To create a culture of health and wellness at UC ANR, the Staff Assembly Wellness Committee crafted an infographic to make it easy for staff and academics to adopt healthful practices at meetings. A pdf version of the "Healthy Meeting Best Practices" may be downloaded from the Staff Assembly website and printed on demand. 

The best practices, reviewed and approved by Lorrene Ritchie, director of UCANR's Nutrition Policy Institute, are based on the comprehensive UC Living Well Healthy Meeting and Event Guide, which is also available for download on the Staff Assembly website.

In short, the wellness committee is encouraging all meeting planners to

o   incorporate movement in the meeting agenda

o   serve water – preferably from the tap in reusable pitchers

o   focus on fruits, veggies and whole grains if meals or refreshments are provided

o   cut back on the use of disposable items (like plastic cups and cutlery)

To get the guidelines into everybody's hands, the committee has printed the best practices on cleaning cloths – the kind you can use for eyeglasses, your cell phone or computer monitor. Your staff assembly ambassador distributed the cloths at each UC ANR location. If you don't know who your ambassador is, check the list on the Staff Assembly website. 

The Wellness Committee promoted the implementation of Healthy Meeting Best Practices with a competition April 1 - 18. Pictures of healthy meeting best practices were shared on social media with the hashtag #UCANRhealthymeeting. The San Bernardino County Master Gardener program tweeted the winning picture, a mini video which showed six staff members exercising with hula hoops and tension bands. The office won a pitcher for serving infused water.

If you have questions or comments about the Healthy Meeting Best Practices or the April competition, please fill out the form on the SA Council Healthy Meeting Best Practices page. 

The 40th EcoFarm Conference takes place Jan. 22-25, 2020. The Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) is a nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to nurture safe, healthy, just and ecologically sustainable farms, food systems and communities by bringing people together for education, alliance building, advocacy and celebration.  

EcoFarm has grown into a broad network of grassroots leadership and has facilitated an exchange of knowledge for over 60,000 people. Held annually at Asilomar Conference Grounds, the event attracts hundreds of organic farmers from across the country. 

EcoFarm wants to hear your ideas for workshops, speakers and films to be featured at the 2020 conference. This is chance to present your work to a dedicated audience. Workshop/Speaker/Film proposals will be collected through June 1, 2019.  

Dennis Teeguarden, professor emeritus of forest economics in the UC Berkeley Department of Environment Science, Policy and Management, passed away at home in Richland, Wash., on Feb. 21. He was 88.

After serving in the U.S. Navy, Teeguarden earned his Master of Forestry degree and Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics at UC Berkeley, then immediately joined its faculty and went on to become an internationally recognized scholar in the field of forest economics. He served as chair of the UC Berkeley Department of Forestry and Resource Management and then as associate dean of the College of Natural Resources.

“He set a high standard for all of us with respect to fairness and civility, concern for students and junior faculty, and professional engagement beyond the boundaries of the campus,” said Keith Gilless, UC Berkeley professor of forest economics. “I benefited a great deal from his support and advice throughout my own career.”

Teeguarden served as a consultant to industry and government, including the National Park Service, the California Forestry Protective Association, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the U.S. Forest Service, and the California State Legislature.

“Of particular note was his service as a member of the Committee of Scientists formed to assist in the development of the federal regulations to implement the National Forest Management Act of 1976,” wrote Gilless. “The act, which was passed in the aftermath of the Monongahela judicial decision regarding harvesting, curtailed clearcutting on national forests. Teeguarden's impact on the Committee's recommendations was profound, reflecting his belief in the value of rigorous financial analysis in support of sustainable management to provide recreation, water, wildlife, and other forest ecosystem benefits to current and future generations.”

Teeguarden co-authored “Forest Resource Management: Decision-making Principles and Cases,” a major textbook on forest-resource management. He was a fellow of the Society of American Foresters and a member of the Western Forest Economists, the California Wildfowl Association, and Ducks Unlimited.

He is survived by his wife Sally Annette Gleason, sister Judith Ruth Moyle, children Jason Teeguarden, Julie Pebworth and Justin Teeguarden, and grandchildren Sagan, Soren and Sebastian Teeguarden.

Teeguarden earned a bachelor's degree in forestry from Michigan Technological University in 1953, and his affection for hisalma mater led him to serve in retirement on that institutions Board of Trustees. The family suggests that donations in Teeguarden's name can be made to the Michigan Tech Alumni Endowed Scholarship fund (#5001) by sending a check to Erin Froese, The School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr., Houghton, MI 49931  

A veterans memorial service will be held on May 4, 2019, in Richland, Wash. 

