U.S. 12 Heritage Trail designation

MSUE Firewise program receives U.S. Forest Service grant

Crop Management and Field Diagnostic School

Election clippings

Online 4-H conference

MSUE Cool Cities projects

MSU Land Policy Program grants

Upcoming events

Other Extension news

The Firewise Communities Project, initiated as a pilot project in 30 southern Michigan counties, is expanding to include all of the Lower Peninsula, thanks to a three-year, $350,000 U.S. Forest Service grant. 

Mark Hansen, MSUE Firewise project coordinator, and Don Johnson, of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Forest, Mineral & Fire Management Division, co-authored the grant to build on successes achieved in the first two-year Firewise effort.  The grant will help six county offices participate in a more focused effort to prevent wildfires.

The Firewise project was developed to extend the educational efforts of Michigan Department of Natural Resources fire management staff.  Some 8,000 to 10,000 wildfires occur in Michigan each year. 

The initiative helps homeowners reduce wildfires and make changes to their homes and landscapes to reduce the threat of a house or building fire when a wildfire passes.  Local officials learn how to plan community development, evaluate water resources and understand wildfire threats to their communities to reduce fire service costs.

To learn more, visit www.msue.msu.edu/emergency.

To help growers, agribusiness representatives, Extension agents, agency staff members and others stay abreast of changes in Michigan corn and soybean production, Michigan State University (MSU) is sponsoring its second annual Crop Management and Field Diagnostic School July 23 on campus.

Participants will have the opportunity to hone their field decision-making and problem-solving skills as they interact with MSU Extension specialists in small groups and participate in hands-on field activities.

Approval is pending for RUP credits and six continuing education units for certified crop advisers.

The $125 registration fee is due July 20. Participation is limited to the first 125 paid registrations. 

For more information, contact any MSU Extension office or call 517-355-0271, ext. 108, or e-mail lisaingr@msu.edu.

As candidates for county boards of commissioners and the state legislature begin campaigning for the August primary and November general election, county offices are reminded to begin a clipping file on each candidate.  The clipping files serve as a valuable resource to county staff members and provide the information that Gary Taylor and Beth Moore will request from each county office after the November general election.

MSUE faculty members have the opportunity to be part of MSUE’s first online conference, “Building Communities Through Service,” July 22. 

The conference will feature a keynote speaker, panel presentations focusing on youth and adult partnerships, youth leadership and community youth development as they relate to service learning, civic engagement and community building. 

Register online at www.msue.msu.edu/CYF/youth/commserv/SLFConf/. The conference cost is $25 per participant.

For more information, contact Beth Cheng at 517-432-7641 or chengb@msue.msu.edu. 

Gov. Granholm launched a Cool Cities pilot program June 2 by awarding 20 urban revitalization grants of $100,000 each.  In addition, the 20 projects receive first priority for a wide range of assistance programs from state departments and agencies ranging from the Department of Transportation to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

The aim of the Cool Cities pilot program is to revitalize urban areas and help make them attractive enough to retain college graduates and to attract economic development. 

The projects are targeted at improving one pivotal building, streetscape or riverwalk in 17 cities, including Alpena, Marquette, Sault Ste. Marie, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Saginaw and Portland.

Several MSU Extension faculty and staff members associated with MSU Extension’s Urban Collaborators have received funds to support this project. 

Urban Collaborators identified two areas of need: to help the state assess project development at the local level and to help several local initiatives succeed by providing services such as urban design consultation.    Several researchers will evaluate the progress and results of various projects.  MSU faculty members and students will help project winners to create visual images of improvements and support communities in developing common visions. 

The proposals submitted to the Land Policy Program (Program Implementation Grant) and the MSU Outreach and Engagement MSU Extension Grant Program led to awards of $106,000 for two years.  Urban Collaborators Co-Director June Thomas submitted the proposals as head of a research team that includes professors Zenia Kotval and John Schweitzer, Urban and Regional Planning Program, and Warren Rauhe, Landscape Architecture Program.  MSUE agents who stand ready to assist with local organizational tasks include Carol Townsend (Grand Rapids), Marie Ruemenapp (Saginaw), Linda Patrick (Flint) and Mike Thomas (Jackson), whose cities all won awards.  The graduate assistant helping with this project is Julia Darnton. 

Congratulations to those MSUE offices and staff members that received grants from the MSU Land Policy Program. The number of individuals and offices involved shows our strong commitment to land use and planning issues. For the entire list of grant winners, visit www.landpolicy.msu.edu/announcements/index.html.

2004 Ag Expo

Ag Expo is right around the corner (July 20-22). Twenty copies of the event’s program guide have been mailed to every MSUE county office.  Offices that need more copies of the guide may request them by calling the Ag Expo office toll free at 1–800–366-7055. 

Please remind your clients that Ag Expo visitors may sign up for an educational program during Ag Expo that will allow them to earn restricted-use pesticide (RUP) applicator credits.  Call 517-432-1555 to pre-register. 

Ag Expo will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 20, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. July 21 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 22.  For more information, visit www.agexpo.msu.edu.

Fall Extension Conference Theme Announced

MSUE's annual conference, “Partnerships for Advancing Knowledge and Transforming Lives,” is set for

Oct. 12-14 at MSU's Kellogg Center. Nearly 50 concurrent sessions, dozens of poster exhibits and a Fun'd Night sponsored by the professional associations will be featured. Keynote speaker Cam Marston will highlight "The Four Generations,” a unique perspective on the importance of diversity. See you there!

AoE Co-Chair Meeting Set

The AoE Co-Chair meeting is set for Sept. 13 and 14 at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt from noon to noon. Registration, lodging and meals will be covered for this meeting.  Look for registration materials and updates in the upcoming months. 

Other Extension News:

FCS Newsletter

Children, Youth and Families (CYF) has developed an electronic newsletter to update the MSU Extension community.  CYF provides educational programming in youth development; family resource management; food, nutrition and health; food safety; and human development. The newsletter is available at: http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/cyf/family/FCS-Resources.html.