- Author: Deanne Meyer
The Western Extension Directors had our monthly meeting on Tuesday. Our guest speaker was Donald McMoran from Washington State University. Don has gathered a group together to tackle parts of farm stress. The Farm stress group has mini-grants (10K) available to those working to reduce stress in farmers or ranchers. The group in California working in this collaboration are in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at UC Davis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicated farmers and ranchers were twice as likely to die from suicide than any other profession says. Last month our town hall meeting had guest Dr. Amy Barnhorst from California Firearm Research Center, UC Davis Health. I highly recommend listening to the presentation if you missed the town hall. Suicides account for the largest number of gun induced deaths, followed by homicides and lastly mass shootings.
David Lewis and Jim Farrar will be stepping down as Strategic Initiative leaders after many years of incredible service. If you have experience within ANR and have served on a Strategic Initiative Panel or been a Program Team Leader consider applying for the SI Leader positions for Sustainable Natural Ecosystems or Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases. Rachel Surls likely steps down in December for Sustainable Food Systems SI. Applications are brief and due May 15, 2023.
SI Leaders devote time to managing their panels and providing input into Program Council. The next 18 to 24 months will require great engagement of ANR during our visioning process.
Everyone is getting into high gear as we approach the All ANR Conference. Kathy Eftekhari and Katherine Stein are burning candles at both ends as they put the finishing touches on the program. Everyone presenting is finishing their posters and presentations. TEAM PSU is actively engaged in making their lists and checking them many times. This is a BIG conference. My request of everyone is that they bring a double portion of patience to the conference!
Over the last weeks I've seen an alarming number of unprofessional emails. Many of these fell into the category of people telling other people how to do their job or complaining because something wasn't done fast enough. These unprofessional emails violate our principles of community. My request of supervisors is to include incorporation of our principles of community into annual goals for those in need of behavioral modification.
In the category of names in the news---at the recent Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) UC ANR folks received many kudos. Gold Awards were Tunyalee Martin, Jutta Burger, Doug Johnson, Chinh Lam, Cheryl Wilen, Information Technology 3: Website, Weed Control User Tool; Tunyalee Martin, Petr Kosina, Cheryl Reynolds, Kimberly Steinmann, Brad Hanson, Kassim Al-Khatib, Information Technology 5: Instructional Design for a Non-Academic Public Online Course, website diagnosing herbicide injury; Ricardo Vela, Linda Forbes, Marcel Horowitz, Fabian Rivera and Wendy Powers, Reaching the vulnerable: a campaign to promote vaccination among Mexican indigenous and Spanish-speaking Latino communities; A Bronze Award was received for Social Media 1, Wildfire preparedness social media campaign, Doralicia Garay, Bronze Award. Way to GO!
The 17th marks the next deadline in our annual evaluation process where supervisor evaluations are due. Thank you to everyone who has invested time in reviewing performance of our academics and providing sound feedback. We truly want everyone to be successful. The annual evaluation time gives each person a chance to push pause and take stock in how they are progressing, identify where modifications can/should be made, and set a modified course to implement adjustments.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's Day 2 of National Pollinator Week.
So, I guess I should "toot my own horn" (we don't have one, but in our household we do have a piano, a double bass, a guitar, a banjo, a ukulele, a dulcimer, a harmonica, a sousaphone, a set of hand drums, and two accordions. Note that the last one to play the piano well was the...um...cat).
Yours truly of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, just won a silver award or second-place honors, in a photography competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE). ACE announced the awards today (June 22) at its virtual conference.
To draw attention to the plight of monarchs, I captured (with a Canon MPE-65mm lens) an image of a monarch egg in our family's pollinator garden where we create habitat for assorted bees and butterflies and other pollinators.
“The purpose of my image is to draw attention to the dwindling monarch butterfly population,” I wrote on the form. “They are on life support.” The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation's reports that overwintering monarchs have declined 99 percent in coastal California since the 1990s.
I posted the image at https://bit.ly/3cUx358 Aug. 10, 2020 on my daily (Monday-Friday) Bug Squad blog on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
Wrote the judge: “Capturing a subject this small is really quite impressive. I appreciate the photographer sharing their equipment and process to capture this image of such a delicate and beautiful little butterfly egg. Very well done.”
The image scored 25 out of 25 points in creativity/originality, audience interest/impact, and overall evaluation.
The egg, I commented, is “an incredible work of nature! The intricate egg is about the size of a pinhead, 0.9mm wide and 1.2mm high. It's creamy yellow with narrow longitudinal ridge. Unless it encounters a predator or parasitoid or another life-threatening factor, the egg will usually hatch 3 to 4 days after Mama Monarch deposits it beneath a milkweed leaf.”
