Posts Tagged: September 2019

At UCCE’s suggestion, Humboldt waives air-quality fees for public benefit burning

“I thought you all might enjoy this bit of good news from Humboldt County. Yesterday reminded me of the important role we at UCCE can play in these types of local issues,” wrote Lenya Quinn-Davidson, UCCE area fire advisor in Humboldt County.

Concerned about habitat loss and fuel buildup on private lands in Humboldt County, Quinn-Davidson and Jeff Stackhouse, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor, recently formed a Prescribed Burn Association.

Thanks to Senate Bill 1260, which was signed into law last year, air districts are receiving grants from the California Air Resources Board to support local prescribed fire programs. 

Stackhouse and Quinn-Davidson attended the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District Board meeting Sept. 18 in Weaverville to suggest their district subsidize the air quality permit fees for prescribed burners.

“All of our suggestions were incorporated into the plan,” Quinn-Davidson said.

“Our district has decided to use some of these grant funds to subsidize air quality permit fees for prescribed burners in the district. This is welcome news to those of us with the PBA who have been working for the last year to alleviate air quality permit fees, which can be $250 to $1250 for bigger projects. For our PBA burns, air quality permit fees are one of our biggest project costs, and now those fees will be waived.”

The air board's original plan was to subsidize projects with a focus on wildfire risk reduction. At the meeting, she and Stackhouse encouraged them to broaden the scope and include all projects that have a public benefit, including burns focused on habitat restoration, range improvement, forest improvement, cultural resources, etc., in addition to fuels reduction. 

“We suggested that they tie the subsidy program to Public Resources Code 4475, which was amended through SB1260 to include an expanded definition of ‘public benefit burning.' They accepted our suggestion and amended the rule to reflect this broader suite of project types, which covers most of the great burning we're all doing in the North Coast: oak woodland restoration, medusahead/starthistle/blackberry control, coyote brush/coastal rangeland/prairie burning, understory fuels reduction, etc. With this cost relieved, we can start thinking about planning more projects and bigger projects! Yesterday, a 300-acre burn would have cost $1,250 (permit) + $65 (smoke management plan). As of today, those costs will be $0.”

The district's proposal also recommended excluding federal agencies and timber companies from the subsidy program, but Quinn-Davidson and Stackhouse asserted that any entity doing work that benefits the public should have equal access to the subsidy. In response, the Board voted to expand the program to include federal agencies and timber companies.

“Based on what air district staff said at the meeting, it sounded like this would save landowners about $14,000 to $18,000 per year in fees district-wide. I think it'll be even more than that in the coming years, with all the interest we have in prescribed fire,” Quinn-Davidson said.

“We're still working with the district to think about longer term solutions to their fee structure, but in the meantime, this is a fabulous step in the right direction!” Quinn-Davidson said.

 

Three counties win Newhall Family Foundation match

Last year, Mary Ciricillo, California 4-H Foundation director, secured a $73,000 gift from the Newhall Family Foundation for 4-H Diversity initiatives, including $36,500 for Santa Barbara, Merced and Fresno counties. In order to receive the $36,500 match, UCCE had to raise funds as well as deliver the program. 

“All three counties did it!” said Lorna Krkich, Development Services director.

4-H advisor Russ Hill in Merced County, 4-H community educator Alena Pacheco in Fresno County, and Liliana Vega, 4-H community educator in Santa Barbara County, led the successful fundraising efforts in their respective counties.

“I shared the FY19 fundraising report with the executive director of the Newhall Foundation illustrating how much each county 4-H program garnered in private support since July 1, 2018,”Ciricillo said. “I am happy to share that he was very pleased and impressed by Russ, Alena and Liliana's efforts.”

Learning and Development: LinkedIn, water diversion reporting, staff mentorship

Check out the continuing learning opportunities provided through ANR Learning & Development. ANR Webinars are recorded and archived here.

Communicating Your Story: LinkedIn
October 9, 2019
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Rose Hayden-Smith explains that many of us think of LinkedIn as a professional networking tool. But with a powerful publishing platform and an ability to post links, it's also an ideal place to share your ANR story and grow a network of people who are interested in your work. In this fast-paced webinar, we'll cover the basics of building a great LinkedIn profile, publishing posts. Read more here.

