- Author: Wendy Powers
The team in the Central Sierra are quite creative! Take a look at the elevator pitch they put together to describe UC ANR! Of course, UC ANR is so much more, but for a 2-minute video, this team captured the essence of ANR while putting their new skills to use. Nice job!
I am working my way through merit and promotion packages, so just how much more UC ANR is, is at the forefront of my thoughts these days. Every year, I am so impressed with the accomplishments and commitment of the academics and their teams who are core to success. The impact statements improve each year and I suspect it is rewarding for some who are later in their careers to look back on long-standing programs and see all that has been accomplished. This is my fifth year reading the packages. Many in the process this year are second or third time reviews for me now, so I can see how programs have grown or matured since my first read. As much as I enjoy reading the dossiers and as important as it is to understand every academic's program, I will be okay 6 or 8 weeks from now when I put that task aside for another year.
Mark Bell is on the road this week, tired of being cooped up at home, I bet. Mark's been helping me learn Utah geography. Who knew the Great Salt Lake photographed better than it looks live!
I am ready to get out of the garage and back to an office environment and make some visits to our county and REC locations. I can't put faces to all of the new hires since late 2019. As a result, I feel a bit disconnected from everything, despite Town Halls and other Zoom events. I will sit tight a bit longer and let this 4th wave pass us by. Then, perhaps, we will be ready to move to our new normal. The upside is that I interact with pollen less when I am not commuting.
In the meantime, I continue to meet with partners via Zoom. There are some exciting opportunities for partnerships out there! Some of those opportunities are at the national Cooperative Extension System level; others at the UC ANR level. I have a couple of meetings scheduled to see what might materialize.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Anyone anxious this week? And it's not over, yet. My Pollyanna voice says that while the country is divided, no one is on the short end of a landslide. Some important ‘firsts' took place across the country (NY, DE, NM), too, suggesting changing times. An interesting week, indeed. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote – I hope you remained COVID-safe during the process! A special thank you to Michelle Hammer-Coffer's football team for sending dinner to all the vote counters in Pennsylvania! I finished a project this weekend for a fan of that team. Don't tell him; it's a Christmas gift.
Meanwhile, Jose Luiz Carvalho de Souza Dias started this week in Merced County as an Agronomy and Weed Management Advisor. Jose has programmatic responsibilities in Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin Counties. Please welcome Jose to UC ANR!
Amidst the voting and vote counting, Program Council met this week. We spent some time talking about partnerships, within UC, across CA and beyond. Mark has assembled a useful document to describe opportunities. If you have ideas, please reach out so we can assist in pursuing the partnership. In particular we talked about the research continuum comprised of AES researchers, CE Specialists, CE Advisors, and Community Education Specialists and how to ensure that all know of the benefits of working with partners across the continuum. Jim Farrar shared a high level vision for the IPM program that was particularly interesting.
Tomorrow, Glenda and I will share our UC ANR work and the planned work of both the ANR Strategic Plan and the REC Strategic Framework with the UC Vice Chancellors for Research. We hope to generate interest in our work and identify possible partnerships across the UC system. We will have a similar conversation with the UC Committee on Research and Policy next week.
This is the first week of the month which means that Friday is the monthly meeting with REC Directors, followed by County Directors. Following is a 2-hour professional development session for Extension Directors that I am particularly looking forward to about helping people cope with the stresses of 2020. I'm not alone in finding this an important topic; record attendance is anticipated at the session. A few more meetings follow on Friday, before the weekend arrives. I don't know about you, but I am already ready for the weekend! I plan to keep the news channels turned off.
- Author: Edith Warkenine
On Saturday, April 27, 2019, fifteen Inyo-Mono County Master Gardeners served as volunteers for the 50th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage. Each year since 1969, the Manzanar Committee has sponsored the Pilgrimage. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people attended this year to honor and remember Japanese who were incarcerated in this remote spot during World War II, and to learn from what happened at Manzanar so that we may apply those lessons to the present day.
Many of those held at the camp worked hard to create a little beauty in their surroundings by creating gardens and tending the orchards. These are now in the process of being restored. Inyo and Mono county UC Master Gardener volunteers assisted the National Park Service, which hosts the annual event, by greeting visitors at specific gardens and sharing stories and information about the gardens. Master Gardeners were stationed at Arai Pond, a representative barracks garden, Merritt Park—the largest community garden—and the mess hall gardens at Blocks 9, 15 and 22. Volunteers spent a considerable amount of time before the Pilgrimage studying the Manzanar gardens and orchards and the Manzanar Garden Management Plan.
This event was the first stage of the Master Gardener's Manzanar Project. Over the summer, Master Gardeners will be working with NPS staff to begin docent tours of the gardens and orchards, to conduct research on other barrack gardens, and on the Manzanar guayule project. (Guayule was grown at Manzanar during the war as a potential source of natural rubber.)
- Author: Pam Kan-Rice
Reposted from UCANR News
The loss of oak woodlands in California's North Coast is a critical conservation concern because it is associated with losses of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, range values, cultural resources, and other oak-dependent ecosystem services. In the absence of natural disturbances like fire, conifers can outcompete deciduous oaks and eventually the oaks die. In recent years, the effects of conifer encroachment on oaks have become a focal point for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, which has conducted important research on oak woodland conservation in Humboldt and Mendocino counties.
“UC ANR research has shown that conifer encroachment is threatening oak woodlands throughout the North Coast. This project is really exciting because it will give landowners the resources they need to restore their oak stands — resources that haven't been there in the past,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, UC ANR Cooperative Extension staff research associate, who led development of the project proposal.
Oak woodland restoration requires removing conifers from oak stands with prescribed fire or by cutting down the conifer trees.
