Deborah Levulis Page 1

County Extension Faculty - 2010ROA and 2011POW

  1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF JOB DUTIES

Master Gardener Volunteer recruitment, educational curriculum development and training. Master Gardener Volunteer program administration, organization, retention, continuing education and recognition.

Specific duties by percentage:

  1. Master Gardener Volunteer Education and Development95%
  2. 4H Youth5%

Total 100%

  1. AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
  • Master Gardener Training
  • Volunteer Management
  • Urban Horticulture and Landscape Best Management Practices
  1. ASSIGNED ACTIVITY SINCE LAST PROMOTION (NOT TO EXCEED TEN YEARS), OR SINCE UF EMPLOYMENT

2010-11 / 2009-10
Teaching / 0% / 0%
Research / 0% / 0%
Service / 0% / 0%
Extension / 100% / 100%
TOTAL / 100% / 100%
  1. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Educational Background
University / Program Area / Degree / Year
University of Connecticut / Environmental Horticulture / B.S. / 1977
  1. EMPLOYMENT

Employment Listing

University/ Organization / Title / Permanent
Status* / Year
University of Florida / Master Gardener Extension Agent 1 / Non-accruing / December 22, 2008 -Present
Palm Beach County Planning Zoning & Building Department / Zoning/Landscape Field Representative II / December 13,1999- December 19, 2008
Self-Employed / Horticultural Consultant / July 1994- December 1999
Jupiter Middle School / Horticulture Teacher / August 1997-June 1998
University of Florida / Master Gardener Extension Agent / May 1988- July 1994

*Permanent status accruing or not

  1. YEAR TENURE/PERMANENT STATUS WAS AWARDED BY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA –NA
  2. UF TENURE AND PROMOTION CRITERIA
  3. TEACHING, ADVISING, AND/OR OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS–NA
  4. TEACHING EVALUATIONS –NA
  5. GRADUATE FACULTY STATUS –NA
  6. GRADUATE COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES –NA
  7. RESEARCH NARRATIVE –NA
  8. CREATIVE WORKS OR ACTIVITIES

Instructional Multi-Media Presentations

2011: Three Planned Instructional Multimedia presentations including Landscape Codes For Commercial Landscapers; Plant Propagation; Art of Volunteering Revised, range of slides 21-50.

2010: Created (Total 7) Instructional Multi-Media presentations on topics for Master Gardener Volunteer Training and Continued Education for graduate Master Gardeners. Programs revised and implemented included; Introductionto the Master Gardener Program; Master Gardener Volunteer Program Policies; Binomial Nomenclature Revised; Palm Beach County Landscape Codes Revised; Proper Planting of Trees and Shrubs Revised; Tree Grades and Standards Revised; Cooperative Extension Diagnostic Tools; range of slides 21-50.

Radio and TV

2011: Palm Beach County TV Channel Segment on Master Gardener Volunteer Recruitment

2010: NA

Web-based communication and teaching

Continue enhancing and maintaining the Palm Beach County Master Gardener Volunteer Website and as a component of the overall PBC Cooperative Extension Service Website.

Master Gardener Website allows users to click on a link to ask plant questions of the Palm Beach County Master Gardener Volunteer; Agent updates website monthly on new research and volunteering opportunities at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service for Active Master Gardener Volunteers. Average Monthly Web site hits 1,169.

Agent has scheduled two VMS-the Online volunteer time management systemtrainings conducted by Florida Master Gardener Coordinator Tom Wichman. Tomhas presenteda program about the new online Florida Master Gardener volunteer time management system November 29, 2010 for Administrators of the website and will present aDecember 8, 2010 program for the utilization of Palm Beach County Master Gardener Volunteers. The requirement to begin input of all Master Gardener volunteer hours into the online management system will begin January 1, 2011

  1. PATENTS AND COPYRIGHTS – None
  2. PUBLICATIONS

a.Books, Sole Author (Title, Publisher, Place of Publication, Date, Inclusive Pages)

b.Books, Co-authored (Co-author(s), Title, Publisher, Place of Publication, Date,

Inclusive Pages) - None

c.Books, Edited (Editor, Co-editor(s), Title, Publisher, Place of Publication, Date,

Inclusive Pages) - None

d.Books, Contributor of Chapter(s) (Author, Co-author(s), Title of Book and Chapter,
Publisher, Place of Publication, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

e.Monographs (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Series of Volume, is applicable, Publisher,
Place of Publication, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

f.Refereed Publications (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Name of Journal, Publication, etc., Volume, Date, Inclusive Pages). Refereed publications are screened by reviewers to determine if the article meets the standards of the professional journal. - None

g.Non-refereed Publications (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Name of Journal, Bulletin, Circular, etc., Volume, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

