Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals

Quarterly Member Newsletter

August 2022

In this issue

• The President's Corner
• Try the New ANREP Website!
• JOE Updates
• JCEP - what the heck is that?
• NREEF - did you know?
• ANREP 2024
• Community of Practice Factsheet
• Georgia ANREP website and video! Oh my!
• Celebrating One Year of Naturally Florida!
• Free Prescribed Fire Training Course for Cooperative Extension
• In Memory Of...Ben Jackson
• Editor's Comments

The President's Corner

 AKA: random thoughts from Beth Clawson

I am really excited about having a newsletter reboot this summer.  Thank you Diana Rashash for taking the lead on the newsletter.   As I sit to write this, I think about entering the second half of the year as president.  The first half, I focused on how to actually be your president and at the same time the chair of our biennial conference.  It has been a lot of hard work and I did none of it alone.  I am but one member of our association board and was one member of a dedicated and capable team of planners for the conference.

This is the direct result of the professionals within our association willing to serve.  Our association is volunteer driven; without members willing to serve on the board or a committee, we would not have been successful all these years.  If you are new to your extension position or a seasoned educator, we welcome your contribution to the continued success of the organization any way you choose to participate or contribute. I offer my sincerest thanks to you.  Even if your participation this year was to pay your membership dues!  Thank you.

COVID-19 has had an impact on everything and everyone in some way, and some more than others. Masks, distancing, vaccinations, working from home, recovering, missing out on professional development opportunities or some of our other favorite activities or pastimes take their toll.  Being adaptable is one of the things we do best in extension and this pandemic has tested that to the limits for many.   We will get through this.  Some of us are getting a bit worn down by it all. I get that. I am that. All I can say is that I see you out there helping each other to reconnect professionally, which is a big help in getting through it. If you need to, reach out to your professional colleagues.  We are a service and education industry… we help.  That is what we do.

The second half of this year will focus on our strategic plan and ways to take to implement the recommendations within it. If you have not seen the updated strategic plan, you can access it here.  We have big goals, and your participation with the association can help us achieve them.

I will finish up with a request that you consider assisting your colleagues and associates through your professional association by volunteering to serve. ANREP has openings for several committee, initiative, and board positions.  Reach out to your Regional Representative to learn more about them or visit the ANREP website and log in for more information.

Beth Clawson

MSU Extension Educator

Natural Resources/Water Quality

Email: clawsonb@msu.edu

Try the New ANREP Website!

Our new ANREP website has lots of great features. Try these! First, login to the member area at anrep.org. If you forgot your password, just enter your email address in the username field, then click the Forgot Password? link.

Update your professional contact details and disciplines. See that option in the My Membership Info area on the left side of the member screen.

Check your status and pay ahead. You can now see your previous dues invoices and payment history, and current invoices (if you haven’t renewed yet) in the My Membership Info area. Some members prefer to pay ahead for the following year earlier than December, when we send out dues invoices. You can now pay ahead anytime by clicking the Extend Your Membership Term link.

Find member colleagues. Click on the Members tab on the grey menu bar, then Member Directory. Search by name, state, discipline and more. The directory is now a member benefit, not viewable on the public ANREP web page.

See job postings. Remember the frequent email job announcements from ANREP that clogged your inbox? Gone. On the main menu, click on the Resources tab, then Job Postings to see all the announcements in one convenient list. New feature! – you can now add your organization’s job postings on your own by clicking the Resources tab on the grey member menu, then Submit Job Postings. (You can still email the info to anrep@anrep.org and we will post for you.)

Volunteer! Serving your professional association is important. Your involvement in committees, initiatives and other activities keeps us vibrant. Just click on the volunteer button on the ANREP home page (scroll down to find it). You can also read about and join committees directly by clicking on the Engagement tab on the grey member menu bar, then the Committees and State Chapters link.

