- Author: Wendy Powers
Wildfire activity is picking up across the state and this wind isn't helping. It is no surprise that wildfire is the topic of webinars around the state. Word is that Lenya was an incredible speaker for the federal UC Wildfire Briefing. There was great attendance, several questions were directed to or answered by Lenya, and she quickly had two legislative offices contacting her to arrange meetings. Anne Megaro commented that Lenya brought life to the briefing - she was interesting and engaging and connected the value of federal investment to real-world work reducing catastrophic wildfires and improving forest and land management. Take a look at the recording for yourself. You can find the recording here.
Safeeq Khan spoke at a UC Wildfire Symposium last week. I was unable to attend but hear that he explained the impact of the loss of snowpack and the forest ecosystem, more generally, such that all could understand. Congratulations, Safeeq!
Also on fire, is the Forever 4-H Endowment! Lassen County just established the eighth Forever 4-H Endowment! I know this was a high priority for David and his team. Congratulations, all!
Thank you to all who participated in Big Dig Day! I haven't heard the total raised, but the mid-afternoon progress was promising. I noticed that Missy and her team were doing particularly well when I made my donations. Hopefully we made new friends in the process.
Once again the week is flying by. It has been particularly hectic this week with standing meetings, wrapping up merit and promotion decisions, working through plans for returning to the workplace, Vice Provost interviews, and a few national meetings related to Cooperative Extension. I am not bored.
Soon I am leaving the garage to make a visit to the Hansen REC. Who knew this could be so exciting. Normally, I would look forward to the visit. This time, I am giddy with excitement just thinking about spending a day, not in the garage and not on Zoom all day. While we aren't even close to herd immunity, I am optimistic we can keep the incidence of new transmissions low and resume some semblance of normal activity.
- Author: Wendy Powers
The short week is off to a great start, weather aside! I hope everyone enjoyed the Memorial Day holiday and took time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom. Take a look at this short video to learn how Michelle Hammer-Coffer reflects on Memorial Day. Thank you, Michelle, for your service and efforts to keep us all safe!
Big Dig Day is this Friday! It's time to show your support for UC ANR. We are so fortunate to have made it through this last year and UC ANR has much to be proud of and thankful for. I haven't heard if there will be matching opportunities, so I am unsure how early I need to set the alarm, but no doubt I will be showing my gratitude.
There's good news in Orange County! Thanks to the generous support of the Orange County Farm Bureau and the Orange County 4-H Council, he Forever 4-H Orange County Endowment will be established. Congratulations to the Orange County UCCE team!
Master Food Preserver received a plug in the Washington Post. Congratulations to both Sue and Erin who were quoted. And a huge ‘thank you' to reporter Becky Crystal for calling out the program!
The big news is that the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees released on Tuesday a joint plan to be negotiated with the Governor that provides a $32.1 million ongoing increase to UC ANR. This conversation isn't over, but we are far closer to a meaningful increase that I have seen in my time at UC ANR!
My garage has heated up considerably over the last week, but I hear my key FOB will work in the Davis building in just a month. I hope the good news keeps coming!
- Author: Wendy Powers
Congratulations to our ANREP winners! A group of CE Specialists, CE Advisors were recognized with a Bronze Award for their “Ranch Water Quality Planning Instructor's Guide and Lesson Plan”. Take a look at the list of recipients: Anthony O'Geen, Bill Birmingham, Brooke Latack, D.J. Eastburn, Dan Macon, David Lewis, David Lile, Devii Rao, Fadzayi Mashiri, Jeffery Stackhouse, Jim Downing, Josh Davy, Julie Finzel, Kenneth Tate, Laura Snell, Leslie Roche, Lucien Crowder, Matthew Shapero, Michael Lennox, Morgan Doran, Randy Dahlgren, Rebecca Ozeran, Robert Atwill, Sandra Osterman, Stephanie Larson, Theresa Becchetti, and Tracy Schohr.
The other winner at ANREP was Lenya Quinn-Davidson! Lenya received the Early Career Award. We couldn't agree more with the selection committee! Be sure to take a look at the write up (page 27). Thanks so much to Yana and Susie for the nomination of their colleague.
Take a look at a recent Morning Ag Clips article that featured some of Dorina, Anne, Marcel, Katherine, and Kendra's work! I am anxious to see impact statements as this important work progresses! I took a getaway near Cambria last weekend for my own mindfulness exercise.
Thanks to the research reviewers who mined through the Project Board data to identify stories for the federal research report. I will share more stories in the future, or be sure to take a look for yourself.
