Webinars from the Water for Agriculture project
FINAL WORKSHOP SERIES
WORKSHOP TWO – May 18, 2022
A Guidebook for Practitioners and Researchers for Engaging Stakeholders in Natural Resource Management
WORKSHOP SUMMARY
This workshop, the second in the Water for Ag final webinar series, provided an overview of the Guidebook to Stakeholder Engagement in Natural Resources Management, an online set of materials.
The Guidebook is designed to serve the needs of all those seeking to develop effective strategies for intentional, community-led
engagement in managing natural resources issues – regardless of whether they are relatively new to, or are more experienced with, developing these types of initiatives.
The webinar included brief a presentations of the Water for Agriculture project’s approach to engagement, a detailed overview of the Guidebook and a moderated panel discussion of with the lead facilitators who coordinated our engagement initiatives in our five partner sites across the country.
You can find a recording of this presentation here. Access pass code is Cu%fu8%B
The Chesapeake Foodscape – A Complex Balancing Act
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed foodscape is a complex system that is providing food for over 18 million residents of the watershed and to people around the world. The science is clear that to meet our biodiversity goals in the Chesapeake, we must reduce nutrient and sediment loss from agricultural lands. Additionally, climate change is going to make this harder due to increased precipitation and heavy rain events. Support to tackle these challenges from public and private investors is unprecedented but needs to be deployed in a way that makes sense for farmers to change their management practices and continue to be economically viable. Matt discussed how The Nature Conservancy is advancing nature-based solutions in agricultural landscapes across the Chesapeake Bay through innovative partnerships and opportunities for the Chesapeake to be a model for foodscapes around the world.
Presenter: Dr. Matthew Houser is an Applied Social Scientist and Regenerative Agricultural Fellow dually appointed at The Nature Conservancy Maryland/DC Chapter and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences, Horn Point Laboratory. He conducts collaborative, interdisciplinary research to understand the cross-scale factors shaping farmers’ management decision-making. From this work, Matthew’s goal is to develop programs and policies that better enable farmers’ to increase the environmental and economic sustainability of agriculture production.
Recording: Video M Houser_Trim.mp4
Collaborative Competencies. February 17, 2022 1:00-2:00 ET
Collaborative governance is an approach to public policy that helps parties reach across political, cultural, social, physical, and geographical boundaries, in order to overcome conflict, seek mutual understanding and common ground, and identify areas for mutual gains. But collaboration is not easy or natural for many people. Most benefit from assistance to help increase their capacity to initiate, participate in, and/or lead collaborative public policy efforts. This interactive session reviews the University Network for Collaborative Governance’s Collaborative Competencies Framework, which provides an overview of the concrete skills needed to initiate and participate in collaborative approaches to public issues.
Presenter: Michael Kern is the Principal at Michael Kern Consulting, LLC. He spent 12 years as Director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center at Washington State University and the University of Washington. He is an Associate Professor at WSU Extension, and Affiliate Associate Professor at the UW Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.
Issue Brief: A three-page summary of this presentation. https://water4ag.psu.edu/files/2022/03/M.-Kern-Webinar-Brief_Final-.pdf
Recording https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Clip+of+W4Ag+Webinar+-+M.+Kern/1_7ssga76n
Presentation slides: https://water4ag.psu.edu/files/2022/03/Water4Ag-Collab-Competencies-Kern-2022-02-17.pdf
A Conversation with the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment – December 9, 2021 1:30-2:30 Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Alex Echols, the Campbell Foundation’s program director for agriculture, discusses how the Foundation sets priorities and what they are. He provides examples of how they work to bring groups together, focusing the use of science in decision making, improving environmental returns on investment (E-ROI), and developing innovations in conservation. He further discusses how this has worked with nutrient management, particularly with chicken and dairy production.
