Tagged With "Celebrating National Coming Out Day"
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College of Menominee Nation and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative partner with eXtension through USDA-NIFA Cooperative Agreement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2018-2022 Strategic Plan recognizes its role in helping provide access to safe and nutritious food for limited income people, by supporting limited resource individuals and families in their efforts to escape food insecurity and hunger and improve their well-being. These objectives require partnerships between State, local agencies, Federal, and public and private entities to support best practices in implementing effective programs and ensuring...
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ICYMI - Answering the Call: The Role of Extension After an Emergency
Last week, the Southern Jagriculture team from Southern University Ag Research & Extension center joined us and delivered an EXCELLENT webinar on the role of Extension after an emergency. Utilizing the historic 2016 Louisiana Flood as their conceptual lens, this webinar focused on their individual efforts as second responders, SUAREC’s response to help mitigate future losses, the role and linkage of Extension professional as second responders, and much more. This team has been an active...
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ICYMI: National Action Dialogue, Community Based Development in the Digital Networked COVID-19 Age
Yesterday, 300 Cooperative Extension professionals came together for a National Action Dialogue put together by the eXtension Foundation and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). The dialogue, facilitated by @Molly Immendorf , featured three panelists: @Chuck Hibberd , Dean & Director of Nebraska Extension @Paul Hill , Extension Associate Professor, County Director, Community Economic Development, Utah State University Doug Edlund, Assistant Director of Operations,...
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NPSEC and Texas A&M Agrilife Extension partner with eXtension through USDA-NIFA Cooperative Agreement for Mass Media Pollinator Stewardship Effort
Advancing the role of integrated pest management, including effective use of pesticides, is critical to controlling the spread of harmful pests and diseases. It is estimated that 40 percent of global crops are lost to agricultural pests each year. The US Department of Agriculture Strategic Plan 2018-2022 emphasizes prevention and mitigation of agricultural pests and disease. There are recognized, undesirable effects associated with application and misuse of pesticides, especially by the...
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Smart Cities: Technology, equity, livability and trust
Cities are getting smarter. New technologies help monitor traffic and enforce parking. First responders use camera systems to explore incident scenes for potentially hazardous materials or spills. Autonomous vehicles are being piloted. With these new technologies, governments and communities have concerns about safety, privacy, and equity. The key to successfully navigating these issues is trust. So what's the role of Extension in smart cities? We asked this question of our panel experts and...
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UNL’s Weather Ready Farms Partners with eXtension Through USDA-NIFA Cooperative Agreement
As part of eXtension’s New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, the eXtension Foundation is partnering with four existing programs aligned with USDA strategic goals across Cooperative Extension in Year 1 to explore new methods and models for program scale and implementation. These initiatives are being documented in a series of eFieldbooks to inform the system of the models, learnings, and outcomes. Professional development opportunities will...
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Western Farmer Cover Crop Survey
Please help us send an important survey to farmers in your network. The University of Idaho, Oregon State University, and Boise State University, on behalf of the Western Cover Crops Council are conducting a survey to improve understanding of cover crop use throughout the U.S. West, Guam, and Micronesia. Specifically, the survey aims to include a range of perspectives from farmers and ranchers on the benefits and barriers related to cover crops and the effectiveness of policy incentives. The...
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Re: ICYMI - Answering the Call: The Role of Extension After an Emergency
Sounds like you got it worked out, glad you made it!
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Re: Help with RSS Feeds
@Steve Hadcock - good question. This may be better as a "Topic" post instead of a blog post since you're asking for feedback. However, to give you some feedback - I do have experience in creating RSS feeds. It sounds like you're asking about podcast hosting (i.e. where can I upload my podcast files so they end up on iTunes or Google Podcasts?). I've used Blubrrry Podcasts for that - it's worth checking out at https://blubrry.com/ .
