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Extension educator Emily Hansen shifts to natural resources role in four counties · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Extension Educator Emily Hansen shifts to natural resources role in four counties.
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  Written by Michael Urbanek This article is being read by an automated
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  voice brought to you by Everlet. Emily Hansen, previously a commercial agriculture
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  educator for the University of Illinois Extension, is now Extension’s natural resources,
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  environment and energy educator for Bureau, La Salle, Marshall and Putnam counties,
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  Extension announced.
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  In the new role, Hansen will develop programs to help residents understand
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  and care for Illinois natural resources, according to Extension.
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  My background is in biology and ecology, and I’ve always been fascinated
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  by how ecosystems function and how people interact with them, Hansen said.
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  Over the past year, Hansen has offered programs across north-central Illinois on
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  fossils and the state’s natural history, soil science, moth ecology, bat conservation,
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  and insect collection and pinning, Extension said.
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  She plans to add programs on wildlife, native plants, insects, ecology and
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  conservation. One coming program covers the Mazon Creek fossils, a topic Hansen
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  said has drawn strong interest from Master Naturalist volunteers and residents.
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  It’s such a unique part of our region’s history, and people are
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  always amazed to learn that world-famous fossils can be found so close
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  to home, she said.
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  Hansen also coordinates the Master Naturalist and Master Gardener volunteer programs in
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  the four counties. Master Naturalist volunteers contribute hundreds of hours each year
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  to citizen science, habitat restoration, environmental education and conservation projects, according to
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  Extension.
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  Hansen will keep working with farmers through the Oglesby Agronomy Summit, the
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  IVCC Ag Extension Fall Field Day and the Sustainability on the Farm
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  series. She said she wants to help growers with topics where farming
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  and natural resources meet, including soil health, water quality, on-farm conservation and
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  sustainable land management.
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  In north-central Illinois, agriculture and natural resources are closely connected, she said.
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  Hansen holds a master’s degree in biological sciences from Illinois State University,
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  where her research examined how cover crops affect soil microbial communities. She
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  also holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Lewis University. She
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  was raised around her family’s fifth-generation farm in Grundy County.
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  Information about Extension’s natural resources, environment and energy programs is available at
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  go.illinoy.edu slash blmpmn.