- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Carl Eugene Bell, UC Cooperative Extension weed science advisor emeritus, passed away on July 31 in San Diego. He was 75.
Bell began his 35-year UCCE career in 1979 as a weed science advisor in Imperial County, where he advised growers and production consultants on weed management on large farms as well as small-scale and organic produce operations. His research proved solarization was very successful at controlling weeds in organic winter vegetables at a reasonable cost.
In 2000, he was reassigned to Southern California to advise land managers on controlling non-native plants that invaded natural habitats. As UCCE invasive plants advisor, he served San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. “My methods reduce the cost of restoration from several thousand dollars per acre to less than $200 per acre,” Bell said in a 2014 retirement story.
Later in his career with UC ANR, he served for a period as UCCE director in San Diego County, in addition to his research and extension work. In retirement, he started his own consulting business, So Cal Invasives, to continue providing advice on managing invasive plants.
Bell, who was born in Los Angeles, earned his bachelor's degree in botany and master's degree in plant biology from California State University, Long Beach.
“From early on, I realized how lucky I was to be working as a weed scientist, both with UC and with the larger world of weeds outside the ivy-covered walls,” Bell wrote in a 2014 blog post announcing his retirement. “Weed scientists and practitioners have always been inclusive, supportive and interesting; and populated by fun-loving, intelligent, hard-working and egalitarian colleagues.”
Brad Hanson, UCCE weed specialist at UC Davis, shared his memories of Bell.
“I first met Carl at a weed workgroup meeting in 2005, just a few weeks after I started working in California,” Hanson said. “While I never worked on the same weed-management issues as Carl, I was always impressed with his leadership and engagement with his weed science colleagues from around the state. In particular, he was an important and visible leader in the California Weed Science Society, where he had a very large impact on weed research and outreach in our state.
“I enjoyed Carl because he had a great combination of intensity about what he did as a professional, but also was quick-witted, engaging, and quick to laugh with his friends and colleagues. Throughout my career, I've decided that it's people like Carl who make the extension network the best of what it can be – driven by good science, strong connections, service-oriented, and fun to be a part of.”
On the UC Weed Science Blog, Hanson wrote: “Carl was a very active and visible member of the California Weed Science Society for most of his career. He was a regular contributor to the program as a speaker and session chair and served on the program committee and board of directors in several capacities, including as CWSS President in 2008. His work was recognized by the CWSS several times including with the Award of Excellence (2002), as an Honorary Member (2010), and with a Presidential Award of Lifetime Achievement (2014). At the end of his career, he took on the job of co-editing the 4th edition of the Principles of Weed Control, a textbook published by the CWSS.”
Read more about Bell's life at https://www.featheringillmortuary.com/obituaries/carl-bell.
- Author: Saoimanu Sope
When 4-H in Ventura County sought to raise funds that would help it meet the needs of local youth now and in the future, the community responded with tremendous generosity.
A national youth development organization, 4-H aims to empower young people with leadership skills for personal and professional growth. In California, the 4-H program falls under the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources umbrella and is administered through local UC Cooperative Extension offices based in counties across the state.
In May 2023, the Ventura 4-H Volunteer Management Board established the Forever 4-H Ventura County Endowment to ensure sustained financial support for future Ventura County 4-H youth.
Recognizing the value of long-term financial sustainability for 4-H, the Ventura County Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture organized a donation drive to grow the endowment. By July 2024, their members and supporters had donated over $30,000 in support of Ventura County 4-H youth.
“With deep gratitude, the UC 4-H Youth Development program in Ventura County would like to thank every individual and organization for their generosity,” said Shannon Klisch, UC Cooperative Extension Area Director for San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
“A special thank you to our partners at the Farm Bureau of Ventura County for their leadership in raising over $30,000 to support 4-H youth. We know that 4-H youth are more likely to be civically engaged and make healthy choices than their peers and the difference that 4-H can make is in large part due to the supporters and donors that make programming possible," she added.
Funds from the endowment will support general 4-H operations and new programming for youth in 4-H which may include establishing a 4-H camp in Ventura County, increasing programming for youth at the Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and providing youth with opportunities to develop leadership and life skills.
To learn more about the Forever 4-H Endowment Fund, visit: https://ucanr.edu/sites/4hfoundation/Forever_4-H/
To learn more about 4-H in Ventura County, visit: https://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Families_-_Communities/
Editor's note: The month of donations last received has been updated and program plans for the funds have also been specified in the last paragraph.