Read more about Teeguarden's career at https://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/2019/03/memoriam-dennis-earl-teeguarden.

 

Check out the growing list of learning opportunities on the ANR Learning & Development website.

Spotlight Webinar

May 13, 2019
Time: Noon-12:30 pm

Got backyard chickens? Should you eat the eggs?

With Maurice Pitesky, UC Cooperative Extension poultry specialist

Zoom information:
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Session are recorded and archived on the ANR Learning & Development Website.

WebANR
Focused Conversations
May 16, 2019
Time: noon-12:30 p.m.

This is a group facilitation method that can be used at meetings or trainings as well as in one-on-one conversations.  A focused conversation is an excellent way to provide structure to conversations that might otherwise travel all over the map, saving time and energy.

With Lauren Snowden, Master Gardener Statewide Training Coordinator

Zoom information:
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Session are recorded and archived on the ANR Learning & Development Website.

THREE-PART WEBINAR ON DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
This webinar series is for eXtension members only as part of Engage & Empower Online.
Presenter: Juanita Simmons, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Northwest Missouri State University

Diversity & Inclusion: Part I
Foundation & Program Design
(Already aired)

Diversity & Inclusion: Part II
Implicit Bias, Civility and Microaggressions in the Workplace
May 8, 2019, 10 a.m. PDT
Register here.

Learn & understand:
The meaning, symptoms, and prevention of Implicit Bias in theory and practice;
How Implicit Bias impacts institutional climate;
Microaggressive behavior and the impact that microaggressions have on institutional climate and relationships;
Civility in the Workplace (I)

Diversity & Inclusion: Part III
Institutional Inequalities, Organizational Socialization 
May 22, 2019 10 a.m. PDT
Register here.

Learn & understand:
How incivility impacts employee relations, health and productivity; components of institutional inequities and how the inequities impact organizational climate while perpetuating discrimination in the workplace; traditional practices of organizational socialization systems and how those systems may be used to contain (or improve) and protect (or deconstruct) the status quo of social and promotional opportunities within the organization; connect all objectives and discuss recommendations and suggested further reading.

Advancing and Retaining High-performance Women
May 23, 2019
10-11 a.m.

Register here (Gartner ® Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Council)

In this talk, Stefanie K. Johnson, Associate Professor, and Brittany Lambert, Ph.D. candidate, at the University of Colorado, Boulder's Leeds School of Business, cover the importance of women paving the way for other women.

All ANR employees have access to Gartner ®. Register here to explore innovative insights to help individual contributors and people managers keep pace with ANR's shifting skill needs.

Is It Bullying? Awareness and Strategies
Various dates and times in May and June. Course takes place at UC Davis.
More information and registration here.

Participants will learn skills for responding to abrasive behaviors in the workplace, examine one's own behavior (self-reflection) that impacts interaction with colleagues and workplace climate, and explore strategies for empowering ourselves and others in cultivating inclusive work environments. Throughout the course, participants will have the opportunity to discuss hypothetical workplace case studies and apply various proactive and response strategies to these cases. Any travel funds needed to attend must be paid by your location. Register here.

Building a Culture of Collaboration and Trust

Registration has started for the third annual UC-wide People Management Conference, August 7 & 8, 2019.

This year's conference will explore the importance of building a culture of collaboration and trust. Attendance eligibility is based on the completion one of the following programs:

UC People Management Series and Certificate (online course links)
Management Development Program
UC-Coro Systemwide Leadership Collaborative

Completion of the online UC People Management Series and Certificate is the easiest way to become conference-eligible. If you have already completed the series you can register for the conference here.

ANR Learning & Development also provides funds to send a limited number of eligible ANR supervisors to the conference. If you are eligible and would like to apply for funds, please fill out this form by June 7, 2019. 

Learn a New Language with Duolingo (for free!)

We have heard from several advisors that they would like to learn languages of clientele in their counties. In addition, we have heard from supervisors that they would like their field workers to learn English.

Take a look at a free app called Duolingo. Luis von Ahn, founder of Duolingo, created the app to solve "this mismatch where most of the people trying to learn a language didn't have $1,000, whereas the software that would teach you a language cost about $1,000."

Check out Duolingo. It not only offers so many languages for your learning, it also invites you to help create new courses. (It even has Klingon!).

Systems Change with an Equality Lens: Community Interventions that Shift Power and Center Race (recorded webinar)

The 90-minute webinar, hosted by Management Assistance Group (MAG) and Building Movement Project (BMP), was designed for systems change practitioners who want to lift up the experience and voice of people doing frontline work. Guest speakers Reverend Joan C. Ross of the North End Woodward Community Coalition and Lauren Padilla-Valverde, Senior Program Manager at The California Endowment will share their experiences advancing complex systems change that centers racial equity.

