The UConn Extension podcast covers four topics:
- Connecting Connecticut
- On The Trail
- Walk With Me
- One Health
You can listen to all episodes on our Spotify channel at s.uconn.edu/extension-podcast.
Community
Bonnie Kegler: Empowering Youth with UConn 4-H
Bonnie Kegler (’88 CAHNR, ’90 NEAG) joined UConn Extension and the 4-H program in Windham County as an assistant extension educator in July, after an award-winning teaching career at Killingly High School in the agricultural education program.
“I want youth in the UConn 4-H program to have a sense of accomplishment on any level, whether it’s receiving a ribbon at the 4-H fair, being recognized for their contributions, or being in a peer group among other people with similar interests,” she says.
Bonnie was an agricultural education student at E.O. Smith High School and wanted to be a veterinary technician. She went to Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas; at the time, their vet tech program was the second highest rated in the country. She only intended to stay two years but discovered the livestock judging team.
“It changed my life, I didn’t even know they had one,” Bonnie says. “I love decision making with the information you have, and the confidence that comes with making that decision and living with the consequences.” She ended up coaching the team her senior year at Sul Ross, a significant recognition for her livestock evaluation and teaching skills.
After graduating, she got a job at a veterinary practice in West Texas, it was the only practice for 100-miles, so they treated all animals. Bonnie recalls taking a metal coffee can with rocks out to the barn section of the clinic to feed or treat animals, shaking the can along the way to scare the rattle snakes, who slithered out of the barn.
Bonnie returned to Connecticut in 1985, and pursued a masters degree in animal science, also coaching the livestock judging team at UConn, and then earned a teaching certificate from the Neag School of Education.
She loves education and animals, so it was a natural fit to teach agricultural education in the high school setting. Bonnie was always involved with 4-H through her own children too and adds that she loves watching the relationship and learning process between kids and animals.
“Watching youth find out something they didn’t know or get better at something excites me,” she says. “They want to improve, those ‘aha’ moments and watching growth, or having someone get recognized for something they’re passionate about, and helping kids understand how much they are capable of accomplishing. Seeing youth understand that what they know and the skills they have is the coolest thing, and it carries over to adult education too.”
Connecticut has a lot to offer, and Bonnie enjoys living in Mansfield with her husband, and spending time on the shoreline. She also raises and shows Hampshire sheep, and participates in dog agility with Tucker, her Corgi.
Her positive impact is already being felt by youth in Windham County, she led her first 4-H Fair shortly after joining Extension in July and is currently recruiting youth and adult volunteers for the program. Bonnie is also working on statewide agricultural and food literacy programs to educate residents. All her work with UConn 4-H is united in the effort to empower youth to make a positive impact and reach their full potential.
“Youth need to hear from someone that believes they have the ability to do something. I see things in kids where they weren’t sure they would be good, and I give them a different way to look at it,” Bonnie concludes. “I help them understand that what they know is valuable. If they’re willing to learn there isn’t anything they can’t do.”
Visit s.uconn.edu/4-H to learn more about the UConn 4-H program, enroll your youth member, or become a volunteer.
Meet Joanna Woodward
Joanna Woodward recently joined UConn Extension as the Master Gardener Coordinator for Tolland County. Prior to joining Extension, she spent 30 years in corporate IT working in training and help desk services, project management, library and information services, and then technology adoption and education. Joanna emigrated from the United Kingdom almost 20 years ago and earned her bachelor in science in Technical Management.
What is your area of interest?
Since retiring and completing the Master Gardeners program, I have an interest in native plants and landscape design with a view to supporting wildlife in our gardens. I maintain my interest in technology adoption and education which began in the early 90’s training secretaries how to use word processors. I was lucky to be around at a time when technology was being introduced into the workplace for the first time.
What excites you the most about working with UConn Extension?
I’m looking forward to engaging with each of the Tolland County Master Gardeners, with the team of Master Gardener Coordinators and looking to collaboration opportunities with other Extension programs. The 2024 program will be online in Tolland so I’m excited to use my previous experience as a technology educator to engage with the new interns.
What is one thing you hope people will learn from you and your work?
I hope the new Master Gardeners enjoy their gardening learning experience and become even more curious about the natural world through the program.
What is your favorite thing to do in Connecticut?
I enjoy walking with my dog in the Connecticut state parks.
