Announcements

Get to heart of science communication with virtual book club June 17

 

Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement will be discussed at the eXtension Virtual Chat Book Club June 17. The newly released book authored by Faith Kearns is garnering rave reviews. Kearns, academic coordinator for the California Institute for Water Resources, will moderate the discussion.

“In this virtual chat, we'll discuss the rapidly changing landscape of the field, and our evolving role as Extension communicators,” said Rose Hayden-Smith, cohost of the event. “You do not need to have read the book to participate. Participants can expect a wonderful opportunity to share and learn about best practices, strategies, and resources. We'll also be discussing how communication occurs on social media.”

To participate in the book club chat, sign into your eXtension account at https://connect.extension.org, or create an account with your UC ANR email address. Then visit https://connect.extension.org/event/virtual-chat-book-club-getting-to-the-heart-of-science-communication and scroll to the bottom of the page to RSVP.

About the book

In an age of seemingly endless crises related to climate change, extreme weather, the pandemic, and social and cultural upheavals across the globe, how we communicate about the science of these events has changed in dramatic ways, driven in large part by social media. Science communicators can no longer simply relate facts to captive audiences. 

In “Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement,” readers and practitioners will learn to equip themselves to navigate a changing landscape where conflict, emotion, and trauma are a critical part of the conversation that must be acknowledged, and one from which we can learn. 

This book is an essential read for graduate students, science communicators, and “adjacent” professionals, such as research scientists, journalists and policymakers. Professional communicators in all fields will find much of value in this ground-breaking book.

Read more at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=46574. The 280-page paperback is published by Island Press and can be ordered for $30 (use code HEART for a publisher discount) at https://islandpress.org/books/getting-heart-science-communication and wherever books are sold.

Learning & Development - Emergency Preparedness, Intro to ArcGIS, Allyship and more

 

EXTENSION DELIVERY

Inaugural Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Conference
June 1-3, 2021
8 to 11 a.m. PDT
Register here. Click for more information.

Southern University's Cooperative Extension Program will be hosting the inaugural and interactive Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Virtual Conference.

Each day is designed for strengthen and build sustainable and resilient communities. The conference dates and targeted audiences are as follows:

June 1 - covers Emergency Preparedness for communities, entrepreneurs, and Extension professionals
June 2 - covers Emergency Response for community responders and Extension professionals
June 3 - covers Emergency Recovery for farmers (rural, urban, low-resource, and peri-urban) and Extension professionals

Conference sessions will cover topics from Emergency Preparedness for Businesses, an interactive activity on emergency evacuation, resources for farmers, and so much more.

“We are so excited to establish the inaugural conference at the Ag Center; each day is designed to be most beneficial to different segments of the population. I am sure you will learn valuable information on emergency preparedness whether you join us for one day or all three. Evacuation is a luxury, and being prepared can be the difference between life and death,” said Krystle J. Allen, conference organizer.

The conference agenda will be uploaded to www.suagcenter.com in the upcoming days; and registration is now open at www.extension.org/emergency. During registration, you can register for 1-3 days. Register here. Click for more information.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Introduction to ArcGIS Pro
Friday, June 4, 2021
1 to 4 p.m.

Click here to register

The goal of this workshop is to introduce you to the ArcGIS Pro software application and collections of online GIS data that are particularly useful for mapping and analysis of natural and managed landscapes.

This workshop is designed for participants with little to no GIS experience. Following a brief lecture, the workshop will include an interactive exercise that will have you loading, creating, analyzing and stylizing spatial data, while building your own map with ArcGIS Pro. This exercise will conclude with you exploring the various online data repositories that are available through ArcGIS Online. Click here for more information.

Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training - Become an Innovation Facilitator (Q2, Part I)
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
10 a.m. to Noon
Click to register here. Click here for more information.

Are you someone who is always looking for new ways to improve?  Do you like adopting innovative ideas and helping others along the way? Would you like to be a leader who helps teams design cutting-edge programs/projects that make real impact? If so, please consider joining our Innovation Facilitator team!

Our Innovation Facilitator training provides you with a new way of looking at innovation. Once trained, you are an invaluable asset in helping teams develop projects or programs more quickly, and connect them with national resources. You will use our innovation incubator process to bring fresh ideas aligned with institutional goals to every team you work with.

Today, there are 151 Innovation Facilitators across Cooperative Extension working to synergize innovative efforts in their own states, institutions, and supporting regional and national teams.

Who should participate? We recommend Extension directors and administrators select individuals with these qualities:

• Individuals with program leadership experience
• Individuals who work effectively with your leadership team
• Individuals who possess strong confidence in facilitation
• Individuals who are effective in working alongside leadership teams and program leaders to catalyze innovation across the organization

Virtual Chat Book Club: Getting to the Heart of Science Communication
Thursday, June 17, 2021
11 a.m. - 12 p.m. PDT

Click here at 11 a.m. on June 17 PDT, to join this virtual chat book club! A Connect Extension account is required to participate.

This event is for Extension Foundation Members. ANR is a member, but you might need to sign up before the webinar.