(Most Extension publications go here. You can create sub-categories such as)

Newsletter Articles:

  • Twelve Gardening Articleswritten by this agent were published in the Palm Beach County employees hardcopy newsletter, the Countyline. This newsletter was distributed to 6,000 county employees perissue (72,000 client contacts total).Topics included: Spring Flowering Vines; Save Money Propagating Your Own Plants; Conserving Water In Your Landscape; How To Save Water With Your Irrigation System; Proper Tree Pruning For Summer; Would You Like To Be A Master Gardener; Shade The House To Conserve Energy; How To Properly Prune Palm Trees; National Arbor Day: A Tree Planters Holiday; Help Save Avocado Trees; Going Green With Office Plants; Cleaning Up Your Cold Damaged Plants.

Five Online Gardening Articles were published in the new online Palm Beach County electronic newsletter, eCountyline, which is emailed to 6,000 county employees each issue (30,000 client contacts total.)Topics included; Attracting Hummingbirds; Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Awarded Grant Encouraging Non-Toxic Pest Management; Volunteer Recognition Luau; Plants That Can Poison Pets; New Garden Installed By Volunteers in Mounts Botanical Garden.

  • Continue writing 2 gardening articles per monthduring 2011 for the ‘eCountyline’Palm Beach County Employee Online Newsletter.

h.Bibliographies/Catalogs (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Publisher, if applicable, Place of Publication, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

i.Abstracts (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Name of Journal, Publications, etc., Volume, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

j.Reviews (Author, Co-author(s), Title and Author of Work Reviewed, Where Review was Published, Date, Inclusive Pages) - None

k.Miscellaneous (Author, Co-author(s), Title, Source of Publication, Date, Inclusive Pages)None

  1. LECTURES, SPEECHES OR POSTERS PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES/MEETINGS- None
  1. CONTRACTS AND GRANTS- None

Funded Externally

Years
(e.g, 2007-2009) / Contractor or Grantor / Project Title / Grant Amount / PI, Co-PI or Investigator / If Co-PI, Specify %
Total

Summary of External Grant Funding Received (current)
Summary of External Grant Funding

Role / Total / Direct Costs / Indirect Costs
Principal Investigator / $ xx / $ xxx / $ xxx
Co-Principal Investigator / $ xx / $ xxx / $ xx
Investigator / $ xxx / $ xxx / $ xx
Sponsor of Junior Faculty / $ xxx / $ xx / $ -
TOTALS / $ xxx / $ xxxx / $ xxxx
  1. Funded Internally.

Years / Contractor or Grantor / Project Title / Grant Amount / PI, Co-PI or Investigator / If Co-PI, Specify %
Total

Summary of Internal Grant Funding (Current)

Role / Total
Principal Investigator / $ xxx
Co-Principal Investigator / $ xxx
Investigator / $ xxx
Sponsor of Junior Faculty / $xxx
TOTALS / $ xxxx
  1. Submitted, Pending Decision - None

Years of Contract or Grant / Contractor or Grantor / Project Title / PI, Co-PI, or Investigator / If Co-PI
Specific Responsibilities
  1. Submitted But Not Funded.- None

Years of Contract or Grant / Contractor or Grantor / Project Title / PI, Co-PI, or Investigator / If Co-PI
Specific Responsibilities
  1. In-kind Contributions

Year / Type / Donor / Amount
2010 / 9,956 Master GardenerVolunteer Hours / Master Gardener Volunteers / *181,000.00
2010 / Nursery Plants Raffledfor Master Gardener Volunteer monthly educational program / The Mounts Botanical Garden ‘Guild’ / 1,500.00
2010 / Volunteer Dr. Ken Pernezny 300 hours / Emeritus University of Florida / 8,000.00 is his time more valuable?
Total / 190,500.00

*Dollar value of 123 active Palm Beach County Master Gardener volunteering 9,956 hours is a$181,000.00 contribution to extension programs according to 2010 Florida data from the Independent Sector. ( the estimated dollar value of a volunteer hour is $18.20(this includes estimated fringe benefits, update this value yearly and the values used for each year should be reported individually). Trained volunteers are contributed to programs by donating their time, skills, talent, and expertise under supervision and guidance of agent.

  1. Monetary Contributions- None

Year / Donor / Amount
Total

(Additional subheadings, such as g. etc. can be added if needed to report other categories)

  1. UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE - None

Years (e.g., 2009) / Name of Activity,
Committee, etc. / Your Role,
e.g., member, chair, etc.

gout good to keep it here1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

  1. CONSULTATIONS OUTSIDE THE UNIVERSITY – None
  2. EDITOR OF A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL, SERVICE ON AN EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD OR REVIEWER FOR A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL –None
  3. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES –None
  4. EXTENSION PROGRAM

Role and Activities of Your Advisory Committee:

Developed and conducteda 12 member Master Gardener Volunteer Advisory Committee which met two times, May 2010 and November 2010. Advisory committee members helped the agent identify, prioritize, and implement Master Gardener Volunteer educational and volunteer opportunities and community outreach. This created a public value and significantly extended the reach of the Palm Beach County horticulture faculty. What is membership composition???

