2010 Annual Report Rutgers - Rutgers Cooperative Extension of

Ocean County
Ocean County
Cooperative Extension
Cooperative Extension
How to contact us:
2010 Annual Report
Agriculture
[email protected]
Home Horticulture….732-349-1245
Commercial Agriculture….732-349-1246
Natural Resource Management
732-505-3671
4-H Youth Development
Email: [email protected]
732-349-1227
Commercial Fisheries and Aquaculture
Email: [email protected]
732-349-1152
Marine Water Quality and Recreation
Email: [email protected]
732-349-1210
Family and Community Health Sciences
Email: [email protected]
732-349-1247
Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program
Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension helps the diverse population
of New Jersey adapt, to a rapidly changing society and improve their lives and communities through an educational
process that uses science based knowledge. Through science-based educational programs, Rutgers Cooperative
Extension truly enhances the quality of life for residents of New Jersey and brings the wealth of knowledge of the
state university to local communities.
Cooperative Extension goals are to ensure healthy lifestyles; provide productive futures for youth, adults, and
communities; enhance and protect environmental resources; ensure economic growth and agricultural
sustainability; and improve food safety and nutrition.
The program thrust areas include:
Economic Growth and Agricultural Sustainability, Healthy Lifestyles, Human and Community Development, Environment
and Natural Resources, Food Safety and Nutrition.
This report highlights program impact for the calendar year 2010:
▪ 65,547 Fact Sheets Distributed
▪ 46,804 Website Visits
▪ 30,840 Volunteer Hours Donated
▪ 17,829 Telephone Inquiries
▪ 10,831 Office Visits
▪ 266
Educational Meetings
Email: [email protected]
732-349-1247
WEBSITE….http://ocean.njaes.rutgers.edu
Rutgers Cooperative Extension is a partnership of three levels of government: County (Ocean County Board of Freeholders), State (Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey), and Federal (U.S. Department of Agriculture) that was founded by an Act of Congress in 1914.
4-H Program
Natural Resource Management
Karen Mansue, Program Associate
Rich Mohr, Natural Resource Management/Agriculture Agent
Over 600 youth participated in Ocean County 35 4-H Community Clubs, After School Clubs and our Military 4-H Club at
Lakehurst. A new Horse Club- Hoffprints began in Lacey Township and Celtic Riders Horse Club reorganized in Manahawkin-Barnegat.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County coordinates with the Ocean County Soil Conservation District and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide farmers, homeowners, and community property managers with information and skills needed to implement best management practices on their lands.
Volunteers: All club leaders go through screening, training and attend meetings to update skills and keep current on 4-H
policies, county and state programs. These volunteers are the backbone of the 4-H program, donating numerous hours
yearly. Each leader commits 200 volunteer hours just for club meetings, additional time for weekend events, animal shows
and fieldtrips. In 2010, seventy five leaders were honored for contributing over 544 years of service to the Ocean County
4-H Youth Development Program.
The 2010 Ocean County Leader of the Year is Laura Ferrie, Point Pleasant. Mrs.
Ferrie is the Organizational Leader for Noah’s Ark Pet Pals and the Fair Superintendent of the Rabbit and Small Area at the Ocean County Fair. Mrs. Ferrie is the
current President of the O.C. 4-H Association and the county representative to the
NJ State 4-H Association and Advisory. She has been a 4-H volunteer for 11 years.
The 2010 Ocean County Community Volunteer is Mie Lowe, Whiting of Manchester. Mrs. Lowe is the Organizational Leader for the Hare Club, the Showmanship Superintendent during the county fair and Treasurer of the O.C. 4-H Association. Through Mrs. Lowe’s leadership, the Hare Club has received numerous
awards for their community service projects around Manchester. Mrs. Lowe has
Laura Ferrie
Mie Lowe
been a volunteer for 7 years.
Rich Mohr and Cara Muscio, Marine Agent, continued the Sustainable Landscapes Education Program. They worked
with the dozen existing partners to create sites and build programs that teach best management practices in landscape
maintenance. Sites include a variety of community properties managed by county, federal, and private agencies and
organizations. Six new site partners were added this year.
Ocean County also recognizes two clubs yearly for outstanding 4-H work.
