News and Notes: April 26, 2024
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OUR VISION: Ohioans have the knowledge and resources they need to actively engage in creating conditions in which they thrive.
OUR MISSION: We create opportunities for people to explore how science-based knowledge can improve social, economic, and environmental conditions.
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Leadership Notes
College Connections
Community Connections
Programming Perspectives
Operations/Business of Extension
Professional Development Opportunities
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Health and Wellness
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Note from David Civittolo
Volunteers are the heartbeat of our mission to reach Ohioans where they live and work.
Whether volunteers are part of an official organized group – such as our Master Gardener Volunteers or 4-H youth development volunteers – or are simply community members who reliably show up to hand out nametags, each one of them plays a crucial role in our organization. As we wrap up National Volunteer Week, I hope you take a few minutes to thank those who continually show up for us. We couldn’t have the impact we do without each one of them.
Thank you, too, for any volunteer service you give outside of your affiliation with OSU Extension. Maybe you volunteer at a food bank. Maybe you read to nursing home residents. Maybe you’re just “on call” for anytime your community needs someone to step up. Thank you for it all.
Volunteers by the Numbers: In 2023, there were 24,167 adult and youth volunteers who invested their time in Ohio 4-H youth development. In the same year, more than 3,000 Master Gardener Volunteers contributed 162,000+ hours of volunteer time. And nearly 700 Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists spent just shy of 90,000 hours raising awareness of the environment and natural resources in the state.
Best, David
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Minding the Brand Initiative Announced
An email went out yesterday announcing this initiative, but we are sharing it again today to ensure that it remains top of mind.
Thank you all for the time and attention you put into creating promotional pieces for the programs you lead, the research you conduct, and the publications you create. There is no doubt that creating these items – large and small – takes a significant amount of time.
Late last year, we tallied an estimated number of print-related marketing pieces created by all of Extension (including county offices, program areas, various teams, permanent and temporary signage, etc.) during the calendar year. That educated estimate resulted in more than 40,000 items (excluding social media posts and many merchandise items). This is an incredible amount of exposure for Extension, the college and the university.
This level of exposure is one reason that Extension Administration has committed to building a stronger presence of brand mindfulness and a more proactive approach than we have been able to offer in the past.
There are multiple ways we will achieve this goal:
- Maintaining a proactive approach to managing brand guideline applications for Extension – both as an organization operating within communities throughout Ohio and as a unit within the college and the university.
- Providing an individual, constant point of contact for brand-related questions within Extension.
- Building a robust system to create, share and update marketing resources (e.g. templates, branding elements, social media guidance).
- Establishing easy-to-use procedures when creating Extension materials and requesting help.
Why? Because quite literally, everything we create for the public must be appropriately branded.
Building a communications team focused on the needs of Extension that can consistently meet these goals has been a goal itself for several years. We are being mindful about how we approach this initiative and developing resources to support all Extension professionals.
We commit to communicate with you about our next steps in the days and weeks ahead. In the meantime, we hope you share our excitement as we move forward with this initiative, Minding the Brand.
We’re all part of Minding the Brand.
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We Grow Scientists Event – May 1
CFAES will host the second annual We Grow Scientists event on May 1 (3-7 p.m.) at the Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory in Columbus. The afternoon of hands-on learning and activities will showcase the many STEM fields the college offers and will include a look at the Waterman facilities such as the Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex (CEARC). We Grow Scientists is a free event open to learners of all ages wanting to explore STEM in their community. This event is being organized as part of the COSI Science Festival (May 1-4). Learn more at go.osu.edu/cosi24.
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OSP Offers Weekly Office Hours for Extension Professionals
The Office of Sponsored Programs and the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education provide scheduled office hours tailored to Extension professionals every week. These sessions aim to provide guidance and support for grant-related inquiries, spanning from proposal submission to the epa-005 process, and encompassing award management. Extension Sponsored Program Officers (SPO), Extension cost center managers, and staff from the Grant Development Support Unit are in attendance to address questions.
