Ben Freund of Freund’s Farm in East Canaan discusses crop insurance in this video produced by UConn Extension’s Agricultural Risk Management Team.
UConn Extension
Ricard Receives Provost Award in Public Engagement
UConn Extension is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert M. Ricard, Senior Extension Educator; has been selected by UConn for the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Public Engagement in the Non-Tenure Track Faculty category. Bob has acquired a distinguished state, regional, and national reputation for his scholarship, teaching (formal and informal), and service. All three […]
Metabolic Family Day
Sherry Gray, Extension Educator in the Hartford County Extension office coordinated a Metabolic Family Day on October 18, 2015 at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield. The event was hosted by the Metabolic Clinics at UConn Health and Yale New Haven Hospital and was open to families of children and adults with metabolic conditions throughout the state. […]
Pledge to go 10% Local
The Live Local! App invites consumers to discover and experience Connecticut’s local food and agriculture. Take the pledge to spend ten percent of your food and gardening dollars on locally grown products. With the Live Local! App you can: Find out the season’s top ten Get the lowdown on food and farm events Share […]
10 Tips for the October Gardener
All houseplants need to be brought inside before the first frost. Connecticut had a frost over the weekend; if your houseplants aren’t inside, make a note on your calendar for next year. Pot up tulips, hyacinths and other pre-chilled bulbs and store in a cool, dark place until ready to force. Rosemary is not […]
Award Winning Grilled Cheese
Connecticut 4-H dairy members entered the Grilled Cheese Competition at the Big E in mid-September and won the top award against teams of 4-H members from across New England. Connecticut 4-H, which is part of UConn Extension, had two teams entered. The winning team consisted of Mikayla Durant, Victoria Footit, and Melanie Trotochaud. Mikayla and […]
Meet German Cutz
Dr. German Cutz is an Associate Extension Educator for Sustainable Families and Communities with a statewide appointment for UConn Extension. Dr. Cutz develops, conducts, and evaluates Extension outreach education programs. He is fully bilingual (English and Spanish) with more than 20 years experience working in community development in both developing and developed countries. In addition, […]
Riverbank Farm
UConn Extension’s Scaling Up Program created a video series on farmers in Connecticut. This film features David Blyn and Laura McKinney of Riverbank Farm in Roxbury.
Stuart Family Farm
UConn Extension’s Scaling Up Program created a video series on farmers in Connecticut. This film features Bill Stuart Jr. of Stuart Family Farm in Bridgewater.
Sweet Acre Farm
UConn Extension’s Scaling Up Program created a video series on farmers in Connecticut. This film features Charlotte Ross and Jonathan Janeway of Sweet Acre Farm in Lebanon.
School IPM Workshops
Learn more about the School IPM Workshops presented by UConn Extension through this YouTube video. Our programs work with school turf managers, landscapers and more.
New Program Leaders
UConn Extension has four major program areas: 4-H youth development, agriculture and food systems, family and community development, and land use and water. Each of these areas has an Extension educator that serves a two-year term as program leader. New program leaders were recently announced for the Family and Community Development and 4-H teams. German […]
New Greenhouse Teaches Science of Gardening
New Greenhouse helps 4-H Center at Auerfarm Teach Youth the Science of Gardening By Sarah Bailey, Master Gardener Coordinator, Hartford County Extension Center Winter may have been unusually cold and long this year, but there was a sunny and green oasis at the 4-H Center at Auerfarm. Spinach and herbs grew throughout the winter, […]
Lynn & Marjorie Brown: Promoting & Supporting 4-H for a Lifetime
Lynn & Marjorie Brown: Promoting and Supporting 4-H for a Lifetime By Nancy Wilhelm, Program Coordinator, 4-H Youth Development Marjorie and Lynn Brown have spent a lifetime promoting and supporting UConn Extension and the 4-H Program. Both grew up on farms in Iowa where they were 4-H members – Marjorie participated in home economics […]
International Experience at Auerfarm
UConn Students from UConn’s Study of the U.S. Institute for Student Leaders on Social Entrepreneurship and participants from either North or Sub-Saharan Africa came out to 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm camp in July. After a morning in the garden, everyone ended up in the shade sharing information about themselves and showing the campers where they came […]
CT Sea Grant Awarded Grant to Grow Aquaculture and Shellfisheries
Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant/UConn Extension aquaculture educator at the University of Connecticut, has been awarded a grant totaling $315,240 to enhance the growth of Connecticut aquaculture and shellfisheries. The project, titled “Listening, Learning and Leading to Support Shellfish Aquaculture Growth in Connecticut and the Nation” is funded by the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program’s […]
Post-Harvest Handling Workshop
In June, UConn Extension hosted a Small-Scale, Low-Cost Facility Design for Post-Harvest Handling, with Robert Hadad, Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist. Connecticut and Rhode Island farmers from smaller fruit and vegetable operations learned low-cost ways to address food safety of fresh produce through cooling, washing, use of sanitizers and packing area sanitation. Robert is shown with his […]
9/11 National Day of Service
9/11 National Day of Service – members of FoodCorps CT and the CT Food Justice VISTA Project, helping a local farmer get her fields ready at Cloverleigh Farm in Mansfield. Both projects are coordinated by UConn Extension and proud partners with AmeriCorps.
New PEP Facilitators
The training for People Empowering People (PEP) facilitators was on June 22 & 23rd and there were 18 participants from Waterbury, CRT Hartford, Torrington, UConn Health, New London Youth Affairs, and CREC. We’re looking forward to seeing these facilitators work with new groups of PEP participants.
