- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Californians have been dealing with wildfires, the pandemic, power shutdowns, excessive heat and drought, sometimes all at the same time. In every county, UC Cooperative Extension is there to assist community members.
To better serve their clientele, nearly three-quarters of UC Cooperative Extension employees say they need professional development related to disaster response, according to a new study led by Vikram Koundinya, UC Cooperative Extension evaluation specialist in the UC Davis Department of Human Ecology.
Koundinya and coauthors Cristina Chiarella, UC Davis doctoral graduate student researcher; Susan Kocher, UC Cooperative Extension advisor for the Central Sierra; and Faith Kearns, California Institute for Water Resources academic coordinator, surveyed UC ANR personnel to identify existing disaster management programs and future needs. Their research was published in the October 2020 edition of Journal of Extension.
“It's becoming so common that our folks are being put in the role of responding to disasters, while not having much training or background to do so,” Kocher said.
“And, it's really cross-disciplinary,” she added. “Right now, our nutrition folks are doing so much with assisting their communities with food access during COVID. Others, like Faith Kearns, have been working hard to address drought and help clientele weather drought impacts. There are the individual events like the LNU Lightning Complex fires [wildfires caused by lightning strikes in Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Yolo counties that burned from Aug. 17 to Oct. 2, 2020], but really, so many of us are currently doing disaster work across our disciplines and that role will only continue to expand with climate change-induced disasters. Once you frame it as ‘disaster work' you can start to see how our system needs to be much more prepared and to learn from and collaborate with each other and with disaster organizations.”
The survey showed that about one-third of the 224 respondents had been involved in preparing for, responding to, or helping communities recover from disasters. Respondents also noted a variety of needs related to disaster preparedness, response and recovery systems, procedures, materials and equipment, and educational materials.
“UC ANR personnel reported a need for professional development related to understanding how we fit into broader disaster response systems (73%) in California, what Extension resources are available for disaster response (63%), how the landscape of disaster risks in California communities is changing (62%), how communities can mitigate or manage disaster risks (62%), how to develop pre-established networks within the organization for responding to disasters (52%) and coordination with local and state entities (48%),” Koundinya said.
The authors note in the journal article, “Even though UCCE has been playing a critical role in disaster response for decades, because of the size and geographic spread of the UCCE system, disaster management approaches and materials have tended to develop piecemeal on a program-by-program and often county-by-county and disaster-by-disaster basis.”
The article, “Disasters Happen: Identifying disaster management needs of Cooperative Extension System personnel” can be viewed at https://joe.org/joe/2020october/a2.php.
“We recommend that the findings be used for designing professional development on the topics and needs identified by the respondents,” said Koundinya.
In her blog ANR Adventures, AVP Wendy Powers, wrote about the report, “The tables identifying needs are of particular interest to me and perhaps something the Learning and Development team might think about for future trainings.”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
UC ANR Day at the Capitol was held on March 26, 2019, to update California legislators and legislative staff on UC ANR's research and outreach projects. Vice President Glenda Humiston and a UC ANR delegation discussed a wide variety of topics during the legislative visits, including wildfire and forest health, water quality, youth development, nutrition and climate adaptation.
Every year, representatives from each UC campus gather in Sacramento for UC Day at the Capitol to educate lawmakers about the importance of research and higher education and their contributions to California's economy and progress. Although UC ANR participates in the annual Ag Day at the Capitol, this was the first UC ANR Day at the Capitol.
ANR's Global Food Initiative fellow Maci Mueller set up appointments with the policymakers and coordinated the UC ANR delegation to explain the value of investment in UC ANR research and outreach.
The UC ANR delegation consisted of two teams led by Humiston and Wendy Powers, associate vice president. The teams included Faith Kearns, California Institute for Water Resources academic coordinator; Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, UC Cooperative Extension small farms advisor for Fresno and Tulare counties; Tracy Schohr, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resource advisor for Plumas, Sierra and Butte counties; Alena Pacheco, 4-H community education specialist in Fresno County; Bailey Butler, Oroville 4-H member; and El Dorado County 4-H Ambassadors Emily Ferrell, Josie Rothman and Isabella Veffredo, who were accompanied by El Dorado County 4-H program representatives Vera Bullard and Denise Veffredo.
