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Nov-Dec, 2023
Volume 4, Issue 6
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Working to improve lives, communities, the environment, and economies throughout Pima County. | | |
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Family Resource Centers Open In Pima County
The Family Engagement Program is part of a long-awaited program that brings Family Resource Centers to three sites in southern Pima County – Sahuarita Food Bank, Robles Elementary in Altar Valley, and Los Ranchitos Elementary in Sunnyside. Welcoming families with children five and under, these Family Resource Centers offer a rainbow of fun and educational activities including Fine Arts, Garden Discovery Days, Triple P Child Behavior Management, and Where Does Your Money Go? workshops – just to name a few! What’s special about Family Resource Centers is the model of program delivery. Staffed five days a week, the Centers offer a safe and inspiring place for moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and foster parents to bring their children to play, explore, and learn. Families can come in and use the play area to build a tower of blocks or cuddle up with the Very Hungry Caterpillar. They can join in workshops for children or adults, access resources, and enjoy film screenings, holiday parades, and other special events! These Centers are designed for all families to build skills, community, and memories.
Ninety percent of a child’s brain is developed by the age of five. The Family Engagement Program helps families maximize this critical period of development with activities that appeal to children’s senses and promote creativity. Parents and caregivers learn tools to build their children’s confidence and problem-solving skills. Parents and caregivers who complete Family Engagement Program classes have lower levels of stress and anxiety. They also report better relationships with their children and improved behavior! What’s not to love?! The Family Resource Center is funded by First Things First. Pima Extension is a subcontractor under United Way in partnership with Casa de los Niños, Easter Seals Blake Foundation, and Parent Aid.
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Director's Note
Young People
are Our Future
Young people inspire us and help us see the world in new ways. As parents, extended family, caregivers, friends, and educators, many of us seek to teach and support youth, but what we get back in return is often the real gift in these relationships. How wonderful to meet young people with a driving desire to carve out a future and to make the world a better, more hopeful, and joyful place. This is exactly what we want to nurture at every stage of development through Pima County Cooperative Extension programming. Our Family Engagement Program helps children and parents/caregivers build strong, healthy relationships and helps families achieve financial awareness and security. Our Snap-Education and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education programs support families to build the nutritional, culinary, and food access needed to give children and young people a secure home base. Pima Extension 4-H programming touches youth directly starting with Tucson Village Farm Little Sprouts classes for our 2-5-year-old little farmers and going all the way to the 4-H club program’s graduating seniors with years of skills building and self-reliance in their pockets. These kids have raised and competed with their animals, excelled at statewide and national events, created youth-driven programming, and more. Later, our youth education merges into workforce development as UA student workers and AmeriCorps extend their 4-H experience by working at 4-H Tucson Village Farm - giving back in meaningful ways to the youth that follow them. As Thanksgiving approaches, we, at Pima County Extension are taking a moment to be thankful for the many inspiring youth that come through our programs and for the privilege of being part of their journey. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Claire L. Zucker
Director, Pima County Cooperative Extension
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4-H Tucson Village Farm Holiday Market:
Shop and Give at the Same Time
Shopping for the holidays can be stressful, but purchasing homemade local goods while supporting local youth makes it fun and you’ll feel great knowing that you are helping to support a great program. Join us on Tuesday, December 12th from 4 pm-8 pm for Tucson Village Farm’s Annual Holiday Market. The event will take place at the “Big” farm located at 2201 E. Roger Rd. There will be food and music to get you in the holiday spirit along with homemade products, farm-to-table food, tea, soaps, and salves! In addition to the handmade items, we will be selling all of our favorite kitchen tools and gadgets. There is something for everyone at this fabulous event. We hope you will come and find special gifts for family and friends, and with every purchase, you will be supporting the 4-H program at Tucson Village Farm.
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Pima Smartscape Intern to Build Spanish Language Outreach
RISE is one of the many Educational Initiatives within University of Arizona's Arizona Institute for Resilience. RISE funding is available for all types of organizations and UArizona departments to support student experiences in the broad area of resilience and workforce development. It was Pima Smartscape’s Debbie Lesko who learned about this opportunity at the UA Cooperative Extension Conference and shared the opportunity with Program Manager Karen Hanshaw. The team is very excited to support Karina Guadalupe Martinez, who has volunteered for Smartscape in the past and is back at UArizona as an Arid Lands PhD candidate, for the internship. Karina’s project is to develop and implement a comprehensive, Spanish language outreach and engagement program to increase registration and participation in Smartscape Español by Spanish speaking landscape and green industry professionals. As Karina stated, “The RISE internship program's values align seamlessly with my vision. As an advocate for water efficiency and environmental sustainability, the Smartscape program's comprehensive training deeply resonates with me. I am eager to apply its proven curriculum to practical scenarios while fostering community collaboration and promoting sustainable landscaping practices. These initiatives will not only enhance my own learning journey but also contribute to the program's mission of community impact.” We are honored to have Karina as a RISE intern!
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Lots of people =
Lots of leftovers
Our Expanded Food and Nutrition Education team wishes you a lovely holiday season, but they also want to let you know about how to keep your leftovers safe. When preparing for your special event, remember that there may be an invisible enemy ready to strike. It’s called BAC (foodborne bacteria), and it can make you sick. Lots of people and little time can create opportunities for mishandling and contamination. After the big party, remember to safely handle leftovers to prevent foodborne illness. Here are some tips to help!