ConductedTwo(2) Master Gardener Volunteer Advisory Meetings May 2011 and November 2011.

Titlesof Programs

Program Title
I. / Master Gardener Volunteer Education and Development
II. / 4-H and Other Extension Activities
  1. Master Gardener Volunteer Education and Development
  1. Situation

Approximately 1.3million people reside in Palm Beach County and most are originally from areas outside of Florida. Residents often are not familiar with the unique climatic and environmental conditions of this area and their impact on landscape and garden plants. Therefore, accurate researched based information on designing, installing and maintainingresidential landscapes to minimize negative impacts is critical. This includes impacts on surface and ground water, desirable wildlife, organisms, people and their economics. The enormouslocal desire for UF research-based residential horticulture and pest and disease managementinformation generates significant challenges for the agent’s time and attention. The Master Gardener Volunteers irreplaceably work to assist the agent and leverage her efforts via the Plant Clinics, the Hotline Room telephone and walk-in traffic response, and serving as speakers for horticultural and pest management presentations. The volunteer outreach coordinated by the agent provides an invaluable opportunity for the agent to have time for essential educational program planning and delivery to newand graduate Master Gardeners .

Target audience(s): Master Gardener Volunteer Trainees and both Active and In-Active Master Gardener Volunteers Does Laura report on MG contacts with clientele??

  1. Program Objectives what happened to the objective related to MG effectiveness at solving problems of clientele??

1)Fifty-four(54) Master Gardener Volunteer Trainees will participate in a 15 week volunteer training program. Ninety-five percent of participants in the Master Gardener Volunteer training classes will volunteer at least 4 hours answering plant questions in the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service on the hotline during 2010. These volunteers will perform 8 other hours of volunteer work during their training program, for a total of 12 volunteer hours during their training program. This will total 648 hours in volunteer service to the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension during 2010. These 54 Master Gardener program graduates are required to additionally volunteer 63 hours for a total of 3400 hours of volunteer work in their year of service following graduation.

2) Fifty (50) active Master Gardener volunteers will attend eleven(11)continued training Master Gardener Educational one hour programs. The active Master Gardener volunteers attending these programs will be updated with the latest UF Horticulture research. This educational program promotes the retaining of volunteer graduate Master Gardeners providing them most current IFAS best landscape management updates. Master Gardener volunteer venues are available for which the volunteers can sign-up to work at throughout the month. Active Master Gardeners will volunteer at least 35 hours during the program year.At least eighty-five percent of the attendees post program surveyed by questionnaire will indicate they haveadoptedand will then teach at least one Florida-Friendly TMlandscape Best Management Practice as scouting for home landscape pests weekly at volunteer venues throughout the community.

1)Educational Methods and Activities

15 Week Trainings

Two 15 part weeklyresearch based Master Gardener Volunteer educational training programs were developed and conducted in 2010 for a total of 180 instructional hours.Component individual presentations were conducted by other extension agents, graduate Master Gardener Volunteers, UF Specialistshorticulture industry experts, and the extension agent.Training methods included multimedia, interactive question and answers, lecturing and hands on exercises and tours in the surroundings of the Mounts Botanical Garden. The Master Gardener Notebook (3 volumes)and additional UF fact sheets were required reading.

15 Week Master Gardener Programs Presented byAgent

Binomial Nomenclature

March 10, 2010 and September 16, 2010 60 participants)

September 9, 2009 (25 participants)

Two Multimedia Power Point presentations were revised twice for the year

Proper Planting of Trees and Shrubs Program Revised

April 7, 2010 and September 29, 2010-60 participants;

Two Multimedia Power Point presentations

Florida Grades and Standards Revised Program

April 7, 2010 and September 29, 2010-60 participants

TwoMultimedia PowerPoint presentations

Landscape Codes Revised Program

April 14, 2010 and September 15, 2010-60participants;

Two Multimedia PowerPoint presentations

Volunteer Policies of the Master Gardener ProgramRevised

February 17, 2010 and September 1, 2010-60 participants

Two Multimedia PowerPoint presentations

Volunteer Programs of the Master Gardner Program Revised

February 17, 2010 and September 1, 2010-60 participants;

Two Multimedia PowerPoint presentations

Cooperative Extension Service Diagnostic Tools

November 3, 2010-30participants;

One Multimedia Power Point presentation

In summary 75 Master Gardener volunteer training programs were facilitated by this agent during 2010.

