Progress report for EW18-015
OSU Land Steward Program Professional Development Project
Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2018: $73,199.00
Projected End Date: 03/31/2021
Grant Recipient:
Oregon State University
Region: Western
State: Oregon
Principal Investigator:
Project Information
Abstract:
The objectives of this project are to create tools and professional development trainings to
expand the locally successful Oregon State University Southern Oregon Research and Extension
Center Land Steward program to reach new audiences via Extension agents and educators,
NRCS staff, Soils and Water Conservation District personnel, and other agricultural professionals
who provide educational and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest owners
throughout Oregon, and into Idaho, Washington and California. The Land Steward program is
effective at increasing knowledge, motivation and changing behavior. Within six months of
completing the program more than 80% of participants have implemented at least one best
management practice, and over time participants have adopted hundreds of best management
practices ranging from irrigation improvements, to fire hazard abatement, to noxious weed
eradication, to riparian restoration, resulting in impacts on thousands of acres of land. The
Land Steward program serves as a launching pad for further education and technical assistance
from local agencies such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) and the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with 97% reporting improved ability to access such
educational and technical resources. Equally important, the program develops a sense of
community among participants and Land Stewards serve as ambassadors to other land owners.
Specifically, this project will 1) refine and publish a curriculum for the eleven module LS
training; 2) publish a series of management guidelines for distribution among land owners; 3)
create a hybrid version of the LS training; 4) provide three, two-day professional development
workshops to train ~45 agricultural and natural resource professionals to use the curriculum,
hybrid program, and management documents; 5) present at three state and national
conferences to introduce these tools to an additional ~54 professionals.
Project Objectives:
The objectives of this project are to create tools and professional development
trainings to allow the locally successful Oregon State University (OSU) Southern Oregon
Research and Extension Center (SOREC) Land Steward (LS) program to reach expanded
audiences via Extension agents and educators, NRCS staff, Soils and Water Conservation District
personnel, and other agricultural professionals who provide educational and technical
assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest owners throughout Oregon, and into Idaho,
Washington and California. Specifically, the project will 1) refine and publish a curriculum for
the eleven module LS training; 2) publish a series of topic based management guidelines for
instructors to distribute to land owners 3) create a hybrid version of the LS training; 4) provide
three, two-day professional development workshops to train ~45 agricultural and natural
resource professionals to use the curriculum, hybrid program, and management documents; 5)
present at three state and national conferences to introduce these tools to an additional ~54
professionals.
Education
Educational approach:
None of the education for professionals outlined in the goals has been implemented yet. However, In Sept- Nov. 2018 a pilot of the hybrid called the Land Steward Short Course was delivered in Josephine county to 19 participant land owner/agriculturalists. This hybrid short course is one of the tools being developed for professionals to use with their audiences. Delivery of the short course to agriculturalists is not one of the goals of this PDP but this is part of the development of the tools for professionals.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Promotion of New Land Steward Program Delivery Tools at Conferences
Objective:
Creating interest in using tools to reach new audiences.
Description:
The Land Steward program and upcoming delivery materials in development by this project were presented and promoted at two conferences in 2018 to build interest in trying the tools and participating in the workshops during the last phase of the project (goal 5). This concept was delivered to 15 extension professionals from around the country at the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals in Biloxi, MI at the end of April 2018. Contacts of professionals interested in potentially using the materials once developed were secured from extension faculty of Idaho, Oregon, Washington an Arizona and Utah. These individuals will be kept informed as the tools are developed. In December of 2018 the Land Steward Program and results of the pilot short course were delivered to 12 Oregon extension professionals. Four of these expressed interest in possibly delivering the short course to their audiences. Additional networking with partners has resulted in a potential plan for a partnership between Wasco county and Clackamas county extension professionals to deliver a short course in 2019. Glenn Ahrens forester of Clackamas and Michelle Sager of master Gardener program in Wasco county will shadow the delivery of the Jackson county short course in Spring of 2019 as part of their training for delivery. Additionally Amy Grotta forester is discussing delivery of a LS short course in partnership with staff from the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District are entertaining a similar plan. They will also shadow the spring short course.
Outcomes and impacts:
Two unforeseen conference presentations promoting the still-in-development Land Steward delivery tools occurred in 2018, reaching 27 professionals creating interest in delivering the program. Already, three additional counties have planned to implement or implemented a land steward training, for a program which was previously only available in Jackson County.
Educational & Outreach Activities
2 On-farm demonstrations
1 Online trainings
3 Published press articles, newsletters
3 Webinars / talks / presentations
2 Workshop field days
Participation Summary
3 Extension
1 Agency
5 Farmers/ranchers
Learning Outcomes
46 Participants gained or increased knowledge, skills and/or attitudes about sustainable agriculture topics, practices, strategies, approaches
9 Ag professionals intend to use knowledge, attititudes, skills and/or awareness learned
Project Outcomes
1 Grant received that built upon this project
3 New working collaborations
Project outcomes:
There are no learning outcomes among professionals to report yet. However, 3 professionals participated in delivery of the pilot short course thus reaching their audiences. The short course pilot delivered to 19 land owner agriculturalists was well received. A post program survey was distributed among participants and 100% responding said the program was excellent to very good. All reported that the course is improving their management practices. These and other data were used to promote the short course at the OSU conference, which has resulted in 3 new county partnerships planning to implement Land Steward short course trainings. Additionally participant feedback on format and content are being used to update the short course to its final version. Our project learning outcomes will occur later in the project.
3 Agricultural service provider participants who used knowledge and skills learned through this project (or incorporated project materials) in their educational activities, services, information products and/or tools for farmers
19 Farmers reached through participant's programs
Additional Outcomes:
The WSARE funded OSU Land Steward PDP grant has 5 objectives over 3 years: 1) refine and publish a curriculum for the eleven module LS training; 2) publish a series of topic based management guidelines for instructors to distribute to land owners 3) create a hybrid version of the LS training; 4) provide workshops to train professionals to use the above tools 5) present at three state and national conferences to introduce these tools to an additional ~54 professionals.
Additional support was secured in Jan. 2018 (before funding was awarded by WSARE) to advance work on the hybrid LS program, so that goal moved up in the timeline. In 2018, the hybrid was developed and a pilot was delivered in fall 2018 to 19 land owner agriculturalists with the help of 5 land owner mentors and 3 agricultural professional partners.
Two conferences were attended presenting on and promoting the still-in-development tools of this project, reaching 27 professionals. Already, three additional counties have planned to implement or implemented a land steward training, for a program which was previously only available in Jackson County.
Work is underway with the management guideline series and all are in review. They are expected to be published in 2019. The curriculum is a bit behind in production, but given that the short course is nearing finalization, this will still allow us to complete our goals on time.
Recommendations:
We very much appreciate WSARE support in spreading this great program! I have a recommendation for the reporting. It would be helpful if there were a pdf expanded summary of all of these categories in the reporting section of the website. It is unweildy to open and close them to see what will be asked and would be easier to be able to know what is requested, be able to compile it and then enter it all at once. Thank you again!
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.