- Put away perishable foods quickly! You will need to throw away all perishable foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs, and casseroles, left at room temperature longer than two hours; one hour in air temperatures above 90 °F. This also includes leftovers taken home from a restaurant. Some exceptions to this rule are foods such as cookies, crackers, bread, and whole fruits.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftovers in shallow containers. So, for whole roasts, hams, and turkeys, slice them up into smaller portions before storing them in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Leftovers stored in the refrigerator should be consumed within 3-4 days, and leftovers should be heated to 165°F prior to consumption. Foods stored longer may become unsafe to eat and cause foodborne illness. Remember that food may look safe, but bacteria that cause illness do not affect the taste, smell, or appearance of food.
- Frozen storage times are much longer, but some items such as salads made with mayonnaise do not freeze well. Foods kept frozen longer than recommended storage times are safe to eat, but may be drier and not taste as good.
- WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT!
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200 exhibitors at Pima's 4-H Fur and Feather Showcase
Fur and Feather is Pima County 4-H’s biggest small stock show of the season. Members from many Arizona counties come to show their small stock animals in a showmanship contest at the University of Arizona’s Campus Agricultural Center. The animal projects include rabbits, cavies, poultry, pigeons, and pygmy goats. This year, nearly 200 exhibitors participated in the show, some of which took home prizes for Grand and Reserve Champion Showman in their respective species categories. From this show, kids learn confidence in the show ring as well as public speaking skills from talking with judges. This also helps to prepare them for larger shows like the upcoming State 4-H Stock Show, the Pima County Fair, the Arizona State Fair, and for some, the Arizona National Livestock Show. Members also participated in a fun costume contest where they were able to dress up their animals to win prizes. Some of the youth went as far as to make their own costumes. We had everything from rabbits dressed as burritos, to chickens wearing poodle skirts. Between the shows and the costumes, members had a blast! We can’t wait to see what our small stock showmen do next!
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Tips to Help Your
Winter Garden Bloom
It is time for winter gardening and Pima County Master Gardeners have lots of tips to get you started.
Planting and Fertilizing
- In early November, sow seeds outdoors for spring-flowering wildflowers including California and Mexican poppies, cowpen daisies, desert blue bells, desert marigolds, tidy tips, and white chicory; keep the area moist until seeds germinate.
- Plant flowering perennials, set out rain lily bulbs, and transplant trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, herbs, and winter vegetables.
- Add small amounts of ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate to winter vegetables every month. Do not fertilize citrus, roses, or frost-tender plants.
Watering and Maintenance
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Make sure you have adjusted your watering frequencies.
- If you see fungus or mushrooms, cut back on watering in that area.
- Irrigate in preparation for cold nights. Moist soil will store heat from the sun’s energy and release it at night, keeping your plants warmer.
- Prepare for frosts by obtaining sheets (not plastic), blankets, frost cloth, utility lights, or large Christmas lights (not miniatures or LED).
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Watch for cold nights and protect plants.
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Do general garden cleanup like pulling weeds, removing dead or dying plants, and raking up fallen leaves to add to your compost.
- Replenish organic mulches and stone landscape mulches.
- If prickly pear cacti have a cottony cochineal scale, a strong spray of water from a garden hose will remove most of it, but heavily infested pads should be cut off at the joint and discarded.
- Move adeniums (desert roses) and other cold-sensitive succulents to a protected area for winter.
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Thank You Jon Callahan
We extend a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Jon Callahan for his years of service at Pima County Cooperative Extension. Over the years, he spent endless hours keeping the grounds groomed at all of our locations so that they were ready for visitors to enjoy. He took great pride in contributing to the beautiful environment we all work in and it has been greatly appreciated. It is with gratitude, but also some sadness that we say goodbye to Jon in his role as a groundskeeper with his retirement. We hope that he enjoys his days doing all the things he loves and that he knows that he left his mark. His warm personality and joking antics will be missed. Thank you, Mr. Callahan, for all that you contributed to Pima Extension!
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Thank You Arbico Organics
The Pima Master Gardener program would like to take a moment to share our appreciation for our community partner ARBICO Organics. Rick and Sheri Frey have been providing the Tucson community with sustainable pest control alternatives since 1979 when they combined their interests in rearing insects and environmental stewardship. The natural products they provide are wonderful additions to our gardens. ARBICO Organics generously partners with the Pima County Extension by donating compost to be sold at the Master Gardener plant sale. The proceeds of compost sales go toward supporting the maintenance of our beautiful demonstration gardens. If you haven’t yet visited our gardens, we invite you to come and enjoy this hidden little oasis. Through the support of volunteer gardeners and community partners like ARBICO Organics, the Pima County Master Gardener program can continue offering resources and education to keep Tucson learning and growing. We have many helpful Extension publications, such as Small Scale Composting in the Low Desert of Arizona, and Integrated Pest Management for the Home Garden. To answer your plant and garden questions, visit our online Plant Clinic.
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UArizona Pima County Cooperative Extension
Programs and Upcoming Events
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Pima County Cooperative Extension
Website | 2022 Annual Report
Main Office: 4210 N Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719-1109
Green Valley Location: 530 E Whitehouse Canyon Rd
South Tucson, The Garden Kitchen: 2205 S 4th Avenue
Email: pcce@arizona.edu
Our Main Office on Campbell is open M-F 8:30 - 4:30
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