- Author: Chris M. Webb
The center for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has a new publication available. Best of all the entire book can be downloaded or viewed online for free.
From their website,
“Building Soils for Better Crops (3rd Edition) is a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management, now expanded and in full color. It provides step-by-step information on soil-improving practices as well as in-depth background—from what soil is to the importance of organic matter. Case studies of farmers from across the country provide inspiring examples of how soil—and whole farms—have been renewed through these techniques. A must-read for farmers, educators and students alike.
Read more about the book, download, or order a printed version here.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Ever wonder what 4-Her’s do? They are busy for sure! Read the following Featured Club Happening, to find what has been happening in the Briggs 4-H club submitted by club leader Tina Thrasher.
Each year our Club grows more and more; we have about 75 kids. This year our projects are Steers, Goats, Lambs and Pigs.
The Steer kids have already been working hard. They have had their projects since November and are all doing very well.
We will be getting our Lambs, Goats and Pigs in early April. The Pig project will soon be taking a field trip to Leonard Cruz's Farm where he raises his piglets, to learn all about castration, ear notching and vaccinations.
We held our annual Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat (TOTSOCE) Canned Food Drive in October and our Rotary Club Christmas Basket Canned Food Drive for the needy families in Santa Paula in December.
We are looking forward to seeing you at the "Western Nights and Carnival Lights" 2010 Ventura County Fair!!
The 4-H Featured Club Happenings is part of Cloverlines, our 4-H newsletter. These newsletters can be found on our office website.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The USDA has a collection of materials designed to improve nutrition and increase physical activity. Each curriculum focuses on a different target audience, but all share the goal of reducing our country’s obesity problem. Some of the materials are available in English and Spanish. A summary of each is shown below. Follow the links to learn more!
- Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family: How to Eat, How to Raise Good Eaters, How to Cook is a book written to bring back the joy of eating and cooking. This book has thirteen chapters which address topics of cooking, attitudes about food, and eating behaviors.
- Fruit, Vegetable, and Physical Activity Toolbox for Community Educators is a tool kit complete with nutrition and physical activity lessons, handouts, poster, produce guide, playing cards, media disc, discussion guide, small pamphlets, and learning tools. The lessons are well organized and include a variety of topics such as grocery shopping, recipe preparation, and healthy eating on the go
- Instant Recess DVD and Users' Guide is a 15 minute DVD which includes exercises that can be done anywhere. The exercises do not require any equipment and are done at a slow pace so anyone can participate. Along with the DVD, a small booklet for educators is included that provides information and tips on exercise, hydration, and how to use the DVD effectively.
- Nutrition Detectives is a DVD geared towards elementary-aged school children. This curriculum teaches children the importance of food labels and how to read them. The DVD is rich with animation and entertaining games, and features a question/answer section toward the end which explains how the DVD can be used effectively with children.
- Pyramid Plus: Real life nutrition for teens is a curriculum to help motivate teens to make healthy nutrition choices. This resource includes 9 lessons and a CD with supporting materials. The lessons are very diverse and cover topics such as nutrient rich foods to body acceptance.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The global marketplace increases the likelihood of invasive pest and diseases entering California. Invasive pests and diseases can affect agricultural productivity, public health, natural resource biodiversity, and water quality and quantity.
The threat of invasive pests and disease is real in Ventura County. Please do your part in minimizing the potential impacts by:
- staying informed about local invasive pest and disease threats.
- notifying the CDFA or County Ag Commissioner if a suspected invasive pest is found.
- following guidelines and procedures designed to minimize the spread of pests and disease.
The current top invasive pest and disease threats to Ventura County, and what you can do to help, can be found on our previous blog posts.
Monitoring waterways for invasive quagga and zebra mussels
Invasive species in the Santa Clara River
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Government entities throughout Ventura County are working with residents to address issues that affect us all – namely: county economy, transportation/congestion, housing costs and climate change.
The process began last fall with Map-the-Future workshops. The results of the workshops have been summarized into three models that show what our cities might look like in the future.
We are all invited to attend an upcoming Sustainability Summit in person or participate online to:
- see the results of the Map-the-Future workshops
- consider various simulations of our county’s future
- explore the consequences to families, the economy and the environment of the various futures
- tell your leaders what you like and don’t like about each simulation.
Sustainability Summits will be held in April. For dates and locations click here.