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Spring has sprung...and with the warming weather, precipitation, and longer days we are graced with a symphony of tender plant growth, a chorus of budding flowers, and a surge of inspiration to sow seeds or plant a garden with visions of backyard splendor. This is a great time to reacquaint yourself with the excellent, science-based information available on the UC ANR Integrated Pest Management (IPM) site. You will find valuable tips for sustainable pest management and other horticultural issues to ensure your growing success!
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4-H Presentation Day 2025
This year’s Presentation Day was a resounding success, with nearly 30 youth participating in a variety of roles and competitions, including Presentations, the Interview Contest, and Junior Judging and Room Runners. Several youth earned top honors in the Blue and Gold divisions, qualifying them to advance to the Regional Competition, should they choose to do so. Additionally, nearly 20 adult volunteers lent their time and expertise, serving as evaluators, running craft booths, and hosting games. Their support and dedication were essential to the event's success. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Dan Hogan, our Presentation Day Chair, for her outstanding efforts in organizing this memorable event.
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Elkus Updates
The mini-donkeys have settled in nicely with their fellow donkey, Sassy, and tribe of goats in the contact yard and are a popular addition to our field trip visitors.
Our young ram, unapologetically named Rambo, is thriving with his male roommates while we all wait to see if his time spent earlier with our female sheep (ewes) bear lambs in the next month or so.
Our spring field trip season has officially kicked off with a full schedule from March to May this year. We have also added two new educators to our team to ensure we can accommodate as many classes as possible. We are back to seeing pre-pandemic numbers of students and are working to diversify programs to better serve the needs of students in today’s world.
New this spring, in partnership with the Cabrillo Unified School District (CUSD), we are piloting a weekly Agricultural Leadership Program at the ranch. Elkus Lead Educator, Beth Loof, designed and is leading this pilot curriculum with local continuation high school students. These students are getting a deep ranch experience over a 12-week period, learning how to lead each element of an Elkus school field trip. Stay tuned for more on this new program.
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Pictured above: Rambo and his roomies and Pictured below: our team of Ranch Educators.
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A New Year of Food Preservation!
Master Food Preservers welcomed 13 new students to our training program in January who are busy learning the science behind different methods of home food preservation and getting hands-on experience in our kitchen. In June they will be ready to help teach the public about food safety and how to make the most of your bounty of food at home.
The 2025 MFP online workshop series with the San Mateo County Libraries began in February with presentation flexible fermentation. About 100 participants learned how friendly bacteria work with us to create delicious and nutritious fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. It’s so easy and fun to do at home! Free online workshops will continue monthly and will include many new topics including making your own condiments, cheesemaking, and emergency preparedness.
Registration for our in-person spring workshop on April 12th - Salmon Says: Can It! –is now open! Space is limited, so don’t miss your opportunity to learn the basics of pressure canning while also appreciating the versatility of salmon. In addition to gaining hands-on experience in canning salmon, participants will also learn about salmon restoration efforts in San Mateo County. Lunch and a tour of Elkus ranch are included.
Registration URL: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=45618
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MFP Hands-On Training Class Lab learning to prepare Kimchi (top) & Sauerkraut (below) | |
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MG 2025 Spring Garden Market and Educational Fair
Planning is well underway for the MG 2025 Spring Garden Market and Educational Fair (SGM) - our major fund-raising event of the year – taking place on Saturday April 19, 9:00 AM-1:00 PM at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds Sequoia Hall. MG volunteers grow and sell unique vegetable seedlings that we know do well in micro-climates specific to our County. This big event also provides our home gardening clientele with an opportunity to seek guidance one-on-one, and learn from UC Master Gardeners and their expertise in sustainable, successful gardening practices.
Multiple varieties of tomatoes, squash, peppers, pollinator and native plants are among the many plants that are currently being grown by our volunteers for this year’s SGM. We are in a smaller hall than previous years which doesn’t have enough room for the Presentations area we had last year, but we will make do. We will also have books for sale and plenty of live demonstrations and presentations.
Our library of educational YouTube videos is also growing. There are videos pertaining to Firewise landscaping, seed saving, planting trees and gardening to mitigate climate change amongst many others. Subscribe and keep coming back because new videos are added regularly and many topics are seasonal in nature.
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CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE
CalFresh Healthy Living UCCE San Mateo/San Francisco is kicking off the year with exciting projects and programs focused on nutrition, physical activity, and gardening education across our two counties. With a fully staffed team, we have significantly increased our capacity to support community partners in meaningful and impactful ways.
As the school year is in full swing, our educators are actively delivering core programming in classrooms throughout San Francisco and San Mateo counties. Many are using the Let’s Eat Healthy curriculum from the Dairy Council of California, along with other site-specific approaches. Additionally, our garden-related initiatives continue to expand. Teams with Inter-Generational Support (TWIGS) remains a foundational educational framework, thoughtfully adapted to meet the unique needs of each site. Meanwhile, at Connect Community Charter, our team has been using the Food Smarts for Kids curriculum to teach seventh and eighth graders culturally relevant, accessible cooking skills (photos below).
Our work in early childhood education (ECE) centers also continues to grow. Educators are engaging young children—and often their parents—in learning about the food they eat and its impact on health using the Glow, Go, and Grow curriculum. To promote physical activity, we are implementing the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) curriculum. In partnership with community-serving organizations, we are also leveraging the Plan, Shop, Save, and Cook (PSSC) program to teach resource management skills.
Beyond direct education, we remain committed to policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change efforts across both counties. Our initiatives include cafeteria taste tests featuring local produce and providing technical assistance using tools from the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement.
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Connect Community Charter (RWC) "Food Smarts for Kids" Activity | |
We are truly grateful to our partners and participants for helping us kick off the year with such momentum—and we look forward to all that’s ahead!
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ANR NONDISCRIMINATION AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY STATEMENT FOR UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
It is the policy of the University of California (UC) and the UC Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources not to engage in discrimination against or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/215244.pdf )
Inquiries regarding ANR’s nondiscrimination policies may be directed to UCANR, Affirmative Action Compliance & Title IX Officer, University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2801 Second Street, Davis, CA 95618,(530) 750-1397.
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