Spotlight - Archives
Janis Butler
Volunteer Spotlight - March 2022
April 26, 2022
Master Gardener Volunteers bring their passion for learning and teaching to the Putnam County communities they serve. This month we are shining a light on Janis Butler (MGV Class of 2009). Janis has developed her knowledge and expertise surrounded native plants and the ecosystems they serve, as well as recycling and waste reduction. Janis is an engaging teacher, and usually has her students in stitches, melding evidence-based facts with great instructive examples. Janis also heads off two teams in our May Plant Sale (May 7th, 2022). As Team Leader Janis chooses plants and organizes the “Herbs” team, as well as the “Beauty-And-The Bees” team, creating informative signage that illuminates the link between pollinators and the native plants they visit. We can’t forget the many hours Janis has spent behind the microscope in our diagnostic lab, plumbing the mysteries of insect and pathogen plant-pests.Thank you, Janis, for all you give to CCE and your community.
Beatriz Lopes
Volunteer Spotlight – February 2022
Beatriz Lopes is a 4-H Alumni and active Putnam 4-H Volunteer.
Beatriz graduated from Mahopac High School in 2017 and graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics & Statistics with a Minor in Italian Language & Culture from Stony Brook University in 2020.During her time in Putnam 4-H, Beatriz was involved with the 4-H Teen Action Group and the Youth Forum Planning Committee as well as various 4-H programs and events.
Beatriz never says no! She is always ready & willing to help with any request, including Co-Leading the 4-H Teen Action Group, serving as an Evaluator for 4-H Public Presentations, serving as a Chaperone for the 4-H Teen Leadership Retreat and help lead the 4-H Babysitting Bootcamp program last summer. Beatriz has also assisted with countless CCE and 4-H Special events. Beatriz is truly one-of-a-kind and is completed dedicated to the 4-H Youth Development Program.She enjoys working with both the young and young-at-heart and never shy’s away from a challenge.
Beatriz now works for MassMutual as a Qualitative Consultant and volunteers regularly with Putnam 4-H.
Thank you, Beatriz! We are truly Lucky to have you!
Congratulations to Jill Eisenstein!
January 14, 2022
by Kristi Sullivan and Jen Lerner
Serving as both a Master Naturalist and Master Gardener
Volunteer, Jill has moved forward to complete Master Naturalist levels 16, 17,
18, and 19 by completing 203 volunteering hours and 68 training hours since
earning Level 15.
In her role as Master Naturalist, Jill led three, 2-hour
interpretive canoe trips with Friends of the Great Swamp. On the trips, she
educated the public about watersheds, the importance of wetlands such as the
Great Swamp, specific flora and fauna of this water body, and how it is
changing because of beaver activity, development, introduced invasive plants,
and climate change.
In her role as Master Gardener Volunteer, Jill is a member
of the Putnam Pollinator Pathway committee and writes about native plants and
insects, including articles for the CCE newsletter and copy for displays at
tabling events, which she also attends to interact with and educate the public.
As Chair of the New York State Outdoor Education
Association’s (NYSOEA) Communications and Technology Committee, Jill serves as
the content and issue editor for their quarterly publication, PATHWAYS. She
runs quarterly meetings, gathers and edits content for the publication, and
writes articles on natural history topics.
Sponsored by the NY/NJ Trail Conference, Jill became a
trained volunteer for the Lower Hudson Partnership for Invasive Species
Management (PRISM) Invasive Strike Force. As a Blockbuster Survey team member,
she surveying an assigned trail in NYS for the presence of invasive species. In
2020, she surveyed sections of Pawling Nature Reserve, and submitted the data
to her local PRISM.
Jill also participated in an amphibian road crossing under
the guidance of NYSDEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program. After identifying an
area where amphibians would be crossing roads to breed, she observed the
beginning of their migration and helped them cross the road safely to reach
their vernal pool.
Other volunteering activities for Jill included the Audubon
Society’s Christmas Bird Count, Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Great Backyard
Bird Count, presenting a Naturalist Exchange webinar on Wetlands, and a webinar
on native plants for Women Owning Woodlands, a group sponsored by the NYC
Watershed Ag Council.
Volunteers like Jill, who draw from many avenues of
professional and private experience make their communities more resilient.
Those hundreds of hours of volunteer service happen quietly and in many small
ways but are tributaries in a larger stream. Much like the Great Swamp that
Jill uses as a classroom, these tributaries knit together to create connections
in our communities and natural world, that make it a richer place.
Thank you,
Jill, for sharing your time with us.
Congrats to Niamh and Beatriz!
Friday, December 10, 2021
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam
County is thrilled to announce that Putnam 4-H Alumni Beatriz Lopes and Putnam
4-H Member Niamh Carey have both applied for and have been selected by
The UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent to
serve on a cohort of youth leaders to develop a new
National Scientific Council on Adolescence (YNSCA). The
Center’s mission is to improve adolescent health, education, and well-being
through developmental science, and we are committed to partnering authentically
with youth in this process.
Niamh Carey
Niamh Carey is a Senior at Carmel High School. Niamh has been involved in 4-H for approximately six years. Niamh is currently a Member in the 4-H Teen Action Group and the Youth Forum Planning Committee! She also serves on the 4-H Advisory Committee. Upon graduation, Niamh plans to study nursing!
Beatriz Lopez
Beatriz Lopez graduated from Mahopac High School in 2017 and is an active 4-H Alumni. She graduated from Stony Brook University in 2020 with B.S. in Applied Mathematics & Statistics with a Minor in Italian Language & Culture. During her time in Putnam 4-H, Beatriz was involved with the 4-H Teen Action Group and the Youth Forum Planning Committee as well as various 4-H programs and events. Beatriz now works for MassMutual as a Qualitative Consultant and continues to volunteer her time with Putnam 4-H.
Last updated June 24, 2022
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