Dear Colleagues:
This message provides essential information on the implementation of UC ANR's new website using the Drupal Content Management System, focusing on migration and cleanup of Site Builder and Blog sites.
This is a follow-up to the IWP 101 ANR Update that went out on June 27, 2024.
Migration to Integrated Web Platform (IWP)
Migration means that content will be exported from Site Builder and become available in Drupal. The goal is to migrate existing, relevant content to Drupal while avoiding migration of irrelevant, outdated, duplicate, and unused content, images, and files. Site Builder editors should complete the Site Builder and Blogs Cleanup actions provided in the last section below.
The list below provides information on what will be migrated. The migration is estimated to start in November 2024 with a targeted go-live in December 2024. If these dates change, we will communicate it broadly.
Migration and conversion will be for existing sites and blogs on a specific date that will be communicated well in advance. Anything created before the migration date will be captured.
What's Migrating
Only Active Sites and Blogs and their contained content
Active sites are defined as published on Site Builder and/or Blogs. Draft and inactive pages with their containing assets will not be migrated. There will be no date of publication restriction on the content. Published Content in Site Builder will be set as “Published” in Drupal. This will avoid the risk of content issues across the entire website due to missing owners, editors, challenges with resources, etc.
Images and Files
Only files that are in use (i.e., published) will be migrated. “In use” is defined as published on the same site where the associated file library exists. Images and Files have the option of Alt and Title attributes as well as Captions; these will be migrated. Because Site Builder converts original file names into numbers, the Alt and Title Attributes become very important for identifying what images are about. Editors should ensure images on Site Builder have these attributes and captions populated.
Meta Descriptions
Each Page in Site Builder should have a unique and descriptive Meta Description. Existing Meta Descriptions will be migrated.
What's Not Migrating
Site Builder comprises approximately 700 websites, thousands of pages, and thousands of files and images that are no longer being used. The overhead is enormous. Blogs suffer from the same issues. Over 465 Blogs exist and contain as many as 47,000 posts. Many of these blogs haven't been used in years. Site Builder and Blogs use different underlying technologies, and some features or customizations won't translate directly to Drupal due to technical incompatibility.
Not migrating
These may be assessed for possible future migrations:
- Some Site Builder assets (e.g., ANR Survey Tool integration with sites, Site Builder blog comments, Newsletter subscribers).
- All custom Site Builder assets – These include assets that are widgets built by ANR IT for one site or one unit's use (e.g., Universal Review System, custom databases and media players, custom survey result pages).
- Removed and inactive Site Builder pages and assets – These will be available on Site Builder during the transition period and eventually will be permanently deleted. If desired, individuals should back up this information onto a cloud service like Box.
- Unused images and files will not be migrated. These are files that are not being displayed in/inserted into any Site Builder pages.
- Sites hosted on other content management system platforms (e.g., WordPress, SiteFarm, UC IPM Cold Fusion site).
- Sites with no owner, no traffic, or no content – These will be made inactive and will not migrate. IWP team will reach out to admins/responsible parties/editors prior to inactivating any sites.
Not in scope
- ANR Portal applications will not be affected or changed (e.g. ANR Survey Tool, Collaborative Tools, Bibliography, Repository, Volunteer Management Systems).
- Customized websites are not part of the foundational build, which will provide a solid platform for enhancements in the future.
This may cause some disappointment. We appreciate your patience as we focus on delivering the foundational release. After the IWP system stabilizes, more information will be shared about alternative tools and how to request these items to be migrated in future stages. Non-Site Builder site migration can be evaluated post go-live on a case-by-case basis.
Site Builder and Blog Cleanup
As part of the IWP content strategy, not everything should exist in the new site. Please take some time to review your websites and pages. Start by following instructions/tips on the links below.
Site Builder Cleanup Checklist: https://ucanr.edu/sites/sb3help/bestpractices/site-builder-maintenance/Site_builder_cleanup_checklist/
Delete unused sites, pages, and assets: https://ucanr.edu/sites/sb3help/administration/deletions/
Site Builder Maintenance: https://ucanr.edu/sites/sb3help/bestpractices/site-builder-maintenance/
As part of Site Builder cleanup efforts, Stephen Dampier is holding a weekly open office Zoom Session to answer your questions.
