Community impact

Horticulture presented numerous workshops, classes, and labs with great attendance including Native Bee Watch, insect series, soil and tree health education. Presented and participated in events in conjunction with many entities, not limited to:  Jefferson County schools, Jeffco Healthy Schools, Jovial Concepts, Lakewood Heritage, Edgewater Library, Peak Community Center, and Denver Metro Green Home Tours, community gardens and clubs.

Colorado Master Gardener grew in 2025 to over 150 active volunteers!

Native Plant Master offered a dozen 3-day certificate courses; all of which were full or waitlisted with excited participants. Due to demand, staff and volunteers were able to work in-hand to add an additional offering in the most sought-after courses.

Cottage Food Safety Classes had 1439 participants pass the state exam, of which, 613 were taught by CSUE Jefferson County Family and Consumer Science faculty.

Hundreds of nation-wide extension employees hired with SNAP-Ed funds lost their jobs and careers in August of 2025. Colorado State University Extension (CSUE) developed and presented two national online sessions for SNAP-Ed Extension Employees, called “Picking Up the Pieces: Finding Hope and Direction After Job Loss” in August of 2025. 84 attended live webinar sessions.

4-H had a 35% increase in attendance to the annual Fun Shoot in October. This event allows youth who may not have experience with 4-H, to try a shooting sports project in a safe setting with trained volunteers. 40% of participants enrolled in a shooting sports project- bringing new members into the program.

In 2025, the Jeffco 4-H team served over 27,000 people, of which 19,000 were youth, through 256 programs in the community. This was through a variety of venues, including community clubs, schools, libraries, field trips, and affordable housing properties, expanding access to 4-H opportunities. A particular highlight within club enrollments, was 100% increase in Cloverbuds, our 5-7 year old members. Early entry into 4-H creates the potential for over 10 years of continued engagement in the program and therefore, leading to long-lasting positive outcomes for youth.

Jeffco 4-H initiated 10 new community partnerships with organizations that had not previously engaged in our programming, expanding access to 4-H across Jefferson County. Through these partnerships, we delivered embryology, natural resources, heritage arts, and STEM programming in elementary schools and at BeyondHome, a transitional housing nonprofit working to help families break the cycle of poverty

In alignment with National 4-H Council’s Beyond Ready Initiative, which aims to prepare young people with the skills and abilities to be ready for work and life, Jeffco 4-H expanded its offering of career exploration field trips. From touring a state-of-the-art Animal Hospital at Denver Zoo to seeing how livestock gets processed at the CSU Meat Lab, 4-H’ers were exposed to a variety of animal science career tracks

The Master Gardener Horticulture Demonstration Garden grew nearly 1000 pounds of food this season that has been donated to the Arvada Veggie Van!

ENOR summer camps are getting ready to open registration for the 2026 season on January 1! 2025 Evaluations showcases positive experiences of campers.

• ENOR campers gave camp a 4.3 star rating
• Campers gave a staff a 4.75 star rating
• 80% of ENOR campers 4-6 grade indicated on evaluations that a week at ENOR made them feel inspired to be good stewards of nature.
• 70% of all ENOR campers indicated on evaluations that after a week of ENOR camp they felt more connected to nature.

Jeffco 4-H at State Fair

Jeffco 4-H members proudly represented our county at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo this year! Our members competed in a wide variety of events including exhibit entries, family and consumer sciences contests, shooting sports competitions, and livestock and horse shows. The State Fair is a great opportunity for members to show off what they’ve learned throughout the year and compete with 4-Hers from all over the state. Even against competition from across the state, many of our members brought home Grand Champion ribbons and belt buckles. Congrats to everyone who participated and made Jeffco proud! 

4-H Summer Career Exploration

This summer, Jeffco 4-H offered a series of career exploration field trips where members had the opportunity to explore animal science and agricultural career paths. Members got to see behind the scenes at the Denver Zoo, where they heard from experts in conservation, zoo management, animal care, and veterinary science. Members also toured the CSU Meat Lab, getting a deeper look into animal processing and quality assurance, and one of Five River’s Cattle Feedlots, where a Jeffco 4-H alumni showed the animal welfare work she’s been doing across multiple facilities. These field trips aimed to spark new interests and show members how they can turn their passion for animals into a career.