Office hours are on various days of the week, but all sessions are from 1-2 p.m. and are offered in fifteen-minute time slots. Appointments are scheduled through Picktime.
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Tractor Supply Company Paper Clover Campaign Begins
The Tractor Supply Company’s annual Paper Clover campaign is a significant initiative that supports 4-H camps, scholarships, and leadership opportunities. The 2024 campaign began April 24 and runs through May 5.
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Ohio Pawpaw Conference – May 18
Join pawpaw enthusiasts on May 18 in Wooster for the Ohio Pawpaw Conference. OSU Extension and the North American Pawpaw Growers Association are organizing the event that will feature cooking demonstrations, a grower panel, orchard tour, and more. Visit go.osu.edu/pawpaw2024 to learn more.
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BroadbandOhio Accelerator Program
The path to economic vibrancy requires universal access to basic necessities such as water, sewer, electricity, and as we learned during COVID, broadband. Recognizing that universal broadband access is not a luxury but a necessity, OSU Extension, in partnership with BroadbandOhio, created an educational program consisting of 11 weekly two-hour classes targeted at county leaders (leaders who will drive change such as government leaders, business leaders, community leaders). The third BroadbandOhio Accelerator Program launched this month with five counties/urban areas participating: Summit County, City of Canton (Stark County), Hancock County, Guernsey County, and Cuyahoga County.
Topics focus on the fundamentals of broadband access, key terms, evaluating the current landscape on a local level and developing a strategic plan that will drive broadband access to areas currently lacking adequate service. To learn more about the BroadbandOhio Accelerator Program, contact Kyle White.
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Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team Offers Resources
This spring, the Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team has scheduled “Hort Shorts” – quick seasonal updates that can help Extension professionals answer client questions. The topics can also be used as main ideas for blogs, columns and/or media releases.
Upcoming Hort Shorts will feature:
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April 30 — Where is Spongy Moth (formally Gypsy Moth) with Amy Stone
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May 7 – Bats in Buildings: What are your options? with Marne Titchenell
Hort Shorts will begin at 9:05 a.m. and last for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of the Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team’s weekly Zoom meeting.
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A Day in the Woods Announces 2024 Schedule
The A Day in the Woods program recently released its 2024 schedule. During the program’s 13th season, participants will meet many natural resources professionsals and increase their knowledge about woodland management.
The 2024 schedule is as follows:
- May 10 – Evaluating your Woods
- June 14 – Getting a Handle on Invasive Species
- July 12 – Native Grasslands and Pollinator Habitat
- Aug. 9 – Prescribed Fire: Ecology & Implementation (Smokey’s Birthday!)
- Sept. 13 – Night Flyers (5pm)
- Oct. 11 – Critter Homes: Wildlife Habitat Improvements
- Nov. 8 – Forest Stand Improvement
Additional information can be found on the A Day in the Woods website.
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New ePLUS Effort Focuses on On-Farm Horticulture Research
Logan Minter, Extension field specialist for specialty crops, has initiated a new on-farm/site research effort named ePLUS (produce, landscape, urban, and specialty crops). This initiative aims to amplify the volume of research information generated from real-life farming scenarios related to horticulture. The trials require collaboration between Extension educators, farmers, Master Gardener Volunteers, and/or community organizations. If you’re interested in starting ePLUS research in your county, contact Logan. Visit the ePLUS webpage for more information.
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Extending a University Business Trip for Personal Reasons: A Travel Reminder
Travelers opting to extend a business trip for personal reasons (vacation, holiday, weekend, etc.) should be aware of the university’s policies and required procedures to be included when submitting a pre-trip spend authorization. The pre-trip requirements promote transparency, accountability, and documentation for separation of business and personal travel expenses. At no time may university funds be used to pay for any personal travel expenses (airfare, per diem, lodging, rental car, etc.). It is strongly recommended travelers seek guidance and assistance during trip planning to gain full understanding of the university’s requirements. Guidance can be provided by the department cost center manager, CFAES Service Center and/or the CFAES Resource Guide. Failure to disclose personal travel combined with business at the spend authorization stage may result in additional questions and reimbursement implications post trip.
