April 20, 2023 – Flagler County, Bunnell, Florida
2023 Central District Symposium Abstracts and Posters, from faculty in multiple programmatic areas. These include: 4-H Youth Development (7), Agriculture (2), Community Development (0), Family & Consumer Sciences (3),
Horticulture / Florida Friendly Yards Neighborhoods (FYN) / Florida Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) (5), and Natural Resources (3).
Disclaimer: These posts for the 2023 Central District Symposium are meant for internal audiences only. Any external comments will be sent to the appropriate faculty and will not be posted.
OSCEOLA COUNTY WEED WRANGLES REMOVE INVASIVE PLANTS AND SUPPORT BIOLOGICAL CONTROL DEVELOPMENT (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Natural Resources K. Stump, UF/IFAS Extension, Osceola County, Kissimmee, FL D. Sussmann, Florida Forest Service, Orlando District, FL Situation: Invasive plants are non-native plants that cause damage to the environment, economy and/or human health. Invasive plant control is costly and complicated, requiring multi-agency management efforts and significant funding. […]
IRRIGATION EDUCATION FOR HOBBY FARMERS TO ENCOURAGE WATER CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Natural Resources G. Vicari, UF/IFAS Extension, Marion County. 2232 NE Jacksonville Rd, Ocala, FL. Situation: In Marion County, about 60% of our water is used for irrigation. Agriculture uses about 20% for food production, while industry and golf courses make up the rest. During Covid, the county had […]
TALK TRASH AND TAKE ACTION: PROVIDING VIRTUAL EDUCATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BEACH CLEANUPS (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Natural Resources Kovacs, C.J., UF/IFAS Extension Flagler County, 150 Sawgrass Rd Bunnell FL 32110 Situation and objectives: Plastic pollution is one of the most detrimental environmental issues worldwide, with ocean-based pollution being of particular concern in coastal Florida counties. Each September, individuals and organizations participate in a large-scale […] ADDRESSING BEHAVIORAL RISK FACTORS OF HEART DISEASE THROUGH A COMMUNITY BASED HEALTH AND WELL-BEING PROGRAM. (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Family and Consumer Sciences W. Lynch, , UF/IFAS Extension, St. Johns County, St. Augustine, FL, A. Anderson, Orange County, Orlando, FL, R. Elliott, Marion County, Ocala, FL, L. Duncan, Sumter County, Bushnell, FL, L. Johnson, Lake County, Tavares, FL, M. Thomas, UF/IFAS Extension, Flagler County, Palm Coast, FL. […]
PRESERVING KNOWLEDGE: UTULIZING FOOD PRESERVATION TO TEACH FOOD SAFETY AND WASTE REDUCTION PRACTICES (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Family and Consumer Sciences Lori Johnson, UF/IFAS Extension, Lake County, Tavares, FL. Situation: A rise in home food preservation resulted from the pandemic and food costs. Food safety is of concern due to 29% of botulism cases between 2001 and 2017 were from foods preserved at home (Luquez […]
ALL THINGS HOUSING IN THE CENTRAL DISTRICT. (4/16/2023) - 2023 Central District All Faculty Symposium – Family and Consumer Sciences L. Hamilton, UF/IFAS Extension Volusia County, Deland, FL, J. Rodriguez, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County, Orlando, FL, J. Anderson, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County, Orlando, FL, H. Ayers, UF/IFAS Extension Orange County, Orlando, FL, J. Gomez, UF/IFAS Extension Osceola County, Kissimmee, FL, L. Duncan, UF/IFAS Extension […] WATER WEDNESDAY WORKSHOP: A MULTI-COUNTY COLLABORATION TO ENHANCE WATER CONSERVATION IN CENTRAL FLORIDA (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Horticulture, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Florida Friendly Landscaping™ Jamie Daugherty, UF/IFAS Lake County Extension. Yilin Zhuang, UF/IFAS MREC, Gabriel Vicari, UF/IFAS Marion County Extension, Amanda Marek, UF/IFAS Marion County Extension Tia Silvasy, UF/IFAS Hillsborough County Extension, Tina McIntire, UF/IFAS Seminole County Extension, Krista Stump, UF/IFAS Osceola County […]
EDUCATING INDUSTRY PARTNERS ON IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPING PRACTICES (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Horticulture, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Florida Friendly Landscaping™ B. Moffis, UF/IFAS Extension Lake County, Tavares, FL, P. Jones, UF/IFAS Program for Resource Efficient Communities, Gainesville, FL, J. Kipp, Program for Resource Efficient Communities, P. Bohlen, University of Central Florida Biological Sciences, Orlando, FL, and B. Iannone, UF/IFAS […] ADDING ACCESSIBILITY TO THE MASTER GARDENER VOLUNTEER TRAINING PROGRAM (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Horticulture, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Florida Friendly Landscaping™ C. Chairez, UF/IFAS Extension, Orange County, Orlando, FL and E. Pabon, UF/IFAS Extension, Osceola County, Kissimmee, FL. Situation: The Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) training