July 8, 2020 - In response to the ongoing pandemic, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) of Mariposa has worked remotely since March. To continue providing relevant research-based information that address current issues to the 
community while avoiding in-person contact to minimize coronavirus spread, UCCE has had to change the way they do business. This involved implementing new innovative outreach strategies such as hosting zoom meetings, webinars, video productions and radio shows. In the process UCCE staff have discovered new ways that are going to help them be more efficient and successful in serving the community going forward.
During this time, 4-H club and council meetings have been held virtually using Zoom and FaceTime. Our 4-H Coordinator has been working on developing a 2-week virtual summer camp. The 1st week of camp is running from July 13-17th. The camp has 30 live and interactive hands-on activities in: Nature, Fire Ecology, Computer Coding, Yoga, Art, and more. The 2nd week of camp runs from August 3-7th. Registration for the 2nd week opens on July 17th, register at: http://ucanr.edu/virtualcamp2.
The Prescribed Fire project held a 5-Part webinar series that had 497 registered attendees from across the state and country and more than 10 foreign counties. The highly successful webinar covered topics on fire ecology, weed control, prescribed fire permitting, planning, resources, and cultural burning. They recently completed a video production of a CalFire Training Burn showcasing the planning and implementation of prescribed fire and its use for medusahead control. These videos and more fire related information can be found on the UCCE website http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Fire_Information or the UCCE Mariposa YouTube channel. Next, UCCE will be hosting an online Prescribed Burn Association (PBA) planning meeting on July 22nd.
Master Gardeners have produced short videos on growing garlic and sweet potatoes in the foothills, and a photo montage of Mariposa in spring. All the MG videos are posted on our website at: http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener. The group is currently working on a video series, “Vegetable Gardening in the Foothills”, featuring local gardener Doug Kanarowski. Master Gardeners are still available to answer your gardening questions at 209-966-7078 or email: mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu. Check out our regular gardening column, Over the Garden Fence, in local publications and on our website and Facebook page.
UCCE’s Livestock and Natural Resources program continues to work on research projects to promote viable livestock production systems while enhancing sustainable management of natural resources. Some of the ongoing projects include evaluating clover varieties performance under local conditions and their suitability as forage; ecological characteristics associated with rangeland and agriculture production systems; squirrel impact on forage availability; use of fire for weed control and recently developed a comprehensive rangeland management short course to provide land managers with basic rangeland science information as well as best management practices.
To serve clientele that need Continuing Education Credits for Private Applicators and Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) Licensing, UCCE is working with the Department of Agriculture to develop a webinar series to replace the summer and fall in-person workshops.
UCCE staff can be reached via emails listed on our website at: http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Staff, or by phone (209) 966-2417.
Source: UCCE
