The Extension Express - Cooperative Extension System - University ...

1 The Extension Express
Spring 2011
The Extension Express
Newsletter of The Department of Extension
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Greetings from the Department Head
Greetings from the Department Head
Greetings from the Department Head
University of Connecticut
After a wicked winter, rainy and gloomy spring, we are finally seeing some weather to enjoy – sun!
Budgets, though, are not as sunny, as we face major challenges as a University and College with both
state and federal funding cuts coming. Many question marks remain; however, as the state negotiations
with the unions failed, the Governor and state general assembly appear likely to take action soon.
There is still a long way to go before the start of the new federal FY (October 1, 2011). Long continuing
resolutions have been commonplace nationally in recent years. The College is preparing as best we
can for the anticipated cuts on both fronts. With most of our federal Smith-Lever funding held in
positions and state operating dollars already cut below needed levels, further wiggle room may not exist.
On June 15, the Department of Extension held our annual spring meeting of faculty and program staff
members at the Tolland County Extension Center in Vernon. The program included many key and
timely topics and discussions relating to:
major revisions made this year in the Department’s strategic plan;
plans for moving forward with a Department retreat in early September to further develop the
strategic plan and add a program planning process;
newly developed materials for meeting civil rights reporting needs;
what worked and what didn’t in the federal plan of work and annual report that was recently
submitted;
using computer based clicker systems for garnering immediate clientele feedback during meetings,
events, etc., and;
Administrative update on budgets, positions, etc.
I thank the Department of Extension’s Strategic Planning Working Group (Karen Filchak, chair, Candace
Bartholomew, Angela Caldera, Dave Dickson, Diane Hirsch, Trish Manfredi, Laura Marek) for not only
planning the agenda for the Department meeting, but also for their outstanding work in achieving,
through several drafts, a quantum improvement in the Department’s strategic plan. Additionally, the
working group also developed a survey, the link to which was recently provided via email to Department
of Extension faculty and program staff to complete by July 15. The survey will provide key feedback,
data, and other input on the latest draft of the strategic plan and on aspects for a proposed program
planning process for the Department. The survey data will be summarized and used to focus the
agenda for the fall retreat. A Doodle scheduler is being used to set the date for the Department Retreat
in early September.

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All merit reviews for AAUP faculty members have been completed over the past couple months.
Though merits awards, may not apply this coming FY, the process has provided me with the opportunity
to visit each of the Extension centers and meet with faculty to hear updates on all the fine work that is
being done throughout the state.
The Department of Extension Annual (Provost’s) Report was completed, submitted to Dean Weidemann
in June and was shared with all in the Department via email attachment. Despite the budget challenges
we have faced over the past two years and continue to face, I am proud of the outstanding productivity
achieved by faculty and program staff during the past fiscal year. For example, Department of
Extension faculty and program staff members were involved as PI or Co-PI on active and new grants
totaling over $9.6 million. Additionally, nearly $7 million in additional grants were submitted and either
not funded or with funding pending. Through program efforts, at least 557,447 clientele contacts were
achieved during the past year through 110 formal outreach programs. Additionally, many thousands of
citizens were served via e-mail and numerous websites managed by or contributed to by Department of
Extension members.
Scholarly production for clientele and peers was used to develop and enhance high quality outreach
education programs through the publishing or development of two books, ten manuals/curricula, 11 full
length refereed journal articles, two new software packages, 48 conference proceedings (short papers,
abstracts, or posters), 51 Extension bulletins, and 18 non-refereed journal articles or technical reports.
Additionally, 64 other scholarly works were prepared including newspaper, popular magazine, and
newsletter articles as well as other works to disseminate information, results, and impacts to large and
diverse audiences of clientele and peers.
In April, Norman Bender, Senior Extension Educator and Center Coordinator, New London County
Extension Center retired after 33 years of service to UConn. Norm served initially with the CT Sea
Grant Marine Advisory Program. More recently he served with the College’s Agriculture Risk
Management Program, which he co-developed and led the team for several years. The risk
management program is now one of Extension’s key agricultural offerings. Norm was also one of the
original Extension Center Coordinators in 1995 which he served until his retirement. An agricultural
economist by training, Norm served Extension statewide and was a leader in many aspects of
agriculture and resource economics over the years, including ag tourism, marketing, and risk
management, to mention a few. Congratulations and thanks to Norman Bender on his long and
successful career.
Effective July 1, 2011, Marlene Madzek, Administrative Assistant, New Haven County Extension Center
in North Haven, will be retiring. Marlene joined the Department of Extension in 2003 from the CT
Department of Veteran’s Affairs where she served for eight years. Marlene used her organizational and
administrative skills and persistence to the great advantage of the Department and the Extension
Center. Working with vendors, contractors, and UConn Facilities, she was able to get repair and
renovation projects and improvements done at the Center both inside and on the grounds.
Congratulations and thanks to Marlene Madzek on her success at UConn and her long service to the
State.

