Sustainability Outreach in extension:
Complete National Results National Network for Sustainable Living Education Delivered by: Roslynn Brain, Utah State University Extension, Results analyzed by: Roslynn Brain & Clark Dove, Utah State University
The Sustainability Outreach in Extension: National Survey was developed with input from colleagues attending the 2016 National Extension Sustainability Summit in Portland, Oregon, Community Development Extension Institute in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals conference in Burlington, Vermont. The survey was designed in qualtrics, and emails to Extension directors in every state were administered following Dillman’s (2007) Tailored Design Method for internet surveys. This included a personalized pre-notice email, a first survey link email, a second survey link email, and a final contact. Emails were drafted in an easy cut-and-paste format for directors, with the request that they send the survey to all Extension educators in their respective states. The survey was also sent to the chairs of the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals, National Family Consumer Sciences, National Association County Agricultural Agents, and the National Network for Sustainable Living Education, with the request to copy and paste the main email content and send to their respective members. All contacts were made during the month of January 2017. Of the 1,693 responses received, 1,395 agreed to participate and completed at least 75% of the survey. This report includes the complete national results, analyzed using Python and the Pandas, Numpy, and NLTK libraries within it.
DEMOGRAPHICS Most respondents to the survey were either county/regional educators (n = 510, 42%), state specialists (n = 302, 25%), county directors (n = 127, 11%), regional specialists (n = 116, 10%), or administrators (n = 62, 5%). Forty states were represented, with 56% (n = 667) female and 44% (n = 526) male. Most respondents had worked either 0-5 or 11-20 years in Extension. GENDER
526
44.1%
MALE
FEMALE
667
55.9%
YEARS WORKED
Note: The median range of years worked is 11-20 and the mode is 0-5.
AGE
Note. The median age range is 45-54 and the mode is 55+
ROLE:
f
%
STATE
f
%
County/regional Educator
510
42.22
Georgia
189
15.84
State Specialist
302
25.00
Missouri
144
12.07
County Director
127
10.51
Oklahoma
100
8.38
Regional Specialist
116
9.60
Minnesota
76
6.37
Administrator
62
5.13
Utah
59
4.95
Staff
12
0.99
Wyoming
53
4.44
Program Coordinator
3
0.25
New York
44
3.69
Program Manager
2
0.17
Iowa
44
3.69
Sare Program Consultant
1
0.08
Wisconsin
43
3.60
4-H Ypa
1
0.08
Direct Program Linked To Extension
1
0.08
Florida
43
3.60
Extension Program Manager
1
0.08
Michigan
40
3.35
National Coordinator
1
0.08
Texas
39
3.27
Ph.D. Candidate Applying for Work In Extension
1
0.08
West Virginia
39
3.27
Research Technician
1
0.08
Washington
38
3.19
County Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor
1
0.08
Arizona
32
2.68
Evaluation Research Associate
1
0.08
New Hampshire
23
1.93
Nurse Planner for Continuing Education Conferences
1
0.08
Oregon
21
1.76
County Advisor: Research and Education
1
0.08
Connecticut
20
1.68
Extension Communications
1
0.08
California
19
1.59
District Program Development Coordinator
1
0.08
Massachusetts
15
1.26
Program Coordinator at 4-H Center
1
0.08
Alabama
14
1.17
Executive Director - Regional Sustainable Development Partnership
1
0.08
New Mexico
12
1.01
County Based Advisor - Research & Education
1
0.08
New Jersey
12
1.01
Extension Program Coordinator
1
0.08
Nevada
8
0.67
Instructor/Program Developer
1
0.08
South Carolina
8
0.67
Extension Program Instructor
1
0.08
Illinois
8
0.67
Outreach Specialist/Content Provider
1
0.08
Indiana
8
0.67
Deliver Extension Programs
1
0.08
Hawaii
7
0.59
Tribal Agent
1
0.08
North Dakota
6
0.50
Senior Extension Associate and Statewide Viticulture Extension Program
1
0.08
Nutrition Program Instructor
1
0.08
Maine
5
0.42
Development Officer
1
0.08
Arkansas
4
0.34
Nutrition Education Associate
1
0.08
Rhode Island
4
0.34
Statewide Advocate for the Alaska Wood Energy Development Task Group
1
0.08
Alaska
4
0.34
Research Fellow
1
0.08
Vermont
3
0.25
Mg Program Coordinator County Level and Office Manager
1
0.08
Ohio
3
0.25
Extension Technician
1
0.08
Idaho
2
0.17
Communications Professional
1
0.08
Louisiana
1
0.08
County Agent
1
0.08
North Carolina
1
0.08
Outreach Program Manager
1
0.08
Kansas
1
0.08
Evaluator
1
0.08
Colorado
1
0.08
is SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANt? The overall majority of Extension employees nationally believed it was either “important” or “extremely important” to engage their clientele in learning about sustainability (n = 1,326). When subdivided by gender, more females than males felt it was “extremely important” to engage their clientele about sustainability. When subdivided by years worked in Extension, the majority of newer employees who had worked 10 years or less rated this as “extremely important,” whereas the majority of employees who had worked 11 or more years rated this as “important.” GENDER
Note. Median rating was ‘Important’ and mode rating was ‘Extremely important’’.