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Re: Help with RSS Feeds
Steve: Check out this post and video. If you have questions you may want to message @Phoebe Gordon and @Luke Milliron ? Also, please drop the link to your podcasts here when you've posted them. Would love to listen. https://connect.extension.org/...g/524303332123352228
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REACHING TEN MILLION ENGAGED YOUTH WITH EXTENSION
The Cooperative Extension system has a vision of reaching 10 million youth annually through the 4-H program by the year 2025. The goal is to create opportunities for more youth to access 4-H and benefit from positive youth development (PYD) programs that lead to improved economic prosperity and quality of life outcomes for the youth of our nation. A Leading Edge Dialogue (LED) was held on this topic during the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference. The purpose of this LED session was to...
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What’s it Like to Work with the eXtension Foundation as an NTAE Project? - Bridging the GAPs
eXtension recently announced the opportunity for nominations for the New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) for Year 2 projects. The nomination form will be available on June 15th until July 20th, 2020. Selected projects will receive wrap around services from the eXtension Foundation to support and amplify the project/program outcomes. Wrap around services include: Project/Program advisory support from a Catalyst (current or past senior program or administrative Cooperative...
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How To Adjust Your Notification Settings in Connect Extension
I had a couple of people recently ask about adjusting their email notification preferences for Connect Extension, so I thought I'd share this with everyone! You have control over your own settings - how many or how few notifications you wish to receive. 1. On the navigation bar, hover over your name and choose Notifications from the drop-down menu. 2. You'll come to the Notification Settings screen, where you'll see three tabs: Settings, Follows, and Group Follows . On the Settings tab, you...
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On a Time for Grit
During these uncertain times when programming has ceased as we know it, as well as most other aspects of our life being upended, it can be discouraging or even overwhelming. It seemed a perfect time to continue my read and study into the concept of “Grit” by renown researcher and author, Angela Duckworth. In her New York Times best-selling book “ Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” ; she lays out her initial studies at the U.S Military Academy at West Point. Duckworth’s quest was to...
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Re: On a Time for Grit
This is wonderful. Thank you for posting! I'll definitely check out Angela Duckworth's website.
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National Extension Response Resources Site to Include Resources for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
eXtension has updated virtual.extension.org with a collection of resources related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This is just the start, if you have other similar resources to share, we invite you to submit them to contact-us@extension.org . In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the eXtension Foundation launched virtual.extension.org to create a national resource site for Cooperative Extension professionals. The purpose of this site was and still is to help Extension professionals...
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The Ins and Outs of the Learn Calendar on Connect Extension
I’ve received a number of GREAT questions about the Learn calendar here on Connect Extension. What is it? Who can use it? What’s the value in using it? I thought it would also be helpful to explain some of the things that are happening on the backend that many might not be aware of - and how you, as Cooperative Extension professionals, can take advantage of that with ease! First - who can use it? Anybody in Cooperative Extension can use it. You do not need to be a member of the eXtension...
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ICYMI & What's Coming Up! - From "Me" to "We"
Thanks for joining us for our discussion on "Trust"! If you missed us, here's a recap...we discussed how TIME isn't what supports the conditions for being trustworthy...it's our behaviors. We can behave in ways that lead others to believe we are trustworthy. What evidence are we giving that we're trustworthy? Watch the "trust" session video here ! We recognize this can be a complicated topic, thanks for hanging in with us! Here are some notes from our time together & a couple resources...
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ICYMI: Connect Extension Chat: Virtual Field Days
More than 50 Cooperative Extension professionals from across the nation gathered virtually to discuss Virtual Field Days. The chat contains a wealth of tips, links and lessons learned. Questions that were posed (and capably answered!) include: What are some ideas to move a Field Days event online? What examples of virtual Field Days have you done/seen/been a part of? Please describe and share links, if possible. For those who have done virtual Field Days, what were some of the challenges you...
