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Posts Tagged: video

Interested in exchanging video ideas?

Jeff Mitchell thinks video is an important tool to teach and inspire. His videos have elicited tens of thousands of views with comments from viewers all over the world.

ANR offers online training on how to make videos. To further hone video-production techniques, Jeff Mitchell, UCCE specialist, is wondering if ANR colleagues would be interested in an informal way to exchange ideas.  

“I am talking about an active, quick-fire workgroup of similarly interested folks who could share tips and skills,” Mitchell said. While he doesn't have a specific communications mechanism in mind, Mitchell would like to hear from others who would like to share techniques about video production. If you're interested, please contact Mitchell at jpmitchell@ucdavis.edu

In the Frontiers in Communication article “Why Should Scientists be on YouTube? It's all About Bamboo, Oil and Ice Cream,” USDA-ARS scientist Eric Brennan writes, “DIY videos are not a silver bullet that will automatically improve science communication, but they can help scientists to 1) reflect on and improve their communications skills, 2) tell stories about their research with interesting visuals that augment their peer-reviewed papers, 3) efficiently connect with and inspire broad audiences including future scientists, 4) increase scientific literacy, and 5) reduce misinformation.” 

Brennan and Douglas Gayeton, creative leader of The Lexicon of Sustainability, recently joined Mitchell to give a presentation to ANR communicators on the use of video in science communication. Brennan, a research horticulturist in organic systems, noted that while his peer-reviewed journal articles may get a couple dozen citations, videos about his research get as many as 200,000 views. To view a recording of the presentations, visit https://youtu.be/FXxvbHV7Ois.

Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 4:24 PM

Strategic Initiative Brief: Virtual consultations, food system resiliency, growing reach

Unify-Communicate-Advocate

June - sharing skills 

Want to try a virtual consultation? 

Save time, get the job done and keep safe by consulting virtually. Here are some notes from Dan Macon on virtual consultations. Please send any related tips or other suggestions to Mark Bell

Food System Resiliency Webinar Series begins July 14

Join the Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Families and Communities Strategic Initiative leaders for the Food Systems Resiliency Webinar Series taking place on the second and fourth Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., beginning July 14. 

Webinar presentations will provide up-to-date information and identify resources available for UC ANR and community partners. Ample time will be used for questions and answers, identification of information gaps and connecting people with like interests. 

Food system resiliency will be viewed through food safety, California food systems partnerships and resources and Victory Gardens Then and Now to name a few.  Other perspectives include input from growers, ranchers, shippers, marketing, consumers, farmers markets, CSAs, families and youth.  If you are interested in submitting a panel proposal, link to https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30391.

July 14, 10 a.m. – Food safety and COVID-19 presented by Erin DiCaprio and Alda Pires

This webinar introduces food safety concerns that have arisen during COVID-10 pandemic. Useful videos, websites and access to print materials will be shared. Additional information on consumer food and garden safety will be shared that have broad application beyond the current pandemic.

Register at http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30589.

July 28, 10 a.m. – California Food systems: Partnerships and Resources.  

Please join moderator Kamal Khaira, UC CalFresh director, as we learn more about programs, resources and services that can support children and families during this unprecedented time. The main topics will cover ways to secure benefits and access nutritious foods. Speakers include: 

  • Brian Kaiser, California Department of Social Services bureau chief for CalFresh and Nutrition Program Family Engagement and Empowerment Division
  • Andy Naja-Riese, CEO Agricultural Institute of Marin
  • Leyla Marandi, program manager for California Food for California Kids Center for Ecoliteracy

Register at http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=30590.

More information will be posted at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Professional_Development/Monthly_WebANRs.

Growing reach - "Owning YouTube"

Thank you to the more than 180 individuals who participated in the recent four-part video training series. If you missed the training, it is available online. More than 40 UC ANR staff and academics, who participated in the training, accessed funding provided to purchase equipment and software. 

The pipeline for submitting your how-to video productions and having them posted on ANR's main YouTube channels (UCANR and UCANRSpanish) is open for business. Be on the lookout for an ANR how-to video contest in the coming year.

Let us know what skills or tips you found useful and what more you'd like to learn. 

For more on the SIs and their activities, contact:

Jim Farrar (EIPD)

David Lewis (Water)

David Lile (SNE)

Deanne Meyer (SFS)

Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty (HFC)

Mark Bell (Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs)

 

 

Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 5:37 PM
  • Author: Mark Bell

Strategic Initiative Brief: video clinics, Knowledge Stream & thematic websites

Strategic Initiatives leaders will host workshops to create "how-to" videos.