“The North Coast Oak Woodland Conservation Project will provide technical guidance and resources for landowners who wish to restore or conserve their oak woodlands, and foster a strong alliance of organizations and agencies who can continue oak woodland conservation efforts into the future,” said Quinn-Davidson, who is based in Eureka.
For more information about the project or funds for oak conservation activities on private lands, contact Quinn-Davidson at lquinndavidson@ucanr.edu and (707) 445-7351.
The North Coast Oak Woodland Conservation Project was one of six projects in California selected for Regional Conservation Partnership Program funding. The funded projects focus on a range of issues, including bird habitat, climate change and forest health. The program, which is funding 84 projects totaling $220 million nationwide, is highly competitive, requiring strong partnerships that address critical conservation issues.
"We are excited and energized by these new projects that bring together a diverse mix of partners to improve California's ecosystems and landscape," said Carlos Suarez, Natural Resources Conservation Service state conservationist. "It is very powerful to be able to engage in partnerships that embrace both agricultural and environmental interests and perspectives—and find collaborative ways of making progress on critical issues."
Partners in the North Coast Oak Woodland Conservation Project include University of California Cooperative Extension, CAL FIRE, the Watershed Research and Training Center, the North Coast Regional Land Trust, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mattole Restoration Council, Yager/Van Duzen Environmental Stewards, and the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District.
- Author: Michael L. Poe
Dear Colleagues:
Last week marked the anniversary of the Statewide Conference and the release of the Strategic Vision. Earlier last week, I had a candid conversation with members of the Executive Working Group to take stock of what has been accomplished and the work that still needs to be done. As a benchmark, we referred to my closing presentation from the conference summarizing what we heard and the recommendations that came out of the working sessions. If you want to review the presentation, it is on the Web at the bottom of this page - http://ucanr.org/swcpresentations.
At the close of the conference, the recommendations and concerns we collected fell into five broad categories: Organization, Partnerships, Marketing/Branding, Internal Reward System, and Teams and Collaborations.
Organization
The changes we have made have been extensive. The Regional Offices and a number of Statewide Programs have been or will shortly be closed, with administrative tasks shifting to the Program Support Unit and the Business Operation Centers. While adjustments are still being made, these actions have generated administrative savings that have helped us meet budget targets and preserve more of our academic core. Programmatically, four Strategic Initiatives are operating and their leaders have been appointed to Program Council so that program and resource allocation decisions are aligned with our objectives. We also consulted with a number of key external stakeholders and experts to incorporate fresh perspectives on our organization and operations.
We have acted to broaden the utility of the Research and Extension Centers and their potential to serve as focal points for integrated research and extension activities. Joint appointment positions have been developed for new directors. At Kearney, the process to initiate a search is under way for a Kearney director who will have responsibilities for the REC as well as the academic group known as Kearney Agricultural Center. These important steps will lead to improved linkages and collaboration across the organization.
Partnerships
We are at a key moment regarding our partnerships with county government. Looking ahead, we face critical decisions to build efficient administrative structures while strengthening the local program delivery that is the core of UC Cooperative Extension. To start, we must initiate a contemporary model for our partnership with the counties. Don Klingborg and I will meet with county directors on June 8 to discuss this effort and expect to move quickly to plan implementation in time for the FY 2011-12 budget cycle.
Marketing/branding
We’ve taken a significant step forward by designing an identity system that is based on the Strategic Vision and emphasizes the UC brand. The Strategic Vision Toolkit contains a growing suite of tools and templates to build our brand, communicate more effectively, and to demonstrate our impact.
We have also made progress in developing a strategic advocacy capacity. ANR’s advocacy is a long-term effort aimed at creating and nurturing relationships at the local level with current and emerging policymakers. We have included a number of key division supporters in the high level group of advocates upon whom President Yudof relies. We have also taken steps to improve our internal communication tools and timeliness.
Internal reward system
Aligning our internal reward system with our Strategic Vision is a major challenge. The Academic Personnel unit has been charged to lead our efforts to develop a consistent merit and promotion system, appropriate and transparent criteria, and a more efficient and streamlined process that reduces reporting burdens while improving the value of the collected data. We will complete this effort with no interruption in the merit and promotion process.
Teams and collaborations
The Strategic Initiatives are working to build new connections and collaborations across the continuum, while also aligning leadership, resources and operations with our Strategic Vision. As the four Strategic Initiatives gain momentum and identify innovative research and extension projects, the Strategic Initiative leaders and their panels share an explicit commitment to fostering and supporting teams and collaborations that cross boundaries and build new relationships both within UC and with our external partners. We have also been working at all levels to break down barriers and encourage multidisciplinary collaboration. This will include reworking our internal reward system.
Next steps and summary
The above are just a few examples of the significant progress we have made on a wide range of recommendations from the Statewide Conference. The Strategic Vision has guided these changes and I'm pleased by our progress, but much remains to be done.
To show ANR’s direct and indirect impact, we are planning to build an expanded suite of tools and resources. We will be developing materials that can be tailored to demonstrate local impact to help build and maintain support.
Moving ahead on our internal reward system, Academic Personnel will be working with all of you to develop a proposed plan of action in this critical area.
On the administrative side, we will evaluate our actions to ensure that critical services are in place, staffed, and efficiently organized.
ANR has accomplished a great deal over the past 12 months. Many of the steps we’ve taken, and the recommendations on which they were based, have been discussed and debated for years. The resulting changes have not been easy, but they have laid a solid foundation for a more agile, sustainable, effective organization that can deliver policy-relevant science and effective solutions to Californians.
In the coming weeks, I will be in touch to discuss more specific steps we will be taking and about the goals and objectives we have set for the coming year.
Warm regards,
Dan
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.