The UC Hopland Research & Extension Center is entering an new era of public outreach efforts. Last Sunday we celebrated a new multi-use educational facility with a "golden-shovel ground breaking ceremony". Symbolic in nature, the gathering was actually "post" ground-breaking as much of the foundation work has already begun.
This new upcoming facility, will make it possible to extend UC's outreach in new and exciting ways. It will serve the needs of the entire community, allowing county-based Cooperative Extension advisor's, campus-based faculty, the 4-H youth program coordinators, and other educators to offer specialized programs that meet the needs of folks throughout the North Coast region.
The building is to be named in memory of Roderick A. Shippey who served as a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor from 1955 until his retirement in 1989. "Uncle Rod", as he was known by almost everyone in the county, began working as Mendocino County's livestock advisor, but developed other programs assisting the 4-H youth program, emerging "back-to-the-land" property owners in the 1960s and 1970s, early-on farmers' markets, and a multitude of other special interest group endeavors.
Here you see Arlene Shippey and family, and 4-H youth, celebrating the historic moment. In the next few weeks more will be posted about this exciting development. You can follow the building progress on a live web-cam at: http://ucanr.org/sites/hopland/ as it is updated every ten seconds.
