The closure of Cooperative Extension offices has been extended through April 30. While our offices are closed to the public, we’re still working, offering programs and answering your questions.
Many agents and staff are shifting to program distance delivery through Zoom and Facebook Live. If you haven’t used Zoom, it’s as simple as clicking a link or pasting it into your browser’s address bar. You will be prompted to download the Zoom application, but it’s free. You can find Facebook Live events by going to the host’s Facebook page. Anyone with access to Facebook can view from anywhere and a recording may be viewed later.
Upcoming workshops
In the past few days, Juneau agent Sarah Lewis has hosted Facebook Live events from her own kitchen on making sauerkraut and fermenting vegetables, and on cleaning and disinfecting. Recordings of these may be viewed through the Juneau District Facebook page. She plans to keep hosting these events, which will be announced through Extension’s Facebook page.
Nutrition educator Britanny Balthaser has hosted a series of activities by Zoom this week that will end with Garden Vegetable Soup Demo at 10:30 a.m. March 26. More classes will be announced through the Alaska 4-H Facebook page, she says.
Kenai Peninsula agent Casey Matney will host a Zoom webinar for gardeners, Working with Fertilizers in the Garden, Organic and Conventional, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. March 31. A two-part webinar on pasture and hay management is also planned from 5:30-7 p.m. April 14 and 21. Register on the district website.
The Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center will host its monthly farm tour by Facebook Live today at 4 p.m. on the farm Facebook page.
A Sitka Master Gardener training that was postponed will go online, beginning March 30. Sitka gardeners will join the ongoing Juneau session by Zoom and also take classes from Sitka instructors, also by Zoom.
In the Virtual Garden with Cooperative Extension: The Anchorage Outreach Center and Gina Dionne will host a weekly 30-minute session filled with tips and tricks for successful home gardening in Alaska. The series will meet Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m., through April 29 by Facebook Live and Zoom. The April 1 topic is an introduction to integrated pest management, with Extension’s IPM specialist Jessie Moan. Please register at https://bit.ly/AOC_ITVGCES.
Julie Cascio will teach birch tapping basics by Zoom from 6-7:30 p.m. April 9 at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center. The class is free but registration is requested at 745-3360.
Publications
Although our offices aren’t open, hundreds of our publications are free and remain available online. Want to plan your garden? Try to save money by cooking with beans, peas and lentils? Reduce your electric bills? We also have a publication on birch tapping and syrup making, if you’d like to try. Search our publications database for topics.
Kids activities
We also have activities for kids, including Paint, Paste, Pay Dough, Puppets and Paper Mache. Our 4-H group has also put together ideas for kids’ activities, our Learn By Doing at Home Series with great ideas for kids activities, making boats and rainbows, even taking your pet’s vital signs.
Follow Extension’s Facebook page for announcements of upcoming events.
Faculty and staff are still working, so don’t hesitate to contact them with questions. Emails are best since many of us are working from home. Look up contact information on our directory or use the Ask an Expert form to get your questions answered!
