- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
The UC ANR community is founded on principles strengthened by common goals, shared interests, camaraderie and a passion for improving the quality of life in all communities. We all have the right to work in an environment that promotes fairness, trust, respect, and physical and emotional safety and security. Your anonymous survey responses will contribute to our efforts to create the best possible work environment for all of us.
On March 17, each academic and staff member will receive an email from “ANR satsurvey” containing a unique link to the survey. Please do not delete the emailed invitation, as it will be the only way to access the survey and cannot be replaced.
To thank you for your time and to encourage participation, everyone who completes the survey will have the option to participate in a raffle for a $75 gift card. We will award 40 gift cards through random drawings during the survey period.
The survey is being administered by UC San Diego; they have been administering a similar survey for more than 20 years on their campus.
We plan to repeat the survey annually for at least five years. The 2020 survey results will establish a baseline for continually assessing UC ANR's work environment.
If you have questions about the survey, please contact us at satsurvey@ucanr.edu.
- Photos by: Jeannette E. Warnert
- Author: Pam Kan-Rice
Visitors to the UC ANR booth at the World Ag Expo were treated to citrus facts, gardening tips, nutrition advice and much more Feb. 11-13 in Tulare.
On the first evening of the expo, Vice President Glenda Humiston and UC Cooperative Extension scientists hosted a reception for about 100 UC ANR partners, agriculture reporters, employees and other stakeholders to celebrate recent advancements in agricultural production, as well as future initiatives. The event was held at the UC Cooperative Extension office in Tulare County.
Humiston thanked the guests for supporting UC ANR and said that research and extension relied on the cooperation of others to be successful.
Bob Hutmacher, West Side Research and Extension Center director and UCCE specialist, gave an update on his hemp research and Konrad Mathesius, UCCE agronomy advisor for the Capitol Corridor, discussed his research on malting barley for beer.
Nick Davis, a vineyard operations manager for The Wine Group, who collaborates with George Zhuang, UCCE viticulture advisor in Fresno County, discussed their mechanization project and said his company depends on UCCE research. A member of the UC ANR climate-smart agriculture technical advisory team, Shulamit Shroder, reported on the activities of the climate-smart farming partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Robert Johnson of IGIS answered questions about the use of drones in agricultural research, 4-H members Emily Karle, Mia Azevedo, Levi Goodman and Emily Karle displayed their projects, and UCCE advisor Ruth Dahlquist-Willard and Michael Yang, agricultural assistant, showed some of the specialty crops grown in Fresno County.
At the UC ANR booth on the expo grounds, UCCE specialist Beth Grafton-Caldwell and the Lindcove Research and Extension Center staff handed out mandarins and told visitors about the research they do on citrus at the part of the booth that featured UC ANR research and extension centers.
Visitors took part in an activity to match local commodities to ANR Research and Extension Centers. Those who tried won a prize.
Over the three days, EFNEP and CalFresh Healthy Living educators from Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties quizzed booth visitors about nutrition. Tulare County Master Gardener volunteers shared information about sustainable gardening and answered gardener questions.
- Author: Mark Bell
The Strategic Initiatives (SIs), Strategic Communication (Strat Comm) and the Communications Advisory Board (CAB) are teaming up to help UC ANR “own” YouTube (Yep - that's the big goal - at least for our educational content areas).
How can you get involved?
1. Decide. Is video right for your Extension tool-box
Is video the right tool for your extension needs? Are you interested in learning more about how to develop and use video in your extension program? Much of the educational content throughout ANR could be extended effectively in video format, helping us better reach existing audiences, and potentially reach new ones.
2. Prepare. Watch the webinars
Pre-clinic webinar. Join us on March 2 at 10 a.m. for this one-hour webinar to learn about these resources and explore the important question - Is video right for your program and project? You will leave the webinar having learned the key steps in planning and producing an effective extension video. You will also learn how to access and use the resources ANR has coalesced supporting video production. This webinar (posted at https://youtu.be/yz-xaj8YjO0) is offered as both a stand-alone training, as well as pre-work for upcoming hands-on clinics (described below).