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Personally, I will be retiring effective July 1, 2011 after nearly 34 years of service in the College of
Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) at UConn. I have enjoyed the many opportunities I have
had to serve - from my earlier days in developing and implementing the first Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) programs in Connecticut, serving as IPM Program Coordinator for several years,
and the last 17 years in Extension administration. I’m not going away just yet, as I will be continuing to
serve part time in retirement until my replacement is hired. Thank you to the many faculty, staff,
administrators, and teams with whom I have worked over the years. You have been wonderful
colleagues, professionals, and mentors. Best wishes.
Roger G. Adams, Jr.
Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach
Associate Director, CT Cooperative Extension System
Head, Department of Extension

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Sustainable Families
Fairfield County Extension Center
German Cutz and Ede Valiquette worked on a 4-H gardening program in Bridgeport. It was part of a
Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant. The goal was to recruit and engage twenty five
teens who will be participating in this program.
German and Ede also ran a series of Family Nights at the New Hope Baptist Church in Danbury. Once a
month for three months, parents and children got together to have fun. Both the church and Extension
organized these events to promote recreation and learning opportunities among families. Although these
events were held at a church, all families were welcome to Family Nights.
German created a sports and technology after school program in Danbury. From fitness to soccer to
technology, kids have the opportunity to do physical activities, play indoor soccer, and learn computers
as well. The program started in mid-March and ran for five weeks.
German created a technology curriculum, ―Youth Internet Masters‖ (YIM). This curriculum will teach
teens how to design web pages using HTML language. Without needing sophisticated and expensive
programs other than Notepad for Windows or Text-Edit for Macintosh, teens will be able to design web
pages and websites. This curriculum will be ready by summer. Interested counties should contact
German Cutz (german.cutz@uconn.edu) to pilot this curriculum.
4-H Mentoring Project
With newly received grant funds from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) through the National 4-H Council, Fairfield and New Haven Counties are initiating a new 4-H
mentoring program for 120 youths. Our community partners include Waterbury Youth Services and the
Bridgeport Juvenile Review Board. In addition to weekly mentoring, youngsters in the program will be
joining 4-H groups and participate in local Family Night Outs. The mentoring program is based on
Utah‘s Extension program ―Youth and Families with Promise.‖
4-H Afterschool
4-H Afterschool was part of the Newtown Valentines for Troops program. As part of the collaborative
effort, 80 elementary aged youth wrote letters to troops stationed overseas. In addition to letters, 4-Hers
also sent 5 boxes of assorted ―goodies‖ like soap, beef jerky, gum, hard candy and heat-and-go
individual dinners.
Parenting Education
Did you know? You can keep your child‘s smile healthy! The University of Connecticut, Health
Center, Pediatric Dentistry, offers a fluoride test service for drinking water. The test kit costs $20.00
and can be obtained by the contacting the center at (860) 679-2805.

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Hartford County Extension Center
Sherry Gray held a low protein cooking school for children with Inborn Errors of Metabolism in
November 2010 at St. Joseph College. Kids prepared low protein recipes and participated in fun
activities.
She has conducted several child nutrition workshops at the Newington Public Library in March and will
be conducting several nutrition workshops for the elderly in New Britain in April.
________________________________________________________________________
Heather Smith Pease of Hartford County EFNEP has been busy in the New Britain Schools working on
their Eating Smarts school wide mission. The kick off for the project featured Chef Billy Grant, the
owner of three successful restaurants in Connecticut. Chef Grant demonstrated the preparation of
Butternut Squash soup for 80 students and their parents.
The kick off also featured a day long Food Detective Fair. Heather worked with ―the Green
Team‖ (recently established Urban 4-H club) on three interactive booths which helped students learn
about sugar in their food and drinks. The entire school, 543 students and their teachers were reached
during this full day, hands on exhibition.
After the kick off Heather did three weeks of programs where students tasted and learned about locally
grown produce. Each program had 90 students. Heather was fortunate to connect with Rick Macsuga
from the Department of Agriculture, who set up a donation of 8 varieties of apples from Belltown Hill
Orchards in Glastonbury. The apple tasting program was featured on NBC news.
Heather is working to bring a greenhouse to Lincoln School with help from the dedicated teachers of the
Green Team. She contacted John Bartok, a retired Agriculture Engineer at the University of
Connecticut, who helped with site plans.
Heather‘s summer nutrition videos filmed at Urban Oaks Organic Farm with New Britain‘s Summer
Youth Employment are featured on the Capitol Work Force website. She also developed a Hartford
County EFNEP YouTube channel and professional Facebook page, Heather Recipease, which
highlights her work in the community.