AGE
There were not enough responses in the 18-24 range (only 17), so these were combined with the 25-34 range for the chi square test.
Chi Square results: Test Statistic=15.39592270248796, P-value=0.080619110889385073 > .05 (not statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom=9
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely important), 2 (Important), 3 (Slightly important) and 4 (Not at all important) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
YEARS WORKED
Chi Square results: Test Statistic=52.701455289991678, P-value=4.6548863823501655e-07 (statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom=12
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely important), 2 (Important), 3 (Slightly important) and 4 (Not at all important) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
Chi Square Results: Test Statistic=35.776045750211317, P-value=8.3509046385381772e-08 (statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom=3
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely important), 2 (Important), 3 (Slightly important and 4 (Not at all important) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
Why SUSTAINABILITY is or is not IMPORTANt This was an open-ended question, asking participants why they feel it is or isn’t important to educate their clientele about sustainability. The total number of respondents to this question was 925. These are the top five major themes with selected responses from each. SUSTAINABILITY IN TERMS OF USING RESOURCES
“It is important to ensure that we are able to continue to utilize resources.” “It enables clientele to make informed decisions about their and society’s management of resources.” “Resources are limited, population is growing, so we all need to be practicing carrying-capacity thinking to be a successful species.” “Every day decisions impact our natural resources. Cumulatively, peoples’ decisions can make a difference.” SUSTAINABILITY FOR ECONOMICAL AND PROFITABILITY PURPOSES
“Support of natural resource industries over the long-term has always been a central focus of Extension activities. In the public interest, it is critically important that our work helps to guide these industries toward practices that are profitable and sustainable in the long-term as research-based information helps to clarify this over time.” “If we think of sustainability with a large emphasis on economic sustainability, I think it is important for clients to be able to remain in the business of agriculture for the long run.“ “Vibrant local economies depend upon their ability to sustain themselves through various economic cycles.” “We are a rural community that depends on agriculture for our local economy. If we don’t keep agriculture and keep it clean, we cannot support the community.” “Sustainable agriculture is important to our state’s economic stability.”
PROBLEMS WITH THE WORD SUSTAINABILITY
“I feel like people are confused by the definition and that “sustainability” is this bad word as it relates to agriculture. I think it is very important to educate the public.” “It is important to educate clientele about sustainability because it is an issue that impacts people, businesses, and organizations in the county. However, there are issues with just maintaining basic necessities and quality of life elements as resources tend to flow to urban areas, so sustainability practices are less important than accessibility. In addition, the political leaning in the area is such that sustainability and climate change are considered issues made up by people with an agenda, and there is open hostility toward any discussion or practice that would appear to support the need for sustainability or the existence of climate change. Anyone who uses the term or appears to support sustainability ideas or climate change is consider suspect and cannot be completely trusted.” “There has been a bias that sustainability is only good for the environment and not the farmers who work in it. “Sustainability is just the 21st century buzzword for stewardship -- haven’t we always been about good stewardship?” “Sustainability is too vague to be useful. Everyone from anti-gmo activists to vegans to proponents of modern technologies to increase efficiency claims that they are promoting sustainability. I find it more useful to educate on appropriate management practices for local farms.”
SUSTAINABILITY FOR THE FUTURE
“A healthy environment = a healthy community. When sustainability is integrated it takes that concept and extends to future generations.” “No program or project stands alone in time and place. All human endeavor is impacted by the future. To be prepared for the future is being aware of sustainable practices and planning.” “Survival of the planet, our species, other species, quality of life depends on looking at the impact on the future by what we do now.” “We need to be good stewards of our resources in order to pass along to future generations.” IMPORTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES
“It is critical for the future prosperity of the community.” “It is the basis for economic, social, and environmental health of all within the community - and if the members of the community enjoy good health in all these aspects one would expect there to be less serious conflict and strife.” “It is important to educate our clientele about sustainability in order for the community as a whole to move forward in knowledge and action and to help our communities come together and have a healthy future.” “We are a rural community that depends on agriculture for our local economy. If we don’t keep agriculture and keep it clean, we cannot support the community.”
