Do you have questions about food, health, or sustainability topics? Ask UConn Extension. Extension educators are working in every town and city in Connecticut to bring the research of UConn to our communities. UConn Extension is on a collaborative journey. We co-create knowledge with farmers, families, communities, and businesses. We educate. We convene groups to […]
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A Healthy Home is Dry
Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home dry. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.
A Healthy Home is Free of Chemicals
Our Healthy Homes program offers the following tips on keeping your home free of chemicals. You can download the document or print it for easy reference.
Garret Basiel: From 4-H Project to College Essay
Garret Basiel was a 4-H member in Middlesex County and is a freshman at UConn this fall in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. This is the college essay he submitted with his application. My fingers felt raw, but I once again pulled back the bowstring and aimed down range at the target. […]
Building Community Through a Garden
Dozens of bright yellow Goldfinches flew alongside as I made my way up the winding driveway past their meadows and into the heart of the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm in Bloomfield. The high, wiry whistle of the birds sounded the alarm at my arrival. I parked behind the barn, and climbed the hill to […]
Service is a Family Tradition
The University of Connecticut People Empowering People (UConn PEP) received a generous gift from the estate of the Reverend John Evans, a lifelong Episcopal priest. The donor was Cherry Czuba, retired Extension Educator from Haddam, and niece of John Evans. He was a charismatic and fascinating uncle who endeared himself to many people. Throughout his […]
Remembering Grace Hanlon
Grace Hanlon began her experience at the New London County 4-H Camp at the age of 7. The camp, situated on 24 ½ acres in Franklin, CT, provides both day and over-night camping experiences to over 2,100 youth annually. 4-H is the youth development program of UConn Extension. As part of the University of Connecticut, 4-H […]
Angie Tovar: 4-H Alumni Spotlight
Angie Tovar of Danbury was a teen mentor in our CT FANs IM 4-H program. She is entering her junior year of college at Western Connecticut State University where she majors in Elementary Education. Angie currently works as a translator for St. Peter Church in Danbury and Student Worker for Pre-Collegiate and Access Programs in […]
Chris Collins: Making a Difference
By Cathleen Love Chris Collins moved to Meriden, Connecticut four years ago with his girlfriend and her two children. In his professional capacity he serves as a substance abuse counselor at Rushford at Meriden, an organization that offers a variety of outpatient programs and services, including counseling young adults about substance use disorders. A longtime […]
Cooking with EFNEP at Morris Street School
Since, 1969, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has helped families in Connecticut learn about healthy eating, physical activity, cooking, and shopping on a budget. Despite being an affluent state, nearly 1 in 5 families with children in Connecticut is food insecure, or does not have adequate access to healthy food. Many urban areas in Connecticut are amongst the poorest in […]
My 4-H Story
MY 4-H STORY By Mia Herrera It is safe to say that 4-H has more than just impacted my life. It has given me opportunities that would enhance my leadership and citizenship skills, and it has also shaped me into the person I have become. 4-H has provided life skill s and given me the […]
4-H Spotlight: Edward Merritt
4-H Alumni and Retiree Spotlight Edward Merritt – Retired Hartford County Administrator, 4-H Agent and MA 4-H Alumni By Nancy Wilhelm, Program Coordinator, State 4-H Office At 83 Ed Merritt remembers a lot of exciting experiences during his time with the Hartford County Extension Program. He came to UConn Extension on October 1, 1963 directly […]
Cooking Matters
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) helps families learn about healthy eating, shopping on a budget, cooking and physical activity. EFNEP staff strive to empower participants, providing knowledge and skills to improve the health of all family members. Participants learn through doing, with cooking, physical activity and supportive discussions about nutrition and healthy […]
Cook Before Eating
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH, Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety During the holiday season, from Thanksgiving dinner through New Year’s celebrations, people who rarely spend time in the kitchen may be more likely to pick up a cookbook and make some cookies. Or, they may be stuffing their first turkey for Christmas day family dinner. Or […]
Laura Irwin: 4-H Alumni Spotlight