By the end of the webinar, participants will have a shared understanding of:
1. The ways in which mainstream approaches to systems change fall short;
2. A framework – developed by people of color, women and leaders across the justice field – for pursuing systems change with an equity lens, with case studies and storytelling from practitioners;
3. Pathways for developing a systems change and equity mindset, and how to measure these efforts.
See the Building Movement Project YouTube channel to find other recorded webinars.

 

Use Your Maps to Stand Out From the Crowd

GIS is constantly evolving – keep your GIS skills fresh by learning the latest tricks of the trade in this free course which runs to May 22, 2019. Students can expect to spend a minimum of two to three hours per week on course material. Students who complete all content earn a certificate of completion from ESRI. Read more and register here.

The ANR IGIS Team recommends this ESRI training if you want to become a better mapmaker/cartographer with ArcGIS Pro. If you do not currently have ArcGIS Pro and would like to take this course, please fill out this form and IGIS will help you get the software.

 

 

 

13 Things Mentally Strong People Won't Do
by Dr. Travis Bradberry

We all reach critical points in our lives where our mental strength is tested. It might be a toxic friend or colleague, a dead-end job, or a struggling relationship. Whatever the challenge, you have to see things through a new lens, and take decisive action if you want to move through it successfully.

It sounds easy, but it isn't. (Read entire article here).

Did you know about ANR Facilitators and Collaborative Facilitation Training?

ANR Facilitators are ready to help out at your important meetings.

At ANR we are busy. Our stakeholders and clientele are busy. Meetings consume time. Yet, meetings are essential to accomplishing specific unit or program goals. Therefore, during a meeting you want an engaged, on track, and focused group of participants. When participants disagree or things get heated, you'll want consensus building tools. Finally, it will be important to ensure a commitment to follow through.

Question: How does one juggle all this, especially during very critical and important meetings? Answer: Through a facilitated session which addresses all of these issues.

ANR Learning & Development funds Collaborative Facilitation Training. The FY18-19 Collaborative Facilitation workshop is already full, so stay tuned for future offerings in FY19-20. LinkedIn Learning also has courses like Meeting Facilitation. Visit the ANR Learning & Development page for fact sheets and videos on “Better Meetings”.

In the meantime, know that many of your ANR colleagues that have been trained in facilitation are willing to facilitate one of your critical meetings. Find out who these people are.


Get It Done: 8 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination
from LinkedIn Learning

The most successful people do not procrastinate. They get things done when they need to do them, rather than having them hanging over their head.

Is that not you? Don't worry, truth is, most of us procrastinate. The good news is the ability to do things now is a learnable skill. Instructor Chris Croft said in his LinkedIn Learning series, Success Habits. “There are ways to train yourself, to trick yourself, really, into getting the tough jobs done.” Read about the 8 tactics for overcoming procrastination.

Want to learn more success habits like this? Check out Croft's series, Success Habits, today.

Other videos within the LinkedIn Learning series include:

• How to Become More Decisive
• How to Become More Emotional Intelligent
• How to Become More Organized
• My Top 10 Success Books
• Eight Tips for Influencing Others

Why Sleep Matters and How to Get it

You come in to work on Monday morning, you greet your co-worker and in the matter of seconds, one of you yawns which sets off the counter yawn. Then a discussion ensues on how you or they don't get enough sleep.

According to Harvard University Medical School's Division of Sleep Medicine, sleep deficiency takes a toll on many areas of life including health, mood, awareness and judgment.

 In the workplace, its effects can be seen in reduced efficiency and productivity, errors and accidents.

Whether you cannot seem to find enough time to sleep, or you do not sleep well when you try, look at the wonderful resources offered in LinkedIn Learning on how to get your sleep on!

LinkedIn Learning courses:

Arianna Huffington's Thrive 01: Discovering Meditation for Sleep
Recharge Your Energy for Peak Performance

Register for the New Employee Administrative Orientation

Wednesday, May 30, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
UC ANR Building, 2801 Second Street, Davis, CA  95618

Who should attend: All UC ANR employees (academics, staff and affiliated staff on campuses, counties and RECs) who have not participated in an administrative orientation in the past. Priority will be given to those hired by ANR within the past year. Learn more and register here.

• Learn about ANR's vision and mission and how your work connects.
• Learn about ANR structure and individual programs and units
• Interact with ANR leadership and directors
• Meet and network with new colleagues from around the state
• Get answers to burning questions about health benefits, AggieTravel, and more!

Happy Learning! ANR Learning & Development