Our digital journey: progress on video clinics, the Knowledge Stream blog and thematic websites.

Video clinics moving ahead - interested? 

Stay tuned for two Strategic Initiative-sponsored "how to" video clinics in April - one in the north and one in the south. We expect to train around 20 participants per clinic. 

What next? 5 steps to increased impact:

Step 1: an email to all from the SI leaders inviting indications of interest to participate 

Step 2: a pre-clinic webinar to learn the basics of storyboarding, branding, titling and describing videos, and more (applicable to all) 

Step 3: two days of hands-on experience, working with others on how to produce 1-5 minute branded “how-to” videos

Step 4: development of an online course and other resources to support on-going video production 

Step 5: people share with colleagues, using what they learn and upload. Best practices for uploading to the UC ANR YouTube channel (Strategic Communications will begin some serious curating and reorganization of our YouTube channel to facilitate discoverability of content). 

Currently available resources (please share if you have other good resources):

Strat Comm communications toolkit

For more information about the video clinics, Contact David Lile and David Lewis

Trivia Question: What is our top-viewed video with more than 1.5 million views? 

(Answer: Bed Bugs in Spanish)

Knowledge Stream blog and thematic websites

Join the movement: contribute!

The Knowledge Stream helps people find practical, "how-to" information. Submit a short story (200-800 words with picture and URL links) here. Stories will appear in the Knowledge Stream Blog and in the main web site Focus Areas. Stories may also appear on the home page tiles and in social media posts.

Focused, thematic websites like the UC IPM site are effective in delivering research-based, how-to information. Two other thematic sites are being further developed: Fire and Healthy Soils. Feedback and suggestions welcome. Please also share your suggestions for other potential thematic sites with the SI leaders. 

For more:

Fire: Max Moritz or Ricky Satomi

Soils: Mark Bell

SI leadership team: 

Posted on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 3:19 PM
  • Author: Mark Bell

Names in the News

Kron named north coast IPM advisor

Cindy Kron

Cindy Kron joined UC Cooperative Extension as area-wide IPM advisor for Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties in September 2019. 

Before joining UCCE, Kron studied the three-cornered alfalfa hopper as a research entomologist for USDA in their Crop Disease, Pests and Genetics research unit. She tested cover crop species as feeding and reproductive hosts of the three-cornered alfalfa hopper in addition to testing commercially available biocontrol agents against the different life stages of the treehopper. She collaborated with a UC Davis colleague to create a degree-day model that predicts the ideal timing to implement cultural control measures with the greatest impact on treehopper populations. 

Kron has researched a variety of insects including a two-year vineyard study on the population dynamics of Virginia creeper leafhopper, western grape leafhopper and variegated leafhopper. For her dissertation, she investigated the biology and behavior of the three-cornered alfalfa hopper and its relationship with vineyards. She also studied the effects of temperature on the developmental rate of the invasive European grapevine moth and reared brown marmorated stink bugs for USDA fumigation studies.

“My experiences have motivated me to help growers, stakeholders and the industry solve agricultural pest management problems through applied research and identifying IPM strategies and tactics that are economically feasible and implementable while having the lowest environmental impact,” Kron said.

Kron earned her bachelor's degree in viticulture and enology, with a minor in agricultural pest management, and her doctorate in entomology at UC Davis.

She is based in Santa Rosa and can be reached at ckron@ucanr.edu.

Nocco named UCCE specialist in soil-plant-water relations

Mallika Nocco

Mallika Nocco joined UC ANR in September 2019 as a UC Cooperative Extension specialist in soil-plant-water relations, based in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at UC Davis.

After five years as a health care representative in the corporate world, Nocco decided to pursue her interest in soil, plants and the conundrum of sustainable agriculture.

She earned a Ph.D. in environment and resources and a master's degree in soil science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Nelson Institute's Environment and Resources Program. She earned her bachelor's degree in cultural studies/comparative literature and philosophy from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Nocco is based at UC Davis and can be reached at manocco@ucdavis.edu. Follow her on Twitter @mallika_nocco.

Harper honored as Range Manager of the Year

John Harper, center, shown with Mel George and Harper's wife, Amy.

The California-Pacific Society for Range Management honored John Harper, UCCE livestock and natural resources advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties, with its Range Manager of the Year Award.

