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May 17, 2006
CONTACT: Jeannette Warnert, (559) 241-7514, jewarnert@ucdavis.edu
June 1-7 is International Volunteers Week
The spirit of volunteerism is alive at UC Cooperative Extension. The University’s outreach arm for agriculture, natural resources, 4-H, nutrition and consumer sciences, UCCE depends greatly on the commitment of volunteers to help generate new information and distribute it to youth and adults – enabling healthier, safer and more productive lives for all Californians.
-Longtime volunteer Rhonda Rayn reins in horses and kids
-UC Master Gardeners dig helping the community
-Parents behind "farm-to-school" salad bar
-California farmers are volunteer research collaborators
-Volunteer anglers keep Sea Grant rockfish project afloat
-Volunteer Extraordinaire
-Volunteers sort insects at Sort Night
 Rhonda Rayn
"The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a kid," believes Solano County 4-H leader Rhonda Rayn of Dixon. In the last 16 years, Rayn has taught some 1,500 Solano and Yolo county 4-H’ers how to ride. "Riding a horse keeps kids busy; it keeps them out of trouble,” she said. Rayn volunteers for the Maine Prairie 4-H Club, Dixon, the same club she belonged to as a youth. She coordinates the annual Dixon May Fair Junior Horse Show, gathering prizes, encouraging the contestants, and providing boots, helmets, breeches, shirts and collars for those who can’t afford them or forgot to bring them. Two of her equestrian nieces call her “Aunt Rhonda,” but so do scores of others—so many that one mother asked recently: “Just how many of these kids are you related to?” Rayn also teaches basic equestrian skills to special needs children in the Ride to Walk program. Some have cerebral palsy. "When they ride bareback, the heat helps them stretch their muscles so they can walk," she said. "Riding a horse helps them gain their balance and confidence." Rayn, the mother of two grown children, both 4-H alumni, grew up riding horses. Her grandparents owned and bred world-champion horses. Of her volunteerism, Rayn says that she is simply giving back what she was given. For more information, contact Kathy Keatley Garvey, (530) 754-6894, kegarvey@ucdavis.edu
UC Master Gardeners dig helping the community
The UC Master Gardener Program is a volunteer public-service program in which UC Cooperative Extension extends research-based, scientifically accurate information to the public about home horticulture and integrated pest management (IPM). Master Gardeners are volunteers from the community who have an interest in gardening and have successfully completed the extensive master gardener training program. Using materials developed by UC IPM, certified Master Gardeners educate residents in their local communities about how to manage their landscapes and gardens using more environmentally sound pest-management methods. Master Gardeners staff booths at county fairs and local farmers’ markets, host plant clinics and community centers, appear on public-access television, conduct workshops at garden clubs and elementary schools, develop community gardens, write advice columns in local newspapers, and operate hotlines at county offices, answering thousands of telephone requests for information from the gardening public. In addition, master gardeners attend advanced training workshops on IPM and water quality to help residents avoid contaminating urban creeks and waterways with pesticides. The University of California has trained and certified more than 7,000 Master Gardeners since 1980, when the first pilot projects began in Riverside and Sacramento counties. Today, about 1,800 certified volunteer Master Gardeners actively serve in 36 of California’s 58 counties. For more information, contact Karey Windbiel-Rojas, (530) 752-7691, kwindbiel@ucdavis.edu. Tip by Stephanie Klunk, (530) 754-6724, sjklunk@ucdavis.edu.
Parents behind "farm-to-school" salad bar
During the past five years, a group of volunteer parents have crafted the Farm-to-School Connection, a salad bar, school garden and recycling program at all eight Davis Joint School District elementary schools. "The work these dedicated parents, retired teachers and other volunteers have done to make school lunches healthier and help support local farmers has been a model for other schools and communities across the country," said Jeri Ohmart, program assistant for the UC’s statewide Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP). UC SAREP has awarded several grants to the volunteer program. Dorothy Peterson, a 37-year veteran retired Davis school teacher, is president of the nonprofit educational foundation behind the effort. "Dorothy has worked tirelessly to support school gardens, coordinate salad bars, arrange farm visits and present classroom cooking demonstrations to Davis students,” said Gail Feenstra, UC SAREP food system analyst. Peterson has also established a district-wide recycling program that has saved thousands of dollars in waste collection costs, Feenstra said. Page Lee Webb, parent and former president of the educational foundation, said the group "wants children to learn healthy eating habits, understand where their food comes from, and respect the farmers who produce what they eat." "With the help of many parents and other volunteers, the group has reached out into the community to raise awareness about the connection between health and education," Feenstra said. For more information, contact Gail Feenstra, (530) 752-8408, gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu, or Jeri Ohmart, (530) 752-5987, jlohmart@ucdavis.edu. Tip by Lyra Halprin, (530) 752-8664, lhalprin@ucdavis.edu.