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Litchfield County Extension Center
Leanne Pundt coordinated the program Bedding Plants - Spring 2011! featuring
the following topics of interest to those who produce spring crops:
Managing Insects and Mites on Spring Crops- What‘s Working for Growers?
Leanne Pundt, Extension Educator, University of Connecticut
Update on Nutrition, Chemical Growth Regulators and other Production Tips
Richard McAvoy, Extension Specialist, Greenhouse Crops, University of
Connecticut
Update on Emerging Diseases, Nutrition & New Fungicides for Spring Crops
Wade Elmer, Plant Pathologist, CT Agricultural Experiment Station.
Update on Pesticide Storage and Recordkeeping
Sarah Bailey, Pesticide Safety Educator, University of Connecticut
In order to reach greenhouse growers throughout the state, this program was offered in two
separate locations.
On Tuesday, February 8 th , this program was offered from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at
the Tolland County Extension Office at 24 Hyde Avenue in Vernon, CT. 06066.
On Tuesday, February 15th, it was offered from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 at the Litchfield
County Extension Center at 843 University Drive in Torrington, CT.
A total of 49 growers attended these two meetings. One of the comments included:
These meetings are very important to keep us updated and remind us to access state
help in all these areas. Thank you!
Leanne is a member of the planning committee (Donna Ellis, Dawn Pettinelli and Richard
McAvoy) for the UCONN Perennial Plant Conference and UCONN Garden Conference.
As program chair, she has been busy contacting speakers, etc.
________
The University of Connecticut has sponsored the annual "Perennial Plant Conference – A
Conference for the Professional Horticulturist.‖ The conference was held at the Lewis B.
Rome Commons on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus on Thursday, March 10,
2011.

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Litchfield County Extension Center (cont.)
The University of Connecticut also sponsored the ―2011 Garden Conference‖ which was
held at the University of Connecticut on Friday, March 11, 2011 at the Lewis B. Rome
Commons on the Storrs campus in Storrs, CT.
This all-day conference offered exciting educational opportunities for home gardeners at
all interest levels- from the casual gardener to the garden enthusiast to the Master
Gardener. Information is also available at: www.2011garden.uconn.edu
This year‘s keynote speaker was Robert Lyons, Professor of Landscape Horticulture at
the University of Delaware and Program Director for the Longwood Gardens
Graduate Program in Public Horticulture who spoke on Extracting Late Season
Color from the Border with Herbaceous Perennials.
Design specialist and radio personality Baroness Maureen Haseley-Jones a.k.a. The
English Lady spoke on how to improve the environment while feeding your
soul in a talk entitled Garden Earth.
Stephanie Cohen, contributing editor for Fine Gardening magazine and noted author
and lecturer, demonstrated how to create year-round beauty in a session called The
Nonstop Garden.
Andy Brand, Nursery Manager of Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden, CT told us
Why We Should Celebrate Native Plants in Our Landscapes.
Jeff Hutton, owner of Earthworks Landscaping, and author spoke on Restoring
Gardens.
Included in the cost of admission were an informational packet, lunch, snacks and
beverages, parking, opportunities to purchase selected autographed books, and a wide array
of gardening books.
Leanne has also been starting her Greenhouse IPM program visiting growers across the
state.

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Middlesex County Extension Center
Middlesex County Extension Center
2011 CLEAR Webinar Series
CLEAR is presenting a series of free one-hour webinars covering a wide range of land use
planning, land cover research, natural resource protection and geospatial technology topics.
One webinar a month is planned (except August and December) for 2011, see list below.
The first webinar in the series, Riparian Corridors (February), was a huge success and is
now online at: http://clear.uconn.edu/webinars/CLEARseries/riparian_corridors.htm.
Almost 200 people registered for the webinar, and according to our website statistics, 130
people viewed the webinar within the first 15 days it was posted to the CLEAR website.
The Affordable Housing webinar (March) also proved to be a success with 90 registrants,
and will soon be posted to the CLEAR website at: http://clear.uconn.edu/webinars/
CLEARseries/affordable_housing.htm.
Details including abstracts, instructor bios and registration can be accessed from the
CLEAR website home page or http://clear.uconn.edu/webinars/CLEARseries.
February 8 - Riparian Buffers
March 15 - Affordable Housing
April 19 - Rain Gardens
May 10 - Free Google Tools for Creating Interactive Mapping ―Mashups‖
June 14 - Planning for Brownfields
July 19 - An Introduction to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Technology &
Smartphone Mapping "Apps"
September 13 - Permeable Pavements for Stormwater Control
October 18 - Farm-friendly Plans & Regulations
November 9 - Using CLEAR Web Tools for Local Conservation Planning

