Over the weekend I reviewed the compiled list of recommended condition changes that were collected by Program Team, Strategic Initiative, Statewide Program and Institute leaders. Thank you to all who were part of this process! Obviously there was a great deal of thought and effort put into the process. The next step is to make some tough decisions about what to move forward. This won't be easy because clearly we interpret words quite differently. Given that the purpose isn't to develop a list of changes that call out a program area/audience but rather develop a list that applies across program areas and audiences, it's important to use words that resonate broadly. To foster the sense that UC ANR is a system, as opposed to a confederation of individuals, the path forward will be to avoid calling out specific program areas in the condition changes and encourage people, teams, groups, programs to consider how their work fits into any of the condition changes, and what data support this. We'll be able to sort through the stories and indicators by program area using the Program Team codes that will replace Core Issues in the reporting program. The result is that when we can share the stories of how our efforts effect change, we can address the breadth of our programs or we can tailor the content to the audience by talking about the range of condition changes affected within the program area.
I had a chance to meet a few of our new Advisors this week when I visited Lassen, Plumas and Butte counties. While in Lassen, Janyne Little (Junior Specialist) talked about a project she is working on with David Lile, Laura Snell, Elise Gornish and Leslie Roche to look at post-fire grazing. It was a timely topic given what's going on across California. David and Mary Ann Gollnick (office manager) took me out to see some of the grazing sites that are part of the local research – a beautiful day and meadows that are really beautiful this time of year. It was nice to meet Darcy and Jack Hanson for dinner. Darcy is a long-time 4H program rep and Jack is a member of the President's Advisory Committee for UC ANR. It was a fun day despite all of the news rolling in about office closures due to fires.
The group that met in Plumas were all reasonably new to UC ANR, David Lile excluded. It was fun to listen to the group talk about how they could collaborate on different projects! As I mentioned in an earlier post, Traci Schohr hadn't even officially started yet. And I learned a ton of things about weeds from Tom Getts. Kari O'Reilly shared her perspective of the challenge of reaching more youth when the population is declining. This is a high energy group that keeps Barbara Goulet (office manager) busy, I'm sure.
The group in Butte County UCCE is relatively new as well. But already this is a tight-know team that enjoys each other's company. Oddly, even those that are ‘new' (Luke Milliron, Chelsey Slattery, Nicole Marshall) all have a past connection. Be sure to visit with them and learn about that connection. Don't forget to bring Suzie Lawry-Hall, Karina Hathorn and the ring leader, Emily Symmes, along to guarantee a fun time. We all went to the Chico State farm and met with Dean of the College of Agriculture who started about the same time I did (also an Animal Scientist and from Kansas State University so we have some colleagues in common). The partnership with Chico State is remarkable. Dani Lightle and Betsy Karle made me aware of this soon after I arrived in 2016. This was reinforced on this visit and we had a chance to see how Dani's work is progressing as well as some of the work that Emily and Luke are undertaking at the farm. Tons of opportunity to expand efforts with the college!
This blog is getting a bit long so maybe next time I will circle back to finish some of my thoughts that were stimulated by the Western Extension Directors Association meeting.
Please stay safe everyone!