Posts Tagged: April 2020

Sierra Foothill REC seeks research proposals

The UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC) is soliciting proposals to support new and continuing research on rangeland and oak woodland ecology and management, beef cattle health, production and management, as well as related agricultural and natural resource themes important to California.

Academics from any UC institutions are eligible to apply for funding. Funding occurs through SFREC contributions to labor to support development of experimental infrastructure, experimental manipulations, data collection, animal handling and other labor activities necessary to conduct field research.

Successful proposals funded for the upcoming program year, July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021, are eligible to receive up to $20,000 in center contributions toward staff labor.

Proposals submitted by June 1, 2020, will receive full consideration for funding; however, proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis and supported if there are available resources. Proposals need to be submitted through the Universal Review System (URS) via the SFREC website at http://sfrec.ucanr.edu.  

Basic resources and facilities to support research include 5,000 acres of northern Sierra foothill oak woodland–annual grass rangeland as well as irrigated pastures, riparian areas and access to the Yuba River. An approximately 160-head cow-calf herd and access to up to 300 head of steers/heifers support animal production, animal health and grazing research. SFREC maintains a wet/dry lab for sample processing, rooms in a house available for long-term research stays, a 16-bed dormitory as well as large and small conference rooms.

For further information regarding research opportunities, contact Jeremy James, SFREC Director at (530) 639-8803 or jjjames@ucanr.edu, or visit sfrec.ucanr.edu.

 

 

Lindcove REC calls for research proposals

Lindcove Research & Extension Center (LREC), located in the foothills of Tulare County, has land, labor and facilities available for 2020/2021 research projects. The Research Advisory Committee reviews proposals and projects are evaluated based on scientific merit and regional need. While LREC is primarily a citrus research center, avocado, walnut and olive trees are also grown and other crops are welcome. 

Five acres of open ground are available for planting (Field 50).

Citrus orchards available for research:

• Valencia strains on mixed rootstock (Field 11S), 2.5 acres, planted 1993
• Washington Navel on Troyer rootstock (field 83) 4.0 acres, planted 1989
• Washington Navel on Troyer rootstock (field 93) 4.5 acres, planted 1983
• Tango mandarin on Carrizo rootstock (Field 23) 3.8 acres, planted 2010
• Tango Mandarin on Carrizo rootstock (Field 91C) .61 acres, planted 2011
• Fukumoto navel on mixed rootstock (Field 64W), 1.49 acres, planted 2005
• Mixed citrus on mixed rootstock (Field 11N), 1.7 acres, planted 2006
• Mixed citrus on mixed rootstock (Field 52W), 1.7 acres, planted 2006
• Mixed citrus on mixed rootstock (Field 63E), .80 acres, planted 2006
• Mixed Clementine's on Carrizo rootstock (Field 73N) 1.72 acres planted 2004
• Lemons on unknown rootstock (Field 81E) .45 acres
• Lemons on unknown rootstock (Field 82E) 1.15 acres

Facilities and support staff:

The electronic fruit grading system in the packline provides individual fruit data including weight, size, volume, number, scarring, texture, Brix and color. The packline also has a high-pressure fruit washer, waxer and dryer.  Three cold storage rooms that hold 60 fruit bins each, walk-in cold boxes, and de-greening rooms have the capability for ethylene gassing. 

The Fruit Quality Evaluation Laboratory is capable of evaluating rind thickness, granulation, texture, puff and crease, juice weights, Brix, sugar/acid ratio and the California standard. A Staff Research Associate located at the Center is available to provide field and laboratory data collection.

The center maintains the Citrus Clonal Protection Program's (CCPP) foundation budwood orchard for virus-free, true-to-type citrus. More than 300 different selections of citrus are in this collection, and budwood is available to California nurserymen and growers at a minimal cost. The majority of these varieties are now maintained in a screenhouse to further protect them from insect vectored diseases. 

Proposal process:

Proposals are due May 17, 2020. To submit a proposal, go to the UC LREC website http://lrec.ucanr.edu/, click on the ‘research' tab, then the ‘submitting a proposal' tab, then the ‘Proposal management' tab. Detailed instructions of how to submit a proposal can be downloaded using the ‘User Guide' link on the RAC project management page. 