“He has advanced an exceptional program of extension education and public service that has been exemplary in gathering and evaluating scientific information and extending information to the range livestock industry and agencies locally and statewide,” wrote Mel George, emeritus UCCE range specialist,in his letter nominating Harper for the award.

Early in his career, Harper helped local ranchers evaluate grazing management practices and develop ranch management plans to address water issues associated with grazing and rangelands in the early 1990s. He was instrumental in developing the Rangeland Watershed Program's Ranch Water Quality Planning Short Courses and associated educational materials that led to the development of water quality plans for more than 2 million acres by more than 1,000 ranchers in California, according to George. In 2012, the Western Extension Directors bestowed an Award of Excellence on the Rangeland Watershed Program.

An early adopter of social media for outreach, Harper developed the blog UCCE Livestock and Range Topics and integrated the use of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn into his suite of information delivery methods.  

In 2012 Harper became California's representative to the Rangeland Partnership, which is responsible for the Rangelands West and Global Rangelands website. He provided leadership to industry in the use of social media to communicate about rangelands and their management. 

Harper also improved access to university information and publications by the California Cattlemen's Association and other agricultural organizations. He has been developing new content, digitizing and archiving old publications and revamping the California Rangelands website and the UCCE Livestock & Range Beef Cattle web page.

Over the last few years, Harper has invested considerable time in economic development in Mendocino and Lake counties.

“He has been a central figure in the development of plans for a multi-species slaughterhouse to serve niche marketers on the north coast,” George wrote. “This would create jobs and strengthen the farm-to-consumer marketing of meat products. Likewise, he has worked with individuals to develop wool processing facilities and cheese making enterprises that will increase economic activity and potentially create jobs.”

For many years, Harper has organized what may be the only sheep shearing school in the U.S., creating new careers for the students while filling a need for sheep shearers. All 28 slots of his 2019 Beginning Sheep Shearing School were filled within 2 minutes of registration opening.

Harper received the award at the California-Pacific Society for Range Management Section Meeting Oct. 17.

Posted on Monday, December 23, 2019 at 11:02 AM

New annual report shows how UC ANR is improving California life with science-based solutions

UC ANR's program planning and evaluation has compiled a 16-page 2018 annual report that provides an overview of the sweeping impacts our scientists and educators made in 2018. The impacts are felt across the state – in places where water is scarce, climate is changing farming practices, children need a little extra support to get to college, and families can use guidance to stretch their food budgets.

Of the hundreds of ways UC ANR impacts California lives and livelihoods, 40 are highlighted in the new publication, Working for the Benefit of All Californians: 2018 UC ANR Annual Report. A limited number of printed copies are available. Email jennifer.caron-sale@ucop.edu to request paper copies.

UC ANR has identified public value statements that reflect the breadth of its efforts. Academics and staff are working to promote economic prosperity, safeguard sufficient safe and healthy food for all, protect the state's natural resources, promote healthy people and communities, develop a qualified workforce, build climate change resilience in communities and ecosystems, and develop an inclusive and equitable society. These values touch every person in the state.

During the period covered in the new report, robust research and education programs supported agricultural communities. For example, UC ANR scientists improved the ability to predict beet curly top virus, avoiding losses approaching $100 million in processing tomatoes. A workshop offered by UC ANR educators on low-stress livestock handling convinced all the participants to incorporate the practices on their ranches. Online and in-person workshops provided to urban farmers resulted in new food safety plans for nearly all of the growers involved.

Families, farmers and natural resource managers are facing the prospect of climate change and looking for ways to continue prospering under uncertain conditions. Increasingly ferocious wildfires are causing serious losses to ranchers. UC ANR provided information on management practices to safeguard resources, prevent soil erosion and estimate the cost of forage losses so ranch owners can prepare loss claims. UC ANR has been instrumental in development of a website, Cal-Adapt.org, a clearing house to collect and disseminate climate change data.

Families and youth are a focus of UC ANR nutrition research, nutrition education and programs such as 4-H and CalFresh Healthy Living, UC. One UC ANR researcher collaborated with the Karuk, Yurok and Klamath tribes to identify culturally sound solutions to reduce food insecurity. In two Northern California counties, students were introduced by UC ANR educators to 36 local produce items. Their selection, consumption and interest in the produce served at lunchtime increased. UC ANR piloted a program that gets Latinx youth outside for environmental education.

Making food safer, enriching children's lives, extending reliable nutrition education and improving the productivity on California farms and ranches add up to significant value to the recipients of the services and to all Californians by making the state a better place to live and work.

Posted on Friday, December 20, 2019 at 1:42 PM

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