Youth & Community Develoment: Martin Smith
Nutrition: Karina Rios Diaz
Livestock/Rangeland: David Lile
Forestry/Fire: Yana Valachovic
Water: Doug Parker
SFS: Neil McRoberts and Deanne Meyer
EIPD: Jim Farrar and Georgios Vidalakis
In addition to 11 annual evaluation conversations this week and ‘first Friday' meetings with REC and County Directors, I have spent the week at a virtual conference of Western Extension and Experiment Station Directors. In addition to the business meetings and Center updates, we heard from a University of New Mexico FRTEP Advisor who shared with us the challenges for the Navajo reservation residents during the pandemic lockdown with few grocery stores and a need to continue ag production in order to feed residents. The death rates and COVID incidence numbers shared are alarming and sad. The Advisor talked about increased youth participation in Master Gardener program and other virtual programs since the pandemic began in addition to increased collaboration and partnering with other institutions. Vaccine education is a critical ongoing effort to provide this and other COVID relief services. The program seeks opportunity to develop a partnership for pre-college programs and a sheep herd health program.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Twice this week I heard a reference to baseball. Someone referred to Babe Ruth as the ‘home run king' while also holding the ‘strikeout king' title. I heard a similar statement in reference to Reggie Jackson. I'm not sure which one of them is/was the true ‘king'. Clearly, some are ready for baseball. I suspect Bill Frost is one of them.
Congratulations to Dan Putnam! Dan is the 2021 recipient of the James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award, awarded by the UC Davis Academic Federation. A number of his colleagues from UC Davis and UC ANR were responsible for the nomination. We are all pleased to see Dan receive this important recognition!
Highlights of recent activity with the 4-H Military Partnerships Program were shared with NIFA. My favorite part of the report was a quote from one of the many youth participants, "I always thought I was a leader but now I know how to be a better leader." Congratulations to the team across the state for their successes in this program. It has been difficult during the pandemic, but the successes are mounting nonetheless.
I hear there was something of a mass gathering of UC ANR personnel at a vaccination clinic in Woodland this week. That leaves some taking a bit of a sigh of relief with one dose down and one to go. The new CDC guidelines suggesting that those vaccinated can cautiously resume some activities is welcomed news! I know we all look forward to resuming our networking time and in-person activities. Let's keep getting those vaccination appointments scheduled!
The Dean's Council met this morning. I believe the Deans enjoyed the virtual Hill visits this year and had nice things to say about the ANR team that participated, under Anne's leadership. In a side chat with Bill Frost last week, he lamented over missing the social time together in DC and shared how impressed he was with those he worked with to make office visits. Thanks to Missy, Ryan, Karmjot, and all who made time for the meetings. Tiring, I am sure, but much easier than the days of running between the Cannon and Rayburn buildings.
I have some reading to do later this week and through the weekend. I hope the rain keeps up throughout so that I don't feel guilty for not doing any yardwork. I spoke with a colleague in Kentucky earlier today and he mentioned talk of isolated wildfires in Kentucky. While technically possible, it feels far too early in the year for talk about that.
- Author: Wendy Powers
It is shaping up to be a long, short week. I know we are all anxious to see how the week unfolds. So far, so good.
The combination of prolonged COVID and national unrest is getting to all of us, inspiring retirements and departures in unexpected places. I am hoping to get a Vice Provost recruitment underway soon, backfilling Mark Lagrimini's position. In addition, I am serving on a search committee for a new Executive Director to the Western Extension Directors Association. The pool of applicants is strong with some surprising submissions. It leaves me optimistic that we will have a strong pool to fill the gap in UC ANR.
If the pressures of earth get to be too much, perhaps Mars offers a solution in the near future. We need to check in with students in Calaveras County who each had a chance to build a Mars rover, donated by the 4-H STEM program. Nice work, JoLynn!
Given the lack of rain so far, the timing couldn't be better for completing the UCANR Disaster Guide. The Guide contains great examples of how UC ANR has responded to fires and COVID-19. Thanks to Susie, Faith, and team for putting this together! I have no doubt that many will download the document!
Congratulations to Monica Cooper for the quote of the week, “This is consistent with our UCCE mission to ensure the continued economic prosperity and ecological sustainability of agricultural operations in California in partnership with industry and government agencies.” Read what Brad and John had to say as well.
Be sure to tune in for the Town Hall on Thursday from 2 to 3 pm. We will build on this week's Martin Luther King holiday by learning more about planned ANR events for upcoming Black History Month.
The UC Economic Impact Report is out; don't skip over page 64! If you aren't up to reading all 123 pages, take a look at the factsheet, the last paragraph in particular. Congratulations on a strong contribution to a strong UC!
If you are considering a hike this weekend, check in with Mark Bell for some ideas. He has been out in East Bay and to the Golden Gate area recently, taking extra care to send me photos of his adventures. During his most recent outing, Mark had the good fortune of coming across evidence of UC ANR's impact. Literally, our impact is everywhere!
Someday I will leave my garage. Until then, it seems the end of the month is already near; time to prepare for the meetings regularly scheduled for the first week of the month. This month we have an additional meeting with President Drake. I look forward to that meeting, but I have some prep work to do beforehand.