Browse around. Click the tabs on the green main menu bar to see information about your organization, meeting minutes, initiatives, awards program past winners, conferences and more! Our upgraded website includes lots of other features that we’re planning to roll out in the coming months. Stay tuned! I’d also welcome your observations and suggestions to enhancing the new site –just contact me.

Dean Solomon
ANREP Executive Secretary

JOE Updates

The Journal of Extension has increased the word count limits for most of the article categories. This should give authors more flexibility with their manuscripts. New word count limits are:

• Feature article – 5,000 words
• Research in brief – 3,000 words
• Ideas at work – 2,000 words
• Tools of the trade – 1,250 words

We’ve added DOIs to articles to make them easier to locate and switched to Creative Commons licensing, thereby making everything open access. These two changes should get JOE articles a lot more visibility.

JOE is celebrating its 60th anniversary! We have reinvigorated our social media sites. Check out our Facebook page to see some cool videos about the value of JOE as we celebrate our 60th anniversary.

We need peer reviewers! Interested folks can either contact me or visit https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/for_reviewers.html

Kevin W. Zobrist
Professor
Extension Forestry
Washington State University
Email: kevin.zobrist@wsu.edu

JCEP - What the heck is that?

Did you know?

The Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) is an umbrella organization of seven-member organizations whose mission is to elevate Extension’s national reputation as an organization of excellence and synergistically leverage the strengths of member associations to foster leadership, collaboration, professional development, scholarly activity, strategic partnerships, and advocate for the profession. The seven-member organizations include: the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP), Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP), the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA), the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP), the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP), the National Association of Extension Program & Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) and the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS). JCEP Board Members include the President-Elect, President, and Past President of each of JCEP’s seven-member associations. JCEP’s total membership exceeds 10,000 Extension professionals who are members of one or more of the seven-member associations.

And... so what?

That means as an ANREP member you are also a JCEP member for no extra fee! JCEP engages with the Extension Committee on Organizational Policy (ECOP), part of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to lift the impacts of Extension on behalf of all the member organizations. JCEP also puts on two fabulous conferences each year.

The first is the popular Extension Leadership conference (ELC). The purpose of the conference is to support and challenge Extension Professionals in their leadership development journey nationwide, across all disciplines. This conference provides professional development that addresses leadership and management skill development critical for building confidence in today’s emerging Extension Leaders. Watch for the request for abstracts to come through ANREP next month and apply to represent ANREP. Save the date for February 7-9 th 2023 in Kansas City, MO. Who wants to be in Kansas City in February?
You do! The conference site is adjacent to historic downtown with plenty to do and a BBQ (or two) to try. Blocks away are several art museums including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

The second is the Public Issues Leadership Development conference (PILD) in Crystal City VA. April 16-19, 2023. Just a short metro ride from Washington D.C. At this conference, Extension agents and administrators learn about the national priorities, funding, and relationships with our federal partners. We work together to craft a unified message for Extension advocacy. The conference culminates in visits to legislators on Capitol Hill that each individual state set up. Included in the conference will be pre-conference online workshops, discussions with house and senate staffers, breakout sessions and workshops, and of course walking and bicycling tours. Look for the request for abstracts here and through the ANREP listserv. This is a beautiful time of year to be in D.C. at the end of the cherry blossom season. Make sure to add a couple of days to your trip to see all the sites.

Have questions? Contact me at abb@ufl.edu. See you there!

Alicia Betancourt, ANREP Past-president and JCEP Board member

University of Florida, IFAS Monroe County Extension Director

Community Development Agent, Certified Climate Change Professional® (CC-P®),Certified Family and Consumer Science Educator

abb@ufl.edu

NREEF - did you know?

The Natural Resources Extension Education Foundation (NREEF) is a nonprofit charitable organization, founded in 2019, to support Extension education activities and programs promoting the knowledge, understanding, and stewardship of natural resources. After all, Cooperative Extension education is the best way to foster science-based learning and action to help people conserve and care for the natural world. We encourage natural resources conservation and management for the improvement of the environment and society.

