On June 29th, 2024, the Fairfield County UConn Extension Office hosted its second annual Climate Resiliency Day at Danbury Farmer’s Market. This day is dedicated to educating the public on how they can stay safe during extreme weather events and support a healthy environment from home. Several notable programs participated, including the UConn Extension Master Gardeners, Urban Agriculture, and Urban and Community Forestry, by sharing their personal expertise with the public. Materials to hand out were also provided by Connecticut Sea Grant and the Shelter from the Storm program to further educate the public on keeping our waterways clean and what to do during extreme weather.
The UConn Extension Master Gardeners provided seeds to those who attended and shared their advice on how to grow plants at home. They also educated the public on invasive plants and insects that are harmful to Connecticut’s ecosystem. Increasing awareness around topics like invasive species helps promote a healthier environment in our state by encouraging responsible behavior within the public regarding plants and animals. Educating the public can also help to speed up the response time of agencies who are tasked with protecting our ecosystem from these specific situations. Their knowledge and advice was greatly appreciated by all who attended this event.
Jacqueline Kowalski, an Assistant Extension Educator with the Urban Agriculture program, also reinforced the idea of home gardening by providing take-home garden bags that contained either lettuce seeds or pepper seeds. This beginner gardening method is a simple way for those who do not have a lot of space at home to grow their own fruits and vegetables. The Urban Agriculture program helps to address issues like food insecurity and climate change in urban areas by partnering with these communities and engaging them in urban agriculture education and practices. The take-home gardens were a great addition to this day because it gives people an easy opportunity to get involved in programs like UConn Extension’s Urban Agriculture Program.
Dr. Mayra Rodríguez from UConn Extension is an urban social ecologist who helps city agencies and organizations improve natural resource management and address environmental injustice in their communities. She joined us with UConn Extension’s Urban and Community Forestry program this day with games and giveaways. At her tent, people could learn about how forest resources are managed by cities and towns and how they can utilize these spaces to improve their quality of life.
4-H and CT Trail Finder also provided materials to educate the public on youth programs available in Fairfield County as well as local trails around Connecticut and trail safety practices. CT Trail Finder is a digital resource that provides a map of trails, as well as relevant information about each trail, throughout the state of Connecticut. This organization is a great resource to help encourage the public to be more active and enjoy the outdoor spaces our state has.
Additionally, Assistant Extension Educator Heather Peracchio, MS, RDN and Program Assistant Juliana Restrepo-Marin from UConn Extension led a farmers’ market nutrition seminar with cooking demonstrations around the theme of reducing food waste. A total of 67 people attended the seminars that were held on this day. Tips were shared with market goers such as choosing local produce in season for the best nutrition and quality. A great way to reduce food waste is to use up odds and ends of vegetables with leftover pasta and recreate a new dish such as this Pasta Salad with Mixed Vegetables. https://www.snap4ct.org/pasta-salad-with-mixed-vegetables.html. Key points that were touched on during this lesson included the importance of labeling and dating foods in your refrigerator and freezer. Another trick to reduce food waste is to keep scraps of vegetables or meat in the freezer to make a stock for soups and stews, and also prepare ingredients when you first get home from the grocery store to ensure you’ll use or eat them.
Overall, Climate Resiliency Day provided an engaging platform for educating the public on environmental stewardship and practical solutions for managing both personal and community-level challenges.
By Olivia Routhier