UConn Extension is looking forward to seeing everyone at the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association winter Symposium. This event is full of learning, and takes place on January 24th and 25th at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT. This is a great opportunity for networking, meeting exhibitors, attending educational programs, and seeing new products!
Climate Smart Adaptation Strategies for CT Farmers
Join UConn Extension Solid Ground program in a new course that will help you understand the best practices for your farm in a changing climate. Course includes expert instructors in various fields implementing climate smart agriculture practices, tools under $2000 that are suggested for use, virtual field trips and more.
Topics include: soil health, composting, using plastic and fabric mulches, managing water on the farm, biological pest control, etc.
Running fully online and asynchronously, so learn at your own pace.
The price of the course is $60– at course completion, participants will be refund $30 of the course fee.
The course will run from 11/29/2023 to 2/28/2024
Today is National Farmer’s Day, and here at UConn Extension, we celebrate our farmers every day. Extension professionals work statewide to help farmers improve their operations, diversify crops, and scale up their business models.
Jiff Martin is our Food Systems Extension Educator and works with agricultural producers statewide to strengthen agriculture and promote local agriculture and food systems. She developed new training and resources for beginning farmers, available through the Solid Ground program. The trainings and resources span farmland access, business planning, season extension, agricultural mechanics, marketing and more.
In 2023, Jiff and UConn Extension, in partnership with a BIPOC-led organization, E&G Community Builders introduced the Leaders of Color in Conservation (LOCC). It provided training and mentoring to eight individuals in conservation planning and common practices on small farms and included both online training and farm field days. These eight people then worked with three BIPOC farmers each, helping with conservation and natural resource goals. USDA-NRCS funded the project.
These programs are examples of the work UConn Extension does every day to support Connecticut farmers. Jiff Martin is being recognized by the USDA-NIFA and APLU Northeast Region Individual Excellence in Extension Award at the APLU Annual Meeting in November.
Congratulations, Jiff, we appreciate all you do!
Maggie Ng recently joined UConn Extension as an outreach assistant for our vegetable crops and hemp programs, based in our Vernon office. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts where her focus was on climate change in agriculture. Maggie conducted a year-long research project for her thesis, interviewing local farmers on climate change and how it impacted their operations.
What is your area of interest and how did you get started?
Coming from Los Angeles, I had never set foot on a farm before going to Hampshire. I started farming my first year at Hampshire College, did field work, and managed the CSA, among other responsibilities. I am interested in climate mitigation and adaptation because of working on an actual farm and seeing the issues firsthand. Farmers have a resiliency and totally innate flexibility and adaptability and those have encouraged me to keep going. I farmed until July 2022 when I joined the UMASS Extension team.
What will your role be with UConn Extension?
As an outreach assistant, I’ll be going on farm visits and conducting farmer outreach on vegetable crops and hemp. I’m contacting people in the state and setting up visits to address their concerns. I’m a resource for them while they’re working to achieve their goals. I’ll also be updating a lot of the materials that our programs have.
What excites you the most about working with UConn Extension?
I’m excited about being a resource and the opportunity to connect with farmers and build that community – making connections and being outside.
What is one thing you hope people will learn from you and your work?
My dream is for people to take away that climate change is happening, and it will affect them. I want to build relationships where farmers trust us, and we’re learning from them too. Extreme weather events are going to increase in frequency – heat, drought, floods, unseasonably cold temperatures – and the takeaway is that it’s happening and I’m a resource to help.
What is the most unusual job you’ve had?
Being a farmer in Los Angeles; we were based in the mountains of Malibu with livestock, vegetables, and flowers. It was gorgeous and felt like an oxymoron.
What are some of your hobbies and other interests?
I love to swim and find nature spots, especially during the summer. I’m excited to explore Connecticut. I’ve also recently started photography and restoring old cameras. I’m looking to build a community within and outside farming in Connecticut.
Applications are due on October 13, 2023 for the Master Gardener Program.
Do you enjoy horticulture and want to expand your knowledge and also help others? Apply for the 2024 UConn Extension Master Gardener program. Applications are due October 13, 2023 and classes begin on January 8, 2024. Class locations for 2024 are Stamford, Norwich, Torrington, New Haven, and online.
Students enrolled in this program receive training in an extensive range of horticultural and environmental topics, including botany, plant pathology, entomology, integrated pest management (IPM), herbaceous and woody ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, turfgrass, invasive plants, and diagnostic techniques for the home gardener.
“I have to say that the quality of the instruction was exceptional. Many of the topics brought me back to my time at UConn as a plant science major, classes that took a semester condensed to a single class,” said Althea Langer, a program graduate. “My outlook on my own garden and those of others has definitely been impacted by this course. I’m much more aware of nature and that we need to be guardians of it by how we all treat our own small spaces.”