Our ‘inaugural’ celebration for fundraising was in 2021. Our fundraising slogan was $20.21 for 2021! We received nearly $3,000 in donations during that time. Furthermore, NREEF contributed $2000 to support the 2021 virtual ANREP conference and this year’s 2022 ANREP conference in Michigan. We also conducted five webinars in 2021 for our natural resources Extension educators. These interviews of Extension educators provided context and thoughtful discussion on a variety of topics and issues in natural resources. These forums also served to introduce NREEF to our fundraising base. All are available to view at the NREEF webinars page.

Do you want to share in our natural resource legacy? Donate today through the NREEF website! Or, perhaps you would like to serve as a foundation trustee? We need volunteers to build our organization and be a part of something great. If you are interested, contact me directly.

Respectfully,

John D. Kushla, NREEF President

ANREP 2024

The 2024 national conference of the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals (ANREP) will be held in Hershey, PA on May 6-8, 2024. The conference planning committee is already hard at work. Do you know of anyone who may want to be a sponsor?  If yes, please send them the following information:

While it is too soon to sign up for tours and workshops, it is NOT too soon to register as a sponsor. The ANREP conference attracts more than 300 Extension professionals from around the country and offers abundant professional growth and development opportunities. ANREP members work in many specialty areas, including forestry, water resources, climate, invasive species, and training Master Watershed Stewards and Master Naturalists.

You can take advantage of three tiers of sponsorships to showcase your products, work, and resources in front of a national audience.

Hershey, PA, is a nationally acclaimed destination known for chocolate, roller coasters, outdoor family fun on rivers and trails, and so much more. We anticipate an excellent attendance at the 2024 conference.

Don't miss out on your chance to be one of the first sponsors and get your name on our conference materials from the very start.

Jennifer Fetter

Penn State Extension

Extension Educator - Water Resources

jrf21@psu.edu

Community of Practice Factsheet

We are excited to announce the final version of the Community of Practice fact sheet, available on the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium website.

This fact sheet was developed out of a need to quickly and clearly communicate the concept and best practices of a community of practice. We see increasing value of these collaborative learning groups in various areas to think together, solve problems, and advance our shared goals.

Next time the term “community of practice,” is thrown out as an idea, it is our hope that this fact sheet will be a reference for those unfamiliar with the concept or those interested in a brief refresher. The intended audience for this extension-style document is NOAA, Sea Grant, NERRS, Cooperative Extension, and other community leaders interested in utilizing a community of practice.

We’d like to express our sincerest thank you to our subject matter expert reviewers for their time and effort in assisting us to develop this resource: Ginger Hinchcliff, John Bilotta, Elizabeth Rohring, Marian Hanisko, Nancy Beller-Simms, and Mark Finkbeiner.  Please share this fact sheet with any colleagues you think would be interested. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further please reach out to us.

Submitted by Holly Abeels for:

Karen J. Bareford, Ph.D.

Sea Grant Water Resources Lead 

University of Alabama 

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium 

kjbareford@ua.edu

Georgia ANREP website and video

Check out the new GA chapter website. Cool video.

This lovely tidbit was submitted by Dean Solomon, ANREP Executive Secretary.  

Celebrating One Year of Naturally Florida!

Naturally Florida is a podcast teaching about Florida’s natural areas and the wild things that live there. Lara Milligan and Shannon Carnevale with UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas and Polk Counties, respectively co-host the podcast…

It seems podcasting is slowly creeping its way into Extension as another tool to increase our reach. As we celebrate one year since the launch of our podcast, Naturally Florida, we thought it would be appropriate to share our reflections on the experience, and perhaps inspire you to start your own.

From 2015-2020, we offered a Wildlife of Florida webinar series as another way to reach our clientele. When the pandemic struck, we were already well versed with webinar productions and decided to jump at the opportunity to try something new and different for extension: podcasting.