Family and Consumer Science

Piloted new Protecting Your Privacy program.  Part of new Save Some Share Some Curriculum, being written and presented statewide in English and SpanishCaptain Cash – 3^rd grade financial literacy, train the trainer set for fall

4-H

• BeyondHome Summer Kick Off
  • Jeffco 4-H joined BeyondHome’s Summer Kick-Off  Event. Along with great partners like Finding Nectar Nursery, we brought baby goats and a fun craft for the BeyondHome families. We’re looking forward to keeping this partnership going this fall with monthly 4-H lessons for their awesome youth.
• Cloverbud Nature Camp
  • Jeffco 4-H held our very first Cloverbud Nature Camp, a week-long, half-day camp for our 5–7-year-old members. Campers got hands-on with nature through activities like sun printing, cracking open geodes, owl pellet dissection, nature walks, and more. It was a week full of exploring, learning, and outdoor fun!
• NSCD Petting Zoo
  • The Jeffco 4-H Livestock Council hosted a petting zoo for NSCD’s Field Day, giving youth the chance to share their love of animals with the NSCD community. Visitors met baby goats, bunnies, and even a horse! It was a great opportunity for our members to practice leadership skills and connect others with agriculture.

Colorado Master Gardener and Horticulture

• Outreach events multiple times per week- nurseries, farmers markets and fairs
• Free horticulture classes series continues through summer
• CMG celebrating 50 years, statewide.  Celebration in Fort Collins in August.

Native Plant Master classes full and with waitlists

• Natural Resources working on Naturalist Program, Native Plant Master, cone/seed collection, and workshops.

ENOR serving 307 youth this summer in camp! 95% capacity

• Horticulture team offered several CMG and community-centered workshops on topics including Emerald Ash Borer, backyard gardening, trees, insects, and more. The team has created a robust community workshop/classes to be offered throughout the year. Join us!
• 4-H Youth Development welcomed new specialist, Alex Madden, to the Outreach Specialist role.
• 4-H Youth Development welcomed over 10,000 youth to National Western Stock Show and visited several Jeffco elementary schools for a visit prior to the field trip for agriculture educational outreach.
• Spring Break Camp catered activities to a different location in the world each day.
• Family and Consumer Science offered workshops in food preservation, cottage food safety, and financial literacy.
• Mary Snow selected to present for regional and state conferences- Congrats!
• ENOR Summer Camp enrollment for 2025 is at 88%- spots remain for interested campers and staff!
• Natural Resources partnering with Open Space, Colorado State Forest Service and more in areas of fire restoration, and seed/cone collection; Jeffco is lead contributor in the state for the Naturalist and Native Plant Master courses.

• Two Jeffco Specialists selected for President role of state organizations in their field.
• CSUE Jeffco Director has been selected and is participating in Jeffco Leadership year-long program of learning about the county and building connections.
• Jeffco Natural Resources Specialist writing curriculum for the statewide Rocky Mountain Naturalist program- coming soon to CSU Extension!
• 4-H Club Enrollment continues to increase!
  • 49 new/1st year members in 2022-23
  • 52 new/1st year members in 2023-24
  • 60 new/1st year members in 2024-25 – as of 12/20 with a lot of months to go for registration!
• Jeffco Colorado Master Gardener program completed focus groups, surveys, and feedback to discover the needs of the program and volunteers. Implemented changes including community building activities, strengthened communication, simplification of processes, variety in volunteer opportunities, and training are showcasing an improvement in reported positive morale and excitement for the program!
• Celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the 4-H Eagles Nest Owls Roose (ENOR) summer environmental camp.  Eagle’s Nest Owl’s Roost (ENOR) Environmental Discovery camp embarked on outdoor adventures and learning with 236 campers during the summer of 2024. Campers visited 19 unique parks and open spaces, spanning 7 land agencies and recreation districts, giving the campers a broad view of local outdoor recreational opportunities. Eighty percent of campers stated on post-camp evaluations that a week at ENOR inspired them to be a good steward of nature.
• CSUE team received several nominations and awards for excellence in curriculum and offerings from CSU, regional and national entities.

• Colorado Master Gardener onboarded 22 new apprentices! Two have already completed green school and the rest are going through green school and all are doing the in person labs. The labs are offered at night and during the day – the first was on soils in November and the second is this week on trees and tree care!
  • Appreciation Event in November celebrated the hard-work and thousands of volunteer hours provided by the Master Gardeners, and supported by the Jeffco Horticulture team.
• Exploring Captain Ca$h and Aging Mastery programs possibilities in Jefferson County.
• Pre-visits for the 2025 National Western Stock Show kicked off in four different schools, three of which were new for classroom visits. 258 students were educated about ranching and agriculture, with a re-vamp to the beef byproducts lesson.
• The annual 4-H Achievement Night welcomed 140 guests to celebrate the accomplishments of 4-H youth and leaders over the past year. A venue shift created a cozy environment, and a nice evening allowed for an outdoor potluck and play time prior to the program.
• New community workshops provided, with positive reviews, including Jeffco Open Space Wreath Making, plant diagnostics with Wheat Ridge High School, and public class in the Horticulture Garden.