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428 
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Social Cafe' Drop-in
October 10, 2019 (also Nov. 14 and Dec. 11)
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Join Rose Hayden-Smith for drop-in conversations and questions about the effective use of social media and communications in Extension work. The Cafe' opens with a 5-10 minute "tutorial" of a new tool or feature on commonly used social media platforms, or a brief showcase of the effective and innovative use of digital communications within ANR. The remainder of time will be devoted to sharing best practices and Q&A.

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Spotlight Webinar: Helping Water Rights Owners Comply with CA Water Diversion Reporting Requirements
Oct. 15, 2019
2 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Join Khaled Bali and Larry Forero to learn about their training courses for water rights holders to address water storage and diversion as it relates to California Senate Bill 88.

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Call for Mentee Applicants: ANR Staff Mentorship Program
ANR Learning & Development is delighted to announce a call for mentee applicants to ANR's second annual staff mentorship program!

This program will pair staff mentees who seek professional development with mentors from across UC ANR. The program will provide a supportive structure in which mentees can cultivate contacts, better understand ANR, gather information, explore challenges and enhance effectiveness as they design their personal growth and career paths.

The 9-month Mentorship Program (January-October 2020) will consist of

• Regular monthly meetings (conference video/calls) with your mentor,
• CliftonGallop Strengthfinder survey for both mentors and mentees
• Three in-person group sessions (Mentee orientation, CliftonGallop Strengthfinder ® workshop, Completion & Debrief Day).

ANR Learning & Development will cover the cost of travel for the in-person sessions. The program will be limited to 15 staff. If you are interested, fill out the survey by Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, to be considered.

In selecting mentees for the pilot program, and ANR Staff Assembly Subcommittee will consider each applicant's survey responses, length of time with ANR, unit/location, and role. Our goal is to include a broad range of participants from across the division. For more information on mentoring relationships read more here.

Nominations due Oct. 4: UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development (UC WI) (Video)
Nominate your direct reports, ANR colleagues, or yourself for the 2020 UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development. Get more information and learn how to apply.

LGBTQIA Inclusion in the Workplace
Oct. 3, 2019 and April 1, 2020 @ UC Davis

UC Davis training: Among the course objectives include broadening our understanding of the experiences of LGBTQIA people on our campus by exploring the culture, language and terminology related to sexual orientation and gender identity.  Using case studies, participants will gain awareness and knowledge of the issues that impact members of the LGBTQIA community in the workplace, and will engage in developing strategies the work towards creating a welcoming work environment. Register here.

WebANR - Wellness in the Workplace
Join Satinder Gill, Psyc.D. UC Davis for the following topics and more:

Overview of ASAP (Academic and Staff Assistance Program)
Identify signs and symptoms of stress
How gratitude and self-compassion can help us cope with stress

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428 
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Communicating Your Story: For Blogs and More
October 23, 2019
11:30am-12:30pm

Join Rose Hayden-Smith for this fast-paced webinar, in which we'll cover the basics of communicating your story through blogging, with a particular focus on creating content for ANR sites. Read more here.

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428
1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656
Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Practical Methods to Measuring Outcomes
November 7, ANR Building, Davis
December 10, Kearney REC, Parlier

 Workshop desired outcomes: Participants will gain. . . 

• understanding of and experience in defining outcomes and identifying measurable indicators for your programs
• understanding of evaluation data collection approaches and methods used by UCCE
• progress on your outcomes evaluation plans/efforts

Led by Katherine Webb-Martinez, Associate Director of UC ANR Program Planning and Evaluation Office; Vikram Koundinya, UCCE evaluation specialist; and UCCE advisor co-presenters TBA. Please register here and request travel funds provided by ANR Learning & Development budget.

Writing Strong Impact Statements
Nov. 8, ANR Building, Davis
Dec. 11, Kearney REC, Parlier

 Workshop desired outcomes: Participants will gain understanding and practice. . . 

