally protect a land parcel from further fragmentation. I met other Extension folks through the Coverts training.. One field trip to the Harris Center in Hancock was particularly inspiring, part of the reason I was inspired to go into land conservation work a decade later.

After my second daughter was born, I joined the Strafford County Extension Advisory Council and was nudged by Don Black to serve as vice chair of the state Extension Advisory Council, but was elected chair, a position I still hold today.

In 1999 I became a founding member of the Dover Open Lands Committee,. (OLC), and around that time, also became a founding member of the Cochecho River Watershed Coalition (CRWC). In 2001, I started work on my first land conservation project, and with the help of Extension educators and others, have conserved over 200 acres of the Strafford County farm by the end of 2002.

I returned to school in 2003 to finish college and graduated from UNH with a degree in Community Development in 2005.

I started my job as executive director of the Strafford Rivers Conservancy (SRC), a local nonprofit land trust in August, 2004 and have been with them ever since. When I started, the SRC had 28 parcels totaling 977 acres under easement. Today, we have 58 properties conserved and three assists that together come to more than 3,200 acres conserved.

I couldn't have done it without UNH Cooperative Extension and all the training and guidance I received over the years.

Heather Avella

As a volunteer for the 4-H Children's Teaching Garden,I see how the lives of children in the community are positively impacted by this phenomenal program. Children of this generation, consumed by cell phone texting and video games, are missing the connection with nature that provides balance and serenity.

The Teaching Garden gives children, many of them low-income, priceless experiences in nature. They earn a sense of accomplishment and awe as the gardens grow before their eyes. Although vegetable gardening is one of the skills taught by the 4-H curriculum, the lessons go far beyond dirty little hands. The 4-H core principles of Head, Heart, Hands and Health are reinforced through all the activities, providing children with an ethical framework that they take with them long after the vegetables are harvested.

The curriculum reinforces healthy lifestyle, non-violent behaviors, self-esteem, and critical thinking skills. The children also experience generosity and compassion for others, as all the produce is donated to the Food Bank--last year a total amounting to more than 5,000 pounds. Often the children are able to bring these gifts straight to the Food Bank themselves to see the full circle of their hard work and learn to help others.

I have two young children who have participated in many teaching programs and extracurricular activities, paid and unpaid; never have any reached the caliber of the 4-H Garden. Without it, hundreds of children will lose a fantastic opportunity to learn and flourish, just like the gardens they grow.

I keep saying that I get more out of it than the children do. Really. It's such a fantastic program.

Robert Richer

My passion for gardening began as a child tending, mostly playing, with my dad. As I look back, I see my tendency to teach came from those who affected me most, my parents and teachers.

I retired as a U.S. Army management consultant who taught military and civilian leaders the art and science of management. After I retired to this beautiful state I decided to augment my skills in gardening through Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener program to combine my passion for teaching with gardening.

My first and continuing project was the garden at Whole Village in Plymouth. With the help of other Master Gardeners and other volunteers, we hand-turned the large perennial gardens and began an extensive vegetable garden.

The 2009 and 2010 grants from the UNH Master Gardener Association were extremely helpful in obtaining equipping our volunteers with the tools and plants for successful seasons. For the 2010 season we joined our efforts with the Eco-Learning Farm Stand (ELFS), a local initiative involving parents and children in gardening.

During the 2010 season we were able to provide about 1,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to the local food pantry, Meals for Many, the Senior Center, and others. This project continues to be a labor of love and rewards me and many others with the long-lasting satisfaction found only in gardening.

Maddy Perron

I started "Elders on the Grow," weekly therapeutic horticulture sessions at the Hillsborough County Nursing Home, in 2002 with a handful of residents. The project has grown and is now enjoyed by 20-25 people, including family, friends, volunteers, and even staff. All benefit from the program.

Yes, all benefit, including me. In the nine years I've been running the program, carting plants, soil, and pots each week, I have always left there with a happy heart and a smile on my face.

It's knowing that I have brought the outdoors in to those who can no longer get out and enjoy Mother Nature. It's the big hugs and kisses that I'm greeted with and get as I leave. It's the stories, as people reminisce about gardening, weeding and even the exhausting chore of putting up the harvest.

We work mostly with herbs all summer, bunching them to dry, or laying the leaves in dehydrators. The aromas alone can change someone's day from depressing and boring to stimulating and life-enhancing.

We donate many of the seedlings that we nurture at the Nursing Home to the Common Ground Gardens where the 4-H children benefit from gardening sessions. The produce from the children's garden is donated to the Food Bank, which distributes it to needy families.

We also get to harvest flowers and herbs for the Nursing Home and have made dried flower arrangements and some great Italian herb blends to sell at our Craft Fair. Everyone wins!

It's a gift that keeps on giving, trickling down to affect many people in the community. My hope is that the whole picture doesn't change drastically with budget cuts, because so much is at stake, and so many lives will be affected.

This year, I retired from 30 years in the medical field and decided to put more of my energy into the program. As we carted five truckloads of plants to the Spring Plant Sale, I thought to myself: This is my new avocation, and I wouldn't have gotten here without Hillsborough County Extension.

Roger and Adele Haskell

We went through the Community Tree Steward program several years ago because we both enjoyed the outdoors and wanted to learn how to protect our environment. We are both retired and this presented an opportunity to give back to the community.

The program topics covered were so diverse that it became evident we needed to specialize. Adele initially thought education for children would be her calling, while Roger sought to focus on wetlands. But this changed.

Roger got an idea and approached the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG)to volunteer improving wildlife habitat on one of their properties. This led to Roger's co-authoring a draft management plan for a different NHFG property. He's learned so much from UNH Cooperative Extension, NHFG and NRCS staff . Fred Borman, UNH Cooperative Extension Forest Resources Educator and Matt Tarr, Extension Wildlife Specialist, contributed valuable input into the management plan. Adele participated in all field work.

Shortly after, we decided to narrow our focus to invasive plant species. Again UNH Cooperative Extension and NHFG staff provided valuable input. Fred Borman, Roger and Adele began hosting invasive plant species workshops on NHFG property to teach and recruit volunteers.

We assisted two N.H. Fish & Game specialists in the field on a trial run of a pilot program to identify and inventory invasive plant species on their properties.

We continue our interest with invasive plants. Roger participates with the Cooperative Extension-led Invasive Plant Outreach Group. Adele continues her interest in tree and understory identification. Roger has more specifically associated invasive-plant control with its impact on wildlife, in conjunction with desirable native understory plant species. He has expanded his focus to the overall preservation and improvement of wildlife habitat on large and medium as well as homeowner-size properties. We both continue to build our knowledge by attending related workshops hosted by Extension and other sponsors.

Mary Tebo Davis once said during our Steward class that we'll never take a walk in the woods the same way. This is so true! We have become so observant. We often walk just for practice, to reinforce our ability to identify plants at various times of the year. We love the woods and prefer "in the field" volunteer work but do devote behind the scenes desk work too. We've learned so much but there is so much more to learn. We learned in class that New Hampshire is full of knowledgeable people just waiting to assist us. And we use and recommend these resources.

We build upon one another. Our skills are similar, but each has greater strengths in one area or another and vice versa, so together we continue to improve.

Our focus of interest may have weaved and bobbed since the Steward class, but one common theme is the need to continue educating ourselves. We are proud of the skills we've learned. For instance, walking 70 acres of woodland and marsh to acquaint its new owner with his land's interesting characteristics and potential. We take delight in and find it very rewarding to share what we've learned with friends, acquaintances and strangers in various settings. And all this began several years ago with our introduction to the Steward Program