October 27, 2020
Edition Topics
- Message from Dr. Silvertooth
- La Niña 2020-2021: An Overview of What It Might Mean for Arizona
- EcoRestore Portal
- Worker Wellbeing Study
- FCHS Candidate Presentation - Cochise/Santa Cruz County
- Building Regional Food System Resilience in Southern Arizona – Learning from COVID-19
- Call for proposals - National Extension Conference on Volunteerism
- New Extension Publication
- WRRC Student Research Support Opportunity
| |
|
Message from the Associate Dean and Extension Director
We have made significant progress in the transition phases among the county Extension units with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension System (CES) in the past few months. This has been possible due to decreased COVID-19 disease transmission levels in most counties and good compliance among our CES personnel and program management. The current phase transition status for CES county units can be referenced at the following site:
https://extension.arizona.edu/phased-operational-plan
Recent data reports from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) indicate increasing trends in COVID-19 cases in many parts of the state. States surrounding Arizona are also experiencing very rapid increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Our CES operational transition plans and mitigation strategies have enabled so much progress in our CES transitions we do not want to go backwards.
We recognize that people are tiring of the pandemic. The holiday season is approaching and there is a greater tendency for indoor and group activities. Therefore, we need to maintain our good practices and stick to the biological and social basics. The social pressures certainly exist but the biology does not change. The basics include:
• Wear a face covering.
• Maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance from those not in your household.
• Wash hands thoroughly and often.
• Avoid crowds.
• Stay home if you feel ill.
• Keep any gatherings small and hold them outside if possible.
• Remember that home is the safest place to be with COVID-19 in the community.
We will continue to move forward and do our business in a safe and considerate manner, carry out our Extension mission, and do our part to keep on a positive track in every part of state.
Thank you for all that you are doing!
| |
| La Niña 2020-2021: An Overview of What It Might Mean for Arizona
La Niña conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific Ocean and current forecasts show that a weak or moderate event is very likely this winter and spring. A few forecast models recently have hinted that a strong event is even possible. Were a weak or moderate event to happen, what might this mean for Arizona? Will rain and snow amounts be less? Will it be warmer than usual? Will there be relevant related hazards or favorable circumstances? In this Extension Climate Fact Sheet about the 2020-2021 La Niña event, we start to answer such questions by providing an overview of this phenomenon and how it possibly will influence weather across the state during the coming months.
Along with near-term weather forecasts from the National Weather Service (NWS), the NWS Climate Prediction Center issues extended range outlooks for 6-10 and 8-14 days, as well as monthly and seasonal climate outlooks. These map products show probabilities of temperature and precipitation being either below, near, or above normal during these time frames. Also, in addition to producing Extension Climate Fact Sheets like the one linked to below, we are working with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) and the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center to provide more information related to the 2020-2021 La Niña event. Please contact us for further information, data, and analysis that could be applied to stakeholder needs in your county.
PDF of Extension Climate Fact Sheet that overviews the 2020-2021 La Niña event
| |
| EcoRestore Portal
Cooperative Extension has a new ecological restoration portal for Arizona (https://ecorestore.arizona.edu/). The new portal is a ‘one-stop-shopping’ for all things ecological restoration that should be useful to anyone in Arizona who is interested in native gardening, ecological restoration and vegetation management in general. Although the site is live, it is very new and we are still working out the kinks. If you have any comments, please let Elise Gornish know at egornish@email.arizona.edu.
| |
| Worker Wellbeing Study
Invitation to participate in study on concerns, needs, and experiences of UArizona employees who are at the frontlines during this Fall 2020 semester.
We are recruiting individuals who are:
- Working any part of their job on-site at UArizona facilities AND
- In personal contact with students, visitors, or colleagues on a routine basis.
If you decide to participate, you will complete the 15-20-minute, anonymous, online survey which is linked below in this email. You will also be asked to provide your email address if you are interested in participating in future studies. The survey can be completed via computer or mobile device. After completion of the survey, you will have the opportunity to be included in a random drawing of 80 winners for $50 Target gift cards.
Participation in this study is entirely voluntary and your answers are confidential.
Your vital input will be used to understand our Wildcat community’s concerns and ultimately inform campus re-entry strategies and employee support services.
