- Author: Chris M. Webb
Kimberly Coverly, 15, of Loma Vista 4-H in Ventura has been honored for her exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award.
The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was presented by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of President Obama.
Kimberly participated in the Spirit of Community program this year as a representative of Ventura County 4-H in Ventura, where she is a member. Kimberly earned her award from the work she has done through Trick Or Treat So Others Can Eat (TOTSOCE); a program of collecting food rather than candy at Halloween. The food is then donated to Food Share to help feed the 38,000 monthly clients of Food Share in Ventura County.
Kimberly has become very involved in the TOTSOCE program. Kimberly began her participation in TOTSOCE when she was 2, Trick-or-Treating with her mom and a little red wagon. Now 15, Kimberly coordinates & registers participants as well as maintains an Excel spreadsheet to track the food collected.
"Kimberly's President’s Volunteer Service Award is well deserved! Her work on ‘Trick Or Treat So Others Can Eat,’ as well as on other leadership and community service activities within her 4-H club and the community help so many. We are truly proud of her!" said Susan Gloeckler, 4-H Program Supervisor, Ventura County and CA Coordinator – Junior Master Gardener Program.
Sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program recognizes young people across America for outstanding community service activities. More than 275,000 young people across America have been considered for these awards since the program began in 1995.
“The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. “They truly deserve all of the praise and encouragement we can give them.”
“The young people recognized by the Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need,” said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “NASSP is proud to honor them as they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation’s schools today.”
Program applications were distributed last September through all public and private middle level and high schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs, and affiliates of HandsOn Network. After Local Honorees were named, state-level judges selected State Honorees, Distinguished Finalists and Certificate of Excellence recipients. Volunteer activities were judged on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact, and personal growth.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The Ventura County UCCE Master Gardeners Speakers Bureau will present a free talk on gardening mysteries and misconceptions.
The talk will be held on Monday April 12, 2010 from 7:00pm to 8:00 pm in Ojai. Please contact Allen Haas to attend this event.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Ventura County Cooperative Extension will be hosting a strawberry research update seminar on Friday, May 7, 2010 from 8am-noon at our office. The program is in English with simultaneous translation into Spanish available upon request. There is no cost to attend, but to ensure your participation please contact Oleg Daugovish.
Topics to be covered include:
- Latest regulations for fumigant use.
- Alternative fumigants and emission reduction technologies.
- Raised bed trough substrate systems.
- Soil disinfestation with steam or hot gas.
- Anaerobic soil disinfestation.
- Biofumigational potential of mustards.
- California Strawberry Commission update pertaining to fumigant regulations.
Further information can be found here.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The University of California has a learning management system (LMS), an online learning site open to everyone. Some of the courses are free, including one for citrus integrated pest management (IPM).
California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) credits are available for some courses.
4-H child safety online can also be viewed through LMS. This course is part of the process to become a 4-H Volunteer Leader.
This is a relatively new site, and more classes will most likely be added in the future. Registration is easy. To find out more, or to sign up for a class follow this link.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
California’s nursery industry is the largest in the nation and is highly concentrated in our central and south-coast counties. In Ventura County, nursery stock and cut flowers are high value crops generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
The Ventura County Cooperative Extension office has been working with growers for many years to prevent pesticides and fertilizers used in production from entering our water supply.
The current issue of California Agriculture highlights one of our recent projects – investigating adoption of best management practices to protect water quality by Ventura County nurseries. Best practices were categorized into management of irrigation, leaching, runoff, field soil, container media, nutrients and fertilizer, pests, and general property.
From the abstract
“There were significant increases in every category of practices surveyed, and significant changes in the adoption of 38 specific practices. This suggests that nurseries are amenable to adopting management practices within a short time span in areas where there is increased governmental oversight and educational opportunities for growers.”
You can read the entire article by following this link.