It was never a question of if Laura Irwin of Hartland would join 4-H, but rather, when she would become a 4-H member. “My mom always wanted to be a 4-H member, and never had the opportunity,” Laura recalls. “So, she made sure her children did. I joined when I was 7-years old, and I’m […]
Handling Food Leftovers
So, you know how to cook a turkey until it is safe to eat; but what about handling the leftovers? By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety Even though many Americans are eating more meals out of the home and some are turning to “meal kits” to make it pretty painless to cook dinner, […]
The First HardCORE CT Apple Challenge
The First HardCORE CT Apple Challenge with Put Local On Your Tray! October is special for a few reasons. Everyone is getting back in the swing of things at school, the foliage outstanding, and the many varieties of delicious crisp apples are ripening atop trees in orchards across the state. The combination makes a perfect […]
Windham County 4-H Providing New Opportunities for Young People
By Marc Cournoyer Though traditional 4-H interest areas continue to thrive, additional audiences have been reached with the introduction of imaginative new programs. The last year has seen continued expansion in the areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education with the success of the Saturday Science Club, a home school based STEM club […]
Building Communities: Brass City Harvest
UConn Extension empowers communities by building a network of awareness and knowledge. One example of this is Brass City Harvest, Inc. in Waterbury. Extension educators in our greenhouse and Master Gardener programs worked with Susan Pronovost to build the capacity of 501(c)3 organization. Susan shared her organization’s work with us Brass City Harvest, Inc. is […]
Tick Testing Available at UConn
Headed outdoors? Make sure you take precautions against ticks in October and November. Adult ticks are more active during this time of the year, creating a problem for both humans and animals. These disease-carrying arachnids reside in moist areas, long grass and the leaf litter and will latch onto humans and animals alike. Although there […]
Extension Internship Leads to Career Path
When Julia Cobuzzi of Monroe transferred to UConn from Stonehill College in Massachusetts at the beginning of her sophomore year, she was not sure what she could do with a major in Allied Health Sciences. “I took Introduction to Nutrition with Stacey Mobley, and it has been my favorite course by far in my college […]
How Clean is That Refrigerator of Yours?
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety The invention of mechanical refrigeration was one of the most important developments in the history of keeping food safe (others include the pasteurization of milk and commercial canning). Ask anyone who has suffered through the aftermath of a hurricane or ice storm without the benefit of […]
Elsie Woolam Named 2017 National 4-H Hall of Fame Inductee
By Nancy Wilhelm Congratulations to Elsie Woolam for her selection as a member of the 2017 National 4-H Hall of Fame. The National 4-H Hall of Fame honors 4-H volunteers, extension professionals and staff employees, donors and others who have made a significant impact on the 4-H program and /or 4-H members through the contribution […]
Food Safety and Foodborne Illness: There Will Always Be Surprises
By: Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety I took on food safety as a focus of my Extension programming in the early 1990’s: little did I know that for the next 20-plus years my food safety educator life would be full of surprises. Early on, the issues were what a consumer would […]
25 Years of Lifelong Learning
Article by Kim Colavito Markesich Orginally published by Naturally.UConn.edu This fall, the UConn Extension Center for Learning in Retirement (CLIR) celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary of providing interesting and engaging lifelong learning activities for retirees and other adults. The milestone was celebrated October 19 with a luncheon at the Deanston House in Storrs. The UConn Board […]
Engaging Communities with UConn PEP
The University of Connecticut People Empowering People (UConn PEP) is a personal and family development program with a strong community focus. Retired UConn Extension educator Cherry Czuba started the program in 1996 with a USDA State Strengthening grant to the Department of Extension in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. Building upon individual […]
Understanding the Value of Multi-Use Trails
Article by Laura Brown Answering growing demand for alternatives to car based transportation and potential improvements to public health and quality of life, Connecticut has vowed to invest billions of dollars in new transportation infrastructure, including $100 million on pedestrian and bicycle paths[1]. While interest in multi-use trails is growing, they can be expensive to […]