Link to study:
https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0kUSvt6M0vQG3fT
Please contact us at uawellbeing-study@arizona.edu for more information. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to our campus community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mona Arora, Principal Investigator, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; Dr. Brian Mayer, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; Dr. Sabrina Helm, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Dr. Melissa Barnett, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Lisa Balland, MPH Student, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
An Institutional Review Board responsible for human subjects’ research at The University of Arizona reviewed this research project and found it to be acceptable, according to applicable state and federal regulations and University policies designed to protect the rights and welfare of participants in research.
| |
| Family & Consumer Health Sciences Recorded Interview Zoom Presentation - Santa Cruz & Cochise Counties
View the candidates recorded presentation and fill out the evaluation!
Presentation Title: Building FCHS in Santa Cruz & Cochise Counties: Identifying future programs, securing resources, and building relationships in the community
Rosie Stewart
| |
| Building Regional Food System Resilience in Southern Arizona – Learning from COVID-19
Are you a food producer based in or near Arizona? Do you sell a portion of your products to consumers, distributors or producers in Pima County? We would like to hear from you!!
This survey is designed for food producers who manage or operate any type of agricultural operation (such as farms, orchards, ranches, dairy farms, backyard gardens) based in or near Arizona, and who sell any portion of their food products to distributors, processors, or directly to consumers in Pima County. The main objective of this research is to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regional food system in southern Arizona. Initial results of this research will be shared in the 2020-21 State of the Tucson Food System Report to be co-written by the Center for Regional Food Studies and Climate Assessment for the Southwest researchers.
The survey should take between 15-30 minutes to complete and we are offering $15 compensation for the first 100 eligible respondents who complete the survey by November 28, 2020. Please feel free to forward this survey invitation to other agricultural producers who are eligible to participate.
To take the survey, cut and paste this URL into your browser: https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_etXv9WDmZAmFU0Z
For more information, visit https://crfs.arizona.edu/building-regional-food-system-resilience-southern-arizona-%E2%80%93-learning-covid-19
Contact our research team:
Gigi Owen, Ph.D. - gigi@arizona.edu
Eden Kinkaid - ekinkaid@arizona.edu
Laurel Bellante, Ph.D. - bellante@arizona.edu
| |
| Call for proposals deadline is October 31: National Extension Conference on Volunteerism
National Extension Conference on Volunteerism will host a lite on-line conference starting April 26th, 2021. The virtual presentations will be pre-recorded lightning sessions and posters followed by Q&A. Proposals should be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. PST on October 31, 2020. Instructions for submitting proposals are available at: https://go.umd.edu/necvliterfp2021 .
| |
| New Extension Publications
Seedling diseases, also known as damping-off (seedling death), are caused by several common soil-inhabiting fungi acting alone or collectively during pre-emergence and postemergence of cotton seedlings. Pre-emergent damping-off refers to rot and death of germinating seeds prior to emergence from the soil. Post-emergent damping-off refers to seedling death after emergence from the soil. Seedling diseases are common but often a minor problem in cotton production areas of Arizona in most years. However, significant stand loss to seedling diseases can occur sporadically in some fields without good crop rotation history, especially when cool, wet weather conditions exist during the first weeks after planting that allow soil temperatures to drop below 65°F. Consequently, growers may have to replant parts or whole fields incurring substantial costs including seed, fuel, labor, additional costs of late season pest control as well as experience yield reductions due to late planting.
Jiahuai Hu
Phymatotrichopsis root rot of grape (PRR) is commonly known as cotton root rot, Texas root rot or Phymatotrichum root rot. PRR is a destructive disease of many economic crops including wine grape grown in calcareous clay soils with a high pH range of 7.0 – 8.5 in central and southern Arizona. Significant number of vine losses to PRR occur annually in many vineyards in Cochise, Santa Cruz, and Yavapai counties.
| |
| Student Research Support Opportunity
Deadline Nov. 5!
The University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center invites proposals for student research projects that address water-related issues of importance to Arizona and the Southwest. The WRRC expects to award two to four grants of up to $10,000. Projects requesting less than $10,000 are encouraged.
The grant program, authorized under the Water Resources Research Act, Section 104(b) and funded through the U.S. Geological Survey, provides small grants for research that explores new ideas to address water problems in Arizona and expands understanding of water and related phenomena. Program goals emphasize the entry of new research scientists, engineers, and technicians in the water resources field and education of students through significant involvement in water research. To advance these goals, the WRRC is calling on students and their faculty sponsors to submit proposals that feature student work.
Student project proposals must show a faculty member at one of Arizona’s three state universities (UA, ASU, or NAU) as the Principal Investigator (PI). The student should be listed as a Co-PI. Researchers in the physical, biological, social, and engineering sciences, including water management, water law, economics and public health are invited to apply.
Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 5, 2020.
| |
|