“As a team, we were able to connect with every member or staffer that we met,” Powers wrote in her ANR Adventures blog. “Sometimes it was around the 4-H program, and what the program has done for our impressive team members, sometimes it was around fire or water, and other staffers or members were particularly interested in moringa. Either way, the goal was to make a connection so that each visit left an impression.”
“UC ANR Day was a terrific opportunity for 4-H members to practice their communication skills and get involved in advocacy at the state level,” Mueller said.
Oroville 4-H member Bailey described for legislators and their staff how she worked from Nov. 8 when the Camp Fire broke out until after Christmas with UC Cooperative Extension advisor Tracy Schohr and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine staff to care for 1,200 evacuated livestock and to train others to assist. Emily, a 4-H Ambassador in El Dorado County, said her 4-H experience with STEM activities and leadership training helped her get into the university of her choice – UC Santa Barbara.
Greeted warmly by each office, the teams shared examples of work being done by UC ANR in their districts, offered them assistance and thanked the legislators for their support. They left a copy of the UC ANR Snapshot, UC ANR map and overview, a 4-H fact sheet and UC at a Glance.
Legislators praised the 4-H members and UC ANR staff for the work they do for Californians.
“I look forward to making UC ANR Day at the Capitol an annual event,” Humiston said. “Telling people about the value of ANR's work is not only part of our mission, it is essential in educating others about all that we accomplish with the resources we have.”
A fact sheet showing the effects of shrinking public investment in the University of California and agricultural research can be downloaded at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development/files/302896.pdf.
- Author: Jim Downing
UC Cooperative Extension researchers convey need for more climate change communication and curriculum tools
[NOTE: The Integrating Climate Change in California Cooperative Extension Programs Workshop will be held Feb. 6-7.]
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from natural and working lands is one of California's key climate change strategies. In particular, the potential for farm and rangeland soils to serve as carbon sinks has been getting a lot of attention lately in the national media — and during California Healthy Soils week, which wrapped up Dec. 7.
These are areas where UC Cooperative Extension, with its local presence across the state, is well-positioned to drive change. But as a recent survey of UCCE advisors, specialists and faculty found, while there is a good deal of climate work happening, there are also some significant obstacles.
The survey results — reported in an article by UCCE academics Ted Grantham, Faith Kearns, Susie Kocher, Leslie Roche and Tapan Pathak in the latest issue of California Agriculture — showed that while nearly 90 percent of respondents believe it is important to incorporate climate science into extension programming, only 43 percent currently do so.
Respondents pointed to a number of issues. One was "limited familiarity with climate science fundamentals." It's one thing to cite the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is real and is being driven largely by human activity; it is another to be able to respond quickly and convincingly to detailed questions from doubters. This list from Grist, for instance, details more than 100 common arguments raised by climate skeptics, many of which have non-trivially complex answers.
Another important issue cited by respondents was "fear of alienating clientele by talking about a contentious topic," a response that highlights the importance of personal relationships in UCCE's work, and the challenge of communicating an area of science that is highly politicized.
The authors conclude: "To further increase the capacity of UC ANR staff to support the needs of their clientele and the broader public, professional development around climate science fundamentals, communication, and adaptation strategies is critical." As an initial follow-up, the UCANR climate change program team (led by authors Grantham, Kocher and Pathak) is presenting a workshop and professional development meeting for extension professionals in February.
- Author: Tracy Schohr
“We focused on fostering a good dialogue and facilitating co-learning among attendees,” said event co-chair Leslie Roche, assistant UC Cooperative Extension specialist in rangeland management. “We hosted university faculty, statewide CE specialists and academics, and county-based CE advisors—as well as local policymakers and leaders from non-governmental organizations and statewide programs.”
