Fall/Winter 1995

Focus is produced quarterly by the Cooperative Extension Service
University of Maryland, College Park.

Ellen Varley, editor
Pamela Townsend,
writer/managing editor
Heather Hull, writer
Kimberly Baumert, writer
Edwin Remsberg, photographer
Questions, comments or suggestions may be directed to:
Ellen Varley, ev1@umail.umd.edu
phone: (301) 405-4581
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From the Director's Desk

There’s a saying popular among environmentalists these days—“Think globally. Act locally.” This advice reflects our growing understanding that large, complex problems are often most effectively addressed from a regional, community, or even individual basis.

The Maryland Cooperative Extension Service is actively involved in many locally oriented programs that provide Maryland residents—both young and old—with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle a variety of environmental issues. Some of these efforts, including participation on teams charged with refining and promoting strategies for reducing the pollution of Chesapeake Bay tributaries, encompass the entire state. Others take place completely within the confines of a single neighborhood. All involve partnerships—with schools, local governments, private businesses, other state agencies, and, most importantly, concerned individuals.

Although space constrictions limit the number of programs mentioned here and the detail in which they are described, I think this issue of Focus will give you a better appreciation of the breadth and depth of Extension’s participation in community-based environmental education and improvement efforts. After all, “thinking globally and acting locally” is what makes the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service a vital, dynamic, effective organization that delivers products to meet citizens’ needs.


Thomas A. Fretz
Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Director, Cooperative Extension Service

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The Monocacy River watershed in western Maryland is one of 10 tributary basins in the state for which nutrient reduction strategies are being developed.

Tributary Teams Tackle
Pollution Problems

As the nation’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay is a valuable natural resource. It is home to more than 2,700 plant and animal species and serves as a major commercial and recreational resource for Maryland residents.

Unfortunately, the quality of the bay has diminished markedly over the last several decades, largely the result of algal blooms caused by nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural, industrial, and residential runoff.

Recognizing the need to protect this important body of water, the governments of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia made a joint commitment with the federal government and the Chesapeake Bay Commission in 1983 to restore the quality of the bay. In 1987 they signed an agreement to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous entering the Chesapeake by 40 percent of 1985 levels by the year 2000. Since then, the majority of nutrient reduction efforts have focused on the bay itself. Now, however, attention has shifted upstream, to the rivers that flow into the bay. Each jurisdiction named in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement is responsible for developing “tributary strategies” aimed at reducing nutrient pollution in each of the bay’s many sub-watersheds.

Beginning with Agriculture

After dividing its bay watershed area into 10 tributary basins, Maryland began the strategy development process by establishing agricultural tributary teams in 1993; these teams were made up of farmers; Cooperative Extension Service faculty; conservation district staff; and representatives of agribusiness, environmental interests, and local government. “Team members identified what the state’s number one industry could and couldn’t do to help meet or exceed the 40 percent reduction goal,” explains Dr. Tom Simpson, coordinator of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Programs through a split appointment with the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. “They reviewed a list of statewide options and suggested strategies that could be developed locally on a mostly voluntary basis.

This approach proved so successful that former Maryland Governor William Donald Schaffer requested the establishment of broader-based groups to expand upon the work achieved by the agricultural teams. These new teams, which were formed this year, have been charged with developing consensus and finding solutions to water pollution problems that are feasible, realistic, and persuasive to those who set policy and would be responsible for implementing recommended activities. The teams will be responsible for:

Each of the 10 tributary teams includes 25 to 33 people selected by state and local elected officials. Team members include concerned citizens and representatives of agricultural, business, and environmental interests, as well as representatives of local governments, federal facilities, and state agencies. Nine of the 10 teams include a participant from the Cooperative Extension Service.

According to Simpson, this coordinated watershed-by-watershed approach brings the bay cleanup closer to home for the many citizens and local governments that must participate if the restoration is to be successful. It also takes into account differences in the various tributary basins. “The Lower Eastern Shore region is primarily rural and agricultural,” he explains. “The strategy developed for that area will be quite different from that proposed for the urban-suburban Mid-Potomac tributary. And that’s as it should be.”

State Gives Guidance, Support

The state supports the tributary teams in a variety of ways. For example, it provides:
State officials appointed individuals with leadership experience as interim team leaders to serve for six months until teams select their own permanent leaders. They also have provided team members with sample bylaws that teams may adapt to their own needs.