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Middlesex County Extension Center (contd.)
CLEAR Announces Two New Studies Based on the Connecticut’s Changing Landscape
(CCL) Project
Two new additions to the Connecticut‘s Changing Landscape (CCL) Project have been
added to the Center website. The CCL tracks changes to the state‘s land cover over time, beginning
in 1985 and running to 2006 (an update to 2010 is planned for this spring). In addition to the basic
land cover change and CLEAR‘s forest fragmentation analysis, the Center has added studies on
land cover change in riparian (streamside) corridors, and over prime and important
agricultural soils. A brief summary of some of the highlights of the research follows. Readers
interested in these studies are encouraged to visit the project websites where research summaries
and data, maps and charts are available.
Riparian corridors are known to be environmentally important areas critical to stream
stability, pollutant removal, and both aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitat. These areas are
sometimes known as ―buffers,‖ but are not to be confused with the regulatory review zones
overseen by local land use commissions. CLEAR looked at land cover change during the 21-year
project period for corridors 100 feet and 300 feet to either side of Connecticut‘s streams, as
determined by the state hydrography (waterways) data layer.
During the 1985-2006 period new development totaled about 5,100 acres in the 100-foot
corridor, and about 19,000 acres in the 300-foot corridor. During that period, the percentage change
in new development appears to have occurred at a slower rate in the 100-foot corridor than the 300foot
corridor, with both being slower than the rate for the entire state. At the town level, the amount
of development in riparian areas was less than that for the overall town, but was also seen to vary
closely with the overall town average. More can be found at: http://clear.uconn.edu/projects/
riparian.
The Agricultural Fields and Soils study looks at land cover change over areas designated
by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to have prime or important
farmland soils (―ag soils‖). The CCL project‘s major land cover categories include developed land,
forest, turfgrass and agricultural fields (derived from satellite imagery).
During the 21-year study period Connecticut lost approximately 31,000 acres of
agricultural field overlying ag soils. Forest was by far the most common land cover on ag soils
throughout the period, but by 2006 the developed land cover category had replaced the agricultural
field category as the second-most common land cover on ag soils. As might be expected, important
ag soil areas had more of the agricultural fields land cover category than the state as a whole.
However, ag soil areas also had more development, more turfgrass and less forest than the state
overall. This might also be expected, since many soils well suited for agriculture, being relatively
flat and well-drained, are also well-suited for development.
More can be found at: http://clear.uconn.edu/projects/ag.

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Middlesex County Extension Center (contd.)
CLEAR and the National NEMO Network “Like” Facebook
In this new age of ―social media‖ both the National NEMO Network program and
CLEAR decided to see what all the fuss was about when it comes to Facebook. The
Network Hub created a National NEMO Network Page about a year ago and has found it to
be yet another useful tool in communicating with our Network members and friends of the
Network. More recently, CLEAR decided to create a Facebook Page to try and pull
together a more local community within Connecticut. The key benefits to Facebook thus far
are in the ability to quickly and easily post information, photos, videos and useful links to
people who are interested in learning more about us. The only limiting factor to Facebook,
compared to posting the same information to our NEMO Network and CLEAR websites, is
a person must have a Facebook account to access our Pages.
Both Facebook Pages are open to anyone interested in joining.
Center for Land Use Education and Research Page
National NEMO Network Page
New Impervious Cover TMDL Website
The first impervious cover TMDL (total maximum daily load) water regulation in
the country is being implemented in the Eagleville Brook watershed in Mansfield, which
includes much of the University of Connecticut (UConn) main campus. The response of the
University and the town focuses on reducing the amount and impacts of stormwater runoff
from impervious surfaces, which magnify, concentrate and channel pollutants into the
brook. Project partners include CLEAR, CT DEP, the Town of Mansfield, the UConn
Office of Environmental Policy, the Center for Watershed Protection and Horsley-Witten
Group.
A website has been created to document this project and answer important questions
like what does an ―IC-TMDL‖ mean, and how does one respond to it? The Watershed
section of the website includes some basic watershed maps in PDF format and an
interactive web map, giving you access to baseline information. The Findings section
includes a Google Maps ―mashup,‖ with information on the project‘s recommended retrofit
sites and the field data and suggested stormwater practices for each site. The Progress
section contains documentation of plans and practices created in response to the IC-TMDL.
The Library is a multimedia collection of articles, photos, and videos related to the project.
Learn more at http://clear.uconn.edu/projects/tmdl.

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New Haven County Extension Center
Diane Wright Hirsch, Candace Bartholomew and Mark Zotti from the CT Department of
Agriculture have designed, planned and conducted the first two series of a Good
Agricultural Practices (GAP) School for Connecticut growers. Rich Meinert contributed his
expertise in the session as well, addressing the implications of safe manure use and
management in produce fields. The objective is to provide farmers with the tools they need
to develop a GAP food safety program. Growers learned about ways to reduce microbial
contamination on fruits and vegetables on their farms, how to meet the demands of
customers such as schools, retailers or distributors who are asking for GAP certification,
they learned how to write individual farm GAP plans and how to prepare for a USDA or
third party audit.
The School consisted of four sessions. A series of weekday sessions were held at the
Tolland County Extension Center in Vernon, and a series of night/weekend sessions were
held at the New Haven County Extension Center in North Haven to accommodate part-time
producers. Another series occurred in late March.
While there is no regulatory requirement (state or federal) for farmers to have a GAP food
safety program, some retailers and distributors want their suppliers to have GAP programs
in place. A third party and/or USDA audits may also be required. This GAP School helps
both farmers who need GAP programs in order to comply with customer demands and also
those who want to develop a food safety plan in order to add value to their business,
whether required or not.

