2019 Year in Review: Coös County
Coös County’s pristine forests provide hands-on learning experiences for citizens of all ages, including kids who attend Barry Conservation 4-H Camp—operated by Extension 4-H in cooperation with the NH Fish and Game Department. Located in the White Mountain National Forest, youth discover their individual strengths at camp through activities such as swimming, hiking, fishing and archery. Coös County’s forests also support vibrant logging and tourism industries. In 2019, Extension provided programming to help municipalities, government officials and landowners explore opportunities for conserving and sustainably managing forests. Chair of the Stratford Conservation Commission, Chris Caron, attended an Extension BioBlitz event about citizen science. “I’m inventorying all the species in my area now,” he said.
51 Extension staff worked with Coös County Residents
Coös County Contributions: $208,953
UNH Total Contributions: $434,858
*In 2019, for every $1.00 Coös County contributed, UNH provided $2.08 of statewide resources
161 Volunteers
11,118 Volunteer Hours
$286,407 = Value of Volunteer Time
Statewide Highlights
Helping Families
The Youth and Family program offers education in youth development, healthy living, youth and family resiliency and STEM. In 2019, Extension’s Youth and Family program:
• Engaged 27,000+ participants
• Supported 1,500 educators and volunteers
• Provided technical assistance to 250 people and organizations
• Helped 12 schools improve their wellness policies, affecting 3,037 students
Supporting Businesses
The Community and Economic Development program helps cultivate civic leaders, revitalize downtowns and grow the local and regional economy. With Extension’s support, in 2019:
• 5 communities worked with over 150 businesses
• 51 community leaders graduated from Main Street Academy
• 5 towns and one county launched efforts to strengthen their economies
• 200 entrepreneurs convened at business networking events in Concord
Growing Food
The Food and Agriculture program delivers education and technical assistance to residents, agricultural businesses and the food system. In 2019:
• 4,056 people attended programs and staff made 844 onsite visits to farms
• 45 farms participated in pest monitoring programs; 506 individuals earned professional credits
• Volunteers answered 4,170 home and garden questions through Extension’s Infoline
• 173 individuals obtained ServSafe® certification
Stewarding Environment
Natural Resources staff and volunteers work closely with public and private partners to safeguard the state’s land, water, air and living communities. In 2019:
• Forester recommendations resulted in $1.7 million in additional total production value and nearly $61,000 in additional tax revenue for municipalities
• Staff advised 1,171 landowners who manage over 150,000 acres
• 234 communities received technical assistance; 500+ natural resources professionals were trained
2019 Volunteer Impact
4,892 volunteers worked statewide on behalf of Extension
199,652 hours were contributed by volunteers
$5.1 M was the estimated value of volunteer time
95% of NH cities and towns were served directly by Extension volunteers
"The learning experience provided by the Natural Resources Steward program has allowed me to be a knowledgeable advocate as an everyday citizen. I hope by enthusiastically sharing knowledge and ‘best practices’ information I can get others to be natural resources advocates too.” -Deborah Munson, Volunteer