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Columbus Mid-West Campus Tunnel Project
Ohio State University Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) and ENGIE will be removing or partially removing several tunnel sections from the mid-west campus in summer 2024. The area near the Chadwick Arboretum surrounded by Plumb Hall, Kottman Hall, Howlett Hall, the Parker Food Science and Technology Building, and the Animal Sciences Building will mainly be affected by work. Steam outages, natural gas outages, lot closures, and road closures will be required throughout the summer to remove or relocate utilities that affect facilities as well as work to remove the tunnel infrastructure.
Below is a list of work that will directly affect operations, events, and parking:
Plumb Hall Parking Lot Partial Closure – Starting April 30, the south half of the Plumb Hall parking lot will be closed to all traffic. Dumpsters will be relocated to the northeast side of Plumb Hall for the summer.
Plumb Hall Parking Lot Full Closure – Starting May 6, the day after graduation, the entire Plumb Hall parking lot will be closed, except for several ADA spots and the northwest ADA entrance, through the remainder of the summer.
Agricultural Engineering Building Steam Outage - Starting May 6 through the afternoon of May 8, a steam outage is required and will affect the Agricultural Engineering Building as well as the French Field House, St. John Arena, and the ice rink.
Additional communications will be sent throughout the summer to address other impacts to operations, events, and parking as dates are scheduled for work that affects the CFAES community. For more information, visit ttm.osu.edu/traffic-impacts/plumb-hall-parking-lot-space-closures.
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Ohio JCEP Accepting Applications for Professional Development Scholarships and Programming Grants – Deadline May 1
Ohio JCEP is accepting applications through May 1 for its second round of professional development scholarships and programming grants for 2024. All current Ohio JCEP members are eligible to receive a scholarship or programming grant, which are awarded three times a year. Ohio JCEP scholarship information and application links can be found here, and grant information can be found here. Click here to access the link to apply.
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CFAES DEI Speaker Series Announced
The 2024 CFAES DEI Speaker Series kicked off in March. Upcoming speakers and topics are:
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May 16 – Janice Person, agricultural communication
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June 20 – Joyce Chen, climate change and human migration
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July 18 – Chad Duplain, the nature conservancy and indigenous land rights
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Sept. 19 – Mary Gardiner, Alice Laciny, and Sara Lalk, neurodivergence and entomology
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Nov. 21 – Natasha Myhal, indigenous environmental studies
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CFAES Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Offers Workshops
CFAES is committed to ensuring that all of its research and related educational programming are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. The next diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-focused workshops in CFAES include:
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May 9 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) — Responding to Microaggressions: Bystander Intervention Strategies that Work for Everyone
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May 15 (3-5 p.m.) — Implicit Associations, Insidious Assumptions: Unintended Manifestations of Bias in Everyday Life
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May 22 (10-11:30 a.m.) — Responding to Microaggressions: Bystander Intervention Strategies that Work for Everyone, must have valid OSU credentials and register via BuckeyeLearn
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May 28 (1-3 p.m.) — Implicit Associations, Insidious Assumptions: Unintended Manifestations of Bias in Everyday Life
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May 30 (2-4 p.m.) — The Gift of Accountability: How to Respond When Someone Calls You In/Out for Causing Harm
Visit cfaesdei.osu.edu/workshopsprograms/dei-workshops to learn more about all CFAES DEI programs.
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Longer, More Severe Allergy Season Alert
According to Ohio State allergy experts, a warming climate and increased carbon dioxide in urban areas are leading to longer pollen seasons with higher pollen counts. It’s even led to a growing number of people experiencing seasonal allergies for the first time. Learn about allergy management from the experts.