What is Cooperative Extension?
The
Cooperative Extension Service was established in 1914 in partnership
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the land-grant colleges.
UC Berkeley was the first land-grant college in California, and
CNR currently has ~20 CE specialists. As part of the land-grant
tradition, UC Cooperative Extension at UC Berkeley is dedicated
to extending science that will help improve environmental, social
and economic conditions for Californians. The work done by the
CE specialists such as myself in CNR is integral to the success
of the ESPM department and the CNR mission. We conduct applied
research and coordinate public outreach activities on a range of
topics, from childhood obesity to environmental monitoring to biotechnology.
By writing and disseminating educational materials, developing
new interactive web-based technologies, and participating in stakeholder
and agency working groups and committees, cooperative extension
specialists give Californians the tools to both protect the Earth’s
natural resources and ensure economic and ecological sustainability
for future generations.
My CE Program
I am
a Cooperative Extension Specialist, which means that my research
is applied, the results of which have an impact on California ecosystems
and citizens. My extension
mission goes hand-in-hand with my applied research program. My research
-- on tidal wetland restoration, sudden oak death, or historical
ecology, for example -- is applied; the methods used, and the results
from the research have a direct impact on California ecosystems and
citizens. In each of my areas of research I develop a Research-Development-Delivery
continuum: I investigate a practical ecological question, I use of
a suite of integrated geospatial tools to examine the system, and
I communicate with an interested stakeholder group. In addition,
in many of my projects and where appropriate, I actively incorporate
feedback from stakeholders into the research. This is exemplified
in my sudden oak death research and in my efforts with the Sierra
Nevada Adaptive Management Program, where citizen monitoring is a
critical part of our research and education efforts.
In addition to my applied research program, my teaching and mentoring philosophy involve outreach. For example, several of my lab members are
involved in these activities. For example, Graduate Student Tim
DeChant has worked in the past with a UC program CityWatershed to help educate
high school students about their local urban watershed (and GIS/GPS
technology along the way), and he is now working with Team Oakland students and developing geospatial workshops; Graduate Student Esther Zeledon has been working with local high-school students and teaching them GPS and GIS technology through the SMASH (summer math and science honors) Program; and former Graduate Student Karin
Tuxen has been building webGIS systems that both serve information
to and collect information from community members for wetland monitoring
and management, as well as developing and delivering a range of geospatial workshops for colleagues in the UC CE continuum.
Selected Projects
Extension presentations and publications are listed in my CV, found on my personal page.
Links:
UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources Cooperative Extension
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