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Too Many Notifications? Not Enough? Here's How to Adjust Your Settings
A couple of months ago, I wrote a post on how to adjust your notification settings here in Connect Extension. It occurred to me this week that we have many more users now than when I originally wrote that. So, I thought I would share this information again: You have control over your own settings - how many or how few notifications you wish to receive. You can turn them all off entirely, or pick and choose what you would like to receive based upon content type. You can also customize your...
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Re: Practicing Connection in a Complex World podcast launches July 1!
I love this approach. Another podcast that's taking a really collaborative approach is Water Talk out of University of California Ag & Natural Resources. They're using the recording sessions to create community and a sense of audience (this happens mid-week), and then dropping the actual podcast on Friday. It's been an incredibly inclusive process: the team publicizes the recording on social media, including Twitter, and then shares the Zoom link via email. Again: so looking forward to...
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Re: Practicing Connection in a Complex World podcast launches July 1!
What a great idea! I will look it up - their process sounds right up our alley - thanks for sharing!
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Re: Practicing Connection in a Complex World podcast launches July 1!
Thank you for sharing! I look forward to checking it out!
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Your Leadership & Culture
These days we don't have to look far for articles on how to positively affect workplace culture. The founder of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, was once asked by an employee if they could serve sandwiches on their flights. He responded by asking if that would help them become THE low-cost airlines in the industry? It didn't so they don't! Every great leader believes their leadership can make a difference in their organization & helps keep everyone focused on their vision of what that...
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GROW VALUE FROM CORE COMPETENCIES
"Define your company by what you know (core competencies) and own (assets), not by what you do (products or services)." -Gary Hamel Read the article here ! Check out the amazing work being done by Strategos !
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ICYMI: Conducting Market Research for Extension Programs: Nebraska Extension's Weather Ready Farms
Last week, we had the opportunity to sit down with a wonderful team that has been working as one of eXtension's New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) projects for 2019-2020. The Weather Ready Farms program comes from Nebraska Extension and as an NTAE project, it received direct support from a third-party marketing firm specializing in agriculture to conduct market research into the target audience and create a marketing & communication plan. Our webinar last week included: Ashley...
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ICYMI: Connect Extension Chat: Virtualizing and Social Distancing Horticulture and Master Garden Volunteer Programs
In case you missed it: We had an excellent live chat with 58 participants discussing all the innovative ways to move horticulture and Master Gardener volunteer programs to a virtual platform! Some of the ideas included virtual Ask An Expert sessions, virtual coffee hours, webinar series, podcasts, and more. To see more including tips for marketing virtual programs, best practices and lessons learned, and suggested platforms, check out the chat archive ! Your co-hosts, Stephanie Pully and...
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Re: Conversations that matter: Advance care planning for rural families
@Roger Rennekamp - I thought this would be interesting for you to check out!
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Virtual National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) 9/14-17/2020
Registration is now open for ITEP’s Virtual National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) and there is no cost for attendance. Join us to listen and hear from various partners who will be joining us to share their knowledge and stories about the work they are doing to address the climate crisis occurring in our communities. We are so honored to feature many amazing speakers including our warriors, Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez of Earth Guardians ,...
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August 2020 Farm Journal Story Lead Contest: Soil Health
Get your story lead developed and published by Farm Journal! For this month’s Cooperative Extension feature, Farm Journal’s Trust In Food wants to hear from your county/state/region about an innovative research project, on-farm trial or farmer engagement program you or Extension is leading to help farmers measure, analyze and improve their soil health. Are you ready to pitch your story for a national audience? Post your submission in Connect Extension in the Farm Journal Monthly Story Lead...
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10 Leadership Theories
"There's nothing so practical as a good theory." - Dr. Kurt Lewin To fully understand where we are on our leadership journey it's important to see how far we've come in our thinking about leadership. Here are 10 of the most common leadership theories... 1. The Great Man Theory (1840s) -The thought that Great Leaders are born...not developed. 2. The Trait Theory of Leadership (1930s - 1940s) -The thought that there are ideal characteristics for Leaders. 3. The Skills Theory of Leadership...
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Best thing you've shared recently?