/span>- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Small grants (up to $25,000) to support professional development opportunities in sustainable agriculture targeted primarily to agricultural professionals such as extension staff, nonprofits, state and federal agency staff, PCAs/CCAs, etc. are available from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education of California. Farmers and ranchers may be included but should not be the primary audience.
The goal of the WSARE California program is to increase the capacity of agriculture professionals who work in California to apply the principles of sustainable agriculture while working with their clientele (farmers, ranchers, consumers, youth, businesses, government or communities).
Applications will be accepted through Sept. 25, 2024. For more information regarding priority areas, eligibility and the application process, please visit https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/news/western-sare-mini-grants24-26.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Wildfire season is in full swing. With so many fires burning around the state, the UC ANR Fire Network team is providing some tips to prepare for evacuation and wildfire smoke.
“The best time to prepare for evacuation is before the wildfire starts,” said Katie Low, Fire Network statewide coordinator.
Low recommends preparing an evacuation bag for every person in your household before a wildfire and keeping it easily accessible.
“Plan to be away from your home for an extended period of time,” she said. “Make the bags light enough to lift into a vehicle.”
Be sure to pack car keys, credit cards, cash, medications, important documents and clothing. See https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/Evacuation/Preparing_a_Go-Bag for the full checklist.
There are also several actions you can take to prepare yourself and your family for evacuation, including moving combustible patio furniture inside or sealing up ground or attic vents with plywood or metal tape. More evacuation preparation tips can be found here https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/Evacuation/.
Another thing to be mindful of is smoke exposure from wildfires, which is an increasingly common public health hazard to California's communities. Low said: “To prepare for wildfire smoke I am doing a few things:
- Checking the air quality near me at https://fire.airnow.gov
- Limiting my outdoor activity
- Wearing a N95 mask if I'm outside
- Running my air purifier."
There are many great resources that you can use to monitor air quality and understand smoke impacts near you:
- The California Smoke Spotter app ( https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/california-smoke-spotter…) provides the latest information on prescribed fires and wildfires, air quality and smoke forecasts throughout California.
- The AirNow Fire and Smoke Map (https://fire.airnow.gov) provides current information on PM 2.5, wildfire locations and smoke plumes, and special smoke outlooks when available.
- The California Smoke Blog (https://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com) provides smoke outlooks for communities affected by wildfire smoke and other resources to protect yourself from smoke.
- The California Air Resources Board Smoke Ready California webpage (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/smokereadyca) provides information and resources to protect yourself from smoke including how to create a Clean Air Space, how to wear N95 masks correctly how to construct DIY air cleaners.
- The California Clean Air Centers Map (https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/cleanaircenters) interactive, statewide map where you can find information about permanent and temporary clean air shelters, including their address, operating hours, and contact information.
Learn more about how to prepare for smoke at https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Safety/Air_Quality_and_Smoke/. The Fire Network will also be hosting a public smoke readiness webinar on Wednesday, September 4 from 5:30–7 p.m. If you are interested in registering, please email Katie Low (katlow@ucanr.edu) for the signup link.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
The Integrated Web Platform, or IWP, project will transform UC ANR's digital experience for internal website editors and the people who visit our websites.
In the coming months, UC ANR will transition its website from the homegrown Site Builder to Drupal – a more stable, flexible, and powerful CMS that will make our content more discoverable to the communities we serve. This much-needed change will bring significant improvements in how we manage and present web content, as well as optimizing our content for search engines.
There have been challenges with transitioning from Site Builder and the blog system in the past, and that is why we are now working with Kanopi, a new vendor that has experience joining projects and guiding them to launch. The IWP Core Team is leveraging the work of previous UC ANR committees and vendors (including UC Davis IET) who provided feedback, initial planning efforts and prototypes.
Site Builder and the current blog system will be retired and replaced with Drupal. As part of this change, UC ANR will have a whole new navigation and look and feel for our web editors and site visitors. Drupal is expected to go live in December 2024. If the launch date changes, the IWP team will make an announcement.
UC ANR employees should begin cleaning up Site Builder now. See https://ucanr.edu/sites/sb3help/bestpractices/site-builder-maintenance for ways to help.
Once Drupal is live, you will no longer be able to create new sites on Site Builder. During the transition, Site Builder and Blog content will continue to be available.
For website editors who have questions, Stephen Dampier is offering office hours 3-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Zoom. Feel free to drop in at https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/97937501529?pwd=Zm1PaGRuc0htcnVZbmZQaGcya3oxQT09. You may also email questions and comments about the IWP to iwp@ucanr.edu.
To learn more about the upcoming changes, visit https://it.ucanr.edu/IWP and be sure to explore the FAQs page.