What are some of your hobbies and other interests?
I am a Master Gardener volunteer at the Connecticut Audubon Society Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center in Old Lyme and at Camp Harkness in Waterford. I belong to the local garden club and manage their website. I have recently purchased a Cannon DSLR camera and am learning about nature photography. I am a member of two book clubs, one in the U.S. and one in the U.K. and listen to audio books and subscribe to gardening podcasts. I love watching British TV programs (Gardeners World included of course) which keep me connected to my family back at home. My family here consists of my husband, three grown up children, two moggy cats and a cockerpoo.
Stewarding Connecticut’s Coastline with Maggie Cozens
Maggie Cozens joined Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension as the Long Island Sound Study outreach coordinator this summer. Her role focuses on encouraging people to care about Long Island Sound and help steward it. The Environmental Protection Agency funds the Long Island Sound Study. It is a partnership with New York Sea Grant, and NEIWPCC, an interstate commission focused on water quality.
“I’m hoping that people will learn they can be empowered participants in stewarding their landscapes, and that they can work with their communities to ensure the integrity of local ecosystems. We can all be active agents stewarding the coastline and watershed,” Maggie reflects on the new role.
She grew up in Newtown, Connecticut, and earned her bachelor of science degree from Appalachian State University in North Carolina and a master of science in environmental science from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
“I try to involve lots of different voices in environmental conversations. People often want to be active champions of the natural world but don’t always know how. There is a strong sense of place in coastal Connecticut, and I’m excited to tap into it.”
During her undergraduate program, Maggie had the opportunity to participate in a semester with the Sea Education Association She sailed from Cape Cod to Ireland, and it was her first time sailing. The tall ship world is connected, and that experience was the catalyst for additional marine science opportunities.
Maggie’s interests always focus on watershed health and marine science. She spent a year as an AmeriCorps volunteer at New England Science and Sailing in southeastern Connecticut. After graduate school, she lived on board a schooner and taught marine science and whale biology to middle school students. She then went on to coordinate environmental education and direct a summer ecology camp at Great Hollow Nature Preserve in New Fairfield, CT.
“These experiences stoked a love of field science, environmental education, and outreach. I have been fortunate to participate in a lot of different opportunities within environmental science, conservation, and education,” she says.
She worked for Maine Coastal Heritage Trust before joining UConn and is glad to be back in Connecticut. “Connecticut contains some of my favorite places to hike; the Connecticut landscape has such an interesting legacy, and you can see it every time you’re outside. There is a wonderful diversity of flora, fauna, and communities. Of the states I’ve had the pleasure of living in, Connecticut never fails to surprise me with its often-overlooked natural beauty and nuance. It is interesting to be outside in this state.
Visit seagrant.uconn.edu to learn more about Maggie and her stewardship work with the Long Island Sound Study.
Today: Sweet as Honey Event in Hartford
Today: Join us for the Sweet as Honey event at Hispanic Health Council in Hartford – a free community event with snacks and activities starting at 4:30 PM. We’ll discuss nature, climate change and you’ll take home a sample jar of honey.
Location: 590 Park Street in Hartford
Register online at s.uconn.edu/hhc – walk-ins also accepted.
Meet Brenda Sanchez
Brenda Sanchez recently joined our team as an Outreach Nutrition Education Assistant with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) in our Bethel office in Fairfield County. She joins us from experiences working in the medical field and with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, where she spent 11 years as a peer counselor and certified lactation consultant.
Many members of Brenda’s family are involved in medical and nutrition positions, and the role with Extension builds off her previous experiences as well. We sat down with Brenda to learn more about her background and role with Extension.
What is your area of interest and how did you get interested in it?
I like anything related to the medical field as well as working in the community. Working with the community gives me great satisfaction. Knowing I have helped and impacted their lives for the betterment of themselves and their families is just a great feeling.
I got interested in these areas by seeing them modeled on in my family. I had fitting examples of love towards the community through many family members. I was also exposed to the medical field through family members since I was a kid, so I became passionate about it.
What excites you the most about working with UConn Extension?
Knowing I will help families and young people achieve better eating habits and make better lifestyle choices in their nutrition. I like to do service and work with the community and help them make better choices and feed their family.
What is one thing you hope people will learn from you and your work?
