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  • Cornell Cooperative Extension

What inspired you to start working for Cornell Cooperative Extension?

I began my career working with national nonprofits, focusing on K-12 gardens. I also volunteered in food security initiatives through various food policy organizations. This work inspired me as I collaborated with community and school gardens, as well as farmers.

Much of my career has centered on neighborhood-level approaches to food security and environmental stewardship. It felt like a natural fit to transition into Cooperative Extension because it integrates these focus areas while engaging with the same types of stakeholders I’ve worked with before.

Cooperative Extension acts as a hub, connecting diverse programs, communities, and resources. It provides hands-on support and information for people wanting to make a difference in their communities. 

Where does your work intersect with your life outside of work?

For much of my adult life, I didn’t have my own land, so I primarily worked in community and school gardens. I recently purchased a house in an urban area in Ithaca and my relationship with gardening has shifted.

With my own small property, I’ve been experimenting more—creating a mini food forest, incorporating native plants, growing herbs, and trying out small-space vegetable gardening. As a parent to a six-year-old, I’m also involved in youth gardening education, truly practicing what I preach. This hands-on work in my own garden serves as a pilot space for tackling the same challenges that many face, including limited time, money, and space.

This personal gardening experience has been a valuable, and humbling, experiment. While I miss the collaborative support of community gardening, working on my own has offered new insights into the rewards and challenges of personal gardening.

Ashley Helmholdt on Extension Out Loud

Ashley Helmholdt is the adult program leader, extension associate, Seed to Supper coordinator, and Master Gardener Volunteer Program support lead for Cornell Garden-Based Learning, which provides horticulture educators with inspiring, research-based gardening resources and professional development to facilitate engaging, empowering, and relevant learning experiences for children, youth, adults, and communities. 

Ashley Helmholdt Miller

What impact do you hope your work will have?

One of my priorities is promoting resilient gardening by connecting people across different groups working in this space. This involves building social capital by bridging organizations with diverse resources that can support gardeners more effectively. Through initiatives like the Resilient Gardens Conference, I hope to create stronger connections within CCE and between community garden spaces 

I’m also deeply passionate about addressing mental health through gardening by making it accessible to everyone. This includes promoting small-scale gardening options, such as container gardening or indoor setups, which can bring nature into apartments or other limited spaces. Gardening can be transformative for families, providing access to nature year-round, even in constrained environments. 

Have there been any notable influences on your career at Cornell?

I’ve been fortunate to learn from several incredible people throughout my journey. At Michigan State, I had a great teacher, Dr. June Thomas, who taught me the value of working in a participatory way with communities. Her emphasis on participatory action research shaped how I approach my work—whether it’s developing grants or creating programs, I prioritize engaging with the people who will benefit, gathering their input, and building initiatives around their needs.

I’ve also been inspired by professors at Cornell, such as Nancy Wells, whose research focuses on children’s access to nature. Her work has shaped how I think about engaging young people and families, integrating psychology into community-based programs. This perspective is especially important to me as I strive to create opportunities that are inclusive and impactful.

Beyond academics, I’ve also learned from my family—grandparents and others who took me camping, taught me how to preserve food, and showed me the basics of growing food. They planted the seeds of my interest in these areas. 

Where do you find joy these days?

Recently, one of my favorite gardening activities has been making teas from dried herbs. I’ve been learning more about using different parts of plants that I didn’t realize were usable before—like drying raspberry leaves for tea. It’s exciting to discover new herbs, figure out how to dry them properly, and incorporate them into teas. It’s become a wonderful, multi-sensory experience that I really enjoy, and it’s a newer hobby that I’m finding very rewarding.

I’ve also found joy in simpler activities like observing nature, journaling about it, and even drawing it. These activities allow me to reflect on and connect with nature in a meaningful way, which brings me a lot of peace.

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