Congratulations to Mark Riley who was selected and appointed as the new department head for Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering effective this week.
The UA Cooperative Extension was well represented at the 2nd Annual Generations of Women Luncheon, a fundraiser at the Arizona Biltmore for the Arizona Osteoporosis Coalition (AZOC). Daphne Monroe, ABC Channel 15, Erin Nurss, Miss Arizona 2008 (and Dept. of Nutrition - SNAP Ed staff) and State Senator Amanda Aguirre, Yuma, were the featured speakers. Dr. Linda Houtkooper, Dr. Tim Lohman (UA emeritus), Dr. Jeff Lisse (College of Medicine) and Sharon Hoelscher Day are AZOC board members. Sharon has been AZOC President for 3 years. AZOC supports bone health education across the state and recently completed a 3 county screening and education pilot with Well Woman HealthCare, AZ Department of Health Services, and Bone Builders.
The 2009 AZCPA Desert Ag Conference took place in Casa Grande on May 6-7. I'd like to make note of and thank our Extension speakers which included Mike Matheron, John Palumbo and Barry Tickes (Yuma Ag Center), Bill McCloskey (Plant Sciences), Kurt Nolte (Yuma), and Peter Ellsworth (Maricopa Ag Center).
During the 2008-09 school year, the San Carlos Apache Reservation implemented its second year of the Building Bridges program. Building Bridges is a 4-H youth development program designed to provide nutritional and horticultural education. The curriculum from a nationally recognized 4-H program, Junior Master Gardener Health and Nutrition from the Garden (www.jmgkids.us), was used to teach these concepts. Sabrina Tuttle and Celestina Fast Horse recruited high school juniors and seniors as interns who volunteered to attend training series of hands-on nutritional and gardening lessons and activities. Currently, 150 San Carlos youth were recognized as an official Junior Master Gardener group. This year they taught 135 first grade students at the local San Carlos Primary School about growing vegetables and encouraged healthy eating habits as well as gardening skills. The exchange in communication between the high school students and the 1st grade students set the precedent to repeat the program. Students and teachers gained new perspectives on nutrition and gardening and enjoyed interacting with different age groups. The ultimate goal of the program is to build essential life skills and provide nutritional education that will promote healthier lifestyle among native youth.
The University will have a link to Outreach and Extension when their new Web site is released this summer. Everyone in Extension has the opportunity to put their program and event information into this new site so it is visible to the public. You also have the opportunity to become more involved with other units within the University that do outreach by joining the UA Collaborative for Community Engagement and Outreach. Join Sheila Merrigan, Dan McDonald and Lisa Schwartz in an overview and training session on both the Collaborative and inputting data into the new Web portal. Indicate your interest in joining a session by going to Doodle at doodle.com/vzyy9shuv529fuq4. If you have any questions, contact Sheila Merrigan (merrigan@cals.arizona).
I am back in the office and always available for phone, email or face-to-face meetings. My doctor will not let me drive or travel for a few more weeks. Thank you for your support.
New
Revised
The 18th Annual Desert Horticulture Conference is only 4 days away - Friday, May 15, Tucson Convention Center. The Planning Committee has put together an exciting line up of topics and speakers. The theme this year is "Strategies for Success". University personnel featured among the speakers are Glenn Wright, Grant McCormick, Rex Adams, Theresa Crimmins, Judy Brown, Trent Teegerstrom, Stacey Bealmear, and Liz Barta. For further information, go to the Desert Horticulture Web site (cals.arizona.edu/deserthort).
James A. Christenson, Ph.D.
(jimc@cals.arizona.edu)
Associate Dean and Director
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Forbes, Room 301
Tucson, Arizona 85721
520/621-7205
520/621-1314 FAX
TMN submittal: http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/submittal_form.html