Top 10 ranked sustainability areas “In your opinion, what topic areas is your state Cooperative Extension system currently doing a good job at addressing? Consider dedicated staff time, programs, curriculum development, fact sheets, etc. (select all that apply).� This question received 1,191 responses. The top five topic areas were nutrition/health education, water quality, soil health, environmental education, and consumer education.
1.
5.
2.
6.
3.
11. Forest stewardship and management, , 522, 43.83 12. Urban agriculture,, 501,, 42.07
14. Disaster preparedness, 426, 35.77
36. 4-H/Youth development, 25, 2.01
15. Land conservation, 414, 34.76
37. Alternative forms of transportation, 18, 1.51
18. Land use planning, 358, 30.06 19. Water quantity, 347, 29.14
63. Community tourism development, 1, 0.08 64. Nursery, 1, 0.08 65. Environmental protection, 1, 0.08 66. Fire management and preventive practices, 1, 0.08 67. Agricultural environmental management, 1, 0.08 68. Corrections, 1, 0.08
39. Conventional Agriculture, 12, 1.01
69. Food processing, 1, 0.08
40. Animal Husbandry, 7, 0.59
70. Abuse prevention, 1, 0.08
41. Profitability, 5, 0.42
71. Reduction of education disparities, 1, 0.08
42. Too inexperienced to answer effectively, 4, 0.34
21. Climate change impacts, 305, 25.61
43. Family issues, 4, 0.34
73. Business development, 1, 0.08
44. Horticulture, 3, 0.25
74. At risk species, 1, 0.08
23. Renewable energy, 220, 18.47 24. Waste (landfill, recycling, compost), 210, 17.63
10.
38. Pest/weed management, 13, 1.09
1, 0.08 62. Fruit, 1, 0.08
20. Storm and wastewater management, 344, 28.88
22. Energy efficiency, 285, 23.93
9.
34. Transitional economies, 38, 3.19
13. Grasslands stewardship and management, 443, 37.20
17. Inclusivity/diversity, 381, 31.99
8.
33. Air quality, 88, 7.39
35. Transition planning for communities traditionally dependent on extraction industries, 34, 2.85
16. Community resiliency, 386, 32.41
7.
4.
45. Conservation, 3, 0.25 46. Parenting, 3, 0.25 47. Invasive species, 3, 0.25 48. Landscape, 2, 0.17
25. Fisheries, 204, 17.13
49. Coparenting, 2, 0.17
26. Food justice (aims to ensure that the benefits and risks of producing, distributing, and consuming food are shared fairly by everyone involved and to transform the food system to eliminate inequities), 195, 16.37
50. Civic engagement, 2, 0.17
27. Poverty reduction, 152, 12.76 28. Green infrastructure, 129, 10.83 29. Food waste, 128, 10.75 30. Policy changes, 116, 9.74 31. Social systems, 108, 9.07 32. Systems thinking, 91, 7.64
51. Food safety, 2, 0.17 52. Urban forestry/ landscape health, 2, 0.17 53. Grazing management, 2, 0.17 54. Permaculture, 1, 0.08 55. Financial education, 1, 0.08 56. Physical activity, 1, 0.08 57. Floriculture production, 1, 0.08 58. Natural history, 1, 0.08 59. Tribal food sovereignty, 1, 0.08 60. Beginning farmer education, 1, 0.08 61. Local government,
72. Plant health, 1, 0.08
75. Tribal communities, 1, 0.08 76. Diversified agriculture, 1, 0.08 77. Greenhouse, 1, 0.08 78. Healthy homes, 1, 0.08 79. Financial literacy, 1, 0.08 80. Wildilife, 1, 0.08 81. Caregiving, 1, 0.08 82. Cultural competencies, 1, 0.08 83. Sports nutrition, 1, 0.08 84. Education, 1, 0.08 85. Labor and working class studies, 1, 0.08 86. Cover crops, 1, 0.08 87. Waste management, 1, 0.08 88. Household hazardous wastes, 1, 0.08 89. Life skill development, 1, 0.08 90. Sustainable farming practices, 1, 0.08
Extension Leadership support When asked “How supported by state Extension leadership do you feel in educating about sustainability?” 1,328 responded with “supported” receiving the majority of responses. OVERALL RESULTS
Note. Median and mode rating were “supported”.