Jacobs Receives 2017 Salute to Excellence
Congratulations to New Haven County 4-H volunteer Bill Jacobs, who was recently selected as this year’s recipient of the Salute to Excellence Northeast Region 4-H Volunteer of the Year Award. William (Bill) Jacobs is in his ninth year as a 4-H volunteer in New Haven County, CT. He works as a Vocational/Transition Coordinator for Area […]
Spring: Egg Safety Time
Spring: A good time to remind you about egg safety By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety Spring is here (at least officially) and it is always a good time to remind ourselves of how to safely handle eggs. Whether you are hard-boiling them for an Easter or Passover celebration, or looking forward […]
Tick Testing
Warmer weather months in Connecticut are the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. There are beautiful trails to hike, parks to visit with your children or dogs, and there is the simple joy of lying in the lush, green grass. Of course, with the warm weather also comes with the New England […]
Attending the Inauguration with 4-H
I recently returned from Washington D.C. where I joined 4 fellow Connecticut 4-Hers to attend the first ever Citizen Washington Focus Presidential Inauguration. It was held in conjunction with the Presidential Inauguration. We were there with 500 4-Hers from all across the country who all shared the same interest in democracy and politics. We stayed […]
Import a Little Flavor in the Winter Months
By Diane Wright Hirsch Senior Extension Educator/Food Safety OK, I admit it…. I just cannot eat totally “local” and “seasonal” during the winter. It’s just too hard at this time of year. And, also, so many cold weather menus and winter celebrations revolve around aromas, flavors and sensations that come from foods that do not […]
EFNEP: Making an Impact
The nutrition programming through EFNEP has three components: healthy food and physical activity choices, making funds go farther, and learning skills to improve food preparation and food safety practices. Clients participate in four to eight lessons, meet with the educator at least four times, complete pre and post assessments, participate in food and nutrition activities, […]
Put Local on Your Tray
To our neighbors across the ocean, lunch in American schools is evidence of our culinary inferiority. The fact that one third of the nation’s children are growing up overweight and obese leads many to point a finger at school food. But in reality, the age of sloppy joes and tater tots is steadily giving way […]
CYFAR Summer Experience at Auerfarm
By Sherry Gray The Auerfarm is a 4-H Education Center with 120 acres located in the northwest section of Bloomfield, Connecticut. The Farm was deeded to the non-profit Connecticut 4–H Development Fund in 1976; however; has a rich history dating back to the early years of the 20th Century. The farm served as a model […]
Pumpkins are a Terrible Thing to Waste…
By Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH UConn Extension Educator/Food Safety Pumpkins are thought to have originated in North America. Early colonists learned of pumpkins from Native American Indians for whom pumpkin was a dietary staple. They would often cut strips of pumpkin and roast them on an open fire before eating. These resourceful people also dried […]
A Foundation in 4-H
Solomon “Sol” Boucher of Tolland exemplifies the 4-H motto of making the best better. Sol has taken the foundation in leadership and citizenship skills developed through the 4-H program to a global stage, impacting his community, and a wider audience. In 2003, 10-year old Sol joined the Mighty Mix 4-H Club. Deb Couture and Felicia […]
Conversations Around Food
Imagine running out of food, with small children to feed, and no food stamps for another week. Friday’s paycheck has to pay your utility bill, or they will cut off your electricity. Feeling panicked yet? Picture what it was like, over 40 years ago, to have someone from UConn Extension knock on your door and […]
Master Gardener Volunteer Tracy Burrell
We have 1,587 active Master Gardener volunteers in Connecticut. In 2015, they donated 34,555 hours of community service to towns and cities throughout the state, with an economic value of $797,183. Master Gardener offices are in each of the county offices, on the Storrs campus, and the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford. Tracy Burrell of Mystic […]
Auerfarm: Growing Opportunities
The 120-acre 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm is a private, non-profit education center located in Bloomfield. Over 15,000 students and family members participate in year-round 4-H curriculum-based school science programs, animal clubs, and Junior Master Gardening projects annually. Hartford entrepreneur and retailer Beatrice Fox Auerbach and her husband purchased the farm in 1925. Beatrice took […]