An Educational Youth & Families, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Newsletter for Residents of York County

September - October 2004

Diane Qualey heads to Nashville!
Diane is one of this year's recipients of a scholarship to attend the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Services (NEAFCS) annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee from October 3^rd  - 6^th. NEAFCS is a professional development organization that provides opportunities to improve skills of Home Economists and Adult Educators. Each year the Eat Well Nutrition Education Program provides scholarships for two Nutrition Aides to attend the annual conference. Aides apply and are selected based on their professional development activities, creative and innovative programming and its impact on communities, as well as plans for sharing the information obtained at the conference. We are pleased that Diane will be one of UMCE's representatives this year. Be on the look out for her information sharing after the conference!

Kids Can Grow Wins Search for Excellence Award!
The Kids Can Grow program has been awarded first place in the Northeast Regional Master Gardener Search for Excellence and will be recognized at their conference in Baltimore, Maryland in October. 

Plant a vegetable seed in the soil, water, wait a while, pick and eat. It’s almost that simple. Food is plentiful in our country, yet with the falling number of farming families, many children do not realize how delicious fresh vegetables are and how important they are in a healthy diet. The Kids Can Grow!

Program is the dynamic gardening and community-service innovation of York County Extension staff and Master Gardener Volunteers, designed to teach children about the science behind growing food and flowers together with the basics of food safety and good nutrition.

“We are working together as a real community team with Extension staff, 4-H leaders, Master Gardener volunteers, and various businesses to develop this program to get children excited about the world of plants while growing their own food at home,” said Frank Wertheim, Extension Educator.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, proper nutrition is vital for children because it impacts their growth, development and ability to learn. Gardening has a twofold benefit for kids-an increased interest in both science and nutrition.

The Kids Can Grow program  enrolls  30 children, between the ages of 7 to 14. It is offered each year (April through August), and all materials-including lumber, soil, compost, manure, seeds and transplants-are either donated or the $20 enrollment fee offsets the cost. The goal is for children to enjoy the learning experience of producing their own vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Growing food is fun and teaches important lessons about nutrition and sustainability. Since its inception in 1999, more than 150 York County youths have completed the Kids Can Grow 4-H gardening program, which consists of five monthly classes offering a comprehensive hands-on approach covering topics from building raised beds to seeding and transplanting to displaying produce at the county fair. Each child is teamed with a volunteer Master Gardener, who visits the child’s home garden to offer assistance and advice. During the 5-month program, classes consist of 2-hour sessions that offer a short lesson followed by hands-on work in the team’s demonstration garden located on the grounds of the York County Extension Office. The children then take home their new knowledge and apply it to their home gardens. All produce raised at the Extension office site is donated to the Plant-A-Row for the Hungry Project (an average of 25 pounds per year).   This year a Plant-A-Row for the Hungry representative came to recieve fresh produce donations from the kids.  That made a real difference in the children being able to make the connection to the food they grew going to help those in need.   "You could see the excitement and the sense of accomplishment in their faces,” says Wertheim.

The children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for the program is evident. Twenty-two former program participants have returned as helpers to teach new students, integrate gardening into the lives of other Maine youths, and explore their places as citizens. The program strives to build children’s self-esteem, helps feed the community’s hungry, and creates generations of responsible citizens.

Kids Can Grow is a service-learning project that creates an awareness of horticulture and the natural environment. Its success depends upon community partnerships. The program is supported in part by Johnny’s Select Seeds of

Albion, Falls Agway of Sanford, Lavalley Lumber of Sanford, Springvale Nurseries of Sanford, the Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation, and the York County 4-H Leaders Association. The program has expanded into other Maine counties and was replicated in South Carolina, Oregon and New York.

Kids Can Grow inspires children to create gardens as places of enrichment and delight for all who are young at heart and promotes an understanding of plants and the important roles they play in our daily lives. The program provides a positive introduction to the potentially lifelong healthy hobby of gardening and teaches food safety and good nutrition habits.

Striped Cucumber Beetle
The striped cucumber beetle is a serious pest of cucurbits (cucumber, squash, pumpkin, melon, and others).  The adult beetles migrate from their winter hiding sites (in sheltered areas under plant debris) to feed on stems and young leaves and lay eggs at the base of emerging plants.  Later, as the host plants grow, the beetles feed on plant leaves, vines, flowers, and fruits.  The chewing mouthparts of the adult beetles are responsible for small shot holes in leaves, stem wounds, and pitted fruit rinds.  The larvae feed on stems and roots, setting the plants up for future problems such as poor water and nutrient uptake, and disease entry.  The beetle is capable of spreading bacterial wilt and squash mosaic diseases.  The bacteria causing wilt lives in beetles that survive the winter in protected areas.  The bacterial disease is spread through beetle feeding and beetle droppings.  In the early stages of bacterial wilt, gardeners may notice their plants wilting, one leaf at a time.  Eventually, the whole plant wilts.  Symptoms usually show up within two weeks of striped cucumber beetle feeding.