UC researchers who have successfully engaged in the public policy arena provided numerous models of linking research and policy. There were five key take-aways for scientists:
- Honest broker role – Present policymakers with various policy options, based on sound research. Have a clear understanding of the science behind your messaging. Use qualitative data to tell the story of the hard quantitative data.
- Active engagement – Be part of informational and oversight hearings. Empower communities to take action and foster community engagement.
- Build coalitions – Collaboration is imperative. Develop unexpected allies and foster long-term relationships, realizing it may take some time to bear fruit.
- Disseminate information – Share your data in user-friendly formats. Target local community, Legislature and state agencies to inform policies. Get your science into trainings and continuing education programs. Leverage your coalition to expand the circulation of your research results.
- Target messages – Develop a strong, concise message to deliver your research. Use an emotional connection – “Old-growth oak woodlands” versus “oak woodland.”
Throughout the conference, speakers highlighted the multiple levels of engagement for researchers in the policy arena, with different roles matching different needs – some take a center stage, while others play imperative behind-the-scenes roles.
Keynote speaker Jason Delborne, associate professor of science, policy and society at North Carolina State University, encouraged engaging the public. “Science is a social process,” he said, noting that community and public engagement is often key to successfully applying research to policy. Delborne also touched on the tension between expertise and democracy, commenting that we can't always resolve it and often we have to learn to live with this tension.
A diverse set of researchers shared their perspectives from experiences in engaging in policy. The panel included Thomas Harter, Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair in Water Management and Policy and UCCE specialist in the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at UC Davis; Lorrene Ritchie, director of the UC ANR Nutrition Policy Institute; Mindy Romero, founder and director of California Civic Engagement Project at UC Davis Center for Regional Change; and Yana Valachovic, UCCE forest advisor and county director in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. They discussed the importance of building strong science-based programs, actively engaging local communities and building coalitions of support.
Guests from both government and non-government organizations who use research to shape policy shared their perspectives on translating science to decision-making.
“Science is the foundation for developing programs,” said Amrith Gunasekara, science advisor for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Tina Cannon Leahy, attorney with the State Water Resources Control Board, noted that policymakers and decision-makers are often looking for a clear, “black-and-white” answer, while for scientists, there is “no answer,” but rather information.
Anne Megaro, consultant to the California Senate Committee on Agriculture, and Rebecca Newhouse, consultant to the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee, both emphasized the importance of making sure science is accessible and digestible.
Juliet Sims of the Prevention Institute explained how her organization uses both published scholarly literature and community stories to effectively inform its advocacy platform.
Keynote speaker Rachel Morello-Frosch, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, introduced the concept of moving from “translational research” to “transformational research,” a shift that requires deep community engagement in meaningful ways to effect policy change.
In the afternoon, four breakout sessions were offered: “Policy structures and opportunities for engagement” with Robert Waste, “Relational approaches to science communication and engagement” with Faith Kearns, “Putting it into practice–UC ANR case studies” with Dave Campbell, Clare Gupta and Lucas Frerichs, and “Navigating policy engagement: Education vs advocacy,” with Adrian Lopez and Kit Batten. These training modules helped participants build technical skills and analytical frameworks for successful policy engagement.
The Research to Policy Conference was a forum to exchange ideas and share perspectives, continuing to bridge the gap between science and policy communities. It challenged attendees to be open to new ways of thinking, shared innovative outreach methods and showcased how research can have an impact in the policy arena.
“The event brought cross-fertilization and co-learning between disciplines – nutrition, forest management, water quality – and there were common themes that resonated for all participants,” said event co-chair Gupta, assistant UCCE specialist in public policy and translational research.
VP Glenda Humiston wrapped up the policy conference by saying, "Good science is vital for good policy. It's great to see UC folks enhancing these skills to bring science together with policy."
