Outreach

What is Cooperative Extension? Cooperative Extension is an engine for problem solving in California. 

The Cooperative Extension Service was established in 1914 in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Land Grant colleges. In California, Cooperative Extension is organized through the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the division of the University of California system with a public mandate and the public trust to share research-based information with the public about healthy communities, nutrition, agricultural production and environmental stewardship. UC Berkeley was the first Land Grant college in California, and CNR currently has ~20 CE specialists.

 

Our Cooperative Extension mission at UC Berkeley focuses on delivering science innovation to resource conservation and stewardship, to public health, agricultural production, and to communities across the state of California. The work done by 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 deliver science results through public outreach activities on a range of topics, from forest management, childhood obesity, to water quality and delivery. Our outreach is innovative and effective; we write and disseminate educational materials, develop and deliver new interactive web-based technologies, and participate in stakeholder and agency working groups and committees. We 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

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 forest structure and forest management, on wetland vegetation patterning and restoration, 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 work with the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Program, where citizen participation is a critical part of our research and education efforts.  In addition to my applied research program, my teaching and mentoring philosophy involve outreach and several of my lab members are involved in these activities.