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New London County Extension Center
Working with UConn Students
Connecticut Operation: Military Kids has had the pleasure of working with UConn students
this academic year on service learning projects. On November 16, 2011, thirty five Residence
Assistants (RA‘s) from North Campus dorms filled one hundred Hero Packs for the children of
deployed service members. North Campus dorms include New Haven, Fairfield, Litchfield,
Tolland, Baldwin, McConaughy, Hurley, Middlesex, Windham, New London, and Hartford. In
April 2011, CT OMK worked with the Silver Wings service club to fill Hero Packs and wrote
notes of support for military kids.
Connecticut Operation: Military Kids Camp Programs
In February 2011, Connecticut Operation: Military Kids received a grant to offer free camp
programs to military kids around the state. Working in conjunction with Connecticut 4-H camp
leaders and our military partners, we planned three different types of camp programs:
Special Forces Teen Weekend Camp, March 6-8, 2011
We invited youth aged 14-18 years old from military and non-military families for a weekend
of fun and learning at the Windham County 4-H Outdoor Learning Center on Pomfret. We
offered team building activities and taught problem solving skills. The participating youth also
worked together to create a Speak Out for Military Kids video on how best to support military
kids experiencing deployment. The camp staff members for this program were Marc
Cournoyer, 4-H Program Coordinator/State 4-H Camp Coordinator, Windham County and J.
Logee, Camp Director of the Windham County 4-H Outdoor Learning Center; Victoria Scully-
Oakes, Child & Youth Behavioral Military Family Life Consultant; Michelle McCarty,
National Guard State Youth Coordinator; Mary Ellen Welch, Co-Project Director for
Connecticut Operation: Military Kids; Lisa Marcinkowski, Program Coordinator for
Connecticut Operation: Military Kids; and Cassie Towers, Connecticut Operation: Military
Kids Volunteer.
Family Fun Boot Camp, June 18, 2011
Military families with kids of all ages were invited to a day of fun activities and demonstrations
at Warren Woods Town Park at 255 Brick School Road in Warren, CT. The activities included
a geocaching scavenger hunt, petting and riding horses from the Governor‘s Horse Guard
militia, and having family portraits taken. The camp staff members were Laura Marek and
Mary Ellen Welch, Co-Project Directors for Connecticut Operation: Military Kids; Sean
Crombez, Mobile Technology Lab Coordinator for Connecticut Operation: Military Kids;
Victoria Scully-Oakes, Child & Youth Behavioral Military Family Life Consultant; and
Michelle McCarty, National Guard State Youth Coordinator.

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New London County Extension Center (contd.)
Joint Forces Summer Fun Residential Camp, July 17-22, 2011
Connecticut Operation: Military Kids will host our first residential summer camp program for
military kids ages 7-15 during the week of July 17-22, 2011. Offered in partnership with the
New London County 4-H Camp in Franklin, CT, the Joint Forces Summer Fun Residential
Camp offers traditional 4-H camp activities as well as activities designed to support the unique
needs and culture of military children. Planned activities include archery, canoeing, disc golf,
swimming, double dutch jump roping, performing arts, the ropes course, crafts, OMK‘s Mobile
Technology Lab, creating a Speak Out for Military Kids video, and workshops with the CYB
Military Family Life Consultant. The camp staff members are Amanda Kilton, Tim Walsh and
Steven Dolat of the New London County 4-H Camp; Marc Cournoyer, Director of the
Windham County 4-H Camp; Mary Ellen Welch, Co-Project Director for Connecticut
Operation: Military Kids; Sean Crombez, Mobile Technology Lab Coordinator for Connecticut
Operation: Military Kids; Victoria Scully-Oakes, Child & Youth Behavioral Military Family
Life Consultant; and Michelle McCarty, National Guard State Youth Coordinator.
Lisa Marcinkowski, Connecticut Operation: Military Kids Program Coordinator was featured
in the Spring 2011 issue of the UCONN Magazine. An interview on ―Keeping kids connected
with military parents‖ highlighted how the Connecticut Cooperative Extension System supports
military youth and families.

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New London County Extension Center (contd.)
Erica Benvenuti Joins EFNEP
Erica Benvenuti has changed from SNAP Education, working with Food Stamp eligible
adults, to EFNEP working with families with children. She will continue to do nutrition
outreach education in New London County.
New London County 4-H
The NLC 4-H is honored that our 2 County winners, Helené and Kalyn, went on the win
the State Public Speaking Contest. There was a wonderful article in the New London Day,
http://theday.com/article/20110321/NWS01/303219937/1017 about their speeches. The
NLC Textile Arts Day is always a huge success, and 4-H had a fun exhibit and activity on
Wind Turbines at EarthFest! at the ConnCollege Campus in New London. 4-H Teens
Nathalie S. and Hannah S. helped Pam Gray with the activity Feast Like a Bug at the
Northeast Elementary School Math and Science Day event. A busload of 4-H‘ers from
Reading Makes Cents finished off their project with a field trip to Boston, visiting the USS
Constitution, Faneuil Hall, and the Armory. This trip cost 5 (4-H) coins, earned throughout
the project.
Rebecca K and her Hard Times Jar

