March 16, 2021
Edition Topics
- Message from Dr. Silvertooth
- Water Wise Brown Bag Seminar: Conservation and Restoration in Southeast Arizona Borderlands
- Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Newsletter
- Apply to be a WELD Intern!
- Turbeville Speaker Series: Pandemic Impacts on Children, Youth and Families
- Pima County Cooperative Extension Round-Up
- Arizona City Park Receives Path Signage - Pinal County AZ Health Zone
- World Water Day Special Webinar - Managing Aquifer Recharge: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability
- Soil, Planting and Nurturing Your Garden Webinar
- Climate Change in Extension - Elevating and Amplifying Action
- The Internet of Water: Modern Water Data Infrastructure for 21st Century Water Management - WRRC Brown Bag Webinar
- New Extension Publication
- Remote Produce Safety Alliance Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course
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Message from the Associate Dean and Extension Director
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. By 13 March 2020, the University of Arizona (UA) and the Cooperative Extension System (CES) were very rapidly transitioning to remote and virtual operations. Our entire realm of professional and personal life began to change drastically and over the past year we have all experienced challenges and changes like we have never seen before.
Now one year later, COVID-19 vaccines are available, the case numbers are improving, and we are all hopeful that we have seen the worst of this pandemic and conditions will continue to get better. Nevertheless, we are not in the clear, yet. The fundamental public health tools that have been and continue to be important include the use of face coverings, maintaining social distances, frequent hand washing, and cleaning high touch surfaces.
As we reflect on the past year and our myriad of new experiences, I am continually impressed and appreciative of the people of the UA CES and the capacity of this organization to change, adapt, and thrive amid tremendous challenge. We have made changes and adjustments that many of us probably never would have thought possible. You all have done well, and your efforts are recognized and valued.
Thank you for your continued vigilance as we move safely toward the expansion of operations in the CES in 2021.
For reference to the status of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Phased Operational Plan and brief phase management descriptions, please refer to the following link:
https://extension.arizona.edu/phased-operational-plan
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| Water Wise Brown Bag Seminar: Conservation and Restoration in Southeast Arizona Borderlands
Featuring Cameron Becker & Lily Christopher
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - 12:00pm
Virtual Event
In this talk, Cameron Becker will discuss private land conservation in southeastern Arizona highlighting recent projects along the Whitewater Draw in Cochise County. Cameron is the Land Protection and Stewardship Manager at Arizona Land and Water Trust and studied natural resource management at the University of Arizona with a focus on rangeland ecology. Lily Christopher with Borderland Restoration Network will speak about their work to restore Emory Oak, Quercus emoryii, habitat in Smith Canyon near Patagonia, AZ.
Since the fall of 2019, Borderlands Restoration Network has been working to restore Emory Oak, Quercus emoryii, habitat in Smith Canyon near Patagonia, AZ. These trees are a critical part of the southwest ecosystems and currently under compounding human and environmental pressures. By restoring 250 acres of Emory Oak habitat, the preservation of forestland connectivity is improved in over 1.75 million acres of national forest land. This will work to rebuild and maintain woodland corridors for wildlife use in an eco-region with the highest density of threatened and endangered species in the US.
No Registration Required.
Zoom Link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/82887254118
Event Contact:
MaryAnn Capehart
capehart@email.arizona.edu
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| Maricopa County Newsletter
Catch up on what's happening in Maricopa County.
Project CENTRL
Master Gardeners
SNAP-Ed
and More
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Apply to Become a WELD Intern!
The Western Extension Leadership Development (WELD) program, is designed for Cooperative Extension professionals in the Western United States and Territories. It requires a 15-month commitment from participating interns. The WELD program consists of four dynamic learning experiences:
1. A personal leadership inventory and assessment;2. A leadership seminar covering leadership styles, defining direction, working together through teams, community action process, ethical decision-making, and more;3. An individual innovative leadership project with support and resources, such as a case study documentation and mentoring relationships; and 4. A capstone seminar during which participants share their innovative projects.
To review past WELD Seminar 1 and 2 program agendas, visit the WELD website at http://www.unce.unr.edu/weld/events/.
WELD XI Program Important Dates:
May 26, 2021 Introduction to WELD XI and Innovative Projects Informational session on-line
Aug 2021 Personal Leadership Inventory and Assessment completed by Interns
Sept 2021 WELD XI Seminar 1- Kalispell, Montana – September 20-23, 2021
June 2022 WELD XI Seminar 2—Location and specific dates TBD
Applications are due to Dr. Jeffrey Silvertooth (cc: Kristie Gallardo) by March 29th, 2021
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| Turbeville Speaker Series: Pandemic Impacts on Children, Youth and Families
Please join the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families on Thursday, March 18, 2021 from 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM MST for the second installment of the Turbeville Speaker Series: Pandemic Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families event! We have invited UArizona researchers to share their timely research related to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, youth, and families.
To register for the event, please visit
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| UArizona Pima County Cooperative Extension Round-Up
Spring Gardening Tips
Growing your Stress Management Skills
Testing Cotton Helps Arizona Growers
And More
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| Arizona City Park walking path gets signage
The desire to provide a safe space for the community is a significant priority for the First Baptist Church in Arizona City. The church has worked hard and raised thousands of dollars to install playground equipment and other resources for the community to use. Recently a 0.25-mile walking path was installed into the park, and while the path was a significant accomplishment, it lacked anything that would distinguish the path from the rest of the park. Additionally, the pastor also had a dream to have signs installed that would encourage Physical Activity and use of the trail. The Pinal County Extension's Arizona Health Zone program worked with the church to develop the signs and purchase all of the needed materials that were installed in the park.