“Basically, the state provides information and guidance to help team members operate effectively,” says Dr. Philip Favero, a specialist with Extension’s Institute for Governmental Service (IGS). Favero has attended many initial team meetings this fall and will continue to attend the meetings of two teams, as will IGS faculty member Wayne Rhodes.

As part of his dissertation research, Rhodes will observe the tributary teams, using them as an example of the partnerships involved in inter-organizational problem solving. Favero will help team members incor-porate social science research in accomplishing their goals. Before the teams were established, he organized and helped teach a day-long training session on teamwork and leadership for the interagency representatives involved in coordinating the tributary strategies effort.

Opportunities for Success

Favero also hopes to gain a better understanding of the teams’ needs and how Extension can better assist them. “There’s a growing recognition that given appropriate state and federal guidance and financial support, local networks of public and private leaders are often best able to gather information and solve environmental problems,” he says. “It’s an exciting trend, and I think Extension can play an important role in making it work.”

Simpson agrees. “The tributary strategies process provides Extension a number of opportunities for greater involvement in the area of public and environmental policy than it has historically had,” he says. Because teams have only just begun their work, concrete results will not be available for a while. Still, Simpson is confident of their ultimate success in developing workable strategies for achieving the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. “We’ve spent a lot of time setting up the process. Because the recommendations the teams make will be based on grassroots support, they’ll be hard to ignore.”

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Teens Teach Innovative SERIES

Many Extension programs can best be described in terms of “train the trainer.” Their success depends on—and can be measured by—the commitment and follow-through of the initial trainees, who share the information they have learned with others. One such program, SERIES (Science Experiences and Resources for Informal Educational Settings) exemplifies the success of this approach. Developed at the University of California Cooperative Extension Service, SERIES is designed to:
The program covers such subjects as watersheds, recycling, chemicals, and other environmental topics and includes hands-on science activities. With support from the National Science Foundation, SERIES has been adopted by educators across the country.

The program was introduced in Maryland by the Extension faculty and staff in Baltimore County. Heather Hull, a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, was hired as a summer coordinator for the SERIES program with a $4,200 grant from the Maryland 4-H Foundation and Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. She trained 14 teenage teachers and four adult coaches who, in turn, taught 227 county youngsters in the summer of 1994.

“Thanks to Heather’s work on this program, we were able to reach previously under-represented and at-risk groups at 13 day-care centers and homeless shelters in communities not traditionally served by Extension,” says Debbie Bowman, Extension 4-H agent in Baltimore County.

At a Maryland Children’s Fair in Towson, Hull and her volunteers also used selected lessons from SERIES to introduce 2,800 youngsters to science and the environment.

Baltimore County’s program will receive an honorable mention award at the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents meeting in October 1996 as a 1995 Youth at Risk Program.

In an effort to broaden the impact of SERIES, Extension faculty and staff in Baltimore County sponsored a training program last spring. Fifty-eight teenagers from five counties and Baltimore City studied various subjects and learned how to convey scientific information to others. Fifteen adult coaches helped the 12- to 18-year-olds improve their knowledge and practice their teaching skills.

“Our goal was to introduce SERIES to teenagers, adult volunteers, and Extension staff in several counties and then have them implement programs in their own areas,” says Bowman.

Snails, Snails, and More Snails

One popular unit focused on “snailing.” SERIES trainees observed snails eating, moving, and even doing tricks, such as pulling a toy car and walking a tight rope. Within months, they had shared this information with others. One adult volunteer and two teenage trainees taught 100 Allegany and Garrett County 4-H campers about snails, and a first-grade teacher introduced the curriculum to her students this fall. “The teacher said that parents have told her that all their children can talk about when they get home is snails,” says Sharon Diehl, Extension 4-H agent in Allegany County.

Thirteen SERIES trainees from Baltimore city and seven other members of their 4-H science club have shared their new-found knowledge of snails with patrons of the Maryland Science Center. Every Friday during the summer, they conducted hands-on discussions on snailing—and newspaper recycling—at a cart in the center’s exhibit hall.

