- Author: Deanne Meyer
Last week sped by in the blink of an eye. Monday Greg Ira and I attended the 7th Annual Summit for California Climate Action Network (CalCan). ANR was well represented with Betsy Karle, Dan Macon, Toby O'Geen, Devii Rao, Leslie Roche, Lillian Thaoxaochay and Daniele Zaccaria. Additionally, our Climate Smart Educators participated in the sessions. One session discussed the importance of trees to convert carbon dioxide to biomass. Keep in mind, one of the big drivers in the State's Climate Action Plan is urban trees. This dovetails with research done by Janet Hartin on urban trees evaluating varieties and their survivability under different conditions.
Tuesday was a super exciting day for the Master Gardener Program. After much work with Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) and Informatics and GIS (IGIS) they launched the Spotted Lantern Fly eLearning course on eXtension. More than 5,500 email invitations were sent to volunteers. A phenomenal 65% open occurred. Within minutes 87 volunteers enrolled and began the 45-minute course with certificates and badges being awarded by the minute. This is an outstanding example of a multi-state project (PA was prominent), multi-campus project (within UC), state-agency collaboration (CDFA) and program cooperation/integration with MG, IPM, and IGIS. Lauren Snowden spearheaded the project. Way to go! You too can get in on the excitement by going to the website for the eLearning course . Here's the project weblink should you want additional information. Invasive Spotted Lanternfly (ucanr.edu)
Thursday's townhall featured Shannon Klisch. Shannon shared impactful work where Market Match is used at farmers' markets to augment CalFresh dollars. They saw a 171% increase in CF dollars redeemed at markets. Convening all associated with farmers' markets made a huge impact to reduce barriers associated with the program. Providing greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables is laudable.
Welcome Rachel Lee to UC ANR! Rachel is our new Director of Publication. Rachel has worked with UC for more than 20 years. If you're in the building on Tuesday-Thursday, don't hesitate to pop by her office and introduce yourself.
The week ahead will have many people spending time with family and friends. The Thanksgiving story many of us were taught as children is far from the truth. For a more realistic recounting of history read the blog post by Jennifer Sowerwine.
Be safe as you travel near and far for the holiday. Enjoy family, fellowship, food and festivities. Bon Appetit.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Take a look at what IGIS has done! Note there are two parts to the blog, so be sure to catch all of their activity. I love how they have detailed out their partnerships drawing attention not just to the breadth of support that IGIS provides across UC ANR, but also the work of their collaborators. Reading through the two sections gives a nice peek into the work of academics and staff across the state using informatics and geospatial data as part of their Cooperative Extension program. A reader who may not fully understand IGIS leaves with a strong appreciation for the broader impact of IGIS's work.
We know that Cooperative Extension and applied research is all about improving lives across California. There's a new report out intended to get the word out to those across the U.S. who aren't familiar with the public value of Cooperative Extension. The report is limited to only 22 examples of the broader impact of Cooperative Extension work across the U.S. Fortunately, the nutrition program in Alameda County was among the limited number of stories (see page 25). The Alameda County UCCE work in nutrition is one example of how others use our impact stories. Let's hope more CA examples are showcased in the future. We have so many great stories about making a difference to share!
My calendar starts to pick up this week, after what seems to have been a slow recovery from the winter break. We have a strategic plan retreat tomorrow. Later in the week, the County Directors will be in Davis and the REC Directors, Superintendents, and Business Officers the following day. I won't get a chance to see the leadership team while they are in Davis because I head to Chicago on Wednesday morning. I'm sure their meetings will be productive; the agendas look full.
It is hard to believe we are just about 1/12 through 2020. This trip to Chicago is the start of two busy travel months, so it will be good practice for getting back into the airport routine.
