By Phil Sammon

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even bats and small mammals do it. So it’s only natural that the Conservation Education Department of the USDA Forest Service worked with other conservation education partners to do it – pollinate!

On Wednesday, May 12, the Forest Service helped produce “PollinatorLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure” from The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to tell the story of pollinators in our world. Orchestrated by conservation education partner Prince William Network’s media production department, the live and interactive production was designed to reach teachers, educators and students through the live webcast and related web-based resources, projects, and backyard research ideas. This 2010 program follows onto the 2009 MonarchLIVE  project that ultimately reached more than 200,000 students. It is estimated that the PollinatorLIVE production from the Smithsonian National Zoo reached between 50,000 and 75,000 students, educators, and community members, with an overall 2010 program goal to reach as many as 500,000.

The program kicked off at 11 a.m. with five related segments featuring a host of specialists, researchers, biologists and scientists. These knowledgeable guests explained and demonstrated different types of pollinators and their importance to our daily lives, and also took questions from the audiences joining in from their classrooms all across the country. One teacher linked to a local cable system in order to bring the program to her entire school.

“The whole production was fantastic – absolutely brilliant!” declared Dr. Safiya Samman, director for the Forest Service Conservation Education Department. She commented that the partners and their production crew did an exceptional job of conveying a wealth of information about the importance of pollinators to our world at a level aimed at younger students. “Partners are excited about continuing work and building relationships with the USDA. 

“It was absolutely incredible!” declared Tamberly Conway, a Conservation Education Specialist from the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, who worked on this project with the Washington Office staff. “We had wonderful rapport with the partners and their production staff, and great participation by so many others to pull this off. It was so much fun!”

Ben Swecker, Media Production Manager with Prince William County School District added, “We had an amazing group of experts in this live webcast who were extremely enthusiastic about studying insects and pollinators.  That kind of passion really comes across to students.  Classrooms from all over the country were sending in questions all day long. Students want to interact using the latest technology and these live distance learning adventures enable them to be a part of the program. “

The entire production was also taped, and will be available for viewing at the PollinatorLIVE website, http://pollinatorlive.pwnet.org/ after May 17. Teachers and educators can find a wealth of teaching and learning resources, curriculum support, and activities for a wide range of grades at the same site.

You can find out more about the Forest Service Conservation programs and activities at http://tinyurl.com/3xh87tg as well as specific Kids information at http://www.fs.fed.us/kids/

Production members and the on-air moderators and guests prepare for the kick-off of the five-segment live webcast of Pollinator LIVE from the Smithsonian’s national Zoo May 12.

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Forest Service Highlights the Buzz on Pollinators

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By Michael Jones, USDA Public Affairs Director, Ohio

Tammye Trevino, USDA Rural Development Administrator for Housing and Community Facilities, visited Columbus, Ohio recently to participate in the sixth of 10 scheduled Self-Help Housing Forums being held around the country. Joining her on the panel were Ohio’s First Lady Frances Strickland and Ohio Rural Development State Director Tony Logan.

More than 50 participants from Ohio and surrounding states attended the forum and engaged in a free-flowing exchange of ideas to improve the administration and effectiveness of Rural Development’s Self-Help Housing Program.

Part of the dialogue centered on incorporating new strategies aimed at increasing nationwide participation and ultimate success in the program. Participants collectively expressed concern about the financial stability and timely distribution of the program’s funding, particularly to organizations that have documented home building experience and proven operational success.

Moderated by Mrs. Strickland, Ohio’s forum included comments from two of Ohio’s most successful Self-Help Housing Program proponents. Representatives from both the Fayette County Community Action Agency and Three Rivers Housing Corporation provided valuable input about how they’ve used the program as well as offering suggestions about adjustments they would make to help improve its operation.

Ohio’s Self-Help Program has an impressive record of helping families achieve their dream of home ownership. Since 1992 Ohio’s self-help housing organizations have used more than $22.7 million in Rural Development funding to assist 240 families join the home ownership ranks.

