Read all about the impact Extension had
on the Community!
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Spring Classes Forming Now! |
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Applications are being accepted for the upcoming Master Gardener Basic Training Course. Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who provide the community with information on safe, effective, and sustainable horticulture practices.
The program has six core areas of focus: Ask A Master Gardener Plant Clinic, Bay-Wise, Composting, Grow It Eat It, Native Plants, and Pollinators. Education is conducted through community outreach events, presentations, demonstration gardens, and youth programs. Some of our Charles County projects include Who Polluted the Potomac?, Southern Maryland Food Bank, Melwood Recreation Center, and our Extension Office Demonstration Garden.
Please view the latest edition of our newsletter, The Compost, to see all the great work Master Gardeners are doing in the community. This year Master Gardeners grew and harvested 530 pounds of fresh produce for the Southern Maryland Food Bank!
To become a master gardener, individuals must complete and pass the basic training course then complete 40 hours of volunteer service within a year of finishing the course. Each year thereafter, volunteers are required to complete a minimum of 20 service hours and 10 hours of continuing education.
The training course will run from February 1 through May 3, 2023. Classes will be held virtually through Zoom on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, with occasional in-person sessions. The course is open to county residents 18 years and older, and the cost is $180.00, which includes the master gardener handbook and other materials.
If you are interested in signing up, please complete this Google Form. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2022.
I encourage anyone with an interest in the environment, community engagement, and volunteer service to apply! University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.
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Kaitlyn Baligush
Charles County Master Gardener Coordinator
kbaligus@umd.edu
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UMD's Summer Extension Internship Program Looks forward to 2023 |
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2022 Cohort of student interns along with Shannon Dill (project leader)
and Andrea Franchini (program coordinator)
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A team of UMD Extension educators and specialists received a grant award from the USDA to create a summer internship program to train undergraduate students in Extension, while exposing them to a range of career opportunities in agriculture. The five-year project will recruit seven students from across the state each summer to participate in a 10-week program that combines hands-on training in agriculture research and education while providing professional development. We are targeting recruitment efforts to find students from two-year programs across the state and pair them with UMD Extension faculty mentors in the local extension offices or UMD research and education facilities. In this way, one goal of the program is to provide students with experiences that help guide the next steps in their education towards reaching their career goals. |
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Summer of 2022 marked the first year of the internship program, after delaying the project launch due to COVID restrictions on in-person meetings. Our first student cohort featured two recruits from Charles County: Cai Diggs, who worked with Alan Leslie at the Charles County Extension Office and the Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Upper Marlboro (formerly the Tobacco Research Farm), and Brian Wathen, who worked with Ben Beale at the St. Mary’s County Extension Office.
Cai and Brian were able to participate in many different research projects over the summer, from tomato variety trials at the research farm, to using drones to measure watermelon vines, and these experiences gave them each firsthand experience of how science is used to solve problems in agricultural production. Photo right: Cai Diggs harvesting a tomato variety trial at the UMD research farm in Upper Marlboro (Image: Alan Leslie).
They also had the opportunity to participate in different educational field day events, where Extension faculty share the results of these local trials directly with the farming community and help farmers to choose crop varieties, manage pests, and increase crop yields while conserving natural resources.
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The application period for summer 2023 internships will be opening soon, so if you or someone you know is interested in applying to the Extension internship program, check the UMD Agriculture Careers and Entrepreneurship (ACE) Center page or the Extension Internship page in early 2023 for application instructions. As a part of their internship requirements, the 2022 interns all created weekly blog posts and developed final presentations summarizing their time as Extension interns. You can peruse the archived material to learn what our interns did across the state last year, and to see what kinds of experiences we hope to provide through the next four summers.
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Extension interns touring the research greenhouses as a part of the
UMD College Park campus tour (Image: Edwin Remsburg)
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The overall objective of this project is not only to provide experiential learning opportunities for students across the state, but also to train groups of students over the years to become more educated about agricultural production in the state of Maryland and career opportunities that exist in this field.
