Posts Tagged: 4-H

Santa Barbara 4-H feeling budget pressure

The Santa Barbara County 4-H program is raising awareness about the county board of supervisors' plans to cut funding for UC Cooperative Extension, according to reports that appear on the KSBY Channel 6 website and in the Santa Barbara Independent.

According to the Independent article, written by Mary Thieleke Jackson, director of the Santa Barbara County 4-H Management Board, a draft budget released Friday, May 10, does not include a county contribution to UC Cooperative Extension. Budget hearings are expected to take place the week of June 10-15.

Because the county faces a $10.5 million budget deficit, the board of supervisors is considering all options. If the proposed cut carries through to the final budget, 4-H will cease to exist in Santa Barbara County, the stories said. 

"We have to set priorities and figure out what programs work and what programs don't," said Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino.

He says the board has to make up the budget losses somewhere and he hopes it doesn't include cutting funding for 4-H.

"I can't think of a better place to spend it than on our kids and teaching them about leadership and hard work," said Lavagnino.

Climate change not impacting San Joaquin County yet

So far, the impact of climate change on San Joaquin County hasn't been apparent, reported Reed Fujii in the Stockton Record.

The story said Paul Verdegaal, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in San Joaquin County, has been tracking local crop and weather data for 30 years and to date has seen only normal year-to-year variability.

"There's no particular trend in early bud break (in vineyards); there's no particular change in earlier harvest," Verdegaal said. "I haven't seen any hint of a trend, let alone a consistent pattern of increase or decrease."

Bud break, the point when grapevines begin to leaf out, falls each spring around March 15.

"This year, it was the 18th; last year, it was the 17th," Verdegaal said. "There's no change."

Saving county's 4-H program is essential
Linda Greco, Santa Maria Times

The UC Cooperative Extension Santa Barbara County is once again on the chopping block, according to a commentary by Linda Greco in the Santa Maria Times.

"I implore our community and county supervisors to consider the consequences and repercussions of such an action. Without the county’s commitment, the program will be lost and no longer exist," Greco wrote.

Greco's article noted that the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors planned to cut UCCE from the county budget in 2010, but after "community outcry," provided one-time funding with significant cuts.

"While 4-H celebrates 100 years in California in 2014, will 4-H continue to exist in our county for future generations? Assist me and ask the Board of Supervisors not to cut the UCCE funding, and to replace it as a permanently funded item to ensure the sustainability of the 4-H program into the future," she wrote.

4-H members enthralled by science

Hands-on science activities offered as part of 4-H SET (Science, Engineering, Technology) at a El Dorado County park recently were colorful enough to warrant a lengthy feature story in the Mountain Democrat yesterday.

The 4-H'ers experimented with resin to understand how tree sap trapped and preserved insects that flew and crawled 100 million years ago. They examined fossils, viewed a collection of dinosaur bones and went on a fossil fuel scavenger hunt.

“We have great schools, but they don’t have much hands-on experiential learning any more,” Tracey Celio told reporter Dawn Hodson. Celio is the UC Cooperative Extension 4-H youth development coordinator for El Dorado County.

“Our country used to be cutting edge but we’ve lost that in the last 10-15 years due to the outsourcing of jobs and technology,” Celio said. ”Now there is a push to re-energize youth about the opportunities through SET. We want to prepare kids for the 21st century and the jobs available in the 21st century.”

4-H member leads tree planting in San Bruno

More than 250 people helped plant trees and other plants in San Bruno on Earth Day to green up a neighborhood charred by a devastating fire a year and a half ago, reported Sergio Quintana on KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco.

The planting event was the brainchild of 13-year-old Julien Levy. Through his efforts, the local 4-H Club, a few Boy Scout troops and resident volunteers turned out to plant the trees.

"It means, kind of, not only a tree and maybe a source of food and fruit, but maybe a token of hope that the renaissance of San Bruno may be beginning," Levy said.

Julien Levy is involved in the 4-H Million Trees Project.

Chandler strawberries get attention

UC strawberry varieties — Chandler in particular — was the topic of a Los Angeles Times article by David Karp.

According to the article, Chandler was introduced in 1983 and was dominant in Southern California production in the late '80s and early '90s, before being surpassed by other varieties. Chandler was bred by Victor Voth and Royce Bringhurst of the University of California.

This year, a well-known strawberry grower among Southern California farmers markets has resumed growing the Chandler variety. Harry's Berries otherwise grows Gaviota and Seascape varieties, both also developed by the UC strawberry breeding program, but will be bringing Chandler berries to markets this year.

4-H Million Trees Project shelters Pacifica Gardens with natives and fruit trees
The Pacifica Tribune

4-H volunteers continue to plant trees for the 4-H Million Trees program, which was started in Pacifica by 4-H member Laura Webber. Reporter Jane Northrop covered 4-H volunteers planting hedge trees at Pacifica Gardens recently.

So far, the paper reports, the program has seen at least 41,000 children plant 350,000 trees.

The program has spurred many 4-H members to propose tree-planting projects at nearby schools, parks and neighborhoods. One of the teens who wrote a grant proposal for another tree-planting event explained why she took on the project.

"I basically wanted to write the grant because I thought it would be a great experience for me and I wanted to help in more ways than just showing up to the plantings. I also wanted to really push myself to do something that I had never done before," said Julia Hurley, a Pacifica 4-H member and eighth-grader.

Fresno farm meeting attracts Asian growers
Fresno Bee

Reporter Robert Rodriguez covered a meeting of Southeast Asian farmers in Fresno, where one of the primary topics was government regulations.

Richard Molinar, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Fresno, has helped Southeast Asian farmers comply with regulations. At the meeting, he urged farmers to spread the word about how to follow government regulations and who can help.

"Part of this is your responsibility to find out what you need to do," he said. "This not an insurmountable problem."

The meeting was presented by the National Hmong American Farmers, and USDA's Joe Leonard, Jr., was the keynote speaker.

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