The Puppy Power Club, of Toms River, which is a club dedicated to the Seeing Eye Project, received the 2010 Public Relations Award. Club members promoted 4-H around the
County through their continued support and educational outreach with raising Seeing Eye
puppies. Both youth and adults raise these puppies. Members are often seen walking their
puppies at malls, attending Blue Claw games or even riding the train in Point Pleasant to expose the puppies to human behavior.
Rich Mohr continued to assist community gardeners in using best management practices in vegetable gardens. Wise water
use, improving soil health, and practicing integrated pest management to minimize the need
for applying toxic chemicals in the landscape were major themes of programs this year.
AGRICULTURE SERVES: • Farmers • Homeowners • Sports field superintendents
• Pest Control Operators • Landscape designers • Golf course managers •Health officers
• Landscape contractors •Community associations • Nursery and garden centers
Horticulture
Linda Schoch, Horticulturist
Puppy Power receiving new
Seeing Eye Puppies
The Agriculture staff, with the assistance of the Master Gardeners of Ocean County, answer home horticulture questions,
and identify ticks and household pests such as bedbugs and the Brown Marmorated Stinkbug. The Stinkbug is a new,
emerging agricultural pest to Ocean County. Bedbugs are an old pest that now require new control strategies.
The training that the Master Gardeners receive is important to keep the residents of Ocean County updated on these new
and old pests. For this reason, the M.G.’s hosted their second regional state-wide training for Master Gardeners. The
2010 class of thirty Interns has already contributed over 3,000 hours of volunteer service distributing research based
information. The Ocean County Master Gardener program has contributed to successful home gardening for 20 years.
Noah’s Ark Pet Pals received the 2010 Community Development Award. This club based
in Point Pleasant joins in with projects and events in their township. The club is active with
beach and bay cleanups, assisting at the yearly Rabies Clinic, offers a Literacy Program with
their rabbits and promotes 4-H along the way. The club yearly learns about an environmental
issue affecting them. The club is an animal project club, with members having rabbits and
other small critters.
It is the goal of 4-H to enable our youth to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they
need to become competent, caring and contributing citizens of the world. Through their 4-H
experience, 4-Hers will gain independence, master life long skills and learn to give back to their
communities.
Helping homeowners, farmers, and other property managers increase their water conservation practices is another important priority of educational programs in both the Resource Management and Agriculture components of Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County. Workshops on turf management, wildlife gardens and rain barrel construction and use
were developed and presented at the Extension Center in Toms River, and at the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine
Research Reserve in Tuckerton.
Noah Ark Pet Pals
cleaning the beach
Nationally 4-H is targeting three areas: Healthy Living, Science & Technology and Citizenship.
Healthy Living: Ocean 4-H continues to be part of the State wide initiative: Get Moving Get Healthy with 4-H. 4-H Staff
taught nutrition at the Lakewood 21st Century Grant After-school program offered at the Clifton Avenue School for Spanish speaking children. 4-H Clubs have health officers assisting the clubs to think healthier with choosing healthy snacks
and enjoying more physical activity during meetings. Three clubs took the Rutgers challenge to “Walk” from High Point
to Cape May via walking around Ocean County and recording their mileage on the Rutgers RCE web site. Members from
the Lakehurst Lightening Bolts, our military Club at Lakehurst, planted a Pizza Garden, with tomatoes, basil, parsley and
green peppers.
The Master Gardeners wrote, published and distributed 5,000 free 2011 home horticulture calendars. They received a grant from the Trust for Public Land to off set the cost and to
increase their Outreach efforts to the community. Every month has a garden topic and care
list for that specific month. The goal of the calendar project was to promote low maintenance
Ocean County gardens for a healthy bay.
The Master Gardener volunteers tend a community produce garden that was started in 2004.
They fund the garden from seed to delivery of produce to local food pantries. They contributed 6,419 lbs of produce this past year. Catholic Charities presented the M.G.’s with an
award for their continual contribution since 2004 to help families in need.
The Speakers Bureau doubled their talks to sixty with a total audience of 1,634 residents of Ocean County. They created
new talks and revised past talks to improve their education Outreach program. Twenty different subjects were presented.
