Advocates tout value of extension services

The state would lose more than it gains under a proposal to close or merge urban offices of the Virginia Cooperative Extension service, advocates say.

The $2.5 million saved by the changes would lead to a loss of $8.8 million in non-state funding, plus an additional cost to the state of $4.4 million in severance costs for employees who would lose their jobs, said Kerstin Roan, director of communications for extension services.

Under the proposal, extension offices in Norfolk and Portsmouth would close and Chesapeake's would merge with Virginia Beach, with the probable loss of some staff, Roan said.

Del. Bob Tata, R-Virginia Beach and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said the cooperative extension in Virginia Beach "does a terrific job" and "is an important part of our community."

"We need to put that back," Tata said of funding to the cooperative extensions. "We need those co-ops."

If the budget cuts are approved, eight extension offices in the state would close and 13 would merge with neighboring locations. Eliminated would be all lawn and garden programs, including the Master Gardener volunteer program, plus family, consumer and nutrition services.

Extension services are intended to transfer research knowledge from state universities to the public.

Among their tasks, the offices direct 4-H programs, provide certification training for pesticide handlers, provide nutrition information to at-risk populations and help farmers and urban homeowners with conservation and horticulture.

Urban dwellers would be most affected by the cuts proposed in HB30, which is working its way through the General Assembly. Advocates of the Master Gardener program, in particular, have mobilized to voice their concerns.

Tom Bolt, chairman of the Norfolk Master Gardeners, said legislators appear to be unaware of Virginia's largest crop.

"It's called a lawn," he said. "More money is spent on lawns and lawn care than any other crop in the country."

Bolt said that in South Hampton Roads, 502 volunteers have contributed 125,000 hours, worth

$2.5 million to the community, over the past three years through demonstration gardens at the zoo and botanical gardens, donations of fresh vegetables to the food bank, assistance with community gardens, educational programs and answering phone calls.

Bolt said the proposed cuts will hurt but won't stop the volunteer garden program.

"We'll survive," he said, "but we won't be able to do the job we have been doing."

Pilot writer Julian Walker contributed to this story.

Diane Tennant, (757) 446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com