The striped cucumber beetle is about 1/4 inch long, has three black stripes down its back (on a yellow background), and has a yellow section behind its black head.  The eggs are yellowish-orange.  The full-grown larvae are about 3/8” long, slender, light-colored, and dark at both ends.

It is important to inspect newly emerged or transplanted seedlings frequently, because the beetles can be present early in the season.  Highly motivated people may consider handpicking the beetles off the plants in the cool of the morning, when the beetles are slow to fly away.  Transplanted seedlings and emerging plants can be protected from striped cucumber beetles by using floating row covers.  Be sure to remove row covers to allow for flower pollination.  If the plants are in a windy location, consider suspending the covers with wire hoops to prevent leaf damage.  Removal of weeds, such as goldenrod and aster, near cucurbits may help reduce the numbers of beetles.  Getting rid of plant debris in the fall will limit potential winter hiding sites.

If you choose to use insecticides, there are several organic and conventional sprays and dusts that are available for protecting plants from these pests (feel free to contact your County Cooperative Extension Office or the Pest Management Office for specific options). 

Some allies in your battle against the striped cucumber beetle include beneficial insects such as soldier beetles, tachinid flies, braconid wasps (harmless to people) and nematodes.

Clay Kirby – Insect Diagnostician, UMCE Pest Management Office.  The author can be contacted at 1-800-287-0279.

Cosy Sheridan Coming to Kennebunk 
Folk singer’s words and music highlight body image and eating disorders The UMCE Gender Project and York County’s Turn Beauty Inside Out project are sponsoring The Pomegranate Seed with Cosy Sheridan on Friday night, September 17 at 7:30pm at the Kennebunk Town Hall.  The Pomegrante Seed, an exploration of appetite, body image and myth in modern culture, is a one woman show of songs and vignettes by national award-winning songwriter Cosy Sheridan.  She uses ancient stories to expose deadly modern myths like the Barbie doll as an American icon of female perfection.  This two act narrative  chronicles one woman’s spiritual journey into the symbolic underworld and her emergence as a more vibrant and more compassionate person.

“I once heard someone say that they wanted to ‘love the world back to health’ and that sounded like a great mission statement,” says Sheridan, who has won awards at bluegrass and folk festivals.  She hopes her show speaks to the “women and men who have felt shame and fear about their bodies, who have at some time in their lives gotten the message that their bodies are somehow wrong.”

Sheridan’s own years battling eating disorders, from age fourteen until her late twenties made her feel an imperative to share her recovery with others.  “I wrote The Pomegranate Seed” partly as my own attempt to come to terms with regrets about my own journey” she says “sacrificing my health to an unrealistic body ideal; dropping out of college; and regretting how long it took to discover that my life and my body are just that, mine”.  

This educational and inspirational show translates for all audiences, women and men alike.  The show might give women a lens through which to view their own lives amidst a media culture that prizes airbrushed bodies and a shallow sense of self.  It speaks to mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, teachers, neighbors, and people who love great music and storytelling.

This program is part of our on-going Turn Beauty Inside Out work to celebrate media images that promote healthy development in girls and create a new cultural definition of beauty as “good works, great hearts and activism.”  This concert is provided with the generous support of co-sponsors, the United Way of York County and Southern Maine Medical Center.  For more information, see the program section or call the Extension Office at 1-800-287-2814 or 324-2814.

Resources for You!

Makes Healthy Eating Fun Through Hands-on Learning
The updated Fantastic Foods Series features lots of exciting hands-on activities. Food, fun and flavor are what this curriculum is all about. Youth will have fun in the kitchen as they prepare different foods, do interesting experiments and go on fact-finding missions. The four activity guides are designed around six major categories: health food selection, food safety, smart food purchasing, food preservation, food preparation and careers. In addition to the printed guides, youth can visit the Foods web site where they can download recipes from across the country and around the world. This series was developed by Purdue University, and is available at the York County Extension office or through direct order.  The series has four parts.

A - Six Easy Bites
(52 pages) This activity guide is divided into six major categories or "bites." Each bite is designed to give a general background of information followed by four different activities. After each activity the youth applies the knowledge to everyday life. Each activity gives the youth a "life skill" and "project skill" about the information. Life skills stressed in this curriculum include problem solving, communication, decision making and wise use of resources. Grades 3-5.      Cost: $4.00.

