Lisa Fisher and I got out of the office today and not only was it fun, but what started as a rainy day in Davis turned out to be beautiful in Marin and Sonoma Counties. I so appreciate the time everyone took to share their programs with us. Truly inspiring work to say the least! David Lewis hosted us in the Marin County office. It was great to hear about the horticulture programs in the county and meet Tami and Vicki, the local Master Gardener co-Presidents; Lauren Klein, the community garden program director (120 gardens!) who is also active with food policy in the county; Lois, a Sapphire Master Gardener Volunteer that has logged over 5,000 volunteer hours; and Peggy Mathers, who oversees the Garden Walk program that, in partnership with the local water district, has completed over 1400 garden walks through the help of over 120 Master Gardener Volunteers. What an impressive Master Gardener program. Lisa and I had a chance to visit one of the newest Master Gardener projects – the edible demonstration garden at Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden. I never would have thought of using a hay bale as a container garden – how creative and cute! And the partnership at Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden is a fabulous example of what people can accomplish when focused on a common goal. The result is an outstanding resource for the community as well as for the partners.
Steven Swain and Janice Alexander took us through oak woodland and I learned about the different species of oak trees, sudden oak death and its transmission and how the forest health program interacts with programs across UCCE. I was also impressed to learn that Marin County UCCE has a communications and outreach coordinator, Bonnie Nielson. Not to mention the enrollment success that Allison Keaney and Steven Worker have had with the 4H club and after school programs. No doubt all of the programs rely heavily on support from Vicky Jimenez and Ana Medina. Thanks Marin UCCE for the hospitality!
The visit to Sonoma County UCCE was equally fascinating! Stephanie Larson organized a great afternoon to help me better understand and appreciate the strong partnership UCCE has with Sonoma County including the opportunity to meet some of the county staff that are key to the team (Deborah Curle, office manager; Jesenia Mendoza, Diego Mariscal, and Judy Ludovise with the 4-H program). Karen Giovannini, also a county employee, explained the function of an agricultural ombudsman and the work she is doing with Farmer 101 trainings. And UCCE Advisors Lucia Varela and Rhonda Smith filled me in on the wine grape industry in the county; its value and threats as well as their specific research areas to support the industry. And in addition to being the County Director, I had a chance to learn more about the work that Stephanie is doing with ecosystem services and working landscapes. There is so much going on! We had a chance to see some of the programming in action, including the first class of the winter Master Gardener training program that Mimi Enright was leading.
To finish out the day we watched Diego and high school volunteers work with an after-school 4-H program where everyone was learning about the forces of flight before constructing and testing paper airplanes. The 4-Hers were clearly having a great time and it was a blast to observe. Diego and Steve Worker have big plans for the program with a total of 6 clubs soon-to-be underway.
I'm looking forward to my next visit to Marin and Sonoma to see more of UCCE in action in these communities.