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3 p.m.-4 p.m. PST
Zoom Link: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/97937501529?pwd=Zm1PaGRuc0htcnVZbmZQaGcya3oxQT09
Remember, while we're not immediately shutting down Site Builder, this cleanup prepares us for a smoother transition. We will be sending out more reminders leading up to the final migration.
Questions or Concerns?
Check out the IWP FAQ page, and email iwp@ucanr.edu with any concerns that are not addressed there.
IWP Core Team
Kit Alviz
Dustin Blakey
Stephen Dampier
Linda Forbes
Jaki Hsieh Wojan
Mike Hsu
Scott Leaf
Andrew Waegli
IWP Project Sponsor
Tu Tran
- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
As the long, hot days of summer slide into cooler, shorter days of autumn, seasonal changes are occurring in my garden. Not as many plants are blooming, the leaves on deciduous trees and plants are becoming drier and starting to change color. Some plants are producing autumn berries that will sustain many birds as insects, another source of food, begin to disappear.
Quite a few butterflies have been showing up in my garden to take advantage of flowers that are still blooming. Butterflies I have been seeing include painted ladies (Vanessa cardui), common buckeyes (Junonia coenia), fiery skippers (Hylephila phyleus)and cabbage whites (Pieris rapae).
With the advent of winter, butterflies disappear since they cannot tolerate temperatures below 55°F or rainy weather. So, what happens to butterflies in the winter???
Some Butterflies Migrate
Some butterfly adults migrate south, overwintering in warmer climates.
Monarch butterflies are known for their astonishingly long spring and fall migrations. Both the eastern monarchs and western monarchs began their southern migrations in late August or early September from southern Canada/northern USA to their overwintering sites. The eastern variety generally heads to the oyamel fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico, whereas the western Pacific species have a shorter journey to California's coastline. You may see some western monarchs this fall resting or feeding on flowers in your garden as they fly through the Central Valley on their way their overwintering sites in coastal areas such as Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach, and San Diego.
Other Winter Strategies
Most butterflies spend winter in the same area they spent summer.
Some lay their eggs in autumn on, or close to, their specific host plants with the eggs hatching the following spring. The common hairstreak (Satyrium californica) eggs are laid attached to twigs of oaks with the caterpillars feeding on newly emerged spring leaves.
Some butterflies weather the cold as pupa within a chrysalis in a sheltered spot. During this time, the pupa will enter diapause (where development stops). An antifreeze chemical in their blood allows them to survive cold temperatures. Once the days lengthen, it will resume its transformation, emerging as an adult just as in time for blooming flowers that provide nectar. The tiger swallowtail's chrysalis (Papilio rutulus) will take refuge in deep shrubbery. The anise swallowtails (Papilio zelicaon) and cabbage whites also generally overwinter as a pupa in their chrysalis. Fiery skippers usually overwinter as pupae buried in leaves, but some adults will migrate to southern California.
Mourning cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa)go into dormancy as an adult. Their blood also contains an anti-freeze. They tuck themselves into cracks and crevices of rocks and trees.
Leaving the Leaves
- Learn which butterflies live in your area and grow native plants for those specific species.
- Offer nectar plants in the fall and spring months for butterflies that are migrating, emerging from overwintering, or getting ready to go into winter dormancy/hibernation.
- Skip raking the leaves in your garden in autumn and leave standing plants alone until midspring, so overwintering butterfly larvae, pupae and adults have a place to hide. If leaving the leaves on your lawn is too messy for you, consider not disturbing the leaves in your planters.
- If you find what looks like a dead chrysalis (many resemble dead leaves) in your yard, garage, shed, do not disturb it. A butterfly may well emerge in the spring.
- Avoid using pesticides as much as possible.
Resources
- Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterflies
- Butterflies in Your Garden, Publication from UCCE Stanislaus County :https://ucanr.edu/sites/CEStanislausCo/files/345791.pdf
- Xerces Society - Pollinator Plants: Central Valley of California: https://xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/ppbi-california-central-valley
- California Native Plant Society: https://www.cnps.org/
- UC Davis Arboretum – Larval Hosts for Butterflies: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/blog/larval-host-plants-butterflies
Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
How Did the Western Monarchs Do This Winter in California?