Presenter: Alex Echols is the program director for agriculture for Campbell Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Alex ran an independent business to help advance conservation outcomes, particularly in water quality and biodiversity. He also built a company, Ecosystem Services Exchange, that improves farm profitability and water quality. Previously Alex ran the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, worked as the government affairs director of a recycling trade association and worked for the U.S. Senate for 12 years
Issue Brief: A two-page summary of this presentation https://water4ag.psu.edu/files/2022/03/Echols-Webinar-Brief-Final-
Why and What For: Funder Experiences in Collaborative
Agricultural Water Programming – June 17, 2021. 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST
Public and private funders supporting agricultural conservation and watershed restoration initiatives across the U.S. are increasingly emphasizing the need for more robust partnerships and collaborative approaches as essential in meeting our goals for voluntary, farmer- and community-led watershed restoration. Borrowing from experiences in Chesapeake Bay grant making, this webinar will feature insights from funders on some of the formative research and grantmaking driving this renewed emphasis on partnerships, practical frameworks for advancing collaborative agricultural water initiatives, case studies and lessons learned from successful local initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic region effectively unlocking partnerships and collaboration to drive conservation adoption.
Presenter: Jake Reilly is the director of Chesapeake Bay programs for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where he oversees a portfolio of competitive grants, technical assistance, and educational programming in support of local watershed restoration and conservation efforts
Webinar recording: https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/W4Ag+Webinar+-+J.+Reilly/1_c2n2q498
Issue Brief – a five-page summary with a resource page of this presentation can be found at: Reilly Webinar Brief Final (1)
Ideas for Leveraging Ecosystem Restoration Funding
How to fund ecosystem restoration work on the ground is a constant question. This webinar describes the situation with ESG (environmental, social, and governance investments) and discusses tools used in different contexts to achieve this kind of work. Such tools include resilience bonds; green banks; parametric insurance; markets for carbon, biodiversity, stormwater trading and more; conservation ballot initiatives; voluntary opt in investment programs; innovative labeling; and more. This webinar will then have an opportunity for discussion and a chance to share additional ideas.
Presenter: Lara B. Fowler
Professor Lara Fowler is an attorney and mediator who focuses on environmental, energy, and natural resource law, with a specific focus on water related issues. She has a joint appointment between Penn State Law and the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment where she is working on questions related to water, the Chesapeake Bay, and energy.
Issue Brief – a five-page summary with a resource page of Professor Fowler’s presentation can be found Fowler Webinar Brief Final
Webinar Recording: https://psu.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Clip+of+W4Ag+Webinar+-+L.+Fowler+-+revised/1_4h9j3p3v
The Theory and Practice of Engaged Knowledge Co-production
This webinar discusses the theory and practice of knowledge co-production as a means of engaging stakeholders in the production of actionable information as well as the future directions and challenges in co-production including how to scale-up co-production using in-person versus remote engagement.
Presenter: Dr. Christine Kirchhoff
Dr. Kirchhoff is an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Connecticut and is an affiliated faculty member with the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation and with the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. In 2020, she received the honorary title of Castleman Professor in Engineering Innovation and was awarded an NSF CAREER grant.
Recording URL
Presentation slides can be accessed here
Engaging Farmers and Communities in Response to California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
In 2014, California passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), sweeping new groundwater management legislation designed to put an end to groundwater over-pumping and ensure there’s enough water for people, the economy and wildlife in California for generations to come.
This webinar provided an overview of SGMA and discussed some of the work being done to better engage and educate farmers and community members around water and land-use decisions being made within their communities. During the presentation, they also shared insights and lessons learned from their experiences to date on how groups can better work together to advance effective and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
Presenters:
Dr. Christina Babbitt manages the California Groundwater Program at Environmental Defense Fund, where she is working to advance water trading policy in California and scale replicable groundwater sustainability projects across California’s Central Valley.
Vicky Espinoza is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Environmental Systems Graduate Group at the University of California, Merced, where her research addresses sustainable water management for global food, energy, and water security.
Babbit and Espinoza Webinar Brief Final (1)
Recording URL https://psu.zoom.us/rec/share/4MAtbIjw3UhJZaPd0UzdWZANHI_FX6a81nQdr_UKzUva9TQDy37pedAEZyaRRpJz?startTime=1586882810000
The Sugar Creek Method of Research and Farmer Team Building to Achieve Improved Water Quality
The webinar will describe the Sugar Creek Method used by a team of social and natural scientists at The Ohio State University who teamed up with three teams of local farmers (one non-Amish German descent, one Amish, and one combined) and the local SWCDs, Ohio EPA, and a cheese factory to improve water quality.
The presentation is divided into six sections: 1). Theoretical threads woven to create the method; 2). How the research and farm teams were formed; 3). Farmer values influencing our approach; 4). Grants and BMPs; 5). The Alpine Nutrient Trading Program; 6). Climate change and new approaches involving carbon.
