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Cornell Cooperative Extension reports rainwater system, new Master Gardeners and kinship caregiver support programs
Summary
Cornell Cooperative Extension updated the committee on a completed 70,000-gallon rainwater collection system, 108 active Master Gardener volunteers, several grants including a climate-justice award from Orange and Rockland Utilities, and the Relatives as Parents kinship support program that serves roughly 300 families.
Lucy P. Joyce, executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Orange County, briefed the committee on recent program developments and grant activity.
Joyce said the Extension’s Education Center/4‑H Park has completed installation of a 70,000‑gallon rainwater collection system funded by an Environmental Facilities grant; costs exceeded the original budget that was developed in 2018, the presenter said. The Extension also reported a new class of Master Gardener trainees and about 108 active Master Gardener volunteers countywide.
Joyce said Orange and Rockland Utilities awarded the Extension a climate-justice and resilience communities grant focused on disadvantaged communities in Middletown and Port Jervis, and that the Open Space Institute had approached the Extension for a potential collaboration in the Port Jervis region. Joyce cautioned that one planned federal grant contract (climate resilience/soil health) is frozen and that the SNAP‑Ed funding picture depends on the federal farm bill process.
Caitlin O’Brien, program manager, described the Relatives as Parents (RAP) kinship family support program, which the Extension has run for about 26 years. O’Brien said the program serves roughly 300 families annually, offering support groups, peer mentors, connections to legal services, 4‑H youth programming, summer-camp scholarships and community events. She provided a phone contact for the program (listed as the county Extension main number) for caregivers seeking support.
The committee received the report; no formal committee action was required.