program is designed for able-bodied residents and is limited in accessibility. The traditional structure of […] UTILIZING DIGITAL PLATFORMS TO INCREASE PROGRAM OUTREACH IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT. (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Horticulture, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Florida Friendly Landscaping™ C. Gardner, UF/IFAS Extension, Orange County, Orlando, FL. Situation: The population of Orange County is over 1.4 million people, with a size of over 1,000 square miles. Therefore, proximity to the local UF/IFAS facilities can be challenging to a […] VIRTUAL PLANT CLINIC CELEBRATES THREE YEARS OF SUCCESS (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Horticulture, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods, Florida Friendly Landscaping™ W. Lester, UF/IFAS Extension, Hernando County, Brooksville, FL Situation: When COVID-19 made it difficult for clients to visit their local Extension offices or Ask the Master Gardener Plant Clinics to have their questions answered, a variety of options were […] TRAINING FLORIDA FIRST DETECTORS WITH STATE-WIDE MONTHLY WEBINAR SERIES (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Agriculture M. Pinkerton, UF/IFAS Extension, Seminole County, Sanford, FL and Amanda Hodges, University of Florida, Department of Entomology and Nematology, Gainesville, FL Situation: Invasive species pose significant threats including economic losses in agriculture, human and animal health hazards, disruption of native ecosystems and more. A recent study […] EXPANDING PASSION FRUIT PRODUCTION IN FLORIDA (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – Agriculture M. Bailey, UF/IFAS Extension, Marion County, Ocala, FL Situation: In 2022 agricultural production costs, particularly fertilizer costs, increased the most on record. The USDA forecasts a decrease in net farm income for 2023 by 18.2%. This creates significant challenges for new farms to begin and existing […] MUSCADINES AND BEES PLEASE (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development Heather Pogue, UF/IFAS Extension, Putnam County, East Palatka, FL Wendy Mussoline, UF/IFAS Extension, Putnam County, East Palatka, FL Situation: Most local 4-H members are familiar with the potato industry that dominates the commercial agriculture scene in Putnam County. However, most are not aware that […] DISTRICT VIII 4-H CITRUS PROGRAM WEBSITE – ONE-STOP SHOP FOR FAMILIES (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development M. Souers, E. Reichel, UF/IFAS Orange County, Orlando, FL, and B. White, UF/IFAS Lake County, Tavares, FL. Situation/Objectives: The District VIII 4-H citrus project is open to Orange, Lake, Seminole, and Volusia counties. In 2022, there were seventy youth participants needing timely information about […] INCREASING FOOD SYSTEM EDUCATION FOR UNDERSERVED CHILDREN THROUGH AFTERSCHOOL GARDEN PARTNERSHIPS. (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development Daugherty, J., UF/IFAS Extension, Lake County, Tavares, FL and Meringolo, D., UF/IFAS Extension, Lake County, Tavares, FL Situation and Objectives: Food Insecurity is a reality for many throughout Lake County. By educating youth on vegetable gardening practices though active gardening we teach them skills […] CLOVERBUDS KNOWLEDGE OF POLLINATORS BLOSSOMS AT 4-H DAY CAMP (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development A. Prevatt, UF/IFAS Extension, St. Johns County, Saint Augustine, FL. Situation: Today, the knowledge youth have about where their food comes from is becoming increasingly limited. This lack of knowledge can be partially blamed on the increase in population and the move from rural […] TEEN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL CREATES A SENSE OF BELONGING (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development J.S. Kelly, UF/IFAS Extension, St. Johns County, St. Augustine, FL and V.A. Prevatt, UF/IFAS Extension, St. Johns County, St. Augustine, FL Situation: In 2021-2022, the only members in County Council were the five officers, three of which were siblings. Officers visiting clubs to recruit […] BUSY-BUGS JMG GROWING MORE THAN A GARDEN (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development L. Sanderson, UF/IFAS Extension, Bushnell, FL. Situation: Existing research supports that youth gardens can not only influence healthy eating choices, and manage childhood obesity, but also can provide a sense of well-being and may lead to gardening endeavors later in life. Gardening engages youth […] CREATING FUTURE “AGVOCATES” THROUGH AG INDUSTRY DAY CAMP (4/15/2023) - 2023 – Central District All Faculty Symposium – 4-H Youth Development Chelsea Jones, UF/IFAS Extension, Marion County, Ocala, FL Situation: Marion County, Florida has approximately 330,000 acres of farmland. It is also one of the fastest growing counties in Florida with a population of 385,915 (US Census Bureau, 2021). Youth who have recently moved to […]