For more information on applying research to policy, contact Frerichs, UC ANR government and community relations manager, at (530) 750-1218 or lfrerichs@ucanr.edu, or Research to Policy Program Team contacts Gupta at cgupta@ucdavis.edu and Roche at lmroche@ucdavis.edu.
John Fox has been appointed as executive director – Human Resources, effective Oct. 1. He will assume the responsibilities of managing the Academic and Staff Personnel units, which have been consolidated into Human Resources, as Linda Marie Manton, executive director for Staff Personnel, transitions into her planned retirement in December.
Fox has over 20 years of progressive leadership and human resources experience with the University of California. The UC Berkeley graduate comes to UC ANR with extensive experience in working with UC Office of the President HR policies, issues management, benefits and training programs.
For the past five years, Fox has served as the executive director for UCOP Human Resources, where he led the development of a new model for HR service delivery, focused on strategic partnerships to drive organizational goals. He is the HR lead on the UCOP UCPath implementation Steering Committee and is an active member of the UCPath Center Advisory Committee.
Prior to serving as the chief HR officer for the Office of the President, Fox held a number of leadership and project management positions in universitywide Human Resources, including director of HR policy, chief of staff to the vice president – Human Resources, and trainer/writer in Benefits Communications.
Fox is based at the ANR Building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1343 and jsafox@ucanr.edu.
Jim Farrar has been named director of the UC ANR Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, effective Oct. 1.
Most recently, Farrar was director of the Western IPM Center, where he has served since 2013. Cheryl Wilen, area IPM advisor based in San Diego, has been acting UC IPM director since June. Kassim Al-Khatib, UC IPM director since 2009, has become a UC ANR Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis.
Prior to joining the Western IPM Center, Farrar was a professor of plant pathology in the Department of Plant Science at California State University, Fresno for 12 years.
The Wisconsin native completed his Ph.D. in botany and B.S. in plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his M.S. in plant pathology at UC Davis.
Farrar is based in the ANR Building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1271 and jjfarrar@ucanr.edu.
Leslie Roche became a UC ANR Cooperative Extension specialist in rangeland management in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis on Sept. 1. Before joining ANR, she was a USDA-NIFA postdoctoral fellow and project scientist.
Her research and extension program is at the intersection of agricultural, environmental, economic and social aspects of ranching and livestock production on California's rangelands and pastures. Roche works with a diversity of rangeland stakeholders to integrate management expertise and applied research to address key challenges, including managing for multiple agricultural and ecological outcomes and coping with and adapting to drought.
Her current projects include “California Ranch Stewardship Project: Adaptive Management for Profit and Rangeland Health,” “On-Ranch Impacts, Management and Planning Horizons Following Severe Drought” and “Wildfire and Grazing Management and Planning.”
She earned a Ph.D. in ecology, an M.S. in horticulture and agronomy and a B.S. in agricultural management and rangeland resources, all from UC Davis.
Roche can be reached at (530) 752-5583, lmroche@ucdavis.edu and on Twitter @UCDRange.
Jhalendra Rijal joined UC ANR on July 1 as an area integrated pest management advisor in Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties.
Rijal's interest is in applying principles of pest monitoring, insect abundance and spatial distribution, insect behavior and chemical ecology in pest management to attain a sustainable production system. Rijal, who is fluent in Nepali and Hindi, focuses on pest problems on major agricultural crops, including tree nuts, tree fruits and other specialty crops in the area.
Prior to joining UC ANR, Rijal was a postdoc scholar in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at UC Davis. There, Rijal worked on two different collaborative research projects in peppermint and cool-season vegetable crops. The goals of these projects were to understand the behavior and biology of the target pests and find better pest management alternatives by evaluating environmentally benign biopesticides and reduced-risk pesticides.
Rijal earned a B.S. in agriculture and an M.S. in entomology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He completed a Ph.D. in entomology at Virginia Tech.
Rijal is based in Modesto and can be reached at (209) 525-6800 and jrijal@ucanr.edu.