Completely out of the blue I asked my son this question... What's the best thing I've ever shared with you? We both moved on to other things & frankly I thought he'd forgotten. Eventually, he came over to me & said the best thing I'd shared with him was.........time! Well, needless to say, this blew me away. We all search for things in which to be proud of our kids but this simple answer struck me as profound for a teenager. The only thing we all have in common is time. A few years...
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Ask Extension Pilot Program
The eXtension Foundation is seeking volunteers to pilot the upgraded Ask An Expert platform, dubbed Ask Extension, to test features and provide input on user experience for long term improvements. Historically, Ask An Expert has served Cooperative Extension as a digital outreach tool to connect millions of U.S. citizens with you - their local Extension experts. The upgraded Ask Extension provides significant improvements in terms of enhanced ability for clients to dialogue with the expert,...
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Your HELP needed on inventory of Climate Change Extension Programs
Posted on behalf of the eXtension Foundation Climate Fellows As eXtension Foundation Climate Fellows, we are reaching out to ask for your participation in our national study. We are creating a database of Extension programs relating to climate and extreme weather adaptation and mitigation. By cross-referencing eXtension’s work with the Drawdown Review ’s climate solutions, we hope to find Cooperative Extension Service’s strengths when addressing climate and extreme weather issues, and where...
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EMPATHY
Help! My empathy meter is falling & I need to know how to bring it up! If you're confused about the difference between sympathy, empathy & compassion you're not alone. Too often these "cousins" are misused so here's a quick run-down... Sympathy When we act out of sympathy we're not really connecting with the other person. It means we understand what the person is feeling. It's pity for them. Empathy When we act out of empathy, a connection emerges with the feelings of the one who is...
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Re: Practicing Connection in a Complex World: Collaboration
Thanks for checking it out! I hope you enjoy it!
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New eFieldbook Available! Using Digital Technology in Extension Education
As part of eXtension’s New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, the eXtension Foundation selected Dr. @Rose Hayden-Smith as the Technology in Extension Education Fellow for year one (2019-2020). Part of her fellowship was the creation of the first version of the Using Digital Technology in Extension Education eFieldbook. The eXtension eFieldbook series provides a digital platform for aggregating content, tools, and engagement, and is available...
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Live Stream Today at 3 PM ET! Wrapping Up the Pollinator Stewardship Pilot Program: Outcomes, Metrics & Next Best Steps
Join us here in Connect Extension for a live stream of today's webinar! The Prairie View A&M University Pollinator Pilot has come to a close. Join us to find out how the campaign helped PVAMU's Cooperative Extension Program reach new audience members via radio, digital and social media outreach initiatives. Joining me will be Adam Winters, Chief Innovation Officer for Land.US and creator of AgNearMe.com, as well as Erica Overfelt and Braden Kobeski, Social Media and Engagement Officers...
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Live Stream at 2 PM ET! Healthy Eating, Social Media, & Lower Income Communities – A Research Review
Live Stream Available Here in Connect Extension Gain research insights on how various SNAP-eligible audiences use social media channels, particularly when it comes to health and healthy eating. Find out which platforms are preferred by different lower income populations to more effectively communicate healthy eating messages using social media. Presenters: Jackie Haven/Deputy Administrator, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture Jackie Haven oversees USDA’s...
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ICYMI- Asynchronous Programs
Nearly five dozen Cooperative Extension professionals from across the nation gathered to discuss asynchronous programs an d how we are making our formerly face-to-face programs available to clientele who want to learn on their own time not necessarily at the same time as everyone else like a webinar. We and our clientele are busier than ever and often cannot participate in synchronous events, so in order to reach them, we need to turn to provide programs asynchronously. As per the chat, most...
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ICYMI: Healthy Eating, Social Media, & Lower Income Communities – A Research Review
Yesterday, we hosted a webinar led by Jessica Larson - Public Affairs Specialist, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture. She provided a research review that offered insights on how various SNAP-eligible audiences use social media channels, particularly when it comes to health and healthy eating. Participants had a chance to find out which platforms are preferred by different lower income populations to more effectively communicate healthy eating messages...