I hope I can help people embrace a lifestyle that they did not imagine was possible for themselves and their families, by choosing, preparing, and managing a variety of foods available in the market, I hope to offer choices that might seem doable even in a low-income budget or as a single mom raising her children. I’m also passionate about helping mothers and their children.
One thing everyone should know about nutrition is to grab those resources that are out there for them and make the best possible nutrition and diet choices and enjoy it as a family.
What advice do you have for parents with picky eaters?
Modeling behavior is one thing that always works. I modeled in front of my own children, and they all eat everything. Parents I’ve worked with also have success with it. The more variety of foods you can include in a diet, the more benefits there are. Also, tell children about the benefits different foods have, it engages them.
What is your favorite thing to do in Connecticut?
Family time, all my family lives in Connecticut, I also enjoy the fresh air, the space and nature that Connecticut offers.
What are some of your hobbies and other interests?
I like to walk, read, and bake. I love to travel, try new foods, I love to learn about diverse cultures, their customs and beliefs.
Become a Master Composter
Registration is open for the 2023 UConn Master Composter Program! Classes consist of two Saturday in-person sessions, September 16 and 30, and two Thursday night virtual ones, September 21 and 28. There are also two field trips scheduled for October. Participants will learn about composting and share their knowledge with others in a variety of venues. UConn Master Composters make a difference! Learn more and register at https://homegarden.cahnr.uconn.edu/master-composter/.
Job Opening: Evaluation Specialist
We’re hiring an Extension Evaluation Specialist. Join our team and advance the field of program evaluation by designing and testing methods that lead to improved capacity to measure outcomes of UConn Extension programs. The Specialist designs and delivers education programs and non-credit courses for UConn Extension faculty, staff, and administrators to increase their capacity to evaluate programs aligned with the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources strategic vision and initiatives. Learn more and apply: https://s.uconn.edu/eval-specialist
Eli Moskowitz – Summer Intern Spotlight
My name is Eli Moskowitz, and I am from Cheshire, Connecticut. I am a rising junior at UConn as a Nutritional Sciences major with a sports nutrition minor. I am currently in the Didactic Program in Dietetics. My goal after graduation is to be a Registered Dietitian and to help the public and address their nutritional needs.
Going into this internship I did not have much experience in the field of nutrition. Luckily, I have an exceptional supervisor who has set a great example and guided me through this internship. In the UConn Extension building, there are several other educators and staff who all do completely different tasks as part of the Extension team . Through these individuals, I have a completely new perspective on nutrition. I never realized how the gardening industry has such a tremendous impact on people’s health. Growing and cooking your own food is one of the healthiest ways to consume your meals. I have been able to apply what I have learned about gardening and garden maintenance from the Master Gardeners in order to help others.
One of my favorite programs through this internship was when I helped teach and prepare lessons with the Norwalk Health Department at the Growing Gardens, Growing Health which is at Fodor Farm in Norwalk. We provide eight different classes during this program. I led a youth group and taught them about the negative effects of sugary drinks and better alternatives for healthy beverages. I presented physical demonstrations of how much sugar is in some sodas and the participants were shocked. I also showed them how to read serving sizes as well as sugar in grams. In fact, yesterday when I was teaching one of these programs, a young child told me how much sugar was in her drink and she told me whether it was healthy or not. This gave me a sense of pride and happiness in both my students and in myself. I was glad to see that they were taking my lessons and applying them to their lives!
During the second half of this program, we go down to the community garden and help families maintain and cultivate into their garden. Every family has their own raised garden to plant what they like. Norwalk Health Department provides all types of seeds and plants, and my role is to assist in the production and growth of their gardens. The kids have so much fun planting fruits and vegetables, and the parents are very happy to see their kids infatuated with nutrition.
At the Norwalk Growing Gardens, Growing Health Program I have worked with amazing women who are part of the Norwalk Health Department and work closely with the UConn Extension. I learned what they do for their communities. Before I did not know anything about these jobs, and now I feel well informed about what they do and how they collaborate with dietitians. It has made me feel more secure and optimistic about my future in this field.
Another fun program I assisted in was the Danbury Farmers Market. I woke up in the morning of the market, worrying about the rainy forecast. The organizers had a great idea to move it to the parking garage. I have never been to a farmers market in a parking garage, but it worked perfectly. All the vendors had enough space and there was a great turnout. We, as UConn Extension, provided two nutrition lessons with cooking demonstrations. My supervisor, coworker and I led the cooking demonstrations with approximately 30 people in each group. We made a delicious simple green salad and gave each participant a copy of the recipe.