Perennials and butterflies were the most popular. Outreach started a program at the Stafford Library in Manahawkin to
increase their outreach efforts in southern Ocean County. Twice a month during the growing season, they presented a
program at the library and were also available to answer questions.
Family & Community Health Sciences
Joanne Kinsey, FCHS Agent, Ocean and Monmouth Counties
The FCHS program offers nutrition, diet, and healthy lifestyle programs to children
and adult communities in Ocean County. Workplace Wellness Series programs continue to be presented at ARC Ocean County in Lakewood. Topics covered have
focused on reducing sugar-sweetened beverages, stress management tools, lowering
blood pressure with healthy foods.
Adult healthy lifestyle programs have been presented at several senior communities
including: A Country Place in Lakewood, The Pines at Whiting, The Enclave in
Lakewood, Plumstead Township Seniors, and at the Berkeley Senior Nutrition Site.
Programs include simple strategies that help people increase their level of physical
activity, choose colorful fresh fruits & vegetables, reduce sweetened drinks, and choose low-fat dairy foods. A presentation was conducted at the Toms River Library during Women’s Health Week in May, and the Master Gardner’s received
a presentation on the Health Benefits of Herbs.
Jackson Township’s Christa McAuliffe Middle School hosted a Healthy Teen Expo that focused on healthy lifestyle
behaviors and designing a personal strategy for living a healthy lifestyle. At Liberty High School, a presentation on Portion Control was conducted for their Culinary Arts Summer Program.
The Ocean County Strengthening Families Initiative found the FCHS programs engaging, the result was five Parent
Nutrition Education programs presented at the following local child care centers: Peppermint Tree in Toms River, Toms
River Nursery School, Beachwood Nursery School, a Child Care Providers Training in Toms River, and one at the
Ocean County Children’s Home Society Director’s Meeting. In addition, the FCHS programs continue to be successful
component of the Brick Library’s Series for Parents of Preschool Children.
SNAP-Ed
Angela Greene , Program Associate
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) offers basic
nutrition and food safety information to limited resource residents in Ocean County.
Through a series of at least six sessions, we present a variety of topics to adult and
youth audiences.
Adult classes have continued at Preferred Behavioral Health of NJ – DARE and
WARN programs in Lakewood and NJ Department of Labor One Stop Career Center – WorkForce NJ in Toms River. In
2010 we reached 200 heads of household, impacting a total 684 family members.
Our programming for adolescents is presented during bi-weekly sessions at the Ocean County Children’s Shelter in
Toms River. We reached approximately 30 adolescents during the school year.
The largest segment of the county population reached through our program was elementary school youth, with 3,341 children participating in this year’s project. A series
of six learning sessions were presented to each class (grades K-6) at Hugh J. Boyd
Elementary School in Seaside Heights, South Toms River Elementary School in
South Toms River and all of the Lakewood Elementary Schools -Clifton Ave. Grade
School, Ella G. Clarke School, Oak Street School and Spruce Street School.
Science and Technology: Science remains deeply rooted in Ocean County 4-H with
more than 250 of our members owning animals. Members learn about animal management and animal science to keep their animals healthy.
Animalolgy: A favorite winter program- is a team competition based on project knowledge about horses, goats, cats, dogs, rabbits, cows, first aid and nutrition. Four man
teams study together, then the rounds begin, with finally one Junior and one Senior team
earning the best of the best Score for the event.
Junior Team Members
Senior Team winners
The Horse program has two state events based on animal science skills: Horse Bowl
and Horse Judging and Hippology. Two senior members, Alexa Forman, Jackson and
Ellyn Bissey, Toms River, represented Ocean County on the 2010 State Team for the
National Round Up in Lexington, KY during November.
TNR: Trap, Neuter and Release: 4-H members from the Hare Club and Fancy Felines
assisted the Ocean County Animal Shelter’s Volunteer Auxiliary with projects in Manchester and Jackson. One feral cat might produce 8 off springs in one year, which can
in turn produce at least another 20 cats. Since the 4-Hers do not want to see more animals in the shelters, they helped with this project of trapping, neutering and releasing
the animals.
Robotics: Lakehurst Lightning Bolts, our military club on the Navy Base at Lakehurst
has been working with robotics. The Military 4-H Assistant, Miss Michele visits the
club monthly, with various science lessons. One of the most popular lessons was learning about robotics.