If you have any questions regarding research, contact Beth Grafton-Cardwell, director at (559) 592-2408 Ext 1152 or eegraftoncardwell@ucanr.edu. For questions regarding land, labor and facilities, contact Kurt Schmidt, superintendent at (559) 592-2408 Ext 1153 or krschmidt@ucanr.edu. For information on submission of proposals, contact Jasmin Del Toro, business officer, (559) 592-2408 Ext 1151 or jzdeltoro@ucanr.edu.

Learning & Development: Facilitation, Racial Understanding, Engaging Webinars

Find webinar announcements and recordings here.
Find information on Extension delivery; building support; and office, team and personal management here.

Call for WebANR Presenters and Topics
Do you have a WebANR Cafe Thursday topic and presenter to recommend for our Third Thursday Cafe' WebANRs? Or do you have a topic that you would like to present?

WebANR topics are based on the areas of Extension Delivery, Building Support, and Office & Team Management. Our targeted audience members are ANR advisors, community educators and others. Your feedback will be reviewed by leadership and we will let you know at a future date if added to the WebANR planning process. Please share your recommendations here.

Collaborative Facilitation – Are you interested in:
Learning collaborative facilitation techniques?
Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of your collaborative processes?
Increasing your comfort level in applying facilitation skills?

If so, please fill out this interest survey by Friday May 8, 2020. We will let poll responders know if we have enough people to form a cohort (20 people).

More information on Collaborative Facilitation and Group Process
You have participated in many meetings. You've observed that some are successful, decisions are made, and action items are delegated. Other meetings have seemed pointless. Still others go on and on with no decisions made. Worse are contentious meetings where bridges are burned. If you are ready to run successful meetings, consider participating in the Collaborative Facilitation and Group Process Tools Workshop. It is open to all UC ANR academic and staff employees, including Statewide Program volunteers.

Collaborations and group processes are complex, dynamic and unpredictable. Successful processes are based on shared understanding and learning, and work towards common goals. However, we know that this doesn't always happen. Then what?

Collaborative facilitation and group process tools support success, allowing everyone to feel heard and to contribute. Whether you have a lead facilitator role or are a group participant, join us in learning appropriate and applicable facilitation tools to use before, during and after your meetings.

Racial Understanding
From July 27-29, 2020, 20 members of the ANR community will engage in the “Coming Together for Racial Understanding” workshop. Participants will explore the power of language, their commitment to inclusion, understanding of past and present policies and practices of inequality and how to begin the work of dismantling racism and inequities within our UC ANR community.

UC ANR has committed to additional diversity, equity and inclusion activities including a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Collaborative Group, the Intercultural Development inventory (IDI) program, and some employees voluntarily participated in community forums such as the 21-Day Racial Challenge and others. These activities enable ANR employees to dig deeper and develop greater understanding of our unconscious biases, societal structures that exclude people, and provide transformative challenges in the quest of for strengthening inclusion at ANR – within and outside the organization.

Upcoming Webinars

eXtension Social Café - Extension Response & Resources for Extension Professionals Working Online
Thursday, April 30, 2020
10 a.m.-11 a.m.
Join Rose Hayden-Smith for an informal, drop-in conversations and questions about the effective use of social media and communications in Extension work. It will open with a 5-15 minute “tutorial” of a tool or feature on commonly used social platforms, or a brief showcase of a Cooperative Extension employee who is using digital communications in innovative and effective ways. The remainder of the time will be devoted to sharing, discussion and Q&A. See more events on the eXtension Social Café Calendar.

Juntos – A College Preparation Program
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
1 p.m.-2 p.m.
In this webinar, Jose Campos will share the Juntos Program, a college preparation course being offered in multiple counties in California primarily to Latinx youth. Jose will provide an overview and host a discussion how other counties could possibly replicate this program. Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428 | +1 669 900 6833 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Video Production discussion and next steps
May 12, 2020
10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

• Q&A with participants about video editing. What was difficult? What went well?
• Sharing and review of examples
• More information coming!

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

Creating & Conducting Engaging Webinars
Register here.
Wednesday, May 13
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

In this webinar, hosted by eXtension Foundation staff Mark Locklear, Molly Immendorf and Aaron Weibe, you'll learn how to:

• Plan a webinar by answering a few key questions about audience and objectives;
• Anticipate and troubleshoot technology issues (including security);
• Optimize Zoom features to meet your learning objectives;
• Structure a meaningful online experience that meets participants needs; and
• Use a range of tools and strategies to keep participants engaged (polls, surveys, chat, etc.). 

