To celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the founding of our nation's Cooperative Extension system, the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is sponsoring a day of science and service on May 8.

We need your help to make our science projects successful. The more people who participate, the more data we'll have to analyze.

Everyone in California is invited to participate. It's quick and easy. Go to beascientist.ucanr.edu, choose a project, and record your observations about conserving water, growing food or counting the numbers of pollinating bees, birds and butterflies in your neighborhood. You can share your observations on an interactive map and upload photos if you like.

This is a great opportunity to learn about California's natural resources and the role of agriculture in all our communities.

For 100 years UC Cooperative Extension has been turning science into solutions to build healthy communities. From creating new varieties of fruits and vegetables, fighting off invasive pest attacks, and helping school kids learn about healthy eating, UC's work benefits every Californian.

In March, Amelia Johnson (California Sea Grant/UCCE Sonoma) along with Tim Ryan and Will Boucher (Watershed Stewards Project, AmeriCorps members with California Sea Grant) represented the Russian River Coho Salmon Monitoring Program at the 32^nd Annual Salmonid Restoration Federation Conference in Santa Barbara, California.

Amelia (pictured) presented data from the coho program during her talk “Are low summer flows limiting survival of salmonids at the stream and watershed scales in the Russian River watershed?”  Amelia discussed data from the 2013 summer snorkel and fall flow surveys the coho program conducted across the watershed. Data showed limited habitat availability during the peak dry season for coho salmon, due to dry and intermittently flowing stream reaches.

The continued collection of this data could help prioritize future restoration and water conservation efforts as well as hatchery coho stocking by the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program.

For more information, visit Sea Grant Extension Program

The UCCE Sonoma Master Gardeners launched a partnership with the Sonoma County Water Agency in November 2013 called “”. Under the Garden Sense program, a team of two Master Gardeners with specialized training in water efficiency schedule visits with interested Sonoma County homeowners to advise on how to transform their landscape from one that gulps water to one that sips.

Garden Sense consultants have been trained in lawn conversion, water management, irrigation systems, low-water-use plants and sustainable gardening practices.

As a result of the drought emergency, there has been a huge response to the program. Garden Sense teams visited 161 clients in 2014 with a total of 182 total clients visited since the program inception in November 2013. There is a backlog of 90 more clients waiting for appointments, and we are training a new group of Garden Sense consultants to help meet the demand generated by the program.

There are a wide range of planned activities by the clients with whom we have consulted ranging from a complete re-landscape of yards with new irrigation, water-wise plants and mulching to simple irrigation improvements.

Every small step helps!

There has been a very positive response to the program, and homeowners seem genuinely grateful for assistance with recommendations in their specific home landscape. The UCCE Sonoma Master Gardeners will be conducting a survey later this year to assess actual impact of changes homeowners have made in landscape water use practices as a results of the Garden Sense program. Contact the Master Gardeners at 707-565-2608 or visit Garden Sense

Great Horned Owl at Board meeting

On Earth Day, April 22, 2014, UCCE Sonoma County was presented with a Gold Resolution by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act.

Nine members of the UCCE Sonoma office, and one reluctant 4-Her (the authors daughter pictured here), attended the Board of Supervisors meeting to accept the recognition.  

The Bird Rescue Center made a presentation and brought along a couple of friends including the Great Horned Owl pictured here.  It was raised by humans so it cannot hunt, but it is a really good ambassador for the Bird Rescue Center!

(L-R)Top: Supervisor Gorin, Deborah Curle, Rhonda Smith, Rachel Ludovise, Linda Peterson, Mimi Enright, Paul Olin, Judy Ludovise, Karen Giovannini, Supervisor Rabbit
Front: Lisa Bell, Stephanie Larson, Supervisor McGuire, Supervisor Zane