Citizenship: Learning about Civic engagement and giving back to their communities is
one of the most important lessons the 4-H program practices each year. Teen Council
sewed warm hats for a church’s outreach at the Square in Lakewood.
Pet Pantry: 4-Hers love their animals and pets. With our recent economic times,
many families know of families that have had to give up their pets due to lack of funds
for food. 4-Hers are assisting local food banks with pet food donations. In 2010, 4-H
and a few county residents donated over 900 pounds to two food banks: one in Jackson
and one in Toms River. Our cat club brings cans of cat food for their monthly dues,
which in turn is donated to the Ocean County Animal Shelter in Jackson. The food
banks say the clients are so thrilled to receive “real food” for their dog or cat as opposed
to feeding them rice or pasta. Leader, Mie Lowe said “my club feels so good when we
can bring in 10 to 15 bags of dog food, knowing we are helping families”. For the 2010
Awards Night, 4-Hers brought over 200 toys which were collected for the Toms River
Police’s Annual Toys For Tots Drive.
4-H in the Spotlight: Often 4-H is asked to come, share their story, animals and other
projects around the county. Naturally our biggest event is the Ocean County Fair.
Members, leaders and families spend the week at the fair grounds. During the 2010 fair,
over 600 projects were displayed in the General Tent and 200 animals were housed by
the 4-Hers. Dog members marched in the Lacey Christmas Parade, Dirt Devils built a
float for the Toms River Halloween Parade, 5 clubs went to the Pine Barrens Jamboree,
Noah’s Ark Pet Pals were at the Point Pleasant Summerfest, Paddock Pals of Toms
River invited the public to their barn during Horse Month, Cross Street Riders and Animals Lovers assisted at Barnegat Pet Day.
Department and Staff
Gef Flimlin
County Extension Department Head
Mary Ann Dreikorn
Senior Administrative Analyst
Secretarial Support Staff
Vicki Azaceta-Riggs, 4-H Department
Pat Harry, Agriculture Department
Penny Jacobs, Natural Resource
Department
Kelly Jurgensen, Marine/FCHS
Department
Eileen Redden, Marine/4-H Dept.
Marine Department - 732-349-1152
Commercial Fisheries
and Aquaculture
Gef Flimlin, Marine Agent
Marine Department - 732-349-1210
Marine Water Quality and Recreation
Cara Muscio, Marine Agent
Natural Resource Management
Department - 732-505-3671
Richard Mohr, Natural Resource
Management Agent
Agriculture Dept. - 732-349-1246
Charlene Costaris,
Horticulture Consultant
Linda Schoch, Horticulturist
4-H Youth Development
Department - 732-349-1227
Karen Mansue, 4-H Program Assoc.
Helen Ferraro, 4-H Program Asst.
Family and Community
Health Sciences 732-349-1247
Joanne Kinsey, FCHS Agent
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program - Educational
732-349-1247
Angela Greene, Program Associate
Denise Musso, Community Assistant
Barbara Munson, Nutrition Educator
Marine
Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program
Gef Flimlin, Marine Extension Agent
Cara Muscio, Marine Extension Agent
In 2010, the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program expanded on its previous successes and tackled a new way to
put more shellfish into the Barnegat Bay. Twelve new volunteers completed the Shellfish Gardener Course, and helped
us grow, teach and outreach about Barnegat Bay and its watershed.
Once again BBSRP was able to do a “spat on shell” tank on one of the piers that sits on the Toms River in Ocean Gate
through the cooperation of Mayor Paul Kennedy and Town Council. Mesh bags were filled with shucked clean surf
clam shell and then put into the tank of river water. “Eyed” oyster larvae, those which are about to metamorphose
from the free swimming stage to a settled stage, were added to the tank. The 3.4 million larvae swam in the bubbling
tank for three days, set on the shells, then river water was pumped in to bring phytoplankton for them to feed on.
After six weeks of careful vigilance and cleaning by the ReClam the Bay volunteers, the shells were put onto the reef
established by NJDEP Bureau of Shellfisheries. About 320,000 oysters set on those shells are now living and filtering
water off of Good Luck Point at the mouth of the Toms River in Barnegat Bay. Single oysters overwintered from
2009 were also added to the reef this year too.
