ANR Leadership Visit to UCCE San Mateo/San Francisco
Pictured above: at the MG Gardening Education Center (GEC) are from left to right: MG's Maggie Mah & Carol O'Donnell, Elizabeth Moon, Brent Hales, Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, Daniel Obrist, and MG Noreen Cepernich.
On August 23, UC ANR leaders visited UC Elkus Ranch and UCCE San Mateo/San Francisco offices to meet with our County partners and local stakeholders, and learn about the research, education, extension, and outreach programs offered to residents of the two counties. Dr. Brent Hales, Associate Vice President of UC ANR, led the visit alongside vice-provost Dr. Daniel Obrist, Director of Cooperative Extension Dr. Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, and Director of Workplace Inclusion and Belonging Elizabeth Moon.
The visit started at the UCCE CalFresh offices in South San Francisco where the leaders met with our Federally-funded nutrition education program, and learned about the impactful projects in school cafeterias and early education centers. The visit continued at Elkus Ranch, where ANR leaders first toured the Ranch grounds, learning about the school visit programs – the mainstay of the Elkus mission – but also learning about the ranch facilities and our other activities at the Ranch. Our Master Gardener and Master Food Preserver program volunteers were on hand to introduce their respective programs and impacts – and to share some wonderful preserved food! Our guests then settled into a working lunch, meeting our local partners from County agencies and elected officials, community groups, and local stakeholders, for whom we organized multiple tours of the Ranch.
In early afternoon, the visit continued at the Phoenix Garden at the San Mateo Juvenile Justice Facility, where the educators from our Youth Development program and our county partners described the groundbreaking work with youth in gardening, food production, and even beekeeping – followed by honey tasting! The tour concluded at the Garden Education Center at the County Fairgrounds. Here our Master Gardener program volunteers were once again the tour guides, demonstrating not only the unique GEC facilities that they have constructed in partnership with the Fair to propagate plants and hold hands-on classes, but also demonstrating their ability to grow some truly impressive tomatoes! With honey and tomatoes in hand, and having connected with our many partners, stakeholders, and friends, our guests departed, impressed with the reach, impact, and breadth of services that our Cooperative Extension office provides to the residents of San Mateo and San Francisco Counties.