A bonus webinar: Ricardo Vela of our News and Outreach in Spanish is giving a webinar on “Shooting videos with your iPhone” on April 8 from 11:30 a.m. to noon.
Learn more about the webinars at:
https://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development/Monthly_WebANRs/
3. Get Hands-on do-it-yourself experience at the clinics
For those looking for a more complete and hands-on training to develop skills and knowledge to produce their own 3- to 5-minute extension videos, ANR is offering two hands-on clinics scheduled for April 15-16 and April 21-22 at Hopland REC and South Coast REC, respectively.
More to follow soon, but a requisite to attending these clinic is to participate in the March 2 pre-clinic webinar discussed above. The pre-clinic webinar will be recorded for those interested in attending the clinics, but with schedule conflicts.
4. Practice, practice, practice (Brand, brand, brand)
Whether you make it to the clinics or not, access our growing video and branding resources and just practice - individually or in teams. See our existing Learning & Development resources at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development/Extension_-_Delivery/Video/.
In the pipeline: Dustin Blakey's online video course! (Due in summer)
Ready to upload? Contact Strat Comm!
5. Let's “own” Youtube - making our great educational content attractive and available.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1XPoOpK1xyLZqN9szc9A6A
For more on the SIs and their activities, contact
Jim Farrar: Pests EIPD
David Lile: Natural Ecosystems SNE
David Lewis: Water
Deanne Meyer: Food Systems SFS
Lynn Schmitt McQuitty: Families and Communities HFC
Mark Bell: Vice Provost SIs & SWPs
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Her findings are detailed in the report, “Addressing food insecurity for families and individuals in California experiencing housing insecurity,” which provides definitions and prevalence rates for food insecurity and housing insecurity. In the report, Colvin summarizes assessment tools available for researches to measure food insecurity and housing insecurity. The report includes case studies of eight California organizations working to improve access to basic needs services for adults and families who struggle to afford the high cost of living in California.
With input from Danielle Lee, NPI policy analyst; Lorrene Ritchie, NPI director and UC Cooperative Extension specialist; Ken Hecht, NPI director of policy; Rachel Surls, UCCE sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles; and Tia Shimada, California Food Policy Advocates director of programs, Colvin provides policy, program and research and evaluation recommendations to support improved food security for those experiencing housing insecurity.
The authors also recommend ways UC ANR can engage with communities and organizations to improve the delivery of basic needs services for Californians.
Read the full report at https://www.ucop.edu/global-food-initiative/_files/gfi-npi-report-final-2020-02-13.pdf.
- Author: Greg Ira
The UC California Naturalist (CalNat) Program is seeking nominations from across the University of California System for a Lead Scientist. The program is looking for a UC academic who is widely recognized in environmental science, conservation biology, ecology, global change, natural history, or related fields. The Lead Scientist will work with the CalNat program director to enhance the academic profile and connections of the program.
The primary purpose of this advisory role is to ensure continued high-level academic involvement and rigor for UC California Naturalist including the forthcoming Climate Stewards course. This new role opens an opportunity for a UC academic to connect directly with a growing public of amateur naturalists, community scientists, and environmental stewards (>4,000 statewide). The Lead Scientist will chair the Program Advisory Committee, which is made up of UC academics and external partners who meet online quarterly to help ensure that CalNat courses and community events reflect the latest state of knowledge in environmental science and informal science education. This role would benefit academics interested in research and extension focused on natural history, environmental education, climate communication, natural resource management, and diverse public participation in scientific research in California's ecosystems.
The Lead Scientist should have some service experience in their field such as with scientific societies and editorial boards. The program is asking for a three-year commitment with the opportunity to renew once. This is a university service opportunity and there is no salary or stipend attached to this role, but reimbursements for approved travel and expenses will be provided according to available unit funds. The program encourages self-nominations or the nomination of candidates who have acknowledged they would be interested.
For more information and the nomination form, please visit http://calnat.ucanr.edu/leadscientist. The deadline for nominations is April 24, 2020.
California Naturalist is a statewide program of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), a statewide organization that brings UC research in agriculture, the environment, youth development and nutrition out to local communities to improve the lives of all Californians.