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New London County Extension Center (contd.)
Congratulations to Norman Bender On his Retirement!!
Norm Bender retired on March 31, 2011. The New London County Extension faculty and
staff thank him for his numerous contributions to Extension and especially as our Center
Coordinator.
Norm has had a most impressive career as an educator. He started at Cornell Cooperative
Extension and Sea Grant in 1974. He became the Regional Cooperative Extension
Department Specialist in Marine Economics in 1976. From 1976-1978 he worked at the
University of Maryland as an Extension Marine Economist for the Department of
Agricultural and Resource Economics.
Fortunately, Norm joined the University of Connecticut in 1978. He started as a Regional
Extension Agent in Marine Economics. He developed, implemented and taught
educational programs for commercial fisheries and other marine industries.
As part of his responsibilities he served in a national role as Sea Grant Liaison to the IRS
for fisheries and tax issues in the United States. In 1985 he became the Program Leader for
the Sea Grant Advisory Program for UConn Cooperative at the highly respected Avery
Point Campus. He was the Acting Director of the Connecticut Sea Grant program during
1985-1986. In 1995, he moved to the New London County Extension Center where he
assumed a new position and began working for Cooperative Extension on a new program
on Economic Development including Agricultural Tourism.
For the past decade he collaborated with the Farm Risk Management Team on a USDA
funded grant, covering crop insurance and farm risk management. Starting in October
1996, Norm served as the New London County Center Coordinator – a role he served for
15 years. When asked what he liked most, Norm said he ―enjoyed having the opportunity to
develop Extension programs in partnership with various communities and university
faculty and administrators.‖ Norm particularly enjoyed, ―being part of the University
community and providing educational programs to people throughout the state.‖ He plans
to continue to work part-time on the Farm Risk Management Grant with Joe Bonelli and
Marilyn Altobello.

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New London County Extension Center (contd.)
In his free time, he plans to travel with his wife Sally, a retired educator, to Paris, France;
out west to visit family in Colorado; and to Portland, Oregon to visit their son Nick who is
also an educator. They enjoy traveling, exploring nature, and love to go hiking. Norm and
Sally also have a strong ethic to volunteer in their local community – and their community
is very lucky to have their support!
Norm has excelled in diverse positions of leadership, is highly respected and admired by
his colleagues and all those whom he has taught and interacted with during his career. He
has worn many ―hats‖ throughout his career. ―Hats off‖ to Norm for doing a terrific job and
we wish him a wonderful retirement!

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Jude Boucher
Tolland County Extension Center
2011 Connecticut Vegetable & Small Fruit Growers’ Conference evaluations
On January 20 th we co-hosted another successful conference in Vernon with a record
attendance (tied 2009 with 175 people). The trade show sold out once again: there were 19
table requests for 10 available trade show booths. Under general suggestions and comments
about the conference, many folks raved about the program with statements such as;
―outstanding meeting year after year‖, ―great event‖, ―excellent variety of topics.‖
A total of 79 (45%) conference attendants filled out the evaluation and they rated the
conference program as Excellent (48%), Good (50%) or Fair (2%). Of the folks who
answered, 97% said that they learned something to improve their crop production and
marketing practices, 92% said the program would help them improve their pest
management or crop quality, 81% said that it would help them improve their farm‘s
environmental quality, and 79% said that it would help them improve their farm‘s
profitability. Most (73%) also said they would adopt one or more new practices as a
result of attending the conference and listed 19 new practices they would adopt.
Steve Groff, from Cedar Meadows Farm in Holtwood, PA, had both the highest rated
talk of the conference (Solving the cover crop puzzle) and the third highest (High
Tunnels…)! A total of 23 growers said that they would adopt mixed cover crop blends or
some form of cover crop as a new practice this season, while 9 growers said they would
adopt tomato grafting or high tunnels as a result of his talks. Several people thought we
should have given him more time on the program because ―Steve Groff had such great
information.‖
Nate Nourse, From Nourse Farms in Whately, MA, speaking on Raspberry Pruning
and Training, placed second. That was quite an achievement since only 22 people identified
themselves as growing small fruit on the evaluation.
There were requests to have both these growers back again some time.
Other topics included: a welcome by and introduction to Jiff Martin, the new
Sustainable Food Systems Educator in Vernon; CT Agricultural Business Management
Guide, by Joe Bonelli; Phytophthora Moves to Beans, by Jim LaMondia; two talks by Brent
Loy - Spice Up Your Market with Novel Cucurbit Varieties and Pre- and Post Harvest
Considerations for Maximum Quality in Squash; Winter Moth and the Brown Marmorated
Stink Bug, by Heather Faubert; Mixed Vegetable Production on Stone Garden Farms, by
Fred and Stacia Monahan; and Moving to Deep Zone Tillage, by Jude Boucher.