To meet this objective, we expose students to as many facets of Maryland agriculture as possible. We involve students in the diverse array of programs that take place at the local extension offices, including Family and Consumer Sciences, Snap-Ed, 4-H, Nutrient Management, and Master Gardeners. We bring in guest speakers from sectors including industry and government agencies to discuss career readiness and professional development. We also bring the students from across the state to the UMD campus in College Park to expose them to a range of different agricultural research projects happening across different departments.
All of this is being done in the hopes of jumpstarting the careers of the next generation of agricultural professionals in Maryland.
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Dr. Alan Leslie
Extension Educator
Agriculture and Food Systems
aleslie@umd.edu
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Looking for a way to use up some of that canned pumpkin? Or maybe you just need a quick snack as you head out the door? Try out these Pumpkin Oatmeal Energy Bites.
They're packed with delicious fall flavors, and plenty of nutrients to keep you going. Not a fan of one of the ingredients? Try switching it out for some flavors or textures you prefer, such as adding chocolate chips.
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Though the weather has gotten chilly, the farmers' markets are still in full swing until the end of November. Check out these local markets in Charles County. |
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Waldorf Farmers Market is open on Saturdays, from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
3000 Festival Way, Waldorf, MD
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209 Washington Ave, La Plata, MD
- Accepts SNAP and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Checks - WIC and Senior
- Double your SNAP or FMNP benefit money with Maryland Market Money
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Jessica Conjour, MPH
Project Leader and Nutrition Educator
Maryland SNAP-Ed
jconjour@umd.edu
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The 4-H program in Charles County offers many opportunities for kids from 5 to 18. Below are some of the most recent accomplishments. Check out our calendar for the complete list and descriptions of the ongoing projects.
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Wishing a Very
Happy Birthday to 4-H!
Bonnie Boyden
4-H Program Management Specialist
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The birth of 4-H started in 1902 by a school principal, Mr. A.B. Graham in Clark County, Ohio, were he began to promote vocational agriculture in out-of-school settings in rural communities in the county. As the interest grew, the groups began electing officers, planning hands-on learning activities, and recognizing the importance of record keeping. This idea started to gain momentum, and the hands-on concept for educating youth was then adopted in Iowa by school principal Mr. O.H. Benson. That same year, just a few months later, Mr. Kern in Winnebago County, Illinois, decided to start naming these groups using the projects they were working on. The groups became known as Corn Clubs for the boys and Canning Clubs for the girls. By 1904, Indiana and Georgia were introducing the corn clubs into corn-growing contests and the seed of the 4-H idea of practical and “hands-on” learning was starting to connect across the country.
This idea of non-traditional education was spreading from the Midwest and beyond. Nebraska was not only encouraging corn clubs but also included sewing and baking projects for the girls. Mr. E.C. Bishop saw the importance of growing this process to the next level, so he organized the work into the Nebraska Boys Agricultural Association to exhibit corn and garden products at the fairs and held some of the first livestock judging contests. Not to be outdone, the Nebraska Girls Domestic Science Association not only exhibited sewing and cooking items but also held contests in which they judged "articles of sewing, handwork, and cooking." This was the birth of the 4-H project work displayed at county fairs.
With this idea growing across the nation, Jessie Field Shambaugh felt the need for a symbol to promote and acknowledge the groups. Therefore, she designed a 3-leaf clover logo that OJ Kerns used on his certificates related to the club achievement. As you can see by the picture below, it only had three leaves with three H's and corn in the middle. In 1910, she added a leaf to the clover with an "H" on each leaf, which is the symbol we use today.
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Due to the huge success of this movement, Mr. Bishop stated to his government officials that the purpose of the Nebraska Associations for youth was "...to educate the youth of the county, town, and city to a knowledge of their dependence on nature's resources, and to the value of the fullest development of hand, head, and heart...." This was the start of the 4-H pledge. The original pledge was not written and adopted until 1918 by Otis E. Hall of Kansas. As more and more states were adopting the pledge for 4-H, Minnesota groups added "for my family" to the last line of the pledge. Maine added the original ending "and my country" but in 1973, "and my world" was officially added. This is the pledge that is now used worldwide for all the youth enrolled in 4-H.
In 1911, a meeting was held at the United States Department of Agriculture where club leaders were invited to Washington, DC, where they approved the present 4-H design. Mr. O.B. Martin is credited with suggesting that the H's signify Head, Heart, Hands and that the fourth “H” which was called Hustle by many be changed to Health “H” to represent the health of the youth. This design has been universally used since then. After that meeting, it was official that the groups were now 4-H Clubs.