Join us for the second Virtual Chat Book Club of 2021. This quarter's book selection is the newly released Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement, which is garnering rave reviews. We are excited to announce that our event moderator is Faith Kearns, Ph.D., the book author and an expert in #Extension and #SciComm.

In this virtual chat, we'll discuss the rapidly changing landscape of the field, and our evolving role as Extension communicators. You do not need to have read the book to participate. Participants can expect a wonderful opportunity to share and learn about best practices, strategies, and resources. We'll also be discussing how communication occurs on social media.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

Allyship: Deepening Our Impact!
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
12 p.m.
The event is free. 

The speaker will be Anatasia Kim, who is a professor, author and consultant for large organizations on diversity, equity, and inclusion matters.  (Her book is called It's Time to Talk (and Listen) – click here.) Kim has written and presented on allyship on a number of occasions.  As an added bonus, Kim is the sister of our former UC Legal colleague, Martha Kim!!  Additional biographical information is available here.    

UCOP Allyship Committee Co-Chairs (Alison Krumbein, Bart Lounsbury, and Angus MacDonald)

Zoom: https://UCOP.zoom.us/my/angusmacdonald (669) 900-6833 Meeting ID: 510-987-9737 One-tap mobile:  +16699006833,5109879737#

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Join us for ANR Pride Month!
Tuesdays, June 9, 16, and 30, 2021
10:30 to 11:30 a.m. (with the option to continue discussions until noon)

Click here to register (for one or more sessions)

Interactive Zoom sessions and weekly emails on the history of Pride, LGBTQ+ basics, and more.
Learn how ANR can support the LGBTQ+ community.

After you register, weekly emails will go out every Tuesday in June, beginning on Tuesday, June 1. Questions? Contact Rebecca at rkozeran@ucanr.edu

Healing in Action
from Juneteenth to July 3, 2021

Healing for Black folx, Accountability for Non-Black folx
Click here to register.

Academics for Black Survival and Wellness will be holding a variety of workshops between June 19 and July 3. These include an antiracism training (open to all, $125 to attend), accountability groups (for non-Black people, free), Black wellness and healing (Black only, free), and liberation bootcamp (open to all, free).

There are two options for antiracism training — access to the recorded 2020 content, or participation in this year's course. Discounts are available for people who are currently students.

Last year's course included:

Foundations of Black Liberation
Understanding Anti-Black Racism
Appropriately Applying Intersectionality
White Terrorism and Black Resistance
Whiteness in Academia
Practicing Black Allyship
Committing to Black Liberation

UC SAREP Racial Equity in Extension Webinar Series #1: Farm workers are farmers
Friday June 18, 2021
1:30 – 3:00 pm
Click here to register

As part of a Western SARE Professional Development Program grant, UC SAREP is holding a series of webinars on racial equity in extension. These webinars are meant to provide professional development to extension professionals (including but not limited to UC ANR and UCCE), with the overall goal of helping extension personnel increase the skills and knowledge they need to build relationships with farmers and ranchers of color, as well as make extension services more widely accessible and responsive to what producers of color need.

The traditional way of defining extension clientele has largely focused on serving agricultural landowners and operators. This approach has made it difficult for extension personnel to serve diverse audiences, as 94% of the owner-operators in California are white. Shifting attention to serve farm workers (99% of whom are Hispanic or Latino) as well as owner-operators would both increase the diversity of extension clientele and take a more all-encompassing approach to who benefits from extension research and programming. This approach will also help achieve strategic goals related to improving the equity and reach of extension in California (such as UC ANR's condition change to improve living and working conditions for California's food system and farm workers).

This session will introduce the importance and value of farm workers and addressing farm labor issues in California, how extension professionals can better work to build relationships with farm worker organizations and serve the farm worker community, and why supporting farm workers is critical to the sustainability of California agriculture. Panelists include Bonnie Bade (Professor, California State University San Marcos), Patricia Carrillo (Executive Director, Agricultural and Land-Based Training Association), and Christy Getz (Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist, UC Berkeley).

Objective: This session will provide an introduction to the importance and value of farm workers and addressing farm labor issues in California, how extension professionals can better work to build relationships with farm worker organizations and serve the farm worker community, and why supporting farm workers is critical to the sustainability of California agriculture. 

Panelists include:

• Bonnie Bade, Professor, California State University San Marcos
• Patricia Carrillo, Executive Director, Agricultural and Land-Based Training Association
• Christy Getz, Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist, UC Berkeley

Contacts for More Information
Registration and Logistics: UC ANR Program Support, 530-750-1361 (messages only)

OFFICE, TEAM and PERSONAL MANAGEMENT

ANR Performance Standards

Review the ANR Core Competencies to see how your staff role aligns with the mission, vision and values of the UC ANR. By understanding your strengths and areas where you can upskill, you can use the Career Planning Tools to upscale your skill sets and grow.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

2021 NOW Conference - UC Berkeley – open to staff at all UCs!
June 3, 2021
Registration limited
Cost: $99
Click here to register and learn more

UC Berkeley People & Culture is excited to announce the 9th annual Next Opportunity at Work (NOW) Conference for staff career development will be held virtually on June 3, 2021. The NOW Conference is an all-day event designed to support UC staff with career and professional development. Learn all about NOW below!