18 The Extension Express
Tolland County Extension Center
Everyone was happy with the 4-H lunch, although one person requested organic
and/or local food be used. The lunch generated $1,750 to help send 4-H kids to
Washington D.C. Most growers (68%) were happy with the trade show or found it
adequate (30%).
We had 2 growers volunteer to speak at the next conference. The two growervolunteers
proposed the following topics: habitat development through use of buffer zones,
seasonal crop festivals, farms trading services or equipment, getting people involved with
agriculture, what to put on your web site, or how to prepare web products.
Other recent presentations on commercial vegetable production include:
Boucher, J. 2011. Managing Vegetable Pests through the Season. Keynote Address for the
CT Farm Fresh Annual Meeting, 26 January, Glastonbury, CT.
Boucher, J. 2011. Compaction, Organic Matter, Cornell‘s Soil Health Test and Deep Zone
Tillage. USDA NRCS Workshop for Ag Professionals: Healthy Soils, 17 February,
Lebanon, CT
Boucher, J. 2011. Compaction, Organic Matter, Cornell‘s Soil Health Test and Deep Zone
Tillage. USDA NRCS Workshop for Ag Producers: Healthy Soils, 18 February, Lebanon,
CT
Boucher, J. and T. Scott. 2011. Participated in a 4-state Video Conference/Discussion
Group on ‗Making Reduced Tillage Work on Your Farm‘, 11 February, UMass, Amherst,
MA
Boucher, J. 2011. Zone Tillage: How Can it be Used to Advantage. 579 th New England
Vegetable & Berry Growers‘ Association Meeting. 29 January, Concord, MA
Boucher, J. 2011. Update on Insect Management. 579 th New England Vegetable & Berry
Growers‘ Association Meeting. 29 January, Concord, MA
Boucher, J. 2010. IPM for Peppers. SAPL 810 Plant Pest Control, 8 December, UConn,
Storrs, CT
Boucher, J. 2010. Managing Pepper Maggots and Striped Cucumber Beetles Using
Perimeter Trap Cropping. CT Entomology Society 483 rd Meeting, 19 November, Yale
University, New Haven, CT

19 The Extension Express
Maryann Fusco-Rollins
Tolland County 4-H
Tolland County Extension Center
As Program Development Chairperson for the 4-H Science Initiative, Maryann Fusco-
Rollins has been exploring ways to add 4-H to in-school enrichment programming.
Elementary schools in Tolland County have an in-school planning day each month for their
teachers on Scientific Research-Based Interventions (SRBI). On these SRBI days the Science
Enrichment staff planned 1 hour science activities for each class. Working with the staff at
Goodwin Elementary School, UConn Center for Community Outreach, and the EcoHouse Learning
Community, Maryann has established a pilot program using 4-H curricula in the classroom on
SRBI days.
More opportunities are on the horizon with the upcoming guidelines from the Connecticut
State Board of Education regarding Curriculum-Embedded Performance Tasks. CEPT are
constructed similarly to the 4-H curricula and will be used in the classroom. Both CEPT and 4-H
are interdisciplinary, experiential investigations that promote the development of scientific inquiry.
The Board challenges that partnerships among families, school districts, community organizations,
businesses and universities are necessary for science education to be successful in preparing our
youth for life, advanced studies and technical careers. The 4-H Science Initiative is a blueprint for
how to bring all these stakeholders together to meet this challenge.
Adding Pomp and Circumstance
Knowing what to expect before a competition is an important and challenging issue for new
competitors and their families and clubs. When setting up 4-H contests and workshops for youths
ages 7 to 19, the ability to strike a balance between competition and a fun learning environment
while providing photo opportunities for families is key.
To address the pre-program specifics, a group of Tolland County 4-Hers and volunteers are
writing scripts and making instructional videos about what to expect from specific events. The
completed videos will to be featured on the Tolland County 4-H website.
To address fun and photos, the youths have discovered that it is important to have pomp
and circumstance in a bag that travels well. Often these events are held in otherwise stark spaces to
which we may gain access only an hour before an event. An easily constructed ―winner‘s circle‖
was designed to be used to make all competitors feel proud of their accomplishments even if they
didn‘t get the ribbon they wanted. PVC pipe and some fabric were used to create the freestanding
curtain and banner display.
Knowing how to prepare and what to expect from competition along with a celebratory and
supportive platform in which to compete, provides a positive learning environment for everyone.

20 The Extension Express
Rondi Niles
Master Gardener Program
Tolland County Extension Center
The Master Gardener program for Tolland and Windham counties was held in Brooklyn this year,
and once again we had an enthusiastic group of 35 students. Classes started in January and
continued through April. After passing the exam, Master Gardener interns moved into the outreach
portion of the program for the summer. We‘ve also ran several Garden Master classes, including
three in a Landscape Design series, and one on ―Good Bugs, Bad Bugs, and Benign Bugs‖. We
continued to get diagnostic help requests throughout the winter. We‘re looking forward to summer
and fall!
Jiff Martin
Sustainable Food Systems
This spring, Jiff released a new publication called Farmland ConneCTions that is intended to
guide municipalities and land trusts on methods of farmland leasing. The guide emphasizes the
potential to structure legal lease agreements that successfully balance the principles of
environmental stewardship with farm viability goals. Jiff presented farmland leasing principles
at a Law For Food lecture and participated on a panel about farmland access at the CT NOFA
Winter Conference this winter. She planned a similar presentation about farmland leasing at the
CT Farm Bureau Agriculture Planning & Zoning Conference for Municipal Leaders in late
March.
As a new Extension Educator, Jiff has been making an effort to visit all of the extension centers
to meet the CES team. She is extremely grateful to all that have made time in their very busy
schedules to strategize together.