In addition to these demonstrations, club members presented the program to 500 children ages 6 through 12 at day camps at churches, recreation centers, and child-care centers throughout the city. “Initially, a lot of the teens said they thought science was boring and joined the club because they needed the community service hours,” says Jeannine Finton, Extension 4-H faculty assistant. “But by the end of the summer, they admitted that science could be pretty interesting. They also said that teaching is more work than they thought it would be.”

Eastern Shore Exposure

The initial SERIES training has led to such successful programs that Extension faculty on the Eastern Shore are developing a similar program. “We envision training older youth to provide SERIES exposure to 4-H clubs, camps, and in-school clubs,” says Christine Johnston, Extension 4-H agent in Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. “We also hope to form a partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation to sponsor after-school programs featuring SERIES.” Such efforts will be facilitated by a competitive grant Johnston received recently for SERIES through the Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA), a federally funded program supporting projects related to forests and rangelands.

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Retailer Sponsors
Community Garden

The corporate world isn’t always a cut-throat, dog-eat-dog environment. At least one major retailer is taking a kinder, gentler approach to business by donating land for a community garden being developed by the Harford County office of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.

In the winter of 1994, Chris Terry, manager of the WAL*MART store in Abingdon, decided that the vacant 60- by-300-foot parcel of land next to his building should be turned into a garden. He contacted the “Green Thumbs,” a local 4-H horticulture club to see if they would like to develop the project. They, in turn, introduced Terry to Robert Halman, Harford County Extension director, who put the plan into action. According to Terry, Extension faculty, staff, and volunteers have played an integral part in developing the community garden, conducting horticulture demonstrations, and providing educational information.

 Leroy Bowman and Jeannette Johnson, the uncle and the daughter of the late Karen Johnson, admire a tree planted at Abingdon Bay Gardens in her memory. Johnson, a home economics agent in Harford County was remembered by friends and family during a ceremony on September 14 as an educator who shared herself as a teacher and friend in the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.
From the beginning, Halman envisioned “Abingdon Bay Gardens” as a way to reach the increasing number of new, urban county residents. “Our goal is to add aesthetic beauty to a rapidly developing area, to educate people about lawn care and gardening, and to provide a place for 4-H clubs and others to work on horticultural projects,” he says.

Specialty Gardens Established

A 60- by-100-foot section of the garden has been divided into various types of specialty gardens, with informational signs displayed at every site. One area is devoted to townhouse and patio gardens. These gardens simulate the smaller-scale landscapes found in a townhouse or condominium complex.

Another featured plot is the herb garden, which contains culinary and fragrance herbs, as well as mints, teas and peppers. Extension faculty regularly conduct demonstrations for WAL*MART customers and others on innovative ways to cook with herbs.

Other specialty gardens include a children’s garden that contains flowers and vegetables children enjoy planting and watching grow; a cut-flower garden that provides color throughout the spring, summer, and fall; and a “Wildscape” area, which is planted with native trees and shrubs.

Two sites also include compost piles, where interested individuals can learn how to improve soil by adding this nutrient-rich amendment. Halman anticipates building additional composting sites in the future.

Exhibits & Future Plans

Demonstrations and exhibits are important aspects of Abingdon Bay Gardens. Extension faculty and volunteers have given presentations on soil sampling, pesticide use and safety, insect diseases and identification, and cooking with herbs and spices. Leaflets on a variety of timely subjects are available in an on-site mailbox, so that people can get the information they need.

Future plans for the site include development of lawn plots, a pumpkin garden, and a nature walk. Allocation of land for Extension research has also been discussed, according to Halman. If such research plots are established, the goal would then be to eventually hold an Extension field day.

“The more ways we can use the gardens to educate people, the better,” says Halman. “With support from WAL*MART, the county government, private industry, local people and Extension, I believe Abingdon Bay Gardens will continue to provide area residents with a valuable educational resource.”

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Volunteer master gardner Allan DeGray shows "master composter" trainees how to turn lawn and garden waste into high-quality compost.

Extension Establishes
Compost Demo Site

It’s that time of year again; leaves are falling, lawns are receiving their last mowings, and gardeners are gathering up yard debris before the onslaught of winter weather. If handled properly, much of this material can be returned to the soil as nutrient-rich compost.

Thanks to a new permanent compost demonstration site at the Cylburn Arboretum in Baltimore, home gardeners and others are learning how to achieve the transformation from food scraps and yard waste to valuable soil amendment.

