| Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals
Monthly Digest November 2025 |
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In this edition - President's Corner
- ANREP Election Results
- Natural resource outreach and service program honored
- ANREP Biennial Conference update
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Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Natural Resources Committee meetings
- Urban Forestry Careers Camp 2025: A Model for Extension Programming
- Reaching Floridians: Building Energy Awareness Through Extension
- Strengthening Resilience Through Collaboration: Lessons from the 2025 EDEN Annual Conference
- New Oregon State Maple Syrup Guide
- Heirs’ Property, Land Grant Institutions and SERA-49
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| Presidents' Corner Kevin Zobrist ANREP President 2025 |
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As the year begins to draw to a close, we find ourselves facing a familiar and sometimes dreaded task – annual reporting. I have yet to meet an Extension person who particularly relishes this task. I think most of us would rather be planning and implementing our programs. Annual reporting is one of the most important things we do, though. Great programming that generates impressive impacts is not enough. We have to enthusiastically tell the story of our impacts in a compelling way. |
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ANREP Election Results!
Thanks to all members who voted in our recent election for President-elect, Secretary, and representatives for the South and West regions. Here are your 2026 Board of Directors members: President: Leslie Boby, Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF)/University of Georgia
Past-President: Kevin Zobrist, Washington State University
President-elect: Holly Abeels, University of Florida
Secretary: Ashley Kulhanek, Ohio State University
Treasurer: Renee Strnad, North Carolina State University
Northeast Region Representative: Katie Brooks, Penn State University
Northcentral Region Representative: Anna Stockstad, University of Minnesota
South Region Representative: Carrie Stevenson, University of Florida West Region Representative: Dan Stark, Oregon State University (The original candidate for this position left Extension employment shortly after the election. Dan was appointed by the board of directors to serve another term in this role.) Congratulations to the new board! |
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Natural Resource Outreach and Service Program Honored for Outstanding Work, Showcased at National Conference
The Maryland Master Naturalist Program was recognized with the The Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs (ANROSP) 2025 Outstanding Educational Materials Award for their publication: The Maryland Master Naturalist’s Handbook, McKay Jenkins and ANREP member Joy Shindler Rafey, editors, published in 2025 by Johns Hopkins University Press. This award recognizes ANROSP member programs for their development and use of educational materials including print, video, online technology, or other program materials/applications.
For more information on the Maryland Master Naturalist Program or The Maryland Master Naturalist’s Handbook, please contact Joy Rafey, Maryland Master Naturalist Program Coordinator.
Jason O’Brien, ANROSP President, said "ANROSP provides member programs an opportunity to share their best work in the areas of Outstanding Educational Materials, Outstanding Volunteer Project, Outstanding Team, Outstanding Program Evaluation, and Program of the Year. Each year ANROSP is proud to highlight programs from across the United States in each of these categories." Award applications are peer-reviewed and selection is made by the ANROSP Awards Committee, chaired by an ANROSP Board Member.
About ANROSP: The Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs is an international network of natural resource programs with the mission of promoting awareness and stewardship of natural resources through science-based education and service programs.
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Upcoming professional development opportunities |
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ANREP 15th Biennial Conference Update |
Get ready to immerse yourself in the natural resource Extension world in Wilmington, North Carolina! |
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Conference Update: Plenary Sessions, Schedule, and Location!
We are just months away from the ANREP 2026 Biennial Conference in Wilmington, North Carolina! Mark your calendar for Tuesday, May 12, through Friday, May 15, 2026. We are thrilled to highlight two essential Plenary Sessions and provide a look at the full schedule. Plenary Session Highlights 1. Welcoming & Open Plenary
Title: "Confluence of Knowledge: Charting the Future of Natural Resource Extension" When: Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Summary: This session will set the stage for our theme by exploring the critical, intertwined relationship between the coastal host community and its natural resources, focusing on the vital intersection of landscape and community knowledge. 2. Plenary Session (Panel) Title: Extension’s Role in Disaster Response When: Thursday, May 14, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Summary: This dynamic, moderated panel will explore the crucial role of Extension in the entire disaster lifecycle. Experts will discuss strategies for Building Resilient Communities, the importance of Rapid Response and Recovery (including lessons from Hurricane Helene in 2024), and how local Extension offices become central, trusted sources of information and support.
Conference Schedule Snapshot Tuesday, May 12: Optional Tours, Newcomer Orientation, Welcome Reception
Wednesday, May 13: Opening Plenary, Concurrent Sessions, Awards Luncheon, Poster Session/Reception, Optional Evening Program Thursday, May 14: Business Meeting Breakfast, Disaster Response Plenary, Organized Sessions, Field Experiences, Conference Dinner
Friday, May 15: Regional meetings, Concurrent Sessions, Closing Lunch Abstract Review Proposals are currently undergoing review by ANREP volunteers who are reviewing over 150 proposals. Presenters should anticipate receiving notification of their status in early December 2025.
For more on conference details visit go.ncsu.edu/anrep2026. Registration will be opening soon! Don't miss out on these essential sessions and the opportunity to network with colleagues.