UConn Extension Master Gardeners are willing to share their knowledge, passion and enthusiasm with their communities, providing research-based information to homeowners, students, gardening communities and others. They receive horticultural training from UConn, and then share that knowledge with the public through community volunteering and educational outreach efforts. UConn Master Gardeners help with community and museum gardens, school gardens, backyard projects, houseplant questions and more.
“The program provides the opportunity for beginner, intermediate or experienced gardeners to increase their personal knowledge of the practice of gardening … The program allows you to meet with like-minded people over a common interest – growing plants,” said Ken Sherrick, an Advanced Master Gardener.
The program fee is $495.00 and includes all needed course materials. Partial scholarships may be available, based on demonstrated financial need.
Full UConn Extension Master Gardener program course details and information and the application is available at s.uconn.edu/apply.
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.
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.
Now Available – Register Today!UConn Extension School and Municipal Turf/Grounds Workshop 2023September 13, 20238 am-2:30 pmOld Orchard Hill School350 Foster Street, South Windsor, CTInformation and Registration at s.uconn.edu/schoolipmworkshop
Join us for an exciting day of presentations featuring current science-based research and information on supporting landscape management in Connecticut schools.
This program is designed for municipal grounds managers, facilities managers, sports turf managers and landscape professionals who contract with school districts. Learn skills and strategies to support turf and landscape health throughout the year!
Session topics:
Registration: $50.00 by noon on Friday, September 8
Last minute registration (after Sept. 8) and day of/walk in registration: $65
Registration fee includes:
– Information packet, including printed copies of UConn Best Management Practice Guides– Light Breakfast, Refreshments and Lunch– Parking– Pesticide recertification credits (pending state approval)– Opportunity to network with UConn turf faculty and fellow grounds managers
Pesticide recertification credits – pending
Please note that registration is nonrefundable.
If you require an accommodation to participate fully in this event (e.g., a sign language interpreter, handicap accessible seating, etc.), please email alyssa.siegel-miles@uconn.edu. Requests must be received at least 5 business days in advance.
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
Undergraduate education during the pandemic was uncharted territory for everyone. Samuel Kocurek ’23 (CLAS) turned to nature during the pandemic, and this, along with other opportunities, including a summer 2022 internship with UConn Extension, led to his career focus.
Kocurek started with general education classes, and joined Eco-House, declaring a dual degree in environmental science and math, with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies in the fall of 2020 after spending the summer hiking, gardening, and enjoying the outdoors with his mother.
“I truly believe in developing a personal relationship with the land,” Kocurek says. “So, when I saw UConn Extension offering this internship I was immediately hooked. With this work, I aided a professor and doctoral student in developing an ecotypic seed supply chain to revegetate highway roadsides with native plants. Ecotypic seed refers to native plant ecotypes that are grown and processed here in New England. It results in better erosion control, better pollinator health, greater plant longevity, less invasive plants, among others. The list goes on about the benefits of using native plants.”
The Extension internship, mentored by Julia Kuzovkina and John Campanelli, in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, helped Kocurek focus his interests and built upon his experiences working in the Office of Sustainability and with other initiatives on campus. He contributed to the grant project that the team started in early 2022.
Their work included studying mowing patterns and how to best mow for pollinators and native plants. Beautiful plants and wildflowers proliferate along roadsides when mowing is reduced. “Having the opportunity to make our drives more ecologically authentic for ourselves, pollinators, and wildlife has been extremely meaningful, as was impacting the Department of Transportation. I am learning so much about the land we inhabit and about the beautiful plants that we often take for granted,” he continues.
Kocurek’s internship provided perspective on his senior year choices. The regional work drove him to expand his impact senior year. He continued working with the Office of Sustainability to improve their certification applications for UConn and re-started the Soil and Water Conservation Society because the internship made him realize its importance. Kocurek applied for graduate schools for an environmental management masters and was accepted to many. He is joining the University of Michigan’s Masters of Sustainability and Development in August, and further narrowing his focus in graduate school.
The grant work continued beyond the length of the internship, and Kocurek wanted to be part of that too. He finished the focus group interviews in August and asked about staying involved, working until early February when the team published a peer reviewed article in Sustainability on their research and extension initiatives.
Kocurek was also part of UConn@COP 27, continued working with the Office of Sustainability, and was the SRA in Charter Oak. The global scale he experienced demonstrated the complexity of how far climate change stretches, and he wants to influence humanity, but also enjoys working with communities as he did during his Extension internship.
“I want to lead sustainability initiatives in future,” Kocurek concludes. “I’ve learned a lot from my mentors and sustainability work over the last four years. The more I learn the more I feel I can do anything. The world is open.”
This work relates to CAHNR’s Strategic Vision area focused on Fostering Sustainable Landscapes at the Urban-Rural Interface
Article by Stacey Stearns