Presenter
Dr. Richard Moore is Professor Emeritus of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. He is currently a senior fellow with the National Council for Science and the Environment in DC
Moore Webinar Brief Final (1)
URL Recording https://psu.zoom.us/rec/share/5sdTAeysyntLbtKT-E_mXKQ5MMfnT6a8hyRP-ftbnk_AZDX54XVKr__73TNqkTlZ
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Collaborative Modeling Methodologies to Address Climate Change in Mountain Regions: A Case Study from The Sierra Nevada in the Western United States
This webinar described a suite of collaborative modeling (CM) methods employed to assess and enhance the climate resiliency of snow-fed arid lands river systems in the Truckee-Carson River System in the western United States. In addition to reviewing the formative and summative evaluation results, lessons learned from this case study lend additional insight into the perks and pitfalls inherent to interdisciplinary knowledge co-production and emphasize the importance of evaluation to identify and empirically test best practices involving the selection and application of collaborative modeling methods.
Presenter
Dr. Loretta Singletary is a Professor with the Department of Economics and University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, and UNR Interdisciplinary Outreach Liaison
Singletary Webinar Brief Final (1)
Community Engagement in Natural Resource Management – Lessons Learned From The Award-Winning Victoria Rabbit Action Network And An International Partnership
The webinar highlighted the underlying principles, community engagement strategies and framing of the innovative, and UN award winning Victoria Rabbit Action Network program (VRAN). Our presenters also discussed the lessons learned from the collaborative research and capacity-building partnership between Penn State, Australia’s Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre and University of New England.
Presenters:
Michael Reid program manager with Agriculture Victoria and Dr. Ted Alter, professor of agricultural, environmental, and regional economics at Penn State University.
Reid Alter Summary Issue Brief
Linking Extension and Research to Identify Management Solutions in Partnership with Producers and Industry
This webinar provided an overview of the University of Nebraska TAPS program, an innovative program that facilitates a number of interactive real-life farm management competitions. These competitions bring together UNL scientists and extension professionals, producers, industry leaders, agriculture students, government regulators and agency personnel to become part of a highly engaged network focused on evolving profitability and input-use efficiency.
Presenter
Daran Rudnick is an assistant professor of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, specializing in irrigation/water management and is located at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte, Nebraska. Daran has an active extension program that engages growers, industry, regulatory agencies, and university personnel.
Rudnick Summary Issue Brief
Recording URL: https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/uM9VfYUD-N50av53g8wt0BU1k3ac8gVl2nxTGmYHmhqwIumekTziMw?startTime=1560875802000
Promise and Peril in Participatory Approaches to Water Quality Research
This webinar provided an overview of participatory approaches to engage farmers and stakeholders in research and stimulate action to address water quality challenges. Case studies will illustrate the opportunities and challenges faced by researchers seeking to use a more collaborative and participatory approach.
Presenter
Dr. Jackson-Smith is a rural sociologist who uses social science research tools and collaborations with interdisciplinary teams to study the human dimensions of complex agricultural and environmental change. His work often involves participatory approaches that engage stakeholders directly in the design, conduct, and analysis of scientific research and modeling.
Recording URL: https://psu.box.com/s/rnxktq94dul5mw4blmf0dvzfl9amy446
Presentation slides Water for Ag Webinar April 2019
Summary Issue Brief https://water4ag.psu.edu/files/2019/08/Jackson-Smith-Webinar-Issue-Brief.pdf
The Voluntary Stewardship Program: Engaging Diverse Interests to Resolve Conflict Over Preserving Agriculture and Protecting Natural Resources
An on-the-ground example of what it can look like when diverse interests are engaged in a collaborative process to address issues around preserving agriculture while protecting natural resources like water and fish
Presenter
Michael Kern, Assoc. Prof. of Extension at Washington State University, Affiliate Associate Professor, University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and Director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center. Professor Kern is also a member of the Water for Agriculture Advisory Committee
Recording URL: https://psu.zoom.us/recording/play/zCqoSEe-OAzXjEcq7i1ixCAfaNPyial9jcP8KhuWqZuOy6kbpbuwho_uptqH4amx?continueMode=true
Summary Issue Brief https://water4ag.psu.edu/files/2019/10/Kern-Webinar-Brief-Final-1.pd