Archive for the ‘Professional Development’ Category

Improve Your Home and Prosper: Southern Region Housing Resilience

Friday, May 3rd, 2013
IBHS Research Center Wind Test

Watch highlights from the 2010 IBHS Wind Test

EDEN delegate Claudette Reichel is the primary investigator for this 2012 Smith-Lever Special Needs Grant Program award.  The ultimate goal is to reduce the impact of natural hazards on southern region housing so as to enable and foster resilient communities and sustained economic recovery. Claudette noted in her proposal that, “Proactive mitigation and resilience … [will] minimize the impact of disasters on households, their employers, communities and regional economy. This is possible only with hazard hardy housing that not only survives but requires little time, expense, materials and work to restore.”

The project included a face-to-face collaboration meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at LaHouse. I’m not an Extension housing specialist, so attending the April 24-25 Southern Region Extension Resilient Housing Collaboration Meeting was a great opportunity for me to learn from the experts in the southern region. One thing I learned is that the Gulf Region’s humidity, high annual rainfall, high-wind and flood-hazard zones, and termite population are important considerations for building or rebuilding a resilient house here. Extension housing and environmental health specialists and agents have a lot to contribute to the conversation about making a home disaster-resistant and resilient.

Are you interested in learning what other projects were funded through the Smith-Lever Special Needs Grant Program last year? Maybe you’ve got a great idea to decrease the impact of disasters through cooperative extension programming. The FY 2013 request for application opened April 24, and closes May 31. Abstracts of funded projects and more information about applying for a grant this year are available from USDA NIFA.

 

Posted in Disaster Education Planning, Professional Development | No Comments »

EDEN Pins

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Yes, edenpins on Pinterest! Are you familiar with the popular social media tool? It is a place to collect and organize nearly anything you can find on the Web. Think about Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool where you pin images or videos from websites or from your computer. Any pin can be repinned, and all pins link back to their sources. You organize pins by topics on boards. These boards can be public or private and, as in Facebook or Twitter, you can follow. In this case, you can follow someone’s boards or a specific board.

Pinterest logo

 

has five rules of  etiquette

  • be respectful
  • be yourself
  • give credit
  • stay alert, and
  • let them know (what’s happening).

You can learn more from eXtension’s Learn session, Pinterest for Your Business.

 

 

Posted in Family and Individual Preparedness, Professional Development | No Comments »

Budget, Investment, and Position

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

I attended the 2012 Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference in Alexandria, Virginia mid-April. It was my first time at that particular conference, and it was a great experience. The final day of the three-day conference was dedicated to congressional and agency visits by state delegations. The first two days comprised presentations and meetings in the hotel, with three speakers in general session Monday morning. Their messages were enlightening and engaging.

Budget. Dr. Ralph Otto, USDA-NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources, reminded us that the formula funds to the land grant universities provides them with an incentive to continue extension. It is the glue that holds us together and can be leveraged to multiply impact. As a perspective on current financial struggles, Ralph gave a bit of economic history, noting that the federal deficit as a percent of the GDP has been much higher than it’s current level. That being said, National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) 2013 budget proposal is slightly smaller than the 2012 budget. He followed the “elephant in the room” by highlighting three programs — Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN), eXtension, and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). He wrapped up his talk by reminding us that  US agriculture trade export is approximately $42.5 billion — a significant contribution to the economy.

Investment. Dr. Doug Steele, Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) Chair and Montana State University Extension Director, urged us to be challenged by the opportunities before us, rather than depressed by budget deficits. He also reminded us that Extension is an investment–not an expense.  ECOP established four core themes to help Extension shape the future. They are:

  • Build partnerships and acquire resources
  • Increase strategic marketing and communications
  • enhance leadership and professional development
  • strengthen organizational functioning

Position. Dr. Marshall Stewart, North Carolina State University Extension Associate Director, followed up with strong comments about telling the Cooperative Extension System story to stakeholders. The key is to develop a message that can become “kitchen table conversation” — describe what we do in non-divisive ways that are relevant to specific audiences. Marshall emphasized that we need to sit at the center of critical issues, telling our stories so that stakeholders remember we can address those issues.  The most important issues today are the economy, education and health. Regardless of who you talk to–from congressional delegations to local volunteers–you are the brand.

