I am pleased to welcome you to the first e-newsletter for the Natural Resources Institute within the UW–Madison Division of Extension! We hope this newsletter will deepen our partnership connections by providing greater understanding of where we work, who we serve and how we catalyze learning and change alongside our many collaborators and audiences, from landowners to watershed planners, school groups, tribal communities, natural resource agencies and local government officials. Our hope is to highlight timely, impactful Extension natural resource work for our local, regional, statewide and national partners – right in your inbox! We have structured our newsletter to provide you connections to project and program happenings, upcoming events that you or your partners may participate in and the talented and dedicated people who make this work happen.
But first, let us introduce ourselves. We are UW! At the crossroads of natural resources and society, we embrace and embody the Wisconsin Idea, harnessing the leading-edge research of the university and facilitating change through an extensive network of state and regional partnerships. We understand the value of on-the-ground, local relationships and are committed to providing the information and leadership needed to grow healthy, thriving communities and support resilient, productive natural resources, food systems and economies.
Our Institute is composed of over 140 staff and faculty who reside in communities across the state and work within over a dozen different reserves, centers, programs and natural resource initiatives that span diverse areas supporting water and land conservation, sustainable forestry and forest products, geology and mineral resources, the coast and estuaries of the Great Lakes, environmental education, climate change education and wildlife management. Our innovative, in-house natural resource-focused evaluation, communications and marketing, and instructional design teams work to amplify and support our programming, partners and communities while building regional and national recognition.
We invite you to engage with us along our journey and our learning! Please help us share this newsletter and connect with friends and colleagues so we can grow the branches our community. Our reach will depend on all of you: those with whom we have grown over the past several decades and those we have just recently met (likely over Zoom). You can read more of our stories on our blog and also connect with us on social media, so please spread the word!
(And if you received this newsletter from a friend or colleague, make sure to subscribe here to receive it every other month in your inbox so you don’t miss upcoming news!)
And without further delay…
Tricia A. Gorby, Director of the Natural Resources Institute
