After seven years and 28 issues, it's time for me to "retire" from the newsletter editor role and let someone else take on the challenge. I absolutely love doing this in service to ANREP (despite some occasional grumblings that my colleagues can attest to!). I've met many colleagues from across the country in this role, most via email exchanges but at conferences it's always nice to make a, "nice to finally meet you!" connection to someone with whom I've emailed over newsletter content.

If you are interested in the role, please contact me. I am very willing to help with a transition over the next issue or two. Experience with Constant Contact is a plus but not required as long as you're willing to learn.

If we have more than one person interested in the role, we'll have to determine a selection process. Co-editors is also an option if you'd like to share the role with someone.

Gwinnett County, GA, has a population of over 900,000 and continues to grow. One rising issue of concern is food insecurity. According to the Community Foundation of North Georgia, 10% of the population lacks proper nutrition access. The Georgia Department of Public Health estimates the number of residents living in food deserts, where people do not have convenient access to healthy food, which is 8%.

UGA Extension Gwinnett addresses the issue by donating fruits and vegetables harvested from the demonstration garden at McDaniel Farm Park in Duluth, GA. A 134-acre park in Gwinnett County is designed to preserve part of a disappearing piece of the county's rural heritage. Tenants on these farms also planted personal vegetable gardens near the tenant houses where they cultivated tomatoes, beans, etc. The family canned and preserved the vegetables for food during the winter.

Since 2006, the Gwinnett County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers, under the direction of UGA Extension Gwinnett, have planted and maintained a vegetable garden at McDaniel Farm Park. The garden is based on the original ones planted in the early 20th century by its original owner, Archie McDaniel. The Master Gardeners meet one day a week to plant and maintain the garden.

The Master Gardeners plan and implement the planting of vegetables in the garden, once in the spring and again in the fall. They meet one day a week at the garden to plant and maintain it throughout the year. The vegetables harvested are weighed before being donated.

Stormwater is the biggest contributor to water pollution in Florida despite the over 75,000 stormwater ponds that have been created to deal with this issue.  The need for education about these systems was apparent. Extension agents often receive calls from homeowner associations or stormwater pond professionals dealing with pond problems and looking for solutions.

Faced with the need to communicate stormwater pond best management practices and with few published resources, recommendations based on science are difficult to achieve. To help close this information gap, a team made up of county extension agents and state specialist worked to create a training program that strives to provide pond managers with evidence-based tools for a holistic approach to pond management. The Healthy Ponds certification program, modeled after Clemson Extension’s Master Pond Manager program, focuses on enhancing water quality, wildlife habitat, and pond longevity. The program targets technicians of commercial pond management companies, homeowner association leaders (HOAs), community association managers (CAMs), local government pond managers, and private pond owners.

The Healthy Ponds certification program is also a clearinghouse for stormwater pond research and recommendations. Extension agents now have the opportunity to access, facilitate, and offer the program to improve the understanding of the physical, biological, chemical, and cultural best practices for stormwater pond management. These strategies increase stormwater pond function while making them easier to maintain, reducing chemical treatments, and increasing water quality, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity.

The 8-week hybrid Healthy Ponds certification program was offered in the fall of 2020, which included an in-person field day to review skills. The 25 participants could earn up 25 Pesticide Applicator’s License continuing education credits. Of the graduates, 70% reported that because of this course they are able to communicate better with their clientele. As a result of the field day, 30% of the graduates will incorporate water testing into their maintenance protocols. Follow-up monitoring of graduates is in place to look for successes in reducing chemical use, reducing overall problems, utilizing pond management resources, and increases in positive interactions with clientele and pond professionals.

One Healthy Ponds graduate stated, “It was one of the most comprehensive courses available.” Another reported, “Fantastic! This is really well done and answers a lot of the questions I receive from the public about their ponds. I'm really excited to share this with colleagues and pond homeowners.”

Michelle Atkinson, Manatee County Extension

Abbey Tyrna, Sarasota County Extension

The University of Georgia Extension has created a statewide sustainable landscape certification program. The Georgia Green Landscape Stewards Program launched March 15th. The program was created by Jessica Warren, Camden County Extension Coordinator and Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, and Martin Wunderly, Northeast Area Water Agent, utilizing funds from a mini-grant from the University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture.

The program is self-paced and contains ten educational components: Composting at Home, Encouraging Biodiversity at Home, Invasive Plants in the Home Landscape, Mulching in the Landscape, Protecting Water Quality, Stormwater Management, Water Conservation, Welcoming Wildlife, Welcoming Pollinators to Your Landscape, and Native Plants and Low Maintenance Landscapes. Participants can watch live webinars on the components hosted April-June of 2021, view videos of the presentations on the website or YouTube channel, or view pdfs of the presentations on the website. After reviewing the educational components citizens can fill out a certification metric. If their landscape practices create a score of 70 or more they achieve status as a Georgia Green Landscape. Certification and an electronic or printed certificate are free, and if desired participants can purchase a colorful yard sign to designate their status.

All resources for the program are also available for UGA Extension agents to utilize in their local programs through a password protected tab on the website. Warren and Wunderly are working with new partners to continue adding new content to the program, and a statewide advisory team has been formed to help oversee and guide the program.

The program’s goals are to inspire and educate citizens of Georgia about more sustainable landscaping practices, increase habitat for wildlife and pollinators through connectivity of natural areas and corridors, decrease stormwater runoff and non-point source pollution, increase soil health, water quality and biodiversity in Georgia, protect and conserve natural resources, and save citizens time, money and labor through working with – not against – nature. For more information please visit the Georgia Green Landscape Stewards website or reach out to us via email.

A new publication from Penn State Extension, Timber Sales: A Guide to Selling Timber, is available to help landowners understand how timber sales are conducted. This 12-page publication outlines a seven-step process. “It will assist forest landowners in understanding how a timber sale is conducted and how to retain the services of a forestry professional,” said Dave Jackson, forestry educator and publication co-author. “It is not a definitive how-to guide as much of the process will depend on each specific situation.”

The publication is available as a free downloadable PDF; printed copies are available for purchase. To view the full publication, visit the website or call 877-345-0691.