Spring Education & Outreach season is coming to a close. It's time to reflect on all the accomplishments:

• Be a Scientist-over 1200 visitors, youth to adult, joined UC HAREC & CE staff for a fun filled day celebrating 100 years of science and service. The May 8th activities geared for youth were also a big hit with adults. Presentations on topics such as bees, soils, gardening, and water were provided by Master Gardeners and CE Advisors. Kudos to Program Representative, Gwyn Vanoni for leading this amazing event.
  

  Anna Howell conducts a pollinator talk in the gardens, May 8th
  
  
  
• Sustainable You! Two train-the-trainers workshops were completed. HAREC and Desert REC staff as well as community partners were trained on this pertinent curriculum created by Dr. Roslyn Brain, University of Utah. A week long Sustainable You! summer camp scheduled for June will be delivered by UC intern, Chris Massa.
  
  
• Student Farm-a successful first year ended with a celebration attended by parents, siblings, school administrators, and Hansen Advisory Board members. Bonnie Weigel, Food Share, CEO presented the Center and students with a certificate of appreciation for the near 800 pounds of produce grown, harvested and donated to the food bank which serves hundreds of individuals and families in need county-wide.
  
  
• From Watersheds to Planter Beds-a Water Education Program-developed by REC sponsored intern summer 2013, this timely themed new field trip kicked off to the delight of our young visitors. Individual components of the program will go on the road as 4-H Classroom Outreach offerings in the fall.
  
  
• 4-H Field Trip, Classroom & Afterschool Outreach-with the help of our treasured volunteers, Food Corps service member and staff, spring youth outreach soared to 1999 and ages reached ranged from Preschool to 8th grade.

The season is just ending but field staff are already busy preparing the farm for new fall crops and displays. Stay tuned for posts about exciting new research projects beginning over the summer.

Ventura Unified Balboa Middle School student farmers have much to be proud of and celebrate on Friday, May 23. Led by Food Corps service member, Chris Massa, the half-acre farm at HAREC flourished. While most teens would prefer to hang out with friends on a Friday afterschool, these eager learners rode a bus to the farm. They laid irrigation, planted, weeded, harvested and donated food over 800 pounds of cilantro, chard, spinach and radishes. The produce went to the school district's farm to school program and FoodShare food bank. Weekly topics such as sustainability, seasonality, water and pest management, soils and cooking rounded out the hands-on experiences on the land.

To prepare for the media, students participated in mock interviews last week. In groups of three, they took turns being interviewed, playing journalist, and videographer. The result is an insight into the learning that occurred over the past five months. The following are selected answers to the interview questions.

Why did join the Student Farm?

"It seemed interesting and will help in the future"

"I wanted to learn how to grow plants"

"I wanted to learn about agriculture"

Did you learn something new during your months of participation?

"Yes, that when the cilantro plant is about to die they let go of seeds"

"I learned that bees make honey"

"I learned that bees are disappearing"

"I learned that different plants grow at different times"

"I learned to appreciate nature and what it gives"

What was your favorite part of this experience?

"It helped me to eat healthier"

"Growing food that you can eat"

"Eating the food we grew"

"Cooking and eating the food we grew"

"Picking weeds and the stuff we grew"

"Cooking"

Do you have a better understanding of farming or agriculture as a result of Student Farm?

"Yes, it is hard work just to have every day healthy food"

"Yes, agriculture is cool"

Would you recommend participating in Student Farm to a friend?

"Yes, because it shows you how to grow food and so you don't have to get it from the store all the time"

"Yes, because its really fun and you learn about plants even though its on a Friday and you could do other things"

 

The expanding presence of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) threatens the California citrus industry. However, this tiny, flying insect that can transmit the harmful and incurable Huanglongbing (HBL) disease may have met its match-a wasp from Pakistan.

The UC Hansen Fund provided $53,000 to support the biological control of ACP research efforts of entomologist Dr. Mark Hoddle, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist and his team from UC Riverside. "The work Hansen funded will play a key role in the ACP suppression program throughout California, and it will become integral to the IPM program for commercial operations that Ventura County pioneered", said John Krist, CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County.

The wasp, known as Tamarixia radiata, is proving to be a natural predator of ACP. A meeting of the California Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee in Ventura on May 14th provided an update on the fight against the psyllid. The California Department of Food and Agriculture is currently taking data and insects generated by Hoddle's research to develop a mass-rearing program of Tamarixia. "We have referred one grower in the Bardsdale area, where an ACP population unfortunately appears to have become well established", said Krist. The state is also preparing to invite organic commercial producers to request releases.

The Los Angeles Times reports release of the wasp in residential areas of Southern California, including Ventura County.

Join the University of California Cooperative Extension in a one-day statewide science project. It's easy to participate. You can join us at the UC Hansen Agricultural Reaseach and Extension Center (UC HAREC) in Santa Paula where we will be celebrating 100 years of science and service all day. Or, you can simply go outside your own home, school or place of work and record observations. Your answers will help build a healthier future for you and your community.

How can you get involved? Easy! Visit beascientist.ucanr.edu and answer one or all of our three questions:

1. How many pollinators do you see? Spend three minutes outside counting how many you see then add the to our pollinator map.

2. How are you conserving water? Tell us how and if you're conserving water in your home, garden, landscape, or on your farm.

3. Where is food grown in your community? Help us populate our California food map by telling us where there's a garden or a farm in your neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to join the celebration at UC HAREC, please do so!! Suggested times:

• Preschool Open House     9-11 a.m.
• School-age Youth Open House 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Community Welcome       2-5 p.m.

For more information go to http://ceventura.ucanr.edu/ANR_Centennial_/

Join the social media conversation by following #BeAScientist on Twitter.

Are you an educator or do you work with kids in an afterschool program? No problem! Download our fact sheets and lesson plans to do fun classroom and learning activities.

There are so many ways to participate! Record your observations, share your pictures, and tell us what's happening in your community.

Be a scientist for a day on May 8, 2014