The University of California Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center (UC HAREC) supports Ventura County agriculture through research and education efforts. Volunteers play a vital role in education outreach and are integral in achieving our mission. We are currently recruiting volunteers for our youth development programs. Join a dedicated group of individuals who share a passion for agriculture and enjoy working with youth of all ages.

Interested individuals may attend an informational meeting in the Small Barn at UC HAREC —Wednesday, January 16^th, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  or Thursday, January 17^th, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The Center is located at 14292 W. Telegraph Rd. in Santa Paula (corner of Briggs Rd. and Telegraph Rd). Please use Briggs Rd. main entrance. Free parking available.

To reserve a spot call or email by January 15^th— 805-525-9293 ext. 206 or awfaris@ucanr.edu.  Walk-ins also welcome.

For more information about our youth development programs visit our website at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/hansenagcenter/Hansen_Agricultural_Center_Programs/

Teams of Ventura County 4-H youth recently took part in the 4-H National Science Experiment conducted in Ventura.  Participants worked in teams of two to put their engineering and problem solving skills to the test in the EcoBot Challenge coordinated by local 4-H club leaders Monica Stanley and Diane Enos.

The 4-H teams were assigned to build and program a robot that was capable of cleaning a hypothetical environmental spill of birdseed, rice and macaroni that stood in for spill elements considered too dangerous or difficult for humans to handle.  Teams were supplied masking tape, straws, string, paper cups, index cards, a toothbrush head, foam and a digital battery.  Utilizing these materials they worked to fabricate tiny robot sweepers that would be able clean the mess before being swept out to an improvised ocean.

The challenge tested their imaginations, patience, skills and ingenuity as they took their contraptions through timed trial runs, making adjustments and modifications along the way.  A three-second breathing period was required whenever a robot needed manhandling during a run which allowed participants a short space to react with a more considered response.

Two members from the Citrus Valley club, Allison Sim and Patrick Bello, finished first with an 87% spill removal.  The 10 and 11-year old experimented by overcoming obstacles that allowed their robot, Brushie, to achieve the winning score.

Millions of youth throughout the nation participated in the 4-H National Science Experiment and the EcoBot Challenge complements the robotics and engineering programs that are a significant part of the 4-H science curriculum.  Learn more about the EcoBot Challenge here.

On January 26 the Master Gardeners will present "Pruning Dormant Fruit Trees and Selection and Care of Garden Tools," the first of four seasonal Home-Garden workshops.   This workshop will be devoted to teaching pruning techniques for trees and crops and proper garden tool maintenance.

Time:  8:15 am - 12 pm
Location:  Hansen Agricultural Center
               14292 W. Telegraph Rd.
               Santa Paula, CA
Fee:  $25 (includes workshop, continental breakfast and snacks)
Contact:  Leah Haynes, 805-645-1450
To Register Online:  Click here
For more details, see the flyer here.

Scheduled upcoming workshops are:

Saturday, May 18, 2013 - "All About Tomatoes & Composting and Worm Farms"
Saturday, August 17, 2013 - "All About Roses & Plant Propagation"
Saturday, November 9, 2013 - "Your Edible Garden in Winter & Disease Control Strategies for Dormant Fruit Trees"

These workshops provide timely garden specific information geared to home gardeners through presentations by UCCE advisors, Master Gardeners and other agricultural experts and hands-on learning.

Docent-guided tours of the Hansen Agricultural Center Faulkner House are available and the Master Gardener's Potting Shed will be open for business for those interested in purchasing plants.

UCCE youth, family and community development advisor Rose Hayden-Smith toured the White House garden on October 19 as part of the White House Social Fall Garden Tour.  There she was able to explore Michelle Obama's kitchen garden and get a sighting of the President who waved to them as he strolled through the area with the family dog.

Rose leads a statewide initiative for sustainable food systems and has a passionate interest in promoting community and victory gardens.  It is no surprise that she won a Twitter contest prize invitation to the tour by expressing within the website's 140 character limit format why she wanted to visit the White House garden. 

This was Rose's second visit to the White House gardens.  After the tour, the group spent several hours with White House staff learning more about the administration's food and health initiatives.  The stay included touring urban garden projects in Washington D.C. with UC ANR advisor Rachel Surls from the UC Los Angeles extension office.

The social is a part of the Fall Garden Tours in October where invitees and members of the public can view the kitchen garden, Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, Rose Garden and South Lawn of the White House. 

For more information, please follow the links to view the brochure or check out the White House Blog. 

My name is Gabe Gold. I am a new social media intern for the UC ANR Blog.  With my first blog I will be describing myself and how I became interested in agriculture.

I am a modern day farm boy.  I grew up on a small blood orange orchard in Somis, Ca called Old Gold Farms.  When growing up I looked at the farm as a limiting factor in my life, I wanted to be able to walk to my friends’ houses or even to school.  Instead, I had very few neighbors under the age of 50 (all of which were a minimum of 25 acres away) and my drive to school lasted about 25 minutes.  When my friends asked me where I lived no one had even heard of the city of Somis! While my friends were biking and skateboarding I was in the orchard picking oranges, juicing oranges, or riding our farm vehicles. 

Eventually, I relished in my non-conventionality.  I began selling our delicious produce at local farmer’s markets.  I suddenly felt at home, other people knew what the farm life was like. It wasn’t just the other vendors that I related with, it was also the customers.  Never before in my life had I seen people care about the quality of food that they purchased.  It was a beautiful change, the work that was put in to our fruit and/or juice was appreciated without question.  Many people impressed me with their extreme knowledge of blood oranges, but I much preferred teaching the others who had no idea what they were. 

I now know what a great treat it is to live on a farm.  In the spring time I wake up to an overwhelming, but great smell of orange blossoms and in the winter I look out of my bedroom window and see rows of fruit bearing trees just 20 feet away.  Anytime my mother needs lemons in the kitchen, my father jokes around “I’ll go run to the store” and we walk to the lemon area of our farm and pick a 10 pound bag of the freshest smelling lemons.

I am now in my senior year of high school eager to learn more and more about agriculture and as I do I will post what I learn to this blog.