After talking with other podcasters around the state, the same general advice kept coming up, “Just start!”. A little easier said than done, but after a lengthy amount of research on equipment, platforms, and process, we followed the advice we received. On June 21, 2021, Naturally Florida was launched. It was a nerve-wracking, but exciting experience.

Read More

Free Prescribed Fire Training Course for Cooperative Extension

Are you interested in prescribed fire, or do you get questions from your community about prescribed fire? A free, online introduction to prescribed fire course launched in early 2022 to specifically address the information needs of Southeast Cooperative Extension professionals. Across eight different modules, the course provides roughly six hours of online training. Topics include: fire history, fire physics, prescribed fire planning and operations, air quality and smoke, smoke modeling, prescribed fire liability and risk, wildlife habitat management, forest management, prescribed burn associations, and community building. The course includes videos, podcasts, mapping activities, and an online discussion forum to help students learn, engage with the material, and connect with the prescribed fire community.

The project was funded with a Renewable Resources Extension Act grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. The course was developed by a team from the University of Florida IFAS, NC State University Extension Forestry, Clemson University Extension, and the Southern Fire Exchange. Project leaders were Dr. Marcus Lashley, Dr. Raelene Crandall, Dr.
David Godwin, Jennifer Fawcett, Charlotte Nowak, Mary Nell Armstrong, Laurel Kays, Ryan Bean, and Hope Miller.

Course enrollment is ongoing, and students may take the course at their own pace. Upon course completion and final evaluation, students are presented with a certificate that some apply towards continuing education credits. For more information and to sign up, visit: https://ifas.instructure.com/courses/1313. Questions? Contact Charlotte Nowak.

David Godwin, Ph.D., and Raelene Crandall, Ph.D., University of Florida IFAS

David R. Godwin, Ph.D.
Director, Southern Fire Exchange
School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences
University of Florida IFAS
Remotely located at Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee, FL
drg2814@ufl.edu

In Memory of...Ben Jackson

Dr. Ben Douglas Jackson of Greensboro, Georgia, died Thursday, July 28, 2022, at age 75. He was born in Cullman, AL on October 12, 1946, to the late Ben Alick Jackson and Woodie Frances Clemons Jackson. On June 7, 1986, he married the former Sheila Ann Morton. They lived in Watkinsville, GA for 27 years before moving to Greene County two years ago. He was the past president of the Oconee Historical Society. His many interests included woodworking, golfing, bluegrass music, fishing, and cooking.  He was a lifelong fan of the Houston Astros, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tour de France. Ben was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend to many.

After graduating from Beaumont High School in Beaumont, TX, he obtained his BBA from Lamar University and his MS in Forestry and PhD in Forest Economics from Texas A&M University.  He was an Associate Professor of Forestry for ten years at Louisiana State University before joining the faculty of the University of Georgia in 1990. He retired in 2019, becoming Professor Emeritus after 28 years.

Read more about Dr. Ben Jackson - a staunch ANREP advocate and our 2008 President.

Editor's Comments

Hello fellow ANREP members!  I'm back!!  For those of you who don't know me, I was the newsletter editor for several years, then was elected to the President-elect, President, and Past-President trio of terms.  I am now retired (from North Carolina Extension) and moved across the U.S. (now in Colorado).  That said, ANREP does a great job of keeping track of us. So, if you won an award at the 2022 conference or received a travel scholarship, don't be surprised to hear from me. I am after content for these newsletters!!!!!!

Any member may submit an article. Please submit articles that are 600 words or less, in .doc or .docx format.  Use my email address listed below.  Photos are greatly appreciated...once I get better at adding them to this new platform.  Seriously, yes to photos.  Do not imbed them in the article.  Rather, have a place holder (eg: fig.1), then attach the photo separately.  Please include a caption and proper credit.  I retain the right to edit the article.  This is usually very minor, such as typos or word omissions.

The submission deadlines are: Nov. 1, Feb. 1, May 1, and Aug. 1.

Sincerely,

Diana Rashash

NC Cooperative Extension, retired

drashash@gmail.com