“Extension has been holding composting workshops at Cylburn since the late 1980s,” says Jon Traunfeld, regional horticulture specialist at Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center and former urban gardening coordinator in Baltimore’s Extension office. “In 1993 we applied for an environmental education grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With the $2,750 we received, we developed a comprehensive composting education program featuring a permanent demonstration site at the arboretum.”

The project was a joint venture, involving Baltimore’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Cylburn Arboretum volunteers, and the Baltimore City Extension office. Participants built 11 different types of composting containers, ranging from the trash can and wooden pallet varieties to a high-tech “Earth Machine” composting system. Signs were erected to explain the composting process to passersby.

Volunteer Maintenance

The composting demonstration site was officially opened with a celebration on October 29, 1994. Since then, it has been maintained by volunteers from the city and Baltimore County who were trained by Extension faculty as “master composters” and “master gardeners.” These individuals keep the site stocked with educational liter-ature and all the bins “charged” with organic materials in the form of clippings and cuttings. They also share information in person during special arboretum events.

The newest group of master composters is currently being trained by Michael Campbell, Extension urban gardening coordinator in Baltimore. Recruited though news releases, fliers at the arboretum, and information in master gardener correspondence, these individuals receive 10 hours of instruction and an information manual they can refer to—at the arboretum or elsewhere—even after their training is complete.

By Accident or Intent

The existence of the compost demonstration site—and the related work of Extension and Cylburn volunteers—has not gone unnoticed. Some people strolling through the arboretum’s grounds and gardens discover the site by accident, drawn by a strategically placed bench that promises a few minutes’ rest. Once there, they realize that compost is being made in the nearby bins and walk around to have a look and take a brochure on composting, says Ms. Woodie Kief, Baltimore city naturalist. “I’ve watched people wander over to the bench, sit down, and then suddenly seem to notice what’s around them,” she says.

Other visitors have obviously heard about Cylburn’s composting efforts. “Some teachers specifically ask about composting when planning a class trip here,” Kief says, “so I make sure to take them to the demonstration site.”

Michael Campbell expects that trend to continue. “Composting is becoming an increasingly popular method of reusing certain kinds of waste,” he says. “It may not be a household word yet, but with educational efforts like our demonstration site, it will be.”

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Every Day is Earth Day in Charles County

Extension faculty in Charles County are making sure that no one forgets about Earth Day. Through an environmental educational outreach program, aptly titled “Earth Day, Every Day, Every Way,” they are attempting to increase environmental awareness and knowledge and promote adoption of urban best management practices throughout the entire year.

“We hope the ultimate impact of this program will be to reduce the input of nutrients and pesticides from urban areas in Charles County and surrounding counties into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.” says Pamela King, area agriculture Extension agent.

King submitted a proposal for Earth Day, Every Day, Every Way to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ competitive grant program in February 1995. Approved in July, the grant has provided the funds necessary to implement and maintain the program. Charles County Extension staff provides program leadership and coordination, with support from volunteers.

Some of the methods being used to carry out the program are public awareness activities such as group presentations, 4-H and youth activities, publications, and a mass media campaign.

Earth Day Planting Project

One activity that took place even before grant support kicked in was a beautification project and information fair co-sponsored by Extension and the Charles County Commissioners to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. The April event took place at the Old Waldorf School, chosen for its availability and central location.

King estimates that 500 people attended the celebration. They received information on recycled products, environmentally sound lawn care, and backyard composting. The county also gave out free backyard composting bins on a first-come, first-served basis.

A highlight of the event was a community beautification project, which involved the planting of five trees and 24 shrubs. The planting beds were fertilized according to recommendations based on a soil test and grass was planted to beautify and prevent erosion. Materials were donated by Longwood Gardens, WAL*MART, and Gardiner’s Equipment Company.

Hands-On Camp Activities

King and other Extension faculty expanded their environmental theme by devoting one day at the Charles County 4-H Day Camp to an educational program involving urban best management practices. The 120 campers visited the Clagett Farm urban nutrient management demonstration site and participated in hands-on activities at the camp to learn what they could do to save the Chesapeake Bay.

While at the camp site, participants went on an environmental scavenger hunt and competed in a recycling relay race. Another hands-on activity featured a “cooperation board,” which consisted of two long boards with strings attached. The children had to stand on the boards as a team and without talking, walk as a unit.

