Posts Tagged: 4-H
UC Davis Seminars: From Earwigs to Fruit Flies to Nematodes
A fantastic line-up awaits those eager to attend the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's in-person and virtual...
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The Nov. 10th seminar will focus on controlling this pest, the spotted-wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, shown here on a raspberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Congrats to the Two 'Jakes' from the Rachel Vannette Lab
Congrats to the two "Jakes" from the laboratory of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, UC Davis Department of Entomology...
In this image, Jacob “Jake” Francis and Sage Kruleski, an undergraduate researcher from the University of Nevada, Reno, are sampling nectar and pollen rewards from phlox on Peavine Mountain, northwest of Reno.
Scores of projects in the laboratory of UC Davis community ecologist Rachel Vannette (far left) are in full force. This image appears on the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology home page.
Blessed Are the Bees
Blessed are the bees. When honey bees swarmed last week at the entrance to the Epiphany Episcopal Church in Vacaville, the site seemed quite...
The honey bees swarmed last week to the entrance to the Epiphany Episcopal Church, Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Vacaville beekeeper Alyssa Hunt, 13, with a box for the bees. The queen, however, was not in the cluster--just her pheromone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Veteran beekeeper Craig Hunt raises a frame to the site where the small cluster was. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A drone hanging out by the cluster, waiting for his sisters to feed him. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bees may have swarmed from what appears to be a permanent colony in the bell tower of the Epipany Episcopal Church. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors gives 4-H a vote of confidence
Not only did the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors approve a $10,000 allocation to the local 4-H program, commissioners spoke warmly about the youth development program, reported Bill Choy in the Mt. Shasta News.
“Without 4-H I don't think my kids would have been as successful,” said commissioner Ray Haupt. He said he has seen the positive benefits of 4-H for kids and teens countless times and added that the program provides invaluable leadership skills to the youth in the community.
UC Cooperative Extension advisor Rob Wilson addressed the board to request the funding support. He said state funds have not kept up with the cost of running the program.
"We're having more difficulty covering that funding gap," Wilson said.
He added that the program is always looking for help and donations and encouraged the community to support them. For more information go to http://cesiskiyou.ucanr.edu/4-H_Program/.
Read more about the Siskiyou Pet Pals 4-H program.
California Farm Bureau advocates for UC ANR
Policy advocate at the California Farm Bureau Federation, Taylor Roschen, wrote a 736-word commentary, published in AgAlert today, praising the value of UC Cooperative Extension advisors and advocating for an additional $20 million annual funding from the state of California.
Roschen provided highlights of UC ANR's public value, writing that:
- The breadth and depth of agricultural knowledge created by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources is unparalleled.
- Local Cooperative Extension staff, such as farm advisors and community education specialists, serve as translators, sharing the power of UC research with our farms, our families and our communities.
- 4-H youth leaders are 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their communities and nearly five times more likely to pursue higher education.
However, she continued, since 1990, the state's contribution to UCANR has decreased by 57%. California has lost more than 60% of its 4-H advisors since the 1990s and now have the equivalent of only 31 program representatives to serve the state's 58 counties.
To bring UC ANR programs "back from the brink," Roschen wrote, the California Farm Bureau is working with Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, to fight for UCCE's future and save 4-H and local farm advisors and specialists.
"We are petitioning the state Legislature and the Newsom administration to provide an additional $20 million annually to UC ANR," she said.