- Author: Karen Giovannini
Mary Engebreth was presented with one of the Sonoma County's highest honors, a Gold Resolution from the Board of Supervisors. Mary was presented with the Gold at the State 4-H Leaders Forum by Louise Silacci, "As President of the CA 4-H State Leaders Council, I wanted to recognize one outstanding leader at our convention, and that one leader was Mary. One of her most important contributions came this past year when we were approved to start a new program called "Discussion Meet." We follow the Young Ranchers and Farmers outline with a 4-H twist. Mary wrote the project manual and I can't say enough wonderful things about her."
"Mary Engebreth's countless hours of volunteerism,
the leadership of a successful youth program
and her continuing spirit to help our youth succeed,
should be noted as a model for
our community to celebrate."
Mary Engebreth started her 4-H career in 1969 as a project leader for Sewing and a project called Beginning Boys for new 4-Hers. Little did she know that 46 years later she would still be a vital part of the organization. Although she started at the club level, she took on greater leadership roles.
- Sonoma County Club Council officer 1980-88, president 86-88
- North Coast Section officer 1986 including Policy Secretary & President
- Sonoma County All-Star adviser 92-93
- California Diamond Star program adviser 92-94
- National 4-H Conference 94 & 97
- Western Regional Leadership Forum 93-present
- National 4-H Camping Institute 98-02
- Developed California 4-H Camping Institute 2000, president 00-02
- Discussion Meet committee charter member 2012-present
Mary has created innovative programs:
- Started the Countywide Wildlife Project in 1987 and continues to be the project leader of this non-traditional project, the project was awarded the Golden Clover earlier this year;
- She partnered with the six counties that use Los Posadas 4-H Camp to create CAMP (Create a Memorable Program) staff training weekend;
- She founded CAL Conference (Create a Leader) for North Central Section youth leadership weekends;
- Began WHEP (Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program) with a team of specialist and teachers - WHEP is a takeoff of a National Program that focused on California habitat.
And if that wasn't enough, she was an integral part of the re-write of the original State Presentation Day Manual and State Fashion Revue Manual.
THANK YOU MARY for your past, present, and future
contributions to and leadership of the 4-H program
- Author: Lisa Bell
Garbelotto presented guidelines for California bay tree removal—the first defense in preserving your susceptible oak trees—as well as dosage changes in chemical treatments for oaks.
SODMAP Mobile is an app for tracking SOD. This App calculates the risk to your oaks based on real SOD monitoring data. In Sonoma County, these data are created mainly by the public each spring during the SOD BLITZ, an educational, data-collecting weekend led by the Sonoma County SOD program coordinator, Lisa Bell, and the UC Master Gardeners.
SODMAP Mobile for iPhone
SODMAP Mobile for Android
Photo from SODMAP Mobile shows infected trees, marked with red pins, along a road near Freestone, Sonoma County.
Learn more about Sudden Oak Death in Sonoma County.
- Author: Nick Bauer nhbauer@ucsd.edu
Troy Cameron grew up in Sonoma County and started his career with the Sonoma Ecology Center followed by work for the Bureau of land Management in Oregon. He studied Environmental Science in New Zealand where he received his undergraduate degree from Massey University. This fall, he returned to Sonoma County as a WSP member to work with the Coho Salmon Monitoring Program.
Jenna Dohman studied at Western Washington University and earned a degree in Environmental Science. As an undergraduate she experimented with algae in a marine chemistry laboratory. After graduating, she completed field work in the Idaho Wilderness and the Mojave Desert before coming to Sonoma County as a WSP member with the Coho Salmon Monitoring Program.
For more information, visit Russian River Coho Salmon Monitoring Program.
In this picture, Troy and Jenna are learning about salmon survey data entry techniques on a handheld computer.
- Author: Maurice Pitesky
- Contributor: Karen Giovannini
Dr Maurice Pitesky, DVM, MPVM, ACMPM, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is major contributor to this blog.
Preparing for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in California:
Tips and Resources for Pasture Poultry Producers and Other Poultry Owners
Note to 'backyard' producers: see link to Poultry Census.
Our temperate winter climates are not only appealing to the estimated 39 million people that reside in California, it is also the perfect habitat for the estimated 6 million ducks and geese that migrate south in the fall and winter. This migration of waterfowl follows the “Pacific Flyway” which traverses Alaska to the southern tip of Chile.
It is estimated that ~5-20% (~300,000 to 1.2 million) of the waterfowl arriving in California every fall are shedding the Avian Influenza (AI) virus. The virus is maintained in the intestinal tract of infected waterfowl and infected birds can shed the virus in their feces for approximately 7 days. Depending on the environmental conditions the virus can remain viable in the environment for months.
The reality that avian influenza is endemic in waterfowl and that they are the primary reservoir of disease is an important fact that we need to be aware of in order to protect our flocks. In addition, while the virus does not typically cause disease in waterfowl and other avian wildlife, certain strains of avian influenza can cause high mortality in domestic poultry. Consequently, it is important to mitigate contact between domestic poultry and waterfowl including shared environments in order reduce the potential for transmission of disease. Therefore, while we know the source of AI, the burden is on us to reduce the risk of transmission of disease to our domestic flocks.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in North America:
Farm Plan for HPAI
Each poultry operation is unique and should therefore have a operation specific plan in place to address biosecurity. Having a plan in place is also a key component to getting indemnification payment from USDA if there is an outbreak and the flock must be depopulated. California Department of Food & Ag has a Biosecurity Risk Assessment Guide (pdf) to help poultry operations prepare for and deal with biosecurity issues. In addition you can contact the USDA-APHIS if you have specific questions regarding preparation and eligibility for indemnification.
What can you do to protect your flocks in Sonoma and Marin Counties?
Pastured poultry production is a unique approach toward poultry husbandry. However, like all food-animal production systems there are advantages and disadvantages to each system. Bio-Security (the prevention of disease from getting on to your farm and causing disease in your birds) is a significant weakness in pastured poultry production. Learn more at Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)
BACKYARD POULTRY PRODUCERS
Participate in UCCE's Backyard Poultry Census so that you will be notified if HPAI (or some other deadly disease) is making its way through California poultry
More information about Pasture Poultry can be found at Dr Pitesky's site: UCCE Poultry
/table>- Guest Author: Mary Engebreth
As a multi-age group of young people the younger children benefit directly by having a close association with the older 4-Hers. This cross age experience is a great advantage to all involved – the senior members helping to model good behavior and sound practices in their caring relationships with the younger members.
The Sonoma County 4-H Wildlife Project members have shown how important it is to implement natural systems throughout their communities. They have proven that a small group of young people can make a huge impact in the environment. They have explored issues and problems in the county, determined habitat needs of specific species, and sought to remedy imbalances with thoughtful work and insightful practices. It is hoped that by sharing their accomplishments others might benefit from their experiences.
A special THANK YOU to project adviser, Mary Engebreth, for leading the project and inspiring 4-Hers for nearly THIRTY YEARS!
The group will be recognized for this major achievement at Sonoma County 4-H Achievement Night on November 14 at the 4-H Center in Rohnert Park. Golden Clover Award winners were also recognized at State Leadership Conference and State Leaders' Forum.
Now is the time for 4-Hers to join this fun and dynamic project. Learn more at Wildlife Project.