Maria Guadalupe (Lupita) Fabregas Janeiro is the new assistant director for 4-H Diversity and Expansion. Fabregas will provide leadership for increasing participation of Latino and other underrepresented populations in 4-H through strengthening current programming and developing new innovative programming that reflects the needs, interests and resources of California's diverse youth, families and communities.
Her interests in research and professional development areas are intercultural competency, diversity, multiculturalism and the development and integration of Hispanic communities in the United States.
Before joining UC ANR, Fabregas worked at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP) in Mexico for 29 years. She has worked in the United States for 13 years, including two years at Oklahoma State University in the College of Human Sciences as a clinical assistant professor and multicultural and community engagement specialist.
Fabregas earned her doctorate in agricultural education at Oklahoma State University, her master's degree in education from UPAEP and her undergraduate degree in agriculture engineering and animal sciences from Monterrey Tech in Mexico.
Fabregas is based in the ANR Building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1273 and lfabregas@ucanr.edu.
Faith Kearns began a new position on July 1 as an academic coordinator with the California Institute for Water Resources. She joined UC ANR in 2013 as a water analyst, coordinating research and outreach programs for the water institute. Her research interests lie at the intersection of science communication, community engagement and relationship-building, particularly as these topics relate to the environment and water resources.
Before joining ANR, Kearns served as an officer with the science division of the environment program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she collaborated with policy and advocacy staff to develop research projects and integrate scientific information into campaigns. She has also managed a wildfire research and outreach center at UC Berkeley, served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science policy fellow at the U.S. Department of State and developed science communication projects at the Ecological Society of America.
Kearns received her Ph.D. in environmental science, policy and management with an emphasis on freshwater ecology from UC Berkeley and a B.S. in environmental science from Northern Arizona University.
She continues to be based at UC Office of the President in Oakland and can be reached at (510) 987-9124 and faith.kearns@ucop.edu.
Lauren Au joined UC ANR on Sept. 1 as an assistant researcher for the UC Nutrition Policy Institute.
Prior to joining ANR, Au was a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley's Center for Weight and Health, where she managed several research projects, conceptualized research designs and generated research funds. From 2013 to 2014, she served as a congressional fellow to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), developing nutrition and health legislation, including helping to introduce the bipartisan Summer Meals Bill, and preparing policy briefs on federal nutrition and health policies. From 2009 to 2013, Au was a USDA obesity graduate research fellow for Tufts University, Friedman School for Nutrition Science and Policy. During her time at Tufts, she served as a consultant for the HBO film “The Weight of the Nation” (2012). She also worked as a registered dietitian for the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City in 2009.
Au completed a Ph.D. in food policy and applied nutrition from Tufts University, an M.S. in nutrition and public health from Columbia University and a B.S. in nutritional aciences and dietetics from UC Berkeley.
Au is based in Berkeley and can be reached at (510) 642-1584 and leau@ucanr.edu.
Katelyn Ogburn joined UC ANR on Sept. 8 as the new UC Master Food Preserver coordinator. As coordinator, she will support the development of a statewide framework for the growing UC Master Food Preserver Program. She will generate statewide tools and resources, coordinate and convene an advisory board, communicate program updates and information and facilitate program planning and evaluation. Ogburn will also offer support to UC Master Food Preserver program staff and volunteers.
Ogburn completed her bachelor's degree in biology with the Honors College at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. After spending time farming in Colorado, she made her way out to California, where she completed two AmeriCorps programs. After concluding her service-learning terms, Ogburn worked as a coordinator for Habitat for Humanity.
She discovered through farm work, community gardening, potlucks and other experiences that her real passion revolves around food — in particular, increasing food access and decreasing food waste.
“I am thrilled to be part of the Master Food Preserver Program, where I can follow my passion at my workplace and work to bring home-preservation practices to communities throughout California,” Ogburn said.
Ogburn is based at the ANR Building in Davis and can be reached at (530) 750-1387 and kbogburn@ucanr.edu.
