- Author: Wendy Powers
Finally, I can share some exciting news that I've been having to keep to myself. Cheryl Wilen was recently awarded the 2020 Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award by the California Association of Pest Control Advisers (CAPCA). The Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant contribution to California agriculture. We concur with the selection committee! Congratulations, Cheryl! I still have one more congratulations to send out, once the award is made.
Another rough week for many across the state who are without power or worse, evacuated. So far, I haven't heard of any major losses. Darren reported some small fires onsite at the South Coast REC, but they were controlled quickly. Let's hope the same holds between now and when the rain finally begins. Let's also hope that evacuations and power losses don't deter voters from getting out to exercise the super power we all have.
Because so many across UC ANR are touched when disaster happens, either in response to or planning for, you might find this recent article by Vikram, Susie, and Faith of interest. The tables identifying needs are of particular interest to me and perhaps something the Learning and Development team might think about for future trainings. Thanks to all of the 100+ people who assisted by providing survey responses.
Strategic planning winds down this week with meetings to finalize both the ANR plan and the REC framework. While I look forward to the end of the planning phase, the reality is that the work of the plan itself then begins. Time to direct towards those efforts need to be squeezed into the calendar amongst other, unplanned events. More meetings take place this week that would normally take place the week of November 9. That was the scheduled annual APLU meeting. However, because the meeting is taking place virtually, events have been scattered across what seems to be a 3-week window. I am hoping that means no meetings on Veteran's Day. I won't hold my breath, but I won't give up hope either. I have some projects to complete at home that would benefit from a free day that weekend yard work doesn't seem to permit.
- Author: Wendy Powers
How did it get to be Wednesday already? Yet at the same time, Monday and Tuesday are already a blur. I suspect we all feel this way to some extent. I know many of us feel that are time has been swallowed up by adjustments we've had to make due to disasters, leaving us little time for our customary work. The result is longer days and a sense that less has been accomplished. While I wish we weren't all in this situation, I take some comfort in knowing I am not alone. When I talk with my peers, we all wonder about the long term impact of being redirected from the work we would otherwise be doing. However, for the time being, what we are doing is what we need to be doing despite being different from what we signed up for and not identified in our position descriptions. It is a different kind of ‘productive' and important, for now. Fortunately, there remain some elements of my day that are familiar and customary.
Last week, I attended the 2020 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award program. The program celebrates programs that have enhanced their learning, discovery, and engagement missions by becoming more integrated with their communities. I was pleased to see that one awardee, the LIFESports program from Ohio State University, has a strong connection to Cooperative Extension (4-H). If you are interested in learning more about any of these projects, have a look at the event program.
We have our own awardees within UC ANR! Three California state winning entries received national recognition at the recent annual meeting and professional improvement conferences of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) that were held virtually the latter part of September and early October. Michael Rethwisch and student assistant Kassandra Allan had the national winning applied research poster, entitled ‘Dingy cutworm pheromone lures are not highly attractive to the closely related granulate cutworm'. Michael was also selected make a presentation on comparative insecticide efficacy for lygus bugs. The UC Dairy Newsletter was a national finalist entry and western regional winner in Team Newsletter competition. This newsletter is the work of UCCE advisors Jennifer Heguy, Daniela Bruno, Joy Hollingsworth, and Betsy Karle. The University of California Cooperative Extension Subtropical Horticulture News by Sonia Rios was the western regional winner for individual newsletter. Congratulations to the awardees!
Time to get ready for COVID day. I now call Thursdays ‘COVID day'. The morning begins with a standing call at 7:30 AM. Throughout the day are various other calls to discuss some aspect of the pandemic (closing, opening, impacts, post-COVID normalcy, etc.) with various groups within UC ANR, the broader UC, or the region.
On Friday, I am taking the afternoon off. We still have to pick up and move all of the tree trimmings from last weekend. The cooler temperatures will be a big help. However, before I get to that, I need to enter my annual goals into the new UCOP performance system. That will be interesting.