B - Tasty Tidbits
(62 pages) Youth solve problems, acquire information (learn to learn), make decisions, keep records, and learn how to use resources wisely. Fun packed recipes allow choices for food preparation, such as pretzels, biscuits and lasagna. Youth learn proper food storage and preservation and smart food purchasing. Grades 6-8. Cost: $4.00.

C - You're the Chef
(82 pages) This activity guide is designed to help select healthy food, food preservation and preparation, and careers. Youth learn to evaluate fad diets, connect emotions to eating habits and to can foods. Youth enjoy making crazy casseroles, stir-fry vegetables, breadsticks and strawberry jam. The activities help you develop decision making and communication life skills. Grades 7-9. Cost $4.00.

D - Foodworks
(56 pages) Foodworks is a more advanced way for older 4-H youth to expand their knowledge and skills. Some examples are how to alter recipes, plan menus and how to plan and cater a party. A great project for those youth who help around the kitchen. The life skills practiced are leadership, communication, service learning, wise use of resources, decision making and problem solving. Have fun making bean burritos, canning snap beans and making peanut butter.       Grades 9-12. Cost: $4.00.

Healthy Lifestyle - Group Activity Helper's Guide—(32 pages) The helper's role is critical in providing opportunities for youth to learn and grow in a caring and supportive environment. This guide provides the helper with exciting and fun activities, ideas, and content to help with this challenge and exciting role. Each project is designed to teach proper nutrition and how to become a better consumer. Solutions are given for the "My Discoveries" and "Dig Deeper" sections of the youth manuals. Many hands-on activities are included for everyone to explore and learn.  Cost: $3.75.

 For more information, to review or order copies of these materials contact the Extension office.  To review and order direct, visit http://www.n4hccs.org/shop/products.asp

Programs for You!

Turn Beauty Inside Out presents: The Pomegranate Seed with Cosy Sheridan

 Date: September 17, 7:30pm

Location: Kennebunk Town Hall

Price: Tickets $10 adults and $5 students ($12 at the door).

Tickets on sale at Double Feature in Kennebunk and at the York County Extension Office.  For more info call at 1-800-287-1535 or 324-2814

The Pomegranate Seed, an exploration of appetite, body image and myth in modern culture, is a one woman show of songs and vignettes by award winning songwriter, Cosy Sheridan.  She uses ancient stories to expose deadly modern myths like the Barbie doll as an American icon of female perfection. This 2 act narrative chronicles one woman's journey into the symbolic underworld and her emergence as a more vibrant and more compassionate person.  Co-sponsors: United Way of York County and Southern Maine Medical Center

Girlfighting and Media Literacy Conference: Connecting the Dots and Changing the Culture

Date: October 19, 8:00 am – 3:00pm

Location: Colby College, Waterville

Price: Early registration by Oct 1: $50, after $65.  $25 discount for 3 or more from same school or organization

This conference, co-sponsored by the UMCE Gender Project, is designed to: raise awareness of the inter-relatedness of the media, girlfighting and developmental issues for girls; provide information on what is currently being done to address these issues; and help participants develop strategies for creating supportive cultures for girls in their schools and organizations. The target audience is teachers, administrators, youth workers, health educators, guidance counselors, parents and other adults who work with girls.

The keynote speaker will be Lyn Mikel Brown, Colby College professor and author of Girlfighting: Rejection and Betrayal Among Girls.  Workshops and resources will be geared toward helping make schools safe for girls, practical strategies tied to the Maine Learning Results and ideas for girls' programming.  For more information contact Karen Heck at hardygirls@airolink.net or call the Extension office and we will mail you a brochure.

Cooking for Crowds: Food Safety Training for Volunteer Quantity Cooks

 Date" Thursday, September 23, 2004

Time: 10:00  AM—3:00 PM

Location: York County Extension Office, 41 Shaw’s Ridge Rd., Sanford

Price: Free of charge

Register by calling  1-800-287-1535 - Registration Deadline is Sept 17, 2004

Learn up-to-date methods for safely preparing, handling and serving food for large groups. Many organizations and community groups rely on volunteers to prepare meals.  But cooking for a crowd is tricky, and unsafe food at a single event can create a legal risk that could result in great financial loss.  Volunteers trained in proper food handling techniques can eliminate that risk. 

The goals of this program are to a) provide a realistic and accurate planning method that quantity cooks can use at quantity food service events, b) ensure that volunteers will acquire knowledge of and practice safe food handling procedures in quantity food situations, and  c) decrease the possibility of a food borne illness outbreak at volunteer food events.

Workshop leader: Kathy Savoie, MS, RD, UMCE Extension Educator

back to top