Clam production was reduced to 1 million which allowed for better growth and
survival over 2009. Because there were less clams growing, vistors to the upweller nurseries could get a better idea about shell growth and vigor of the
stock. But regardless of survival, the main message is that everything is connected, and to show how human activities affect shellfish and all other creatures in the bay.
Reharvest of overwintered seed still remains a problem but almost 40,000 one
year old clams were broadcast planted in several places in Barnegat Bay after
being harvested from plots at Sedge Island and Waretown. The program is reevaluating how to solve this low return issue and will be turning to commercial
clam growers for assistance.
A dedicated group of volunteers continued to monitor bacterial pathogens, temperature, and salinity at the upwellers as
part of their education about shellfish safety and water quality. In addition, volunteers began investigating simple
ways they could help measure eutrophication, or nutrient enrichment, which is the most significant problem facing the
bay and its watershed.
Our public outreach programs also continued to expand. The Clam Trail gained
several new clams and visitors, with over 40 families and groups completing the
trail in 2010. Volunteers also moved into the classroom with the Jr. Shellfish
Program. Eight schools, and over 500 students in grades 5-12 participated in the
pilot program, learning about shellfish, water quality, and Barnegat Bay. While
many of the schools were in Ocean County (Lavalette, Manahawkin, Point Pleasant Beach, Waretown, and Seaside Heights) volunteers also visited schools from
across the state (Hunterdon, Sussex, and Essex) to reach students who typically
visit the shore during the summer. The overall goal is to promote stewardship in
students and their families across the state and help them realize that all of their
actions affect the coastal environments they enjoy. Many schools have
expressed interest in participating in 2011, whether just for an assembly demonstration, or wanting to grow and study shellfish in the classroom. Overall in 2010, the
Barnegat Bay Shelllfish Restoration Program reached more than 8,000 people at
workshops, festivals and other public events through the efforts of the ReClam the
Bay volunteers.
Volunteers of the Year
Manny and Dolores
Brito
Cooperative Extension of
Ocean County
1623 Whitesville Road
Toms River, NJ 08755
Fax: 732-505-8941
Website: ocean.njaes.rutgers.edu
Rutgers Master Gardeners Help Line:
732-349-1245
Monday - Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm
Jersey Summer Shore Safety
Marine Agent Cara Muscio continued to grow the Summer Shore Safety program as
a way to provide recreation safety and environmental information to both residents
and tourists. The biggest event was an expired marine flare recycling pilot at the
Jersey Shore Boat Expo, in conjunction with the Marine Trades Association and the
New Jersey Department of Transportation IBOATNJ program. Over 600 expired
flares were collected from boaters in Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex counties,
and even aspiring boaters were educated about the safety and environmental issues
associated with flare disposal. For many NJ boaters, there is no established way to
dispose of these required safety devices, which can become a safety and a potential
water pollution issue if mishandled. Marine Agent Cara Muscio is working with
stakeholders towards establishing a consistent disposal option for all New Jersey
Boaters.
Muscio also partnered with the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental
Science and the Save Barnegat Bay Scholarship fund to assist a trio of college students in a bacterial water quality tracking project of impaired waters in the Barnegat
Bay watershed. She trained the students to use optical brighters in conjunction with
bacterial indicators to detect human sources of bacterial pollution. Also, two new
fact sheets on safe recreation were published by Agent Muscio and Family and Consumer Health Science Agent Joanne Kinsey. The fact sheets (FS1132) “Be Safe in
the Sun” and (FS1141) “Heat Stress and Dehydration” join the Expired Marine
Flares fact sheet (FS1126) in promoting safe, environmentally aware recreation at
the Jersey Shore, and are available at njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs.
Ocean County Board of
Chosen Freeholders
Joseph H. Vicari, Director
Gerry P. Little, Deputy Director
John P. Kelly
John C. Bartlett, Jr.
James F. Lacey
Rutgers, The State University
Of New Jersey The NJ Agricultural
Experiment Station
Dr. Robert M. Goodman
Executive
Director of NJ Agricultural
Experiment Station
Bradley Hillman
Sr. Associate Director, NJAES
Director,
Cooperative Research
Larry S. Katz
Sr. Associate Director, NJAES
Director, Cooperative Extension