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| Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Natural Resources Committee Meetings
Third Thursday of each month
From Bill Hubbard, University of Maryland: This is a wonderful opportunity to engage monthly with EDEN (Extension Disaster Extension Network) on the Natural Resources Committee meetings. This network is one of the most valuable networks we have within Extension, and we have our own natural resources group that meets regularly for professional development as well as planning and collaboration. Today more than ever, Extension’s natural resources work that ANREP members do in disaster preparedness, planning, mitigation and recovery is critical. Learning and sharing on critical topics like flood, fire, hurricane, drought, heat, sea level rise and A-Z disasters these days puts us in the driver seat with shaping safer, more resilient people and communities. It is also where our various funding opportunities are moving at the federal, state and local levels.
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| Urban Forestry Careers Camp 2025: A Model for Extension Programming |
By Bill Hubbard
University of Maryland
This July, forty high-school students spent a week at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus discovering careers in urban forestry and arboriculture at the Maryland Forestry Foundation’s Urban Forestry Careers Camp. The program combined hands-on learning, career exploration, and community engagement, offering a model for Extension professionals interested in replicating similar experiences in their own states. |
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| Reaching Floridians: Building Energy Awareness Through Extension |
By Lesly Jerome
University of Florida IFAS
REACH is helping Florida families take control of their home energy and water use. With new workshop kits, library backpacks, and statewide training, Extension agents are bringing hands on efficiency education to communities across the state.
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| Strengthening Resilience Through Collaboration: Lessons from the 2025 EDEN Annual Conference |
By Alicia Betancourt
University of Florida IFAS
Disaster resilience is a national issue; lobster rolls were just a bonus. |
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| Resource Exchange
New Oregon State Maple Syrup Guide |
By Sarah Cameron
Oregon State University You may be familiar with sugar maple syrup, but did you know that sap from the bigleaf maple, native to the Pacific Northwest, also makes a bold and delicious treat? Explore the practice of bigleaf maple sugaring in Oregon State University Extension's newly revised, Bigleaf maple syrup: A hobbyist's guide. |
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Heirs’ Property, Land Grant Institutions and SERA-49 |
By Kurt Smith
North Carolina State University
Thanks to a travel scholarship from ANREP, I was able to attend and participate in a joint gathering between the working groups of Small-Scale Forestry and the International Knowledge Exchange of IUFRO (International Union of Forestry Research Organizations) which was held in Seattle September of 2025, a presentation was given to expose members to publications dealing with heirs’ property and invite them to participate in the newly formed Southern Extension Research Area Committee known as SERA-49. As a result, several land grant institutions not involved in the work articulated their intention to join in the research of SERA-49 and heirs’ property.
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New postings on the ANREP jobs board | |
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Articles of interest for natural resource Extension professionals Current Issue: Volume 63, Number 4 (2025) Urban/Suburban Extension: Challenges & Solutions for Program Design, Delivery, and Evaluation
Sharmistha Basak and Anil Kumar Chaudhary The Land-Grant University’s Role in Lifelong Workforce Development in Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources: Leveraging the Relationship between Academic and Extension Programs
T. Grady Roberts, Debra M. Barry, J.C. Bunch, Suzanna Browning, Jason C. Dossett, R. G. (Tre) Easterly III, Cassandra Goff, Carla Jagger, Juan Montealegre, Brian E. Myers, Heather Nesbitt, Jason Steward, and Jessica Switzer
Extension Interest Assessment: An Evaluation of Hispanics Residents of Florida
John M. Diaz, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo, Miguel A. Acevedo, Juan M. Campos Krauer, Elise S. Gornish, Alvaro Romero, Armando J. Ubeda, and E. Hance Ellington
Agricultural Extension Agents’ Current Usage of Social Media in Extension Work and Challenges They Face
Howard M. Wallace II, K. S. U. Jayaratne, Wendy Warner, J. Dara Bloom, and Julia McKeown
Managed Online Panel Discussions as a Participatory Education Approach
Melissa M. Kreye, Kathryn Brooks, Eric Burkhart, Jesse Kreye, Allyson Muth, Calvin Norman, Sanford Smith, and Scott Weikert
Interpreting Extension Professionals' Viewpoints on Agricultural Climate Change Programming
Aaron B. Wilson, Alli Wenman, Samuel Pratsch, Kenneth Genskow, Patrick Robinson, Dennis Todey, Laurie Nowatzke, Namah Chiamo Taku-Forchu, and Moses Wanyakha Expanding Community Engagement by Combining Extension, Service Learning, and Classroom Instruction
Chester L. Arnold, Juliana Barrett, Todd Campbell Dr., Marisa Chrysochoou, David Dickson, Michael Dietz, and Randi Mendes Bringing Lived Experience into Curriculum Review: A Proposed Participatory Model
Monica M. Lobenstein, Stepha Velednitsky, Joanna Skluzacek PhD, and Briley Rossiter
Perception Map as a tool for program evaluation
Marlene K. Rebori
Using Fermi Estimates within Needs Assessments: An Extension Professional’s Guide
Emma Lonstrup, Carolyn D. Rider, and Miranda R. Westfall
A Rubric for Self-Assessment of Extension Impact Statements
Gordon B. Jones, Mary L. Halbleib, and Leanne S. Giordono |
Journal of Extension is moving to a new digital home, with the process scheduled for completion by January 2026. We will share updated details as the migration progresses. Stay tuned! |
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