What’s the takeaway for us when budgets are tight; a fraction of Extension educators and specialists across the country are involved in disaster education; and no one likes to talk about disaster until one hits home?  Let’s be like our three speakers–unafraid to take on a challenge, alert to issues and always ready to recruit, educate and inform.

What are you doing to be like Ralph, Doug and Marshall?

 

Posted in Communication, Disaster Education Planning, Professional Development | No Comments »

Exciting Opportunity for EDEN Delegates

Monday, April 16th, 2012

EDEN has grown a lot in its nearly 20 years as an official entity. We’ve expanded from Extension specialists and educators in a few states banding together to provide resources for communities recovering from devastating floods to a national network of more than 250 Extension specialists and educators who provide disaster preparedness, response and recovery programs across the country. Our work is recognized at the federal level and has led to opportunities such as the recent application request from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Beverly Samuel, CFCS, National Program Leader, Housing and Community Living, extended the invitation to EDEN delegates to apply for the Visiting Scholars Program.  The program is requesting applications from faculty and administrators who are actively engaged in EDEN and interested in conducting work that bridges domestic and/or international efforts in the area of emergency preparedness, response and recovery.  A Visiting Scholar will have a joint appointment between NIFA’s Division of Family and Consumer Sciences and Center for International Programs. This is an exciting opportunity to enhance your professional development as well as further EDEN’s exposure at the national and international level. The application package is due June 15.

Speaking of international … EDEN’s current international efforts involve an Ad Hoc subcommittee, an Ad Hoc committee, and an incubator-type project initiated through the Agrosecurity Program Area Work Group (PAWG). Their focuses:

  • Ad Hoc committee: International Partnerships and Opportunities (Contact Peter Barcinas)
  • Ad Hoc subcommittee: International Membership Considerations (Contact Pat Skinner)
  • Incubator project : International Agrosecurity: Invasive Species (Contact Barry Brennan)

If you are interested in knowing more about or would like to contribute to these international efforts, please feel free to contact Peter, Barry or Pat.

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Getting in the Knowledge Groove

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

August is a great month. We finish our summer projects and vacations, decide on fall projects and get ready for a new school year.  I remember getting ready for school and the clean-slate feel of it. I’ve been out of school for a long time, but the new beginning feeling remains.

Reinforcing that back-to-school feeling are recent JOE articles by EDEN delegates.  Chuck Schwab’s article describes a pilot evaluation of an internet educational module. The evaluated module is one portion of Chuck’s Tractor and Machinery Virtual Classroom. The classroom, intended for 4-h’ers, focuses on safety. There are four interactive modules: IconMatch (featured in the article; one goal is to familiarize tractor and machinery operators with universal symbols), Tractor Explorer (demonstrates physical locations of operational controls and describes their basic functions), Give Me Five (demonstrates hand signals), and Lights ‘n Stuff (not operational at this time). Hitch & Go Safely is also available (match vehicle with wagon). Fun ways to learn!

 In Washington, teaching the youth about the relationship between biosecurity measures and disease transmission risks falls to volunteer leaders, but what do they know about biosecurity–and where do they get their information? Susan Kerr and colleagues at Washington State University collected materials through an Internet search to learn that information on biosecurity in 4-H livestock projects is available from many sources, including Extension, but none of them specifically target volunteer leaders who oversee livestock projects. The authors also gathered information from faculty, staff and volunteer leaders to determine the need for educational materials. In response, an online module (not yet available) about biosecurity was developed for the volunteer leader audience. Learn more about this assessment that can be adapted across the country.

What kind of development support does your institution provide for new employees? Expectations for new faculty are outlined in Roadmap for Excellence in Extension. Kris Saunders and co-author Diane Reese describe the process Utah State Extension uses to assist new Extension faculty through the tenure and promotion system. If you supervise employees in the tenure track or you are in a tenure track position, you’ll find this article to be quite informative.

What articles have recently piqued your interest?

Posted in 4-H disaster education, Professional Development | No Comments »