GENDER Chi Square Results: Test Statistic=17.379603714284958, P-value= 0.0016307293999414743 (statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom=4 Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely supported), 2 (Supported), 3 (Slightly Supported) and 4 (Not at all supported) to calculate mean and standard deviation. N/A results not included because they do not align with support scale.
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely supported), 2 (Supported), 3 (Slightly Supported) and 4 (Not at all supported) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
AGE
Chi Square results: Test Statistic=17.658724978718475, P-value=0.12645254395261879 > .05 (not statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom=1, N/A results taken out for statistical tests. Age group 18-24 was combined with 25-34 due to low number of respondents
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely supported), 2 (Supported), 3 (Slightly Supported) and 4 (Not at all supported) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
YEARS WORKED
Chi Square results: Test Statistic=17.696456333405731, P-value: 0.34196894163294295 (not statistically significant), Degrees of Freedom: 16
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely supported), 2 (Supported), 3 (Slightly Supported) and 4 (Not at all supported) to calculate mean and standard deviation.
Top 5 Emerging sustainability issues The eighth question asked participants to rank the top 5 emerging sustainability issues for their respective state Extension service to address. 1,142 people responded. Of those responses, the top five listed included: Water quality (442), climate change impacts (373), environmental education (282), economic development (277), and nutrition/health education (276).
Sustainability education Challenges This question sought to understand the biggest challenges to educating about sustainability in Extension. 1180 responses were received for this question. They are ranked from highest to lowest challenge.
Highest to Lowest Challenges to Educating About Sustainability
M
SD
Communication (this includes maintaining a clientele base while talking about politically charged issues, how to tie in sustainability with various clientele values, etc.)
2.77
1.61
Lack of community interest/competing priorities
3.25
1.99
Community collaboration (this includes having time to engage and find what is important to communities, a two-way feedback loop between your office and the community, etc)
3.49
1.70
Lack of staff professional development
4.54
1.87
Overcoming institutional barriers (this includes needing upper administrative support, the need to expand Extension’s traditional role, etc)
4.56
1.95
Fear of crossing the line from objectivity to advocacy
4.80
2.02
Fear of losing political support
5.80
2.00
Fear of losing employment
7.31
1.65
Others
8.49
1.89
ARE THERE ISSUES EXTENSION SHOULD NOT ADDRESS? The second survey question asked “Were there any issues listed that you feel your state Extension service should not play a role in addressing?” There were 1,342 responses to this question. 1,120 (83.36%), felt that the issues listed in the previous question should play a role in Extension while 222 (16.54%) felt that there were issues listed in the previous question that Extension should not address.
YES
1120 83.5%
222
NO
16.5%
Why should extension not address certain issues? This was a follow-up question for those who responded “yes” to this question, asking participants to explain their response. The total number of respondents to this question was 163. These are the top five major themes with selected quotes from each, identified via Python using its Pandas library and NLTK toolkit. EXTENSION SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN POLITICAL MATTERS
“There is too much politics in all that we do .... I feel that being part of extension should relate me more to science rather than politics.” “Climate change is a theory that has had very controversial data to both support and negate it. Extension’s role in throwing money into a political agenda only serves to degrade our reputation as an entity and to further strain our limited resources and personnel.” “Our role is to educate addressing environmental issues. Many of the items on your list are political and adversarial. My local advisory group and my political leaders do not want extension mucking around and creating enemies with these issues.” THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH RESOURCES TO GO AROUND
“Extension is too short on resources to be all things to all people. This list is way too broad.” “With tight budgets, Extension needs to choose what we can do better than anyone else and do it! Gone are the days where Extension can do everything well. There is just not enough faculty/staff/funding to do everything well.” “There are so many more areas where Extension could make a dramatic impact, but there is no funding or inadequate funding.” “We do not have enough personnel or funds to address all the topics adequately. Important to focus on those where we can have the most impact.” THERE IS A BIG RISK IN PROMOTING POLICY CHANGES IN EXTENSION
“Policy changes should be left to decision makers. Extension’s role is to generate and disseminate information and new technologies, and can develop data for decision makers, but should not have the direct role of policy changes. Extension must present facts and remain neutral to be effective. Community