• 571 pounds of food have been grown and donated to the Arvada Veggie Van by Colorado Master Gardeners in the Jeffco Horticulture Demonstration Garden.
• Low Ignition Garden debuted at Lookout Mountain Visitor Center.
• Teen Urban Farmers: Adventure Camp
  • Another great camp was held in 2024 at the Jefferson County Public Library in Evergreen. Teens dove into great experiences by learning hands-on about various agricultural fields, including animal and veterinary sciences and horticulture. A small snippet of activities include leather stamping, making mozzarella, wet felting and painting the muscular structure on a horse. 100% of participants reported that they had a great time learning about topics they had never been exposed to previously!
• Jeffco 4-H Fair
  • This year’s fair was another great one enjoyed by all! From a Fair Kick-Off in the dark due to a power outage to a record high price of a steer sold in the Youth Livestock Auction, it was certainly one to remember! Beautiful projects were exhibited in the Exhibit Halls, including a crocheted cat couch that advanced to the Colorado State Fair and was awarded Grand Champion. Youth showed a variety of animals, including horses, alpacas, beef, sheep, swine, goats, rabbits and poultry. Team bonding was evident every day of fair – especially during the coveted Ag Olympics.
• Presented two food preservation workshops.
• ENOR campers gave camp a 4.3 star rating. Campers gave a staff a 4.75 star rating

• 900 apples bagged from the on-site orchard demonstration and 17 pound of food grown and donated to the Arvada Veggie Van early in the season.
• 10 Native Plant Master 3-day courses offered in this quarter.
• 235 youth 4th-8th grade participated in ENOR summer environmental camp.
• 4-H has had several preparatory events for Jeffco and State fair projects coming up, and has been busy in the community leading many STEM, Horticulture, and outdoor camp activities.

• ENOR Summer Camp received the Gamble Oak Award for the camp’s efforts in education and sustainability for 50 years in Jefferson County. Camp spots are open for 2024, register today!
• 4-H Youth development collaborated with the National Western Stock Show and Front Range Region of CSU Extension to educate thousands of youth in local schools about agriculture. The team visited schools before the NWSS, and then met field trips group at the show.
• 4-H Youth Development provided a Spring Break camp that featured vet science, wellness, canning, cooking, and baking workshops for youth 5-18.
• The Colorado Master Gardener Fruit Tree team received 38 requests for site visits and have completed 24. These visits are an opportunity for Jefferson County residents to learn the proper care for fruit trees one-on-one.

• Nearly 125 4-H members exhibited at the 2023 Jeffco 4-H Fair in 32 different divisions ranging from animal projects to heritage arts and shooting sports educational displays to beekeeping. Fair Family Fun Day welcomed members and the public alike to the Jeffco Fairgrounds for a day full of activities, including the leader and alumni livestock show, relay races, tie dye, the youth livestock auction and a youth farmer’s market.
• Colorado Master Gardener received over 50 applications to join the program.  20 apprentices will begin in October; this is the second cohort of apprentices since the pandemic.  We’re growing!
• Family Leadership Training Session hosted a youth class to over 40 young people, in partnership with the Jefferson County Libraries. 
• Natural Resources completed the Low Flammability Extension fact sheet alongside Extension professionals from across the state, and sent to partners.
• The Low-Ignition garden at Lookout Mountain Nature Center had it’s first-ever planting day! The garden is based on a list of low ignition plants put out by the University of Idaho, consisting of plants that have been tested for their flammability, or likelihood to catch fire and their BTU output. The planting day had a great turnout and wonderful weather!
• Our fermentation classes are a hit! We had 24 participants that were brand new to our Extension programs join us to make kimchi, yum!
• Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) is transitioning to our local non-profit community partner, Edgewater Collective. We are excited to see the connection of their programming to this outstanding CSU Extension initiative.
• Natural Resources (NR) worked with numerous community partners, such as local fire departments and municipalities, to plan for wildfire preparedness and mitigation.
• 4-H staff and youth from CSU Extension in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Jefferson and Weld counties facilitated agricultural education exposure through direct, experiential learning of 7356 students and 2376 teachers and chaperones at the 2023 National Western Stock Show.