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World Water Day Special Webinar - Managing Aquifer Recharge: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability
Celebrate World Water Day on Monday afternoon, March 22, when the Water Resources Research Center hosts an informative panel discussion on the forthcoming UNESCO volume, “Managing Aquifer Recharge: A Showcase for Resilience and Sustainability.” This UNESCO publication provides valuable resources for stakeholders and water managers considering managed aquifer recharge (MAR) as a mechanism to bolster climate resilience in the context of environmental, social, and economic project goals. The panel features two book editors along with authors of the volume’s five North American case studies.
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Soil, Planting and Nurturing Your Garden Webinar
Event Date: March 18, 2021 11:00am to 12:00pm
Featured Speaker: Dan McEuen, Payson Community Gardener: Dan and his wife have been active participants at the Payson Community Garden for five years. He was a complete beginner at vegetable gardening when four years ago. He has learned much over the past several years, mostly by trial and error and gleaning valuable knowledge from other experienced gardeners at the community garden. He started with one garden plot and now has four.
Dan will be discussing how he takes care of his soil, his planting techniques and how to nurture the garden. He begins his garden planning each spring by testing and physically examining the soil, and sectioning his garden layout horizontally and vertically according to which crops he will be planting, including where and when he will be planting. Dan takes into consideration crop rotation and succession planting, and water system layout. He will describe how he amends his my soil based on its needs. He uses only organic mulches, composts, alfalfa pellets, and seasoned horse manure. Dan will explain the purpose and benefits of each of these amendments, and how to work these amendments into the soil. He will go over his concept of the what, where, and when of planting, giving examples of the vegetable crops he likes to grow. Dan will also demonstrate which organic post-planting organic fertilizers he uses as the seedlings come up and begin to grow, including how he mixes and applies them near the plants. Lastly, Dan discusses the importance of being in the garden regularly to nurture, watch, water, thin and pull weeds. Finally, he'll share about the rewards of harvest.
Zoom Link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/81574967741
Please log in up to 10 minutes prior to the webinar.
Cost: Free
Registration: Not required
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| Climate Change in Extension - Elevating and Amplifying Action
Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals
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The Internet of Water: Modern Water Data Infrastructure for 21st Century Water Management - WRRC Brown Bag Webinar
Peter Colohan, Executive Director, Internet of Water Project, Duke University
Mar 31 - 12:00pm to 1:15pm MST
Register for the Webinar
Publicly collected water data needed to answer fundamental water questions are managed by multiple agencies across different scales of government and non-government organizations for different purposes. Since these data are scattered across multiple platforms with different standards, much of it cannot be re-used beyond the primary purpose for which it was collected and is seldom transformed into information to support real-time decision-making. The Internet of Water (IoW) project, initiated in 2018, seeks to address this challenge by advancing the transformation and modernization of water data infrastructure in the United States. The IoW is developing low-cost technologies for sharing and integrating water data implemented throughout a broad network and demonstrating the advantage of those technologies for improving water outcomes.
Read more
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| New Extension Publication
The 2018 U.S. Farm bill changed the Controlled Substances Act and legalized cultivation of industrial hemp in the United States. In Arizona, the AZDA issues licenses and regulates the production and processing of industrial hemp. In 2019, 165 growing licenses and 43 nursery licenses were issued across the state, resulting in the planting of 5,430 acres in 13 counties. The University of Arizona, Extension Plant Pathology Laboratory, in Tucson has detected several major diseases in hemp crops grown during the 2019 – 2020 seasons. In this publication we will describe one such disease, Pythium crown and root rot. This disease has been observed in hemp grown with plastic mulch film and saturated heavy soil, and is associated with over-irrigation, poor drainage, and high temperatures. Pythium crown and root rot does not appear to be isolated to Arizona, and also has been reported in field-grown hemp in North Carolina, Indiana, California, and Nevada.
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| Remote Produce Safety Alliance Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course
Due to the current Coronavirus Outbreak, Produce Safety Alliance is allowing for Remote Grower Trainings while we are practicing social distancing. This course will be offered remotely, online via Zoom, during this time to accommodate and once the public health concern is lifted, in-person classroom courses will resume.
Who Should Attend:
Produce Farms including growers, harvesters, packers, coolers, and those interested in learning about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR), Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Co-management of natural resources and Food Safety. Academic’s and students wanting to learn more about food safety and the Produce Safety Rule would benefit from this course as well as government officials working in food safety.
Course Dates and Times:
March 23-24, 2021
7:45 AM - 1:00 PM
Register Here
Password: MAR23&24
The Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course will take place over 2 Days from 7:45 AM- 1 PM, hosted online via Zoom. You must be present for each session on both days to receive your Certificate of Course Completion from AFDO. The Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course does not offer CEU credit.
You will need access to a computer with reliable internet access, a webcam, microphone, and speaker OR mobile device (eg. cell phone, for use of the audio portion only, you will still need a computer with internet and webcam abilities). You must be visible to presenters through video and be able to engage in discussion online during the course.
Course Registration Fee:
$71.00
For more information & additional course dates please visit the Arizona Department of Agriculture Plants and Produce FSMA Website:
https://agriculture.az.gov/plantsproduce/food-safety-modernization-act
For additional information please contact Natalie Brassill, nbrassill1@email.arizona.edu or Dr. Channah Rock, channah@cals.arizona.edu.
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