Integrating Climate Change in California Cooperative Extension Programs Workshop

This event was held at UC Merced

on January 23-24, 2019

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing farmers, natural resource managers, and communities in California. Ensuring that UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) academics and staff are informed, engaged, and prepared to assist the communities they serve in addressing climate change issues is critical to all of UC ANR’s Strategic Initiatives. This workshop builds on efforts by the Climate Change Program Team to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations and enhance the capacity of UCCE to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in California.

This meeting will bring together academics and programmatic staff from across the ANR network to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue and identify priorities for engaging with climate change in statewide programs, working groups, and Strategic Initiatives. The one-and-a-half day workshop will include updates on the latest science on climate impacts and vulnerabilities in California and sessions that focus on disaster preparedness and response, climate science communication, and climate-smart agriculture. The workshop will also include a meeting of the Climate Change Program Team to identify short- and long-term priorities for enhancing the visibility, relevance, and impact of UC ANR’s climate change research and extension programs.

Contacts for More Information

Program: Ted Grantham or Tapan Pathak, (530) 752-1748

Logistics: ANR Program Support, Shannon Martin, (530) 750-1328 or Julia Kalika, (530) 750-1380

Agenda

Wednesday, January 23

8:30am Coffee

9:30am Welcome to UC Merced - Sam Traina, UC Merced Vice Chancellor

9:40am Workshop welcome - Ted Grantham, UC ANR/Berkeley

10:00am Keynote: “Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change-Related Traumatic Experience” - Theopia Jackson, Saybrook University

11:00am Keynote: “Improving the Decision-Relevance of Climate Science for Adaptation Planning” - Andrew Jones, Lawrence Berkeley Labs

12:00pm Lunch

1:00pm Lightning talks

“UC ANR Fire Outreach” - Susie Kocher, UC ANR
“Climate Stewards for California Communities Initiative” - Greg Ira, California Naturalist Program
“Building Climate Resilience with Tribal Communities” - Jennifer Sowerwine, UC ANR/Berkeley
“Landscape trees for a changing climate” - Janet Hartin, UC ANR
“Keeping pesticides out of water in a changing climate” - Sam Sandoval, UC ANR/Davis

1:30pm Interactive break-out sessions, focused on:

Wildfire Hazard Mitigation
Environmental Education/Citizen Science
Building Climate Resilience with Tribes and Vulnerable Communities
Urban Landscaping and Open Space Management
Crop Production and Pest Management in a Changing Climate
Other Audience-Inspired Topics

3:00pm Break

3:15pm Panel discussion on disaster preparedness and response

Faith Kearns, California Institute for Water Resources (moderator)
Brian Oatman, UC ANR Risk & Safety Services
Tracy Schor, UC ANR Cooperative Extension Butte County
Stephanie Larson, UC ANR Cooperative Extension Sonoma County

5:00pm Adjourn

6:30pm Banquet dinner at 510 Bistro, 510 W Main St, Merced, CA 95340

Thursday, January 24 (Program Team Meeting)

9:00am Welcome

9:05am Panel discussion on California Smart Agriculture

Tapan Pathak, UC ANR (moderator)
Dan Sonke, Campbell’s Soup
Renata Brillinger, California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)
Carolyn Cook, California Department of Food and Agriculture Climate Change Consortium
David Lile, UC ANR

10:30am Coffee break

10:45am Charting the path forward (Climate Change Program Team meeting)

12:00pm Lunch

1:00pm Ancillary meetings

Environmental Education WG - Chair Greg Ira
Fire WG – Co Chair Kate Wilkin
Environmental Horticulture PT - Leader Janet Hartin