- (Focus Area) 4-H
- Author: Michael Hsu
New Cooperative Extension director has worked extensively with Native American communities, youth groups
Growing up in Upper Lake, along the “North Shore” of Clear Lake, Matthew Barnes lived near several of the Lake County region's seven federally recognized tribes. Although he counted several Native Americans among his diverse circle of childhood friends, and was very familiar with those communities, Barnes was nonetheless quite nervous when he was appointed in 2009 as the inaugural executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Pomo Nation.
Barnes – a non-Native of...
/h3>- Author: Marianne Bird
4-H volunteers can sometimes feel discouraged as they struggle to find help in their clubs or projects. At the root of their disheartened spirit is sensing they are alone in doing a big job. This may lead to feeling unappreciated and, most certainly, tired. Where is help when you need it?
Everyone is busy these days, and time is a treasured and protected commodity. Yet in my years of collaborating with volunteers I've found most people are willing to help if they know what needs to be done, if they feel that they can do it, and if they are asked. Those successful in recruiting adults recognize that they are not simply asking for assistance, they are offering opportunity: an opportunity to connect, to share, to be appreciated....
- Author: Eve Solana Roxane Dowdell
- Editor: Suzanne Morikawa
During the first week of February, I flew a total of 10 hours to the Nation's capital, Washington D.C., to facilitate a meeting hosted by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The meeting was a public information gathering session for the Committee on Out of School Time Settings.
The Committee collected insights through a discussion between young people and staff from various out-of-school programs on the east coast. My role was to connect with the youth speakers, guide their insightful conversation, and make them feel at ease. The six youth speakers made my job smooth and pleasant. They shared their lived experiences participating in or supporting out-of-school programs. From the elementary...
- Author: John M Harper
Attention Mendocino & Lake Ranchers, Farmers, Forest Land Owners:
Attached is a flier about our survey that some of you may have received. It is very important that you take the time to fill out the survey as it helps us help you. It also help us justify Advisor position requests that will serve Mendocino & Lake Counties. The information we collect is completely confidential and will be used to clean up our client database and give us direction for the types of programs and research you want. If you have children of 4-H age or know others that might be interested in 4-H we will use that part of the survey results for contacting you about participating. If you want ranch, forest or farm...
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UCCE livestock advisor John Harper retires after 32 years
"If you know how to shear, you'll never be poor," Stephany Wilkes remembers John Harper, University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties, telling her sheep shearing class in 2013.
“He was speaking to everyone, of course, but he really spoke to me: being poor (again) is one of my greatest fears and I've avoided it at all costs,” Wilkes said. Harper's words and a certificate from the course gave her the confidence to leave Silicon Valley for greener pastures.
“Eleven years later, with a successful business...
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