By Angie Harless, USDA Executive Master Gardener

On May 7, The People’s Garden launched the first workshop in its healthy garden series summer program in DC.  This year the summer series was expanded and offers a full range of programming for both kids and adults.  “The People’s Garden” Healthy Garden Workshops are open to everyone and demonstrate how easy it is to grow a sustainable garden no matter where you live.  Leading experts from within and outside of USDA will lend their experience throughout this growing season to help you create and manage your garden from the ground up.

The Healthy Garden Workshops will primarily be for adults, while the newest edition to the series, Growing Healthy Kids, will be offered for young people.  Beginning May 7, the Healthy Garden Workshops will occur rain or shine every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. in the garden or under a tent on the north lawn of USDA’s Jamie L. Whitten building.  Each month of the healthy garden series will focus on a different theme:  May: gardening from the ground up; June: celebrating pollinators; July: plant diseases; and August: types of gardens.  Pre-registration will be required for this series as seats will be limited to 50 participants.  To reserve a seat, those interested in participating in the workshop must call (202) 690-3989 to register between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.   

The Growing Healthy Kids youth series will be hands-on learning programs based upon the Junior Master Gardener curriculum.  There are three programs: Plant Pals, Tops or Bottoms and U-B the Judge.  Plant Pals will help curious-minded children discover why certain plants are better neighbors in the garden the others.  Tops or Bottoms will encourage young gardeners to use their knowledge of plant structures in identifying which part of the plant is eaten.  And U-B the Judge will give youth a chance to evaluate fruits and vegetables based on color, texture, taste and smell.  Each program is 60 minutes long and will be held outside every Wednesday at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. from May through October.  Youth programs are cancelled if it rains.  Space is limited to 30 youth and they must be at least 5 years old. Call (202) 708-0082 to register a group for one of the three programs. 

The summer program guide is available online. Follow us on Twitter for real-time updates, check out photos and join our Facebook page!

This article appeared on May 14, 2010 in the USA Today.

The secret as to how Afghanistan will achieve a stable, secure future really is no secret at all: agriculture.
 
So it was not surprising during this week’s meetings in Washington between U.S. and Afghan officials that agriculture was a key topic of discussion.
 
In Afghanistan, 85 percent of the population relies on agriculture to earn a living, and strengthening Afghanistan’s agricultural sector is a critical element in stabilizing the nation. But until the agriculture sector can support legitimate crops like wheat and fruits, the Taliban will continue to prey upon disaffected, out of work youth and push the production of poppy.  Unfortunately, poppy production provides little return to the farmers; pomegranates will earn a farmer five times that of poppy on the open market, almonds will earn seven, and grapes will earn eight times as much.  
 
That is why the United States and Afghanistan are working together with a shared strategy to rebuild Afghanistan’s once vibrant agricultural economy.  Our efforts are already yielding results in troubled provinces such as Helmand, the heart of Afghan poppy production.
 
The strategy is four-fold. First, we must increase the productivity of staple crops such as wheat, introduce complementary crops such as soybeans, and improve the yields of cash crops like horticulture and nuts. Second, we must protect Afghanistan’s natural resources by investing in watershed management, sustainable forestry efforts and soil conservation. Third, we must redouble our efforts to rebuild the country’s agricultural marketing system and return Afghanistan to its once-prominent position as the fruit and nut epicenter of Central Asia. And fourth, our countries must continue to work together to restructure Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture by recruiting competent professionals, especially in the rural areas where extension agents with technical knowhow and expertise can make a real difference to farmers and herders.
 
The possibility of the turnaround we envision is real. International demand for Afghan agriculture is returning. In Dubai recently, at the region’s biggest food and trade expo, Afghanistan’s tiny stall was overrun with customers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East with orders for dried fruit and nuts. For the first time, Afghan apples and other fresh fruit are being air-freighted to India. Just recently, a Kabul businessman obtained his certification to begin exporting raisins to Europe. And, in what might be the biggest boon to Afghanistan’s agricultural economy thus far, the nation’s first concentrated juice factory opened near Kabul in October 2009, selling out its entire production for 2010 in just six weeks. The plant employs hundreds of Afghans and is planning an expansion so it can continue to ship its products across the globe.  Other similar facilities are being planned across the country.
 