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FOLLOWERS or JOINERS?
My curiosity about leadership & management led me to connect with Don Shapiro of First Concepts Consulting. We had a great conversation about our mutually favorite topic...leadership! Here's his site where you can find out more about his offerings, thought leadership, etc... First Concepts Consulting During our conversation, he had two important insights... *Over the last 20 years (or so), there has been an almost exponential increase in the focus on leadership. Ok, maybe exponential...
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September 2020 Farm Journal Story Lead Contest: How Are You Bringing People in Your Local Communities Closer to Farmers and U.S. Agriculture?
For this month’s Cooperative Extension feature, Farm Journal’s Trust In Food seeks your stories about helping bring people in your local communities closer to farmers and U.S. agriculture. Amid COVID-19, many companies are reporting they will redouble efforts related to mitigating climate change, lowering environmental impact & helping consumers make sustainability-conscious purchasing decisions. What are you doing to help local consumers & farmers connect and better understand the...
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National Juntos Convening: A Thirteen Year Journey
Since 2007 Juntos has been bridging communities together with the goal of graduating Latino students from high school and supporting their journey to high education. On September 23, 2020, eleven land-grant Universities, Juntos partners, advocates, and investors will come together for the opening of the first National Juntos Convening to answer Why Juntos Matters to our communities and nation. On September 24th Juntos leaders from all eleven Universities will come together to set the stage...
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Urban Foods Systems Symposium in October will focus on climate, community, security, production and distribution
All things food in and for urban areas will be in focus during the 3 rd Urban Food Systems Symposium scheduled for virtual delivery on Wednesdays in Octobe r and hosted this year by Kansas State University and K-State Research and Extension. 2020 Urban Food Systems Symposium online sessions will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT every Wednesday in October. If you’ve got an interest in any aspect of urban food systems there’s a session for you and you are encouraged attend. The...
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County Connectivity Landscape Dashboard Announced
COVID-19 has sped the adoption of virtual programming in Cooperative Extension across the nation and has highlighted a need for information about connectivity at the county level for use in planning virtual programs. A new tool developed by a team at Purdue University may help. With funding from eXtension Foundation, they’ve created a County Connectivity Landscape Dashboard to help Cooperative Extension professionals as they plan online programming and outreach methods. Dr. Roberto Gallardo,...
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Juntos National Convening Article
What an exciting time for the National Juntos Program. Last week our National Convening proved to be a much-needed time for all Juntos states and partners to gather and unite with the understanding of why Juntos matters and why Juntos is here to stay. We also set the stage for the future of the program with 2020 Vision as our driving force. Check out this great article which summarizes the event from our partner Education NC .
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National Juntos Convening: A Thirteen Year Journey
What an exciting time for the National Juntos Program. Last week our National Convening proved to be a much-needed time for all Juntos states and partners to gather and unite with the understanding of why Juntos matters and why Juntos is here to stay. We also set the stage for the future of the program with 2020 Vision as our driving force. Check out this Great Article which summarizes the event from our partner Education NC.
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THE SUPERMAN RULE
If we stopped to think about how many decisions we make each & every day it would be a daunting task. If we wrote them all down... Would we be satisfied with the outcomes? What would we learn about ourselves? How do they affect others? In today's world, it seems we have learned how to be distracted by all the wonderful technology available. Being bombarded by information can derail our effectiveness in making meaningful decisions that positively affect those we are trusted with leading.
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"ALIVE"
At this time during a pandemic we find ourselves physically distanced & isolated from one another. However, it's been exciting to see so many creative ways to stay socially connected. These connection times are meaningful and are essential to our overall health. To help focus this time, one of the things you could do is interview your loved ones. Stay with me here... LOSS One of the things we all have in common is loss. It's maybe the only thing we all truly have in common. We've all...