“It’s amazing when you see leadership and teamwork skills emerge,” says King. “I made a point to stress that when working on an environmental issue, everybody needs to cooperate and do their part to get the job done.”

Building on a Theme

Targeting an older audience, the Earth Day, Every Day, Every Way program will feature a series of five educational seminars next spring, focusing on such subjects as how to have a “bay friendly” home, garden, and lawn. Other topics will include making a place for wildlife and understanding the basics of wells and septic systems.

In addition to preparing feature articles, press releases, and public service announcements on “bay friendly” behaviors, Extension faculty are developing a publication for use by local garden centers, hardware stores, lawn care companies, grounds managers, and other businesses that work in urban landscapes with their clientele. “We’ll offer to conduct special programs, like plant clinics or seminars, at various retail outlets too,” King says.

By building on the Earth Day theme, she and her colleagues hope to educate the general public about nutrient management, water quality, and other environmental issues over which they have control. “We need to empower people to do what they can, even if it’s just reducing the amount of pesticides and fertilizer they use in their own garden,” King explains. “If the millions of us in the world all just do a little bit...”

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Some Carroll County Residents Don't Bag It' Anymore

Fewer Carroll County residents are bagging their grass clippings for landfill disposal these days, thanks to an educational program conducted by the Cooperative Extension Service. “Don’t Bag It” was introduced in 1995 following a pilot project at the request of the Carroll County government.

“A large percentage of landfill space is taken up by grass clippings,” explains David Greene, Carroll County Extension director. “In an effort to reduce the amount of clippings and save landfill space, the county stopped curbside pickup of yard waste. They also provided us with funding to educate county residents about the alternatives to bagging grass clippings.”

Extension faculty have accomplished this goal—and more—by working with the county’s recycling coordinator and information office to develop, promote, and conduct a series of lectures and demonstrations at the county Extension office and at sites around the County. Volunteer “demonstrators” provided the sites, helped promote the program, and offered tours of their gardens.

“Our goals were to encourage residents to test their soil, teach them proper watering techniques, and urge them to recycle yard waste,” says Bryan Butler, Extension faculty assistant for commercial horticulture and farm management. “We wanted them to realize that it’s possible to have a nice lawn without any negative environmental impacts.”

According to Greene, the program has been reasonably successful. “People who attended the lectures and demonstrations were very receptive,” he says. “We didn’t draw huge crowds, but those who participated showed great enthusiasm.” Participants learned the basics of effective, environmentally sound lawn care, including how to test their soil; control weeds and insect pests; seed, fertilize, water and mow properly; and “reuse” grass clippings as a source of nutrients for their land.

With the completion of the lectures and demonstrations this fall, Greene, Butler, and horticulture assistant Diana Martin are now developing an educational brochure for distribution to county residents at the county landfill. “When people drive up to the landfill with their grass clippings, they’ll receive this publication explaining the disposal alternatives available to them,” Greene explains. “It’s just one more way of sharing information.”

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Students Enjoy Waterworks Week

How do you get eighth-grade students to increase their knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay watershed areas and heighten their awareness of the role they play in protecting this natural resource for future generations? Hereford Middle School teachers in Baltimore County were asking this very question before they invented the perfect plan: Waterworks Week.

The June 1995 event kicked off with a seafood feast and featured field trips to Gunpowder State Park and other sites, where students explored wetlands, learned to fish, and tested river water quality.

“All of the activities we planned involved water,” says math teacher Dolly Albright. “We wanted presentations that would involve students and make them perform tasks rather than have people lecturing to them.” As a 4-H parent and volunteer, Albright was familiar with the Cooperative Extension Service, so she invited Baltimore County Extension educators Debbie Bowman and Denise Frebertshauser to present workshops on chemicals and natural resources. Bowman, a 4-H agent, and Frebertshauser, a 4-H faculty assistant, taught more than 100 students how chemicals can con-taminate watersheds, helped them perform tests to locate chemicals and identify corrosives or alka-lines, and explained how they can help prevent water pollution.

“The students were very appreciative,” says Albright. “I heard murmurs of ‘wow’ and ‘I didn’t know that.’ I think they’ll remember this week as one of best during their middle school career.”

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