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Penn State Extension highlights 4‑H and Master Gardeners; county watershed stewards honored for service
Summary
Penn State Extension presented upcoming 4‑H and Master Gardener programs for Monroe County while the county's Master Watershed Stewards reported volunteer hours, partnerships and a live‑stake nursery; three volunteers were recognized for logging more than 1,000 hours.
Jennifer Mercero, client relationship manager for Penn State Extension, told the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 5 that Extension programs for the county include expanded 4‑H activities, Master Gardener events and outreach partnerships to support local schools and veterans.
Mercero said the Extension's veterans program exhausted its funding after a recent session, and the office is looking for ways to restore it. She described several 4‑H items: a hippocology (horse quiz bowl) event scheduled for Feb. 12, an animal science camp May 16–18 at Penn State's University Park campus, and a March 19 proclamation day at the commissioners' office. Mercero also described efforts to grow a county council of volunteers and said she is pursuing a financial‑literacy partnership with NBT Bank branch managers.
The meeting also recognized the Monroe County Master Watershed Stewards. Jim Vogt, the county's watershed steward coordinator, told commissioners his program began in 2018 and now has 36 active volunteers. Vogt said the program logged 2,057 volunteer hours in 2023–24, an IRS estimated volunteer value of $68,889, delivered education to approximately 420 adults and youth, assisted two municipalities with MS4 requirements, and organized six educational events. He said volunteers helped plant roughly 304 trees and live stakes and that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the county Conservation District are among the program's partners.
Vogt described a live‑stake nursery started in the county in 2021 to grow plants used for spring bank erosion repair; he said volunteers take cuttings and replant them for stream‑bank work. The conservation district representative said the district will honor volunteers who passed 1,000 service hours at a Feb. 20 ceremony and thanked the county and Extension for training and volunteer opportunities.
The presentations were delivered during the meeting's program updates and public recognitions; no formal votes were required for the reports and recognitions.
