If anyone were to look at what has been checked off of this week's ‘to do' list they would be unimpressed to say the least. But it has been time well spent. Yesterday I spent a few hours with a strategic planning group for the Strategic Communications team. I learned that we have a Brand Promise. I will share the elements of that in an upcoming post. I showed up for the last few hours of a 2-day retreat and it was apparent the group had worked quite hard to develop the ideas they reported out. I definitely have a number of ideas to pursue.
Today I attended a field day at the Sierra Foothills REC. The day was full of information and great speakers. Attendees (60+) included Chico State students, consultants, agency representatives, land stewards, landowners and ranchers. The field stop speakers talked about how diversity of the oak woodland contributes to its resiliency towards climate change, the economic and ecosystem implications of medusahead, and the use of grass compost in building soil health highlighting partnerships with UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Lawrence Berkeley Lab. Nikolai was a great van driver and tour guide as we made our way through the periodic rain.
The reason I say that taking the time to attend these meetings and events was time well spent is because I'm always trying to learn new things, not just in my discipline area but on the fringe of it. Doing so has helped me stay primed to change direction or retool my skills as needs and opportunities change. So while I may not use the information right away, I will keep it in my head for the future.
Last week I welcomed Natalie Price. Unfortunately, UC ANR said goodbye to Luca Frerichs who worked out of the Davis office in government affairs. Those who witnessed Lucas in action are not at all surprised that he was recruited for his dream job with The Nature Conservancy. While it's a loss for UC ANR, it's a great opportunity for Lucas. Congratulations Lucas!
Tomorrow the state wide program leaders and strategic initiative leaders have a phone call to prepare for a 2-day meeting in May regarding Goal 5. One of the dates for the regional information sessions that are associated with Goal 5 just changed due to another event that same day but I believe we should have the dates and locations finalized very soon (did I say that before?).
Now back to the ‘to do' list.