CSU Extension office in Lake County reports program growth, grants and plans for local Master Gardener training

The recently reopened Colorado State University (CSU) Extension office in Lake County has expanded programming, secured grants and is planning a local Master Gardener training cohort, staff and CSU officials said at a Lake County work session on Oct. 14.

Diana, the county'based CSU Extension staff member hired after the office reopened, told the board she has focused on community outreach since arriving "about 10 months ago," building partnerships, piloting events and collecting baseline data on community awareness of CSU Extension. "Of the 14 people that filled that out, 75% had not [heard of CSU Extension before]," she said of a registration survey tied to a raised-bed gardening program.

Kurt Jones, CSU Extension regional director for the Mountain Region, placed the local work in historical context, saying the county office had been closed after the Climax Mine shutdown in 1977 and only recently reopened under a renewed memorandum of understanding with the university. "Forty-five years between county directors was a long, long time," Jones said.

Why it matters: The office is positioning CSU…