 Volunteer farmer Tom Barcellos
The neighborly ways of America’s pioneer farmers – the very foundation on which the world’s most productive agricultural industry was built – has not been lost in the 21st century. Today, much of the research by UC Cooperative Extension academics is conducted in collaboration with volunteer farmers. “They care about the sustainability of agriculture,” said Jeff Mitchell, chair of UC’s conservation tillage workgroup, which relies heavily on a core of committed farmer volunteers. “They want to be part of the process that charts the future of the industry.” Mitchell said farmers offer land as research plots, lend specialized equipment for studies, travel great distances to share their experiences and provide the unique perspective of on-farm experience. “You can find farmer collaborators in UC research in every county, in every corner of the state of California,” said Maxwell Norton, UC’s agricultural productivity program leader. “Laboratory-based research has and always will provide us with information on potential new technologies, but until we try these out on real farms, we never know for sure how useful the technology will be.” For more information, contact Jeff Mitchell, (559) 646-6565, mitchell@uckac.edu; or Maxwell Norton, (209) 385-7403, mnorton@ucdavis.edu. Tip by Jeannette Warnert, (559) 241-7514, jwarnert@ucop.edu.
Volunteer anglers keep Sea Grant rockfish project afloat
Last summer more than 200 volunteer anglers were part of a study designed by the California Sea Grant Extension Program (SGEP) to investigate rockfish and other nearshore species such as lingcod, cabezon and kelp greenling. They reeled in about 5,000 rockfish and are gearing up for another season of high seas research. Volunteers were recruited through a Web site called the Coastside Fishing Club. Participating in this research gives anglers a vested interest in the study they wouldn’t have otherwise. “One of our objectives was to facilitate interaction among recreational anglers, the charter boat fleet and the scientific community,” said Kristen Green, the principal graduate student on the project. “How they view us is critical to how they view all scientists.” The scientists hope to tag an additional 3,000 fish over 10 days this summer at Duxbury Reef and in new areas north toward Pt. Reyes National Seashore. “Rockfish” include more than 60 nearshore species and some -- like boccacio, cowcod and canary rockfish -- have suffered sharp declines. “Tagging studies like this are an important method of understanding the health of fish populations in a given area,” said Rick Starr, a SGEP marine advisor based at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory. “What’s different about this project is the volunteers we recruited to help us catch, tag and release fish.” For more information, contact Rick Starr at (831) 771-4442, starr@mlml.calstate.edu. Tip by John Stumbos, (530) 754-7770, jdstumbos@ucdavis.edu.
 Mary Lash
Volunteer Mary Lash is one of 4-H’s true gems. The community club leader for the Greenleaf 4-H Club in Downey, Calif., has been active in 4-H for 61 years. Lash was born into the world of 4-H. Her father was an active community leader and her brother was a member. At age 10, Lash joined 4-H and became involved in sewing, rabbits and food preservation projects. Growing up in 4-H, she developed important life and leadership skills. In 1945, she was selected as Los Angeles County All Star Girl. Then, at 17, she stepped into the role of community leader, which she holds to this day. “4-H has been my life,” Lash said. “I learned so much from it, and I love seeing members succeed and grow into leaders. It is truly about learning life skills.” Lash teaches home economics at Paramount High School and credits her 4-H experience for providing her the ability to do what she loves most—teach. The combination of her years of experience as a 4-H member and 4-H leader, along with her background in teaching, offers her a unique perspective and opportunity to make an impact on youth. When she is not volunteering or teaching, Lash spends time in her backyard growing corn, tomatoes, boysenberries and green beans. For more information, contact Mary Lash, (562) 803-4875. Tip by Dohee Kim, (323) 260-3880, dkim@ucdavis.edu.
Volunteers sort insects at Sort Night
Volunteers gather once a month at the R.M. Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis to identify, sort, pin and label insects for display. “We’ve been doing this off and on for about 20 years,” said Bohart director Lynn Kimsey, a professor of entomology at UC Davis. “Newcomers may feel overwhelmed at first, but this is a good, gregarious group and we make them feel at home.” Besides the assorted insects, Sort Night usually draws from 10 to 30 people. “We always have four to six people from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to help--to sort insects to species,” she said. The next Sort Night is from 6 to 10 p.m., Wednesday, June 7. Food and beverages are provided. The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, is dedicated to teaching, research and service, and houses some 7 million specimens in its worldwide collection. The collection focuses on terrestrial and fresh water invertebrates and is home to the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity of California’s deserts, mountains, coast and central valley. For more information, contact Lynn Kimsey, (530) 752-5373, lskimsey@ucdavis.edu. The Web site is at http://bohart.ucdavis.edu. Tip by Kathy Keatley Garvey, (530) 754-6894, kegarvey@ucdavis.edu
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