Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE Chautauqua) has announced Eliza Hensel as its new Natural Resources Educator. The new position is part of CCE Chautauqua’s restructuring and is designed to increase capacity and efficiency while providing outstanding support and guidance to the county’s agricultural community. In this new role, Hensel will work with a diverse team to provide high quality, research-based resources to gardeners, homesteaders, farmers, agribusinesses, agricultural stakeholders, and everyone in between.
Hensel has worked with college programs and urban-agriculture businesses, and she founded a non-profit compost pick-up program. She attended Eckerd College, where she majored in both environmental studies and animal studies for her Bachelor’s degree. Most recently, she worked for Michigan State University Extension as their statewide Compost Systems Educator, where her expertise was used helping farmers and community members understand and utilize composting systems. Her experience goes beyond just composting, however. She has also worked with environmental conservation-based youth camps, marine ecology education programs, as well as urban agriculture and gardening businesses.
CCE Chautauqua Agriculture Team Leader Katelyn Walley-Stoll states, “Our programming at CCE Chautauqua continues to grow, and we are honored to welcome the breadth of experience and expertise Eliza brings. Her confidence, communication, and strive to collaborate will help us meet the agricultural needs of our community.”…