Hello 2023
We Grow Youth
During January and February, 4-H Agent Caroline Goss presented Environmental Education activities with the Riverview Homeschool Group. These included discussions and hands on activities pertaining to similarities and differences between Antarctic and Arctic polar regions along with an introduction to the “Birds” Extension Program, an ongoing series of activities that will be continued throughout the spring. The goal of these activities is to increase students' knowledge of environmental education and increase literacy and critical thinking skills among participants.
Ashe County Cooperative Extension has been exploring partnership opportunities with Ashe Schools of Home Education. Throughout discussions with adult volunteers and youth participants, several opportunities have been identified including expanding the 4-H Lego Robotics Club, partnerships between FCS and the 4-H Home Economics Club and several others which will be explored throughout 2023.
We Grow Agriculture
Once again, Ashe County Cooperative Extension partnered with Ashe County Parks and Recreation and Ashe County Maintenance to offer Christmas tree recycling. The drop off point was in the parking lot across from the main entrance to Ashe County Park. Over 500 households utilized the recycling program. Once collected, the trees were then chipped and will be used as mulch on trails at Ashe County Park. The perfect environmental gift for a real Christmas tree.
On January 19, 2023, the 2022 Winter Webinar Series through the NC Small Ruminant Improvement Program held the Taking the Next Step: Small Ruminant Post-Weaning Management webinar. Livestock Agent Micah Orfield collaborated with other agents and specialists in North Carolina to offer educational training to small ruminant producers.
During the month of February, the Ashe County Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (EMGV) were hard at work packing seeds for the community. These seeds were grown by the Ashe EMGVs this past year in the Victory Garden. This was a herculean effort, counting and labeling roughly $20,000 worth of seed packets. The majority of these seeds will be stored at the Ashe County Library, with a few dozen being distributed at the High Country Seed Swap and Museum of Ashe County History. If you have any family heirloom seed which you would like to preserve for the future and would be willing to donate, please call us at 336-846-5850.
With the warmer than average weather we received during February, Ashe County Extension started receiving ample phone calls on when to plant seeds. To help with this, Horticulture Program Assistant Blake Williams wrote an article and created two documents to help home gardeners understand our planting windows timeframe. With our first frost free day being May 15th, most indoor seed starting should be postponed till the latter half of March and April. For help understanding Indoor Seed Starting or Outdoor Planting timeframes, please visit our website below.
Deer are the most destructive pests in the Christmas tree industry and Ashe County has one of the highest population densities in North Carolina. In January, Ashe County Cooperative Extension partnered with local tree farmers to study the longevity of new deer repellants at different concentrations. The baby trees in the picture will be followed for over a year, with repellants reapplied at the first sign of deer browse. This information will help inform growers about how to monitor and when to reapply. It also helps our staff provide better recommendations to prevent destructive damage.
We Grow Nutrition
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has delivered all nutrition education classes in person this year. Students really enjoy the healthy snacks. In February, seventy two 4th grade students and fifty six 6th grade students completed a series of EFNEP classes and received a graduation certificate plus a neat water bottle they can bring to school.
FCS Agent Amanda Butalla met with the Ashe 4-H Home Economics Club to discuss food and nutrition learning opportunities.
If you haven’t been into the Ashe County Cooperative Extension office since the first of the year, we wanted to show off our new meeting space. Travis Birdsell, County Extension Director, moved out of the corner office to provide space for this new, comfortable collaborative meeting space. We always look forward to office visits and face to face meetings, and now we can make sure you feel comfortable when you visit. Just remember that we are often out in the community working, so if you would like to meet with us call ahead to make sure we are here when you stop by. We look forward to seeing you soon!
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, genetic information, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, sexual orientation and veteran status. NC State, N.C. A&T, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
Credits:
Mark Stebnicki, NC Farm Bureau and NC Cooperative Extension, Ashe County Center Staff