21 The Extension Express
Karen Filchak
Windham County Extension Center
Changing Homeowner‘s Lawn Care Behavior to Reduce Nutrient
Losses in New England‘s Urbanizing Watersheds
In 2007, a CSREES 406 New England Integrated Water Quality grant was funded. Connecticut,
working with New Hampshire (lead PI), Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont collaborated on a project
that combined social science and environmental science research to investigate who has the most
influence over residential lawn care practices of do-it-yourselfers and what should be done to minimize
excess nutrient runoff from lawns.
Karen Filchak (Educator, Department of Extension—CT Project and Outreach coordinator) and Karl
Guillard (Professor, Department of Plant Science—Turf Nutrient Research) were co-PI‘s on the
regional grant. Pamela Cooper (Special Payroll – Turf outreach) and Susan Munger (Master Gardener
Coordinator - New London County) collaborated on the project by providing educational outreach in
the targeted community. Connecticut‘s participating community was in the town of East Lyme.
The following excerpts from the grant‘s ―Final Social Science Project Evaluation‖ (Eisenhauer,
Stevenson & Peterson) provides a brief outline of the project.
―Nonopoint source pollution is a major threat to water quality, and the Changing Homeowner‘s
Lawn Care Behavior to Reduce Nutrient Losses in New England‘s Urbanizing Watersheds
project was designed to merge turf science, social science, and Extension knowledge and
efforts into a concerted effort to change DIYers turf care behavior to protect water quality
through the development and delivery of outreach and education.‖
―Many beneficial research and extension outcomes have resulted from this project. The soil
science research was used to develop regionally specific recommendations for fertilizer use to
minimize negative water quality impacts. The social science research looked into lawn care
behaviors, the underlying factors that drive that behavior, the correlates of environmentally
responsible behavior, and important considerations for program delivery.‖
Connecticut‘s contributions were two-fold. A significant component of the grant involved Dr.
Guillard‘s research and nutrient management recommendations for the New England region. This
included separate recommendations for last date applications for northern and southern New England.
The second component addressed the homeowner education (programs, newspaper articles, fact sheets,
neighborhood workshops and exhibits) through Extension outreach education.
The final reports for the two research components (social science and turf research) can be accessed
at: http://www.usawaterquality.org/NESCI/Focus_Areas/Landscaping/pubs.html under Regional
Reports.

22 The Extension Express
Windham County Extension Center
The Green Valley Institute planned a spring series of land use seminars. GVI partnered
with the Eastern CT Resource Conservation and Development Area to bring these seminars
to The Last Green Valley and beyond. The series began on February 28 th with Protecting
Dark Skies in The Last Green Valley at the Chaplin Fire Station. Two more programs were
scheduled for May. On May18 th , Aga Pinette spoke about Maine‘s Moosehead Lake
Regional Plan, which is an experiment with landscape scale zoning. Carol Gould from
Fitzgerald and Halliday shared a hybrid approach to form-based zoning that communities in
Massachusetts are using. On May 23 rd , Susan Westa shared innovative regulatory tools
being implemented throughout New England – that she researched as part of the
Borderlands Village Innovation Pilot Project. Finally, Hiram Peck the Town of Simsbury
Planner, spoke about an extensive consensus building process they undertook, involving a
community design charrette and adoption of a Form-Based Code for Simsbury.
If you are interested in learning more about the Borderlands Project, which the Green
Valley Institute participated in for two and a half years, please see
www.borderlandsproject.org. A session about this project was also presented at the
National Conference of the American Planning Association in Boston in April. A case
study of the project was published in the March issue of Practicing Planning, the Journal of
the American Institute of Certified Planners.

23 The Extension Express
Accounting
Working from home?
If you have brought a University-owned computer or laptop home with you, please
don‘t forget to submit the online Equipment on Loan Form using the Inventory Control
Workflow tool found on our website. The form is really easy to fill out and won‘t take
more than a couple minutes. We promise!
Inventory Control Website:
http://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/inventoryplant
Please note that this is not only true for computer and laptops but any tagged piece of
equipment that is being taken off campus.

24 The Extension Express
Dates Winter Edition Spring Edition Fall Edition
Submission
Deadline
2010 Newsletter Submission Dates
February 15, 2012 May 30, 2012 November 1, 2011
This issue of the Spring Extension Express was Compiled, Edited and Distributed by:
Libby Fedorko, Public Service Specialist
Marilyn Gould, Storrs office
Kimberly Moffett, Fairfield County Extension Center
Ronke Oyeniya, Hartford County Extension Center
Daphne Roy, Litchfield County Extension Center
Maria Camara, Middlesex County Extension Center
Lorraine Downing, , New Haven County Extension Center
Elsie Spoust, New London County Extension Center
Melissa Albaugh, Tolland County Extension Center
Dawn Barrett-Walsh, Windham County Extension Center
An equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write:
USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 3260W, Whitten Building Stop Code 9410,
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call: 202-720-5964