Still today, USDA is the Keeper of the Clover….
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The 4-H name and emblem remain highly valued within our country’s history. As such, they were granted a unique status in 1948, similar to the Presidential Seal and the Olympic Emblem. The emblem became a federally protected mark, which supersedes the limited authorities of both a trademark and a copyright. The “18 USC 707” is the statement in the United States Code that outlines its protection for the 4-H Clover. |
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In 1919, 4-H was starting to organize in Maryland. There were pig clubs, dairy clubs, and corn clubs in counties across the state. Fairs were major events for 4-H members, at which they competed and demonstrated their skills in growing food, raising livestock and driving tractors. The fine arts of homemaking were also on display at the fairs with sewing, canning and baking entries.
Today, 4-H is in every county in Maryland, Baltimore City and Washington, DC. The photo, right, is one of the early 4-H exhibitors in Maryland.
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Nurture Natives: A Youth-Led Service Project
Amy Lang
4-H Youth Development Educator
amlang@umd.edu
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In late 2021, NCAC, Charles County 4-H, and Charles County Master Gardeners were awarded a grant to train teen pollinator ambassadors. As part of that project, 18 teens learned about the importance of pollinators, challenges they face, and ways they can be supported. Teens used that knowledge to develop fun, interactive activities to teach younger children and adults about pollinators at schools, camps, and outreach events. Through their efforts a total of 665 people (447 youth and 218 adults) learned about pollination. |
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Three ambassadors, Esther, Samantha, and Abigail, attended the national 4-H Agri-Science Youth Summit in March, 2022. There they were challenged to develop a project that would use their new knowledge to address an agricultural issue within their community.
The girls decided to launch the Nurture Natives Initiative. Their issue: invasive trees that displace local farmland and attract invasive species. Their solutions: 1) Inspire youth to take action through educational programs, 2) Increase the number of native trees and pollinators within our community by hosting a native tree giveaway, and 3) Encourage customers to make educated purchases by providing local nurseries with Nurture Natives guides.
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Nurture Natives was selected by the National 4-H Council as one of twelve “lead to change” projects nationwide to receive $2000. With a portion of their award, they purchased 150 native trees and shrubs through Butterfly Alley—a local native plant stand located in Hollywood, Maryland. Esther worked with Butterfly Alley to select and order the trees/shrubs in the spring, then drove to Environmental Concerns on the Eastern Shore to pick them up just days before the event.
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On Saturday, October 15, with the assistance of the Charles County Master Gardeners, 150 trees and shrubs were unloaded and organized for distribution. Approximately 65 families came through to pick up their trees and get expert advice from Master Gardeners Marlene Smith, Carol Teets, Marguerita Harding, and Matthew Perez and his son, Malachi. |
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Attendees also enjoyed other family-oriented activities. Children were able to play pollinator games organized by Charles County 4-H, create collages and mobiles from nature items collected around the park, visit Abigail at the honey-tasting station, and speak to Samantha about honeybees and beekeeping.
Watch the video they made about their project!
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4-H'ers Gather for Trunk or Treat!
Jeanne Williams
4-H Program Assistant
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October 21 was a beautiful night for all the ghouls and goblins to gather at the Charles County Fairgrounds for the 3rd Annual 4-H Trunk or Treat.
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This event began in 2020 as a way for our 4-H members to get to see their club leaders and other 4-H volunteers after a very upside down and stressful year. That year the event was restricted to 8 trunks with 10 people giving out goodies and only 4-H members allowed to attend. This year, the event was open to 4-H members and their friends.
There were16 stations with volunteers and families handing out goodies to over 80 children. Youth were able to learn more about 4-H, see their friends after the Fair season, show off their costumes, and much more.
We were excited to have so many visit, and can’t wait for Trunk or Treat 2023, with plans to open to the whole Charles County community!
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Feel free to contact our staff with any questions
or ideas you have to help make our community better.
Please send an email to jcrawfo4@umd.edu or visit our website.
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University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity, please contact us at (301) 934-5403.
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