“Today, technology is an essential part of our daily lives, but it is also essential to unplug, to get outside in nature, to plant and to harvest,” said Beth Bye, newly-appointed executive director of the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm in Bloomfield, Conn.

Wise words. The public is invited to a welcoming reception on Thursday, Jan. 28, 4:30 to 6 p.m., at Auerfarm.

“It is truly an honor to be named executive director of Auerfarm to carry out the legacy of Beatrice Fox Auerbach. In donating the 120 acres, she had a vision to connect people, agriculture and the environment through education and recreation. I believe that mission and vision is even more critical today.”

Auerfarm currently provides valuable hands-on and farm experiences to more than 10,000 children throughout the year. Seasonal programs are offered to school classes, camps, community groups, and the public – in the animal barn, the gardens, and the orchards. The farm also gives back to the community, growing more than two tons of fresh, organic produce in the Foodshare Garden.

Bye has spent her career working to assure that children have access to high quality learning opportunities.

Bye’s connection with Auerfarm began when she was a consultant for the Bloomfield Public Schools. She helped develop the Wintonbury Early Childhood Magnet School farm theme and facility. Wintonbury and Auerfarm have an ongoing relationship, as all students from Wintonbury regularly visit the 4-H Farm throughout the school year.

While one of Bye's main goals is strengthen relationships with schools and school districts, she also envisions a more accessible resource for outdoor recreation, like cross country skiing and hiking for all sectors of the population in conjunction with the new Auerfarm State Park.

While at CREC, Bye played a leadership role in a collaborative effort to open the School for Young Children on Asylum Hill (Now Museum Magnet), and developed Project Choice Early Beginnings. She was Director of the School for Young Children at the University of Saint Joseph during the renovation of the Beach Park School. The school expanded its hours and its mission to support tuition for families from Hartford and West Hartford who lacked access to high-quality preschool. The school was named the Model Lab School by the State Department of Education during her tenure.

She also represents West Hartford, Bloomfield, Burlington and Farmington in the State Senate. Creative Arts Workshop is a non-profit community art center devoted to The 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm is a private, non-profit education center. The organization is a recent Winner of the 2015 Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce’s Non-Profit Award of the Year based on its outstanding contributions to the community.

The mission of Auerfarm is to “connect people, agriculture and the environment through education and recreation.”

Seasonal programs are offered to school classes, community groups, and the public in the center's animal barn, gardens, farmland and orchards.

In 2015, the Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) acquired approximately 40 acres of land in Bloomfield that will be preserved for public open space as the Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve. The land – located on Cider Hill Road, off of Auer Farm Road, in Bloomfield – was donated by Elizabeth Schiro, managing member of Apple Orchard LLC and granddaughter of Beatrice Fox Auerbach, co-founder of the G. Fox department store. The property will be preserved with the Auerfarm name in memory of Elizabeth’s parents Dorothy, daughter of Beatrice Fox Auerbach, and Bernard Schiro.

Schiro grew up on the property and always wanted it to be preserved from development for future enjoyment by others. The donation includes approximately 17 acres of prime and statewide important farmland soils, and offers scenic views of other nearby state parks and the Hartford skyline.

Concerning her parents’ desire to protect the property, Schiro said, “Dorothy and Bernard Schiro had two wishes for the hilltop at Auerfarm. The first wish was to preserve this magnificent piece of land. It would have given them great joy to learn that the State of Connecticut and the Connecticut Forest and Park Association also recognized the hill’s unique pastoral beauty and spectacular scenic views. Their second wish was that the citizens of Connecticut fully enjoy this nature preserve, visiting it often and in all seasons.”

The Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve will provide passive recreational opportunities and the potential to connect trails with those on nearby Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) lands and at Talcott Mountain State Park. This will be one of the closest state recreation areas available to Hartford and surrounding communities. The land was once part of the historic Auerfarm property and today still abuts the 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm, which provides agricultural education to the Greater Hartford region. The new state park scenic reserve was once managed as a working farm, and evidence of past agricultural use is still visible in the enormous trees along the property’s boundaries.

The Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve includes grasslands, historic apple orchards, and woodlands habitat for a variety of wildlife, including migrating and nesting songbirds, raptors and owls, foxes, deer, and several species of reptiles and insects. Nearby are the Talcott Mountain and Penwood State Parks, and the Metacomet Ridge. This traprock ridgeline hosts the New England National Scenic Trail, a recreational hiking trail maintained by CFPA that extends from Long Island Sound through Massachusetts to the New Hampshire border. The property’s proximity to these lands and trails creates opportunities for future trail connections.

In addition to its recreational and habitat resources, the Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve provides important water quality benefits to residents. Just west of the property is a stream with several dammed pools, and land and a reservoir owned by the MDC that provides a large portion of the drinking water supply for the Hartford region.

To view the architectural plans for what will be at the center follow this link.

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A related event for growing opportunities, the UConn Extension is offering two greenhouse workshops for greenhouse growers. The Hands-on Plant Nutrition Workshop is co-sponsored by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station (CAES) and being held at CAES on Feb. 11. Successful management of plant nutrition in container-grown crops depends on early detection of problems and a management plan based on measured parameters.

Learn how to problem-solve common nutrition issues by (1) learning diagnosis of nutrient disorders, (2) conducting in-house testing of important nutrition parameters, and (3) developing a management plan based on in-house testing results. Each attendee will receive a case study to solve, by using the information provided in the presentation and different workstations. Greenhouse growers or workers interested in doing in-house testing of water and growing media should attend the workshop. The Bedding Plant Program for Greenhouse Growers will be offered in Litchfield on Feb. 23 and Vernon on Feb. 25.

This educational program will feature the following topics of interest to those who produce spring crops: PGR’s from plugs to finish, Integrated Pest Management – an Eco-Friendly Approach to Disease Control, Tips on Managing Insects and Mites, and an Update on the Worker Protection Stand and Certification and Training Rule.

For more information and registration forms on either workshop visit the upcoming events section of ipm.uconn.edu.