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Posts Tagged: Master Gardeners
Celebration Corner
Who else deserves kudos? Share your good news by sending an email to contentpipeline@ucanr.edu.
Koundinya honored for early career achievement
Vikram Koundinya, UC Cooperative Extension evaluation specialist, received the 2023 Early Career Achievement Award from the National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals. The award was presented to him on Nov. 29 at the NAEPSDP conference in Salt Lake City.
Koundinya, who is based in the UC Davis Department of Human Ecology, specializes in program evaluation, needs assessment and mixed-methods evaluation and research.
Koundinya has made notable contributions to the field in extension teaching, research, professional competence and service, wrote his nominator and peers in support letters. He has provided several statewide trainings and one-on-one consultations with UC Cooperative Extension advisors, specialists, Agricultural Extension Station faculty and students. He has published research articles in several journals, including 12 of a total of 35 articles since starting at UC Davis. He also has shared his work at several professional conferences and served in leadership roles on NAEPSDP and American Evaluation Association professional committees.
Au wins nutrition and dietetics award
The award recognizes dietitians who were the lead author of a peer-reviewed article that made important contributions to the field of dietetics. The award is named for Mary Pascoe Huddleson, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics editor from 1927 to 1946.
The honored article, “A Qualitative Examination of California WIC Participants' and Local Agency Directors' Experiences during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic,” was co-authored by NPI researchers Christina Hecht, Marisa Tsai, Nicole Vital and NPI Director Lorrene Ritchie.
The study examines Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children participants' and agency directors' perceptions, practices and other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Au's research is used to support nutrition policies and reduce disparities among low-income populations.
ANR dashboards make it easy to find data
In 2023, the Program Planning and Evaluation team is proud to have produced new dashboards that organize important data about UC ANR people and outputs. They make it easy to find facts such as the number of UCCE advisors employed by UC ANR from 2018 through 2023. The dashboards are found on the impact numbers and stories web page and are intended for internal use.
UC Master Gardeners teach Napa County residents to grow food
UC Master Gardeners of Napa County have been teaching year-round food gardening with two programs each month.
“Teaching through two methods, we covered different seasonal food growing topics in our one-hour Food Growing Forums by Zoom and in-person, hands-on family programs at the OLE Health Garden,” said Yvonne Rasmussen, UCCE volunteer program coordinator in Napa County.
David Key, UC Master Gardener volunteer, leads this project.
Master Gardeners team with HomeFirst to serve homeless
Gov. Gavin Newsom was in San Jose, the Bay Area's largest city, Feb. 27 to tour tiny houses that are designed as transitional living communities. Newsom said it is an innovative project that could help combat the homeless crisis across the state.
UC Master Gardeners are landscaping the community in partnership with HomeFirst, which provides services, shelter, and housing opportunities to the homeless and those at risk of homelessness in Santa Clara County.
“The tiny home project is an exciting opportunity for UC Master Gardeners in Santa Clara County to address food security and sustainability in bridge housing,” said Katherine Uhde, UC Master Gardener Program coordinator in Santa Clara County.
California Master Gardener Handbook updated
Dennis Pittinger, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, and more than 30 Cooperative Extension advisors and specialists, plus other industry experts contributed to this classic compilation of gardening wisdom. Whether you're a beginner double digging your first garden bed or a certified UC Master Gardener, this handbook will be your go-to source for the practical, science-based information you need to sustainably maintain your landscape and garden and become an effective problem solver.
This publication is used as the training manual for the UC Master Gardener Program and is the top-selling ANR publication. While Master Gardeners account for an important part of the book's sales, 60 percent of all copies are bought by the general public.
Book chapters cover soil, fertilizer and water management, plant propagation, plant physiology, weeds and pests, home vegetable gardening and specific garden crops including grapes, berries, temperate-zone fruits and nuts, citrus and avocados. Also included is information on lawns, woody landscape plants, landscape design, invasive plants and principles of designing and maintaining landscapes for fire protection.
The 756-page print edition costs $37, the e-book edition is $30 and a bundle containing both goes for $50. Both formats of the California Master Gardener Handbook (print and electronic) are available through the ANR catalog.
County offices have two ways to share in the revenue generated by the handbook sales: by selling the handbook through their office and/or by receiving 30 percent of online sales when customers use that county's promotion code at checkout. Counties that would like to start selling publications should contact Jon Mercy, warehouse and fulfillment manager, at jrmercy@ucanr.edu. County offices that would like to sign up for the online sales sharing program should contact Cynthia Kintigh at cckintigh@ucanr.edu. Counties that are already participating in the revenue-sharing don't need to renew the agreement.