These are just two of the several programs I will help lead throughout this internship. I have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience, and my confidence in public speaking has increased. I never led a discussion for such a large group of people prior to this internship. I learned that one of the best parts of this experience is the rewarding feeling you get from knowing your audience is going to benefit from your teaching efforts. I have met many people with diverse jobs that have taught me how their organizations work. I have obtained advice from them that I will take all throughout my career. With the knowledge I have received from my coworkers, and the experience I have gained from my programs, I feel I have taken a big leap into the world of nutrition.
Cultivating Education and Food Security with the Master Gardeners
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from early spring through fall, you can find dedicated groups of Master Gardeners lovingly cultivating an organic Demonstration Vegetable Garden at the Fairfield County Extension Center site in Bethel. By summer, the garden is a beautiful oasis teeming with butterflies, and pollinators as volunteers harvest tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and other organic vegetables to donate to area food pantries. In addition to vegetables, the bountiful harvests include a variety of fresh herbs, and gorgeous annual flowers. Recently, the Master Gardeners have collaborated with Extension’s Food and Nutrition EFNEP and SNAP-Ed programs to provide clients with nutritious recipes in both Spanish and English to accompany their produce. Harvests continue all season long and food pantry drop offs are rotated to share the bounty. Among the area organizations who benefit from the donations are the Brookfield Food Pantry, Faith Food Pantry in Newtown, Daily Bread in Danbury, and the Bethel Food Pantry.
The 3,000 square foot garden was started in 2013 by a group of Master Gardener interns excited to assist food insecure clients, and at the same time educate the public about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and best garden practices. Each year additional Master Gardeners have joined the group and added to the garden’s infrastructure. The garden now has numerous raised beds, an irrigation system, tunnels to protect brassica crops from cabbageworms, and a blueberry enclosure to keep hungry birds at bay.
Advanced Master Gardener, Andrea Sarnik, began working in the garden in 2018. In 2020, Andrea joined Barbara Stauder as a project co-captain. Andrea explains, “The garden’s primary mission is to serve as an educational tool. It does that in a multitude of ways. The garden itself is a showcase of many varieties of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers. We receive many visitors on Saturdays when we open the garden during the Farmer’s Market. Visitors get ideas on things they might try and get answers to questions regarding gardening from the Master Gardener volunteers. The garden is marked with signs identifying the crops and informational signs such as companion planting and integrated pest management.”
In addition to the educational signage, a small rain garden display hugs the garden shed and a rain barrel system catches water from its roof. A three-bin compost system sits just outside the
garden gate. This garden is definitely all about education, but clients are not the only ones who benefit. New interns join the group each year as they pursue their Master Gardener certification. As Andrea Sarnik adds, “Master Gardener interns obtain a broad array of information from the more senior Master Gardeners and even the seasoned gardeners continue to learn as they encounter issues and exchange information.”
Each winter the group of about 30 volunteers meet to plan for the new season. They work to extend the season by careful planning, incorporating more early and late blooming crops, seeking out pest and disease resistant varieties, and discussing other ways to increase harvests and productivity. The enthusiastic group weighs their harvests and tracks their crops with numerous spreadsheets, noting weather and pest issues. “Most years show an increase in total pounds of produce donated with our current top year total of 1365 pounds,” Andrea remarks. Clearly, the Master Gardener’s methods are successful.
This season, the group has already donated hundreds of pounds of produce, having started early harvesting garlic, onions, and cole crops. With the cool, rainy spring, the tomatoes are a bit behind with many green fruits waiting for more sunshine to sweeten and ripen them. This year, over five years after planting, the young native persimmon tree outside the garden will finally fruit. One of the young pawpaw trees also has a few potato shaped fruits for the first time. The Master Gardeners are excited by this development and are already envisioning another abundant harvest to share with their friends at the local food pantries.
To learn more about the Extension Master Gardener Program, which is offered in multiple locations throughout the state, visit our website at https://mastergardener.uconn.edu/. Applications will be available by the end of August for the 2024 program.
Article by Sandi Wilson, Fairfield County Master Gardener Coordinator