Monarchs in Trouble
The colorful orange-and-black, magnificent monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are the world's most recognized and beloved butterflies. Yet, they are increasingly in danger of becoming extinct. An announcement last summer from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the monarch butterfly had been put on its "Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered” due to habitat destruction, climate change, and pesticides, with the primary reason being reduction in milkweed plants that are so vital to their survival.
This Year's Status
According to a recent article by Tara Duggan (https://www.pressreader.com/usa/san-francisco-chronicle-late-edition/20230201/281595244675872) the 2022 annual Thanksgiving count organized by Xerces Society showed relatively high numbers of western monarchs this year with over 330,000 found in overwintering sites throughout California's central coast. This is a significant increase from the winter of 2020-21 when fewer than 2,000 were counted and they were thought to be on the threshold of extinction. The 2021-2022 count the following year was much better, at 250,000.
At the Pismo Beach monarch sanctuary, a board showed some of the tallies made over the years:
1990 – 230,000
1995 – 150,000
2000 – 40,000
2005 – 32,000
2010 – 24,000
2015 – 28,000
2017 – 12,300
2019 – 6,000
2020 – 188
2021 – 22,700
2022 – 24,128
11/15/22 – 24,100
11/30/22 – 19,177
12/13/22 – 15,707
1/17/23 – 15,817
2/7/23 – 15,015
2/21/23 – 4,628
How You Can Help
- Plant nectar plants for the adults! While caterpillars feed only on milkweed, the adult monarch feeds on nectar from flowers while migrating. Native plants with tubular or funnel shapes are particularly attractive and nutritious for all butterflies.
- Plant milkweed! This plant is crucial to monarchs' survival since it is the only plant females lay their eggs on and the only source of food for the emerging larvae. When possible, plant from seed. If you purchase plants ask the nursery or garden center if the grower treated the plants with pesticides. The best time to plant is in the fall months when it's cooler, at the start of the rainy season. Local native milkweed varieties include:
o Asclepias fascicularis (Narrowleaf milkweed)
o Asclepias speciosa (Showy milkweed)
o Asclepias syriaca (Common milkweed)
o Asclepias cordifolia (Heartleaf milkweed)
- Use UC Integrated Pest Management as a resource: (https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/menu.homegarden.html). If you use a pesticide, avoid broad spectrum pesticides, selecting a pesticide for the specific pest/disease, or choose one that is less toxic such as horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps. Be sure to follow instructions and apply in early morning or late evening when pollinators are unlikely to be present.
- Get involved in the annual western monarch Thanksgiving and New Year counts (https://www.westernmonarchcount.org/) and/or tagging monarchs to monitor their migration patterns (https://www.monarchwatch.org/tagging/)
What Will the Future Bring for the Western Monarch?
Only time will tell if their numbers will increase, but scientists say these efforts could help the western monarch population recover. By planting milkweed and native flowering plants in our gardens, we can be a part of this ongoing endeavor and hopefully be able to see more of these magnificent butterflies floating about in our gardens in the future.
To learn more about the life cycle and migration of the western monarch, read my article “Marvelous Monarchs” at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=55249
Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UCCE Master Gardener with Stanislaus County since 2020
/h3>- Author: Anne Schellman
Date: Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am.
Where: Online
Register: https://ucanr.edu/monarchs/2022/online
Link: you'll be sent a link to log in with before the class.
Registration will close Tuesday, Dec 20 at 8:00 a.m.
Can't tune in live? Watch the recording the following week on our YouTube Channel.
You'll learn about butterflies in general, about monarchs, their life cycle, their incredible migration, the importance of nectar plants and milkweed to their survival, and how you can help these endangered butterflies. Free milkweed seed packets will be given to attendees! Use the link below to register.
Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Where: Stanislaus Agricultural Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Harvest Hall Rooms D&E.
Register: http://ucanr.edu/monarchs/2022
If you see this post and can't or forget to register, please come anyway!