Monthly Master Gardener Educational Programs

Eleven continued training programs for veteran Master Gardener volunteers planned and facilitated by this agent in 2010. Volunteer activities and other educational opportunities werealso presented. Programs were conducted by UF specialists, extension agents, volunteers and horticulture industry experts.Training methods included multimedia presentations with accompanying, handoutsof EDIS, interactively viaquestions and answers, and tours.Master Gardener volunteers wereeducated monthly (12)byvia website and emails concerning volunteer and educational opportunities, and newly released EDIS publications.

Summary of group teaching eventsfor Program I.

Instructor / Number of Events / Number of Participants
Self / 17 / 2496
Prog. Assist.
Volunteer / 395 / 11,796

*do not include your role as a facilitator in this table, but mention in the narrative

Summary of clientele reached for Program 1, 2.

Program Title Master Gardener Training and Development
Number of Educational Materials Developed / 24
Number of Clientele Contacts / 28,061
field consultations / 79
office consultations / 2,416
telephone consultations / 1,760
group teaching participants / 11,796
e-mail consultations / 540
Web site visits / 11,470

2)Outcomes and Impacts

Objective1: Fifty Four (54) Master Gardener Volunteer Trainees will participate in a 15- week volunteer training programin 2010. Seventy-five percent of participants in the Master Gardener Volunteer training classes will continue to volunteer service to the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service during 2010.

Outcome 1: Forty-two (42) Palm Beach County residents were certified Palm Beach County Florida Master Gardener Volunteers in 2010. Trainees that completed the Master Gardener Volunteer Training Program in December 2009 and June 2010, 52%(N=39) of the 2010 new Master Gardener trainees were continue asactive volunteers for the Palm Beach County Extension.

Objective 2:Fifty (50) active Master Gardener will attend eleven (11) continuing trainingprograms. These educational programs are designed to update the Master Gardeners with the latest IFAS research including best landscape management principles and information on all the open volunteer positions that are available at the Cooperative Extension Service and community outreach locations . At least seventy-five percent of the attendees post program surveyed by questionnaire will plan to adopt at least one Florida Friendly Landscape best management practice as scouting for home landscape pests weekly, in which the BMPs will be conveyed in group education efforts by the Master Gardener volunteers .

Outcome 2: One hundred twenty -three Active Master Gardener graduates received 11 continuing educational hours in 2010. Those attending a monthly educational program were surveyed and93%(N=17)of respondents indicated they would adopt at least one Florida-Friendly TMlandscape Best Management Practice . elaborate - which one was most common?

Additional Outcomes:

  • In 2010, 123 active Master Gardeners volunteered 9,956 hours of service to Palm Beach County Extension. This equates to more than 5 full-time employees. Volunteers have provided horticultural consulting and education valued at $181,000 to 11,790 Palm Beach County residents and visitors. According to 2010 data from the Independent Sector ( the estimated dollar value of a Florida volunteer hour is $18.20 (this includes estimated fringe benefits, update this value yearly and the values used for each year should be reported individually).
  • Master Gardener Volunteers attended the volunteer appreciation luau coordinated by the agent on August 12, 2010.
  • Master Gardeners provided educational information to 9,363 individualsat the 2010 South Florida Fair, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
  • Master Gardeners provided educational and plant clinic information to 4,500 visitors at the Spring and Fall 2010 Mounts Botanical Garden Plant Sale
  • 25,653 =Total Master Gardener educational contacts for 2010

Success Story.

In 2009, more than 41 million U.S. households had vegetable gardens, more than 19.5 million households had an herb garden, and 16.5 million households grew fruit trees. Primary reasons given by households for growing their own food includes better-tasting food (58%), savings on food bills (54%), better-quality food (51%) and peace of mind about the safety of their food(48%). Gardeners installing and maintaining vegetable gardens throughout Palm Beach County heavily seek advice from Master Gardeners concerning disease and pest management. The skilled Palm Beach County Master Gardenersprovide a broad array ofgardening advice and information to our citizens. Ken Pernezny, PhD, a weekly Hotline Room volunteerresponds to plant disease questions with identification and management recommendations that affect homeowner vegetable garden production in our environment, which is heavily conducive to vegetable diseases and pests. He also provides support for the Commercial Horticulture, Horticulture and Vegetable Extension Agents. Vegetable and landscape plant samples are submitted to Dr. Pernezny each day and kept for his diagnosis during his weekly service. Dr. Penezny’s ability to accurately diagnosis and recommended management ofplant diseases save clients time and money, and is an important diagnostic component of the services offered by the Palm Beach County Extension office.