Register here: https://extension.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_df8Hf5cxRTKoy4IErsV5hA

How to Host Engaging Webinars: Advanced Topics
May 18, 2020
Time TBD
Registration: Coming

In this webinar, hosted by eXtension Foundation staff Mark Locklear, Molly Immendorf and Aaron Weibe, you'll learn how to use:

• More advanced Zoom features (e.g., rooms, settings);
• Zoom recordings on other platforms (YouTube, Facebook Live, Google Drive);
• Archived chat to create educational content for other platforms; and
• Webinars as Learning Circles for more focused and engaged small group work.
  

Registration coming soon.

Disability Management
May 21, 2020
Noon-12:30 p.m.
Join David Ritz, Disability Management Director at UC ANR. Learn about your role as a supervisor and the policies you need to know. Zoom access: https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428 | 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656| Web ID: 751 701 428

Award Process
Wednesday May 27, 2020
9:30-10:30 am
Once a sponsor elects to fund a proposal, the review, negotiation and award acceptance process begins. This webinar walks you through what is happening in the Office of Contracts and Grants, and what to do when the accepted agreement arrives in your office. https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428 | +1 669 900 6833 or +1 646 558 8656 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Everyone can learn something new. 

ANR Learning & Development
Find webinar announcements and recordings here.
Office: 530.750.1239
jlazulai@ucanr.edu

A few thoughts about self-care

However, “health” is not just the absence of disease. The World Health Organization (WHO,) defines health as “… a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

As we work from home carrying out the UC ANR mission of helping others, we need to take care of ourselves as well. Walk, practice your musical instrument, stretch, eat well, pet your cat or dog and stay connected with friends, family and work colleagues.

Here are a few thoughts about self-care.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
- Anne Lamott, American author

“You yourself; as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” - Buddha

“Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others.”
- Parker Palmer, American author

Some opportunities for self-care

Physical wellness

• Daily desk stretch: 10 a.m. • 2 p.m. • 4 p.m.
  https://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/units/occupational-health/ergonomics/office-computer/stretches
• Walking alone in groups
• ZOOMERCISE  Monday, Wednesday and Friday 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/239765343?pwd=QXF6R0FUVGU1bEZPejNrVEZtVlBvUT09

Emotional/mental wellness

• Guided meditation: 7-minute breathing session https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/podcasts/02-Intro_to_Deep_Breathing.mp3
• Breathing and meditation sessions: 7 to 22 minutes 
  https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/podcasts/02-Intro_to_Deep_Breathing.mp3
• Online live and pre-recorded stress reduction, mindfulness & compassion based intervention sessions https://bit.ly/UCSDMindfulCompassion  

Nutritional wellness

• Planting tomatoes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM98gSKtMhQ&list=PLoEJ_Pj7y9oexf2ZkyjEQ2YsXpWAN2qgd&index=5

• Swiss chard: Harvest of the Month https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/swiss-chard

 

"Romaine Calm & Carrot On" takes next step

Thanks to the 800-plus registrants for the April 21 Romaine Calm & Carrot On! Activating Your Local Community Food & Resource Exchange webinar, we made a lot of new connections and generated some great ideas. People from at least 15 states and five other countries joined the conversation about helping our local communities, according to event hosts Nick Papadopoulos of CropMobster and Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR chief innovation officer.

The next step is to focus with smaller groups of dedicated individuals to organize and achieve results. The first CropMobster Cafe will be on Friday, May 8, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Participation in the cafe is free, but limited to the first 25 people to register who participated in the webinar and are signed up with CropMobster. In the small group session, Papadopoulos will highlight more practical how-to's, tips and best practices for sharing resources, trading food and supplies and building stronger local communities through mutual aid.

If you missed the Romaine Calm & Carrot On! webinar, you can view the

• PowerPoint Presentation PDF
• Recording 
• Highlights

Register for CropMobster Cafe at https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30080.

“For bigger picture questions and regional leaders looking to activate your own community exchange campaign, we'd love to explore partnering,” said Youtsey. 

Contact Gabe Youtsey at (530) 750-1314 and gdyoutsey@ucanr.edu or Nick Papadopoulos at (707) 332-9209 and nick@cropmobster.com.

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