Healthy Eating Grocery Tour
On Thursday, June 4th UConn Extension partnered with Big Y and Cooking Matters at the store to offer Torrington’s Even Start parents a healthy eating grocery store tour.
Wintonbury Land Trust
Wintonbury Land Trust: Supporting and Improving Land Access to Local Farmers By Rachel Murray for UConn Extension Land trusts are at the forefront of reshaping the agricultural landscape in Connecticut. They can be a leader supporting and promoting new and beginning farmers by providing access to farmland. Wintonbury Land Trust and Hawk Hill Preserve […]
Vegetable IPM Program
Jude Boucher of our Vegetable Crops Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program has had a busy summer. He helps commercial vegetable growers find sustainable solutions to pest problems. The program emphasizes healthy soils, balanced plant nutrition, proper pest and beneficial identification, scouting and monitoring techniques, preventative management strategies, reduced-risk pesticide selection and application, and resistance management. This […]
4-H Recognition Night
The Fairfield County 4-H Recognition Night was held on June 4th. Congratulations to all of the 4-H members who received awards.
Metabolic Family Day
A Family Day was held for patients with metabolic disorders and their families at Rock Cats Stadium in New Britain on May 17, 2015. Sherry Gray from the UConn Extension – Hartford County coordinated the event. The event was hosted by UConn Health Center, UConn Extension and Yale New Haven Hospital and was sponsored by […]
Home Canning, Food Safety, and Botulism
Home canning, food safety, and botulism—don’t freak out, but do process safely By Diane Wright Hirsch As an Extension educator, I have been teaching folks how to can for more than thirty years. And still, what worries folks the most is botulism poisoning. While it continues to be very rare, when it does occur, it […]
Jolly Ranchers 4-H Club
The Jolly Ranchers 4-H Club of Durham celebrated Memorial Day by participating in the town parade again this year. Photos by Len Baginski.
Greenwich PEP Graduates
Congratulations to our UConn Extension People Empowering People (PEP) graduates from Greenwich! They graduated in a ceremony on May 11th.
Proven Biological Controls for Ornamentals
Photos from our Biological Controls Workshop on June 18th. We had a fabulous turnout and great speakers, thank you everyone.
Highlights of Extension
The Highlights of Extension showcase our program achievements from the past year. Learn more about our various programs and how they tie research to real life.
First Place in Storytelling with Maps
Last week at the Esri International User Conference in San Diego, UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research‘s Emily Wilson and Chet Arnold received the First Place Award in the Science/Technology/Education category of the Esri Storytelling with Maps Contest. There were over 400 submissions to the contest and only 5 first place winners. Over 16,000 […]
Eat Smart Live Strong
UConn Extension’s SNAP-Ed Food Security partnered with Elmwood Senior Center in Danbury to offer the USDA Eat Smart Live Strong program this summer. Programs are led by Heather Peracchio, Extension Educator and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Seniors are provided $15 vouchers towards fresh produce and round-trip transportation to the Farmers Market twice per month thanks to a […]
Living Shoreline Workshop
Connecticut Sea Grant and Extension’s CLEAR hosted the second Living Shoreline Workshop in June as part of the Climate Adaptation Academy. This workshop brought over 100 participants together to hear experts from Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and other states including Connecticut talk about different aspects of living shorelines including on the ground examples and what has […]
Bristol PEP Graduates
Congratulations to our UConn Extension People Empowering People (PEP) graduates from Bristol. Four groups: South Side FRC, West Bristol FRC, Bristol Head Start/FRC and Greene Hills FRC graduated on June 4th.
4-H Microwave Magic
The New London County 4-H program was at Norwich Summer Jam & Learn last week. This cooking project 4-H Microwave Magic. The 4-H program will be there every Wednesday with the youth.
UConn Extension Interns Tie Research to Real Life
Each year, UConn students apply and compete for paid internship opportunities with UConn Extension, whose mission is to connect the power of UConn research to local issues by creating practical, science-based answers to complex problems. This summer, 13 students are tying research to real life in our UConn Extension offices across the state. Santiago Palaez […]
IPM at Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford
Through its offices located throughout Connecticut, UConn Extension connects the power of UConn research to local issues by creating practical, science-based answers to complex problems. Extension provides scientific knowledge and expertise to the public in areas such as: economic viability, business and industry, community development, agriculture and natural resources. This post, written by Mary Concklin […]
The Untimely Death of a Worm
By Catherine Hallisey Connecticut FoodCorps As I was kneeling by a raised garden bed, planting snap peas with a couple of students, I heard a third grader scream “NOOOOOO!” from the other side of the garden. An array of thoughts immediately sped through my mind in the split second it took me to get over to […]
Tools for Healthy Living
“Tools for Healthy Living,” a curriculum about healthy homes and food safety, has been accepted as a national peer-reviewed curriculum by the National 4-H Council. The curriculum, designed for students in grades four through six who are in afterschool 4-H programs, was developed by UConn Extension as part of a 5-year Sustainable Community Project grant […]
Healthier Food at the Right Price
Moms from Grassroots Academy learned about saving money at the store while feeding their family healthier foods during a grocery store tour at Price Rite in Danbury last week led by EFNEP educator and dietitian Heather Peracchio and extension aide Juliana Restrepo-Marin. The tour was in partnership with the Cooking Matters at the store program.
Mmmm…Strawberry Season
By Diane Wright Hirsch, Extension Educator, Food Safety One of the best things about early summer in Connecticut is strawberry season. I will never understand why folks buy California berries at the supermarket in June. I recently saw a post on a local farm’s Facebook page where a customer shared a picture of two […]