“A good place to see butterfly specimens from all over the world is at the Bohart Museum of Entomology (now temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)," I added. “Of the nearly eight million specimens in the Bohart, some 500,000 are in the Lepidoptera collection, curated by entomologist Jeff Smith.“ I also drew attention to the butterfly-rearing process of Bohart associate and natural historian Greg Kareofelas.
In addition to the silver award, yours truly won a bronze award or third-place honors for my image of a photo series of male and female Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, “keeping busy.” The Bug Squad post, “Fifty Shades of Orange, with a Touch of Silver,” appeared July 13, 2020 at https://bit.ly/2Q6cU3q.
Wrote the judge: “This submission was a delight! I adored the written piece that accompanied the photos, describing the insect wedding during COVID times. To take notice of these delicate creatures, which many people just pass by without noticing, and to document them in photos is unique…. When photographing subjects of this size, the tack-sharp focus which captures the details that our eyes cannot normally see is what makes them so captivating. It's also incredibly difficult to capture--the photographer did a lovely job.”
“So there they were," I wrote. "The two of them. The blushing bride and the quite dapper-and-dashing groom. They didn't invite me to their wedding. I was an uninvited guest, the only guest. So, I felt obliged to crash their wedding and capture some images…Who can resist insect wedding photography? That's about the only wedding photography happening during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
I also drew readers to the research website of butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, and his information on A. vanillae, (see https://bit.ly/3uw9Yf1) and to specific work of insects “keeping busy” (see https://bit.ly/3rVU1xg) by UC Davis alumnus and renowned macro photographer Alex Wild, curator of entomology at the University of Texas, Austin.
ACE, founded in 1913 primarily for ag communicators, is now an international association of professionals who practice in all areas of communication.
(Editor's Note: Last year, three UC Davis-affiliated communication specialists won a total of six writing or photography awards in the ACE global competition for their work accomplished in 2019 (pre-COVID pandemic). Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for the Western Integrated Pest Management Center, Davis, won one silver (second-place) and two bronze (third-place) for his writing and photography; Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, two silvers for her writing and photography; and Diane Nelson, communication specialist for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a bronze for her writing.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They brought home five gold or first-place awards: three silver or second-place awards; and two bronze or third-place awards. “That was quite a haul!” commented an ACE member on Facebook.
The recipients:
- Diane Nelson, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, two golds
- Kathy Keatley Garvey, Department of Entomology and Nematology, one gold and one silver
- Jim Downing, California Agriculture journal, gold
- David Slipher, College of Biological Sciences, gold
- Steve Elliott, Western IPM Center, two silvers and a bronze
- Gregory Watry, College of Biological Sciences, bronze
Nelson wrote about pig personalities and polar bears. Slipher's topic was pigeons. (See other topics in the awards news story)
And me--bugs. The news story that won the gold (by yours truly) involved a visit to the Bohart Museum of Entomology by children of California migratory workers.
The piece, “Why These Youngsters Want to Become Entomologists” (https://bit.ly/2sYwhye) covered the children's tour of the insect museum, which houses some eight million insect specimens, a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, tarantulas and praying mantids), and a year around-gift shop. The students engaged the director, Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, in a press conference. They asked the "who, what, when, where and how come" questions like pros. It was delightful to see them so well prepared and perceptive.
The Bug Squad blog that won silver (https://bit.ly/2BrePU5) involved a late-season monarch caterpillar that we found Oct. 27, 2017 on one of our milkweeds in our pollinator garden in Vacaville. It formed a chrysalis on Nov. 4.
On Day 19, Nov. 22 (the day before Thanksgiving), it happened. The monarch eclosed. A big, strong and healthy girl.
What to do...no way could she fly three hours in the rain and cold from Vacaville to an overwintering site in Santa Cruz. And with predators abounding, survival looked bleak.
From the Bug Squad blog:
"It just so happened that a friend and pollinator advocate, Rita LeRoy, the self-described 'farm keeper' at the Vallejo City Unified School District's Loma Vista Farm, was heading to Santa Cruz on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, to show her out-of-town relatives the overwintering migratory butterfly sanctuary at the Natural Bridges State Beach Park. That's about a 100-mile trip from Vallejo.
"Could Ms. Monarch hitch a ride?
"She could. And she did."
Rita is a Monarch Mom (she rears and releases monarchs) and is active in the Bay Area-Based Pollinator Posse. She teaches Vallejo City Unified School District youngsters about farming, cooking and gardening. And that includes gardening for butterflies.
So Ms. Vacaville Monarch hitched a ride with Rita and her family.
"She flew so fast that we didn't get a picture of her flying away," Rita related. "She was anxious to join her new friends."
