The Friends of Extension hold one fundraiser each year, our annual summertime Colorado Springs Garden Tour. With the proceeds from this event we proudly have supported the Colorado State University Extension in El Paso County and selected nonprofit groups requesting grants.

The Friends of Extension were pleased to present a $1,000 grant to assist the HAS in creating a Children’s Garden as part of their Demonstration Garden in Monument Valley Park in 2019. The project was successfully completed to include the garden plantings, a pollinator house and educational signage. Here is a link to their website: https://hasgardens.org/

A $2,000 grant to the Griffith Center for Children by The Friends of Extension funded the installation of a new irrigation system in the students’ garden, which enriched the experiences of the middle school class as they tended the vegetable garden. What a delightful and educational opportunity for these children!

The Friends of Extension has supported El Paso County’s Local Food Systems, through the consistent support of Colorado State University Extension, El Paso County’s Local Food Program with grants totalling $28,000 . This wide‐ranging program offers non‐credit research‐based educational support and affects many opportunities in local food including: farm and ranch business management courses, cottage food workforce development, and food safety and preservation.

THE BACKYARD GARDEN PROJECT

With a $1,500 grant this program identified 40 food insecure families and provided them with the materials, instruction, inspiration and mentorship necessary to grow part of their food needs. Specifically, these families were provided with grow bags, garden soil, vegetable seeds and/or plant starts, and training materials.

PURGE YOUR SPURGE ~ TRADE YOUR MYRTLE SPURGE FOR FREE PLANTS

The Friends of Extension awarded a grant of $404 for a CSU Master Gardener program which encourages homeowners to remove the invasive species called Myrtle or Donkey Spurge from their gardens. In return they received free ground cover plants as replacements which will help prevent the Myrtle Spurge from displacing important native Colorado plants.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY EL PASO COUNTY EXTENSION OFFICE

From the beginning the Friends of Extension were created primarily to offer assistance to our local county extension office. Over the years we have awarded $34,859 in grants for various programs and needs, to include support of our local Master Gardeners.