• organizing your program activities into themes for the merit and promotion process
• using basic logic model techniques to connect program outcomes to UC ANR condition changes and public value
• identifying condition change indicators to strengthen impact writing
• writing impact statements for your programs -- for your merit and promotion efforts, for UC Delivers, and other communications

Led by Katherine Webb-Martinez, associate director of UC ANR Program Planning and Evaluation Office, and Mark Lagrimini, vice provost of research and extension. Please register here and request travel funds provided by ANR Learning & Development budget.

New Employee Administrative Orientation
Nov. 13, 2019
ANR Building, Davis

Who should attend: All UC ANR Employees (academics, staff and affiliated staff on campuses, counties and RECs) who have not participated in an administrative orientation in the past. Priority will be given to those hired by ANR within the past year. Register here.

People Managers - Join the 2020 UC People Networking Cohort!
Enroll now to participate in 11, 1-hour ANR-facilitated discussions for supervisor development and upskilling! Share challenges and successes with peers. Join discussions based on the UC People Management Series Certificate on how to be an effective people manager. Register by December 20, 2019. For more information email jlazulai@ucanr.edu.

5 Ways to Keep Your Star Employees (LinkedIn Learning)
Q: Yes or No, Managing Star Employees is easy. For the answer, read more here.

Congressman Carbajal tours UCCE projects in SLO and Santa Barbara

The UCCE team in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties met with Congressman Salud Carbajal and his team twice in the past few weeks. On Aug. 20, Jeremy Tittle, the congressman's chief of staff, and Erin Sandler, the congressman's scheduler, visited. The congressional staff met with UCCE advisors, office manager, and director to learn more about UCCE research and programming.

UCCE advisor Ben Faber led a tour of research and education collaborations at Cal Poly, sharing research occurring on pomegranates, blueberries and other crops. In the afternoon, UCCE advisor Mark Battany led a tour at Wolff Vineyard, discussing research on how climate conditions relate to frost and water management.

The following week, Katherine Soule, UCCE director, met with Congressman Carbajal and project collaborators to discuss the outcomes and success of a USDA Community Food Project grant. On Sept. 5, the congressman visited with the project partners at the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County. 

Community partners described their contributions to the project, including UCCE's efforts to reduce food waste, increase awareness of local food systems, and maximize limited food resources through the UC Master Food Preserver Program. For this project, UC Master Food Preservers teach low-cost, safe, home food preservation methods to clientele receiving food at food bank distribution sites. During this meeting, the partners also discussed the San Luis Obispo County CalFresh Alliance's objective to increase CalFresh participation in the county. 

San Luis Obispo County currently has one of the lowest CalFresh participation rates in the state so the partners have been working together to identify and address barriers to participation. Carbajal shared his concerns about the low rates of participation and his commitment to working to address food insecurity in the region.

These successful visits led Carbajal's team to schedule a meeting with 4-H youth, families and volunteers in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in the next few months.

Nansen calls for articles on remote sensing

UC Davis agricultural entomologist Christian Nansen, the newly selected guest editor of a special issue of the journal Remote Sensing, has issued a call for contributions.

Nansen, associate professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, is serving as the guest editor of the issue "Remote Sensing to Detect and Diagnose Organismal Responses." The journal (impact factor 4.118) is a leading outlet for research articles and reviews on all aspects related to remote sensing.

"I'm inviting authors to submit studies that go beyond the detection of an optical reflectance response and tie a thorough analysis of remote sensing data to other types of data (physiological, molecular, genetic, biochemical)," Nansen said. "In other words, the special issue will embrace a phenomics approach, in which the overall goal is to, at least partially, explain why and how organisms exhibit an optical reflectance response to stressors and/or treatments."

As the guest editor, Nansen said he is seeking articles describing "exciting applications of remote sensing technologies to detect and diagnose differences and/or stress across all kingdoms."

Contributions are due by March 2020. For more information, visit https://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing/special_issues/rs4organismal_response.

Nansen may be reached at chrnansen@ucdavis.edu.

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