A happy ending.
And hopefully, Ms. Vacaville Monarch provided the butterfly world with another generation.
Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a gold or first-place award in “Writing for Newspapers”; a silver or second-place award for “Writing for the Web” and two bronze or third-place awards for her photographs, one for a feature photo and the other for a service photo.
They will receive the awards at the ACE conference, set for June 8-11 in Charleston, S.C.
Nelson's winning article, “When Good Oil Goes Bad,” looks at the award-winning biosensor a team of UC Davis students built to help ensure olive oil quality for producers, retailers and consumers. Nelson won the 2010 ACE outstanding skill award for writing.
Garvey's winning article for best news writing was a light feature on forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey's plans for a field trip to Alcatraz, a day that happened to fall on Super Bowl Sunday. It was titled "Football Game? What Football Game?" The judges gave the story a perfect score, 100 out of 100.
The judges' comments:
- “VERY clever lead. The tie-in with the football game undoubtedly drew in more readers but was not forced--it was backed up by the faculty member's quote about getting back in time for the game. The creativity of the approach and the writing cast a wide net to all readers, showing that anyone can be excited about learning and discovery - no matter their age or education level or their interest in science or insects (or football, for that matter)."
- "Word choice expresses concrete imagery--"pigskin," "rat bait," "black lights." Metaphors work-- all the bird analogies, for instance. Information is spoonfed to the reader in the most enjoyable way. Sentences pack a lot of information, movement and progression. Every sentence offers something to celebrate, including the one that ends "just like scorpions," which gives a nod to the reader, assuming that he or she does, of course, know that scorpions glow under ultraviolet light! The work-play relationship of scientist to student comes through and adds interest to the piece. The writer makes the reader feel that they are being let in on a conspiracy of discovery rather than being talked at. A certain joy and passion spring from this piece, setting it apart from the others."
- Cool topic, and the writer makes its newsy
Garvey's silver award for web writing, “What's for Lunch?”, focused on a lady beetle eating aphids. It appeared on her Bug Squad blog on the UC Agricutural and Natural Resources website. She writes the blog every night, Monday through Friday, and has never missed a post since launching it on Aug. 6, 2008.
Wrote one judge:
“I admire anyone who can write a blog a day. Congratulations. I love that that the author replies to comments from readers and is active on multiple social networks. And again, kudos on the photography.”
Garvey received a bronze award for a feature photo on her Bug Squad blog. It depicts a praying mantis eating a western tiger swallowtail.
In addition, Garvey received a bronze award for a service photo, of two participants at the 2014 “Bugs and Beer” event sponsored by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. It showed a UC Davis student and his friend sharing a bug: one photographing it and one ready to eat it.
Since 2008, Garvey has won a total of 13 gold awards from ACE for her writing and photography. She was named the recipient of the Outstanding Professional Skill Award for Writing in 2011 and the Outstanding Professional Skill Award for Photography in both 2012 and 2013.
ACE annually conducts a Critique and Awards (C&A) program that recognizes excellence in communications skills for individuals involved in the public sector – USDA, land-grant universities, state extension service or experiment stations, and international foundations.
This year Garvey won the first-place award for best feature photo with an image of a Polish scientist Jakub Gabka wearing a bee beard. The visiting scientist was part of an after-hours bee bearding event, coordinated by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road.
Garvey's other gold award was for best "writing on the web" for her "Thankful for Insects" Bug Squad blog, posted on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR website).
The bronze award was a third-place award for best series of photos on her Bug Squad blog.
The awards were presented at the organization's annual meeting, held recently in Portland, Ore.
Several other UC communicators received ACE awards at the Portland conference.
Steve Heindl, Marissa Stein and Ray Lucas of Communication Services & Information Technology won gold in the Educational Package category for the online “Introduction to Forest Management” course they produced for Rick Standiford, UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) specialist in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley.
For promotional videos, ACE awarded silver for the UC Cooperative Extension centennial video. The video was produced by the UC Office of the President's multimedia team of Jessica Wheeler, Zach Long and Larissa Branin with direction from Pam Kan-Rice and Cynthia Kintigh of the UC ANR Communication Services and Information Technology (CSIT).
“Grape Pest Management, Third Edition” won a silver award for technical publications for Larry J. Bettiga, UCCE Extension viticulture advisor in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, as technical editor, and CSIT editors Steve Barnett and Hazel White and CSIT designers Robin Walton and Will Suckow. They also received a bronze award for the reference book's design in the 2014 PubWest Book Design Award.
(Editor's Note: UC ANR's Pam Kan-Rice, assistant director, News and Information Outreach, Communication Services and Information Technology, contributed to this report)