Furthermore, the U.S. and Afghan governments are working with Afghan farmers to introduce new production and post-production technologies, while improving existing crops with enhanced cultivation and seed varieties. American support is helping to develop Afghan grading, packaging and sanitary methods per international standards. And together we are building the infrastructure and opening the transportation routes necessary to get Afghan grains, fruits and nuts to consumers.
 
The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture also needs help to build research and agricultural extension services – from satellite mapping to experts standing in a field teaching farmers. This is an area where USDA’s assistance is crucial. USDA has contributed more than 100 highly-skilled individuals to this effort – foresters, soil and plant scientists, marketing specialists, and water and rangeland specialists – all with a special ability to share their knowledge through demonstration.
 
USDA is partnering with the U.S. Army National Guard, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, other U.S. federal agencies and, most importantly, Afghans, to solve complex agricultural issues. Moreover, the Afghan government has reorganized its cabinet so that ministries focused on solving the problems facing its rural communities are teamed together: agriculture, electricity, water, construction, and counternarcotics.
 
For 85 percent of the Afghan people, the path to a better job and life for their family is likely to pass through a farm.  That is why, despite the challenges that certainly lie ahead, we are committed to building a better life for the Afghan people by working together to rebuild its once-vibrant agricultural economy.
 
- Tom Vilsack is the United States Secretary of Agriculture and Mohammad Asif Rahimi is the Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock

By Darlene Barnes, Mountain Plain Regional Administrator, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service
Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 12, 2010

Yesterday (Wednesday) I spent the day at the beautiful Christa McAuliffe Elementary School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Colorado Springs School District 11 has initiated some impressive projects when it comes to bringing healthier meals to students. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to share one of those meals with the school’s first-graders, district superintendent, and school board members during my visit.  We had a multitude of healthy choices ranging from a salad bar, whole wheat crust pizza, several varieties of fruit, and the surprise of the day – locally grown asparagus.

After lunch, I met with more than a dozen school food service directors from Colorado school districts, as well as Colorado Department of Education staff, parents, farmers, and others who make healthier school meals a reality.  I learned of important strides being accomplished through school breakfasts in the classroom, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, local wellness committees, and efforts by schools to purchase and serve local produce.

I also received feedback on how Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization can support local school districts – ideas I plan to share when I’m back in Washington, DC.  It’s hard to convey how gratifying it was to spend time with Colorado’s hard-working state and district representatives, as well as the many others doing exceptional work running school meals programs in their communities.

  Under Secretary Janey Thornton (left) and Darlene Barnes, Administrator
of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Mountain Plains Region, chat
with children in Colorado Springs, Colo., about healthy meal choices.

  Darlene Barnes, Mountain Plains Regional Administrator, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service

It was going to be tough matching Wednesday’s visit to Colorado Springs, but if anyplace can compare, it’s breathtaking Salt Lake City.  But Utah is more than just a pretty face.  It’s one of seven new states this year that began operating the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP).  Thanks to Utah and others’ commitment, CSFP participation now includes 39 states, two Indian Tribal Organizations, and the District of Columbia.
 
While there, I took the opportunity to tour the Bountiful Food Pantry, the first site in the Salt Lake area to begin distributing food packages.  CSFP food packages there are available to the elderly as well as to women, infants, and children.  A little later I was joined by staff from the Food and Nutrition Service’s Mountain Plains Regional Office, where we took part in a celebration for CSFP at the Utah Food Bank.  I also had a chance to see their recently renovated food bank, and its a gorgeous facility!  A number of community partners came out to support the program, helping us get the word out about CSFP.  I’m confident we’ll be successful in spreading that important message to those most in need – in large part to the efforts of Utah’s food community.

Janey Thornton, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, (in center) and Darlene Barnes, Administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s Mountain Plains Region (second from left) traveled to Utah May 13 to help promote the launch of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in the State.