What to expect: We have reimagined the 2021 conference by developing a virtual program designed to give you the same dynamic learning experience and networking opportunities that you have come to expect from the NOW Conference. The conference will include

• 2 Inspiring Keynote Speakers
• 18+ Dynamic Breakout Sessions
• 1:1 Career Coaching
• 1:1 Recruiting Sessions
• Group Wellness
• Networking Opportunities

Featured speakers:
Aiko Bethea
Janet Napolitano
Eugene Whitlock

More information here.
Questions? Contact us at nowconference@berkeley.edu

Burnout - Why are we so Exhausted? 
Thursday, June 8, 2021

Click here to register

Burnout is not a personal failing, nor a badge of honor. It is an "occupational phenomenon" recently (but actually before COVID) added to the World Health Organization classification of diseases. It is defined as a syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. The presentation explores the neurobiology behind our demanding new ways of working and explains that sense of depletion, negative feelings about work and increased difficulty with motivation. We explore scientific data to see why videoconferencing is so draining, the effects of (normally helpful) brain short cuts called cognitive associations and some common feelings we are seeing across the workforce today.

Overcoming Challenges
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Click here to register

Whew! It's been a challenging year...so we explore the collective human experience, its effect on our work and lives, and how to move forward. We start by exploring the particular stressors of the past year and then move on to coping skills such as self-compassion, boundaries, mindset shifts and gratitude. We then turn to the concept of resilience itself and specific exercises on how to build it and gratitude. We then turn to the concept of resilience itself and specific exercises on how to build it, and then keep adapting and evolving to protect our well-being and keep our inspiration on track.

Everyone can learn something new

ANR Learning & Development
Office: 530.750.1239
learninganddevelopment@ucanr.edu

Update on Accellion data breach

UC was one of more than 100 institutions targeted by a nationwide cyber-attack. As a result, certain university data was accessed without authorization. Protecting the UC community remains the university's top priority. Visit UCnet's Accellion data breach page to learn how to protect yourself, find answers to your questions, and get more information on how you can access free credit monitoring and identity-theft protection.  

You can also contact an Experian call center dedicated to the UC breach at (866) 904-6220. 

The Substitute Notice of Data Breach was updated on May 21. The FAQs for the Accellion incident are frequently updated so please check https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/data-security/updates-faq/index.html regularly.

 

Urban Agriculture Workgroup invites new members

The UC ANR Urban Agriculture Workgroup recently became official after years of meeting informally and is welcoming new members.

The workgroup develops resources, training, and materials for the specific needs of California's urban farmers, and conducts applied research to address their needs. 

“We work on projects and share resources related to urban agriculture, which can include everything from small farms in and on the edge of cities, to topics such as backyard livestock and beekeeping,” said Rachel Surls, workgroup co-chair and UCCE sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles County. “Much of urban agriculture takes place in nonprofit settings related to community, youth and families, often with a focus on food access and social justice. In addition to these topics, we also discuss and follow policy related to urban agriculture.” 

The next Urban Agriculture Workgroup meeting is scheduled for June 8 at 1 p.m. If you'd like to be added to the group's collaborative tools to receive a meeting invite, or have any questions, contact co-chairs Surls at ramabie@ucanr.edu or Jennifer Sowerwine at jsowerwi@berkeley.edu. Check out the Urban Agriculture website, blog, and social media (Twitter, Facebook).

Debra Driskill retires after more than 30 years

Debra Driskill, business officer for the Research and Extension Center System and office manager at ANR Desert Research and Extension Center, retired in January after more than 30 years of service to UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

After receiving her bachelor's degree in psychology from National University, Driskill first served as the assistant director of financial aid at University of San Diego Law School for three years before joining UCANR as a business officer and office manager in September 1991

Driskill was first hired on at UC ANR Imperial Valley Ag Center, now known as the Desert Research and Extension Center. Later in her career, she went on to work with all research center directors and business officers on implementing a statewide recharge process and increase cost recovery for the Research and Extension Center System.

“Debbie played a key role in developing the framework for our center's recharge rates. She also provided guidance to other centers to develop their own recharge rate structure,” said Jairo Diaz, director for the Desert Research and Extension Center. “Having a new recharge rate was a team effort, with continuous ups and downs, but certainly having Debbie's business operation expertise on our side made things achievable.”

Among the numerous highlights of her career at UC ANR, Driskill worked on the UCPath systemwide payroll transition as part of the ANR Steering Committee and also served as an active member of the National Planning Committee for the National Extension and Research Administrative Officer Conference Retirement Plans in 2014- 2016. In 2015, Driskill was the acting co-chair of the NERAOC meeting in 2015.

“We are so fortunate to have had Debbie during this time and her contributions are very much appreciated,” Diaz said. “It was a pleasure to work with her and we wish her the best in her new journeys!”

In her free time, Driskill plans to spend her retirement enjoying CrossFit, yoga, gardening, spending time with her family and traveling. She has plans to hike the Grand Canyon, the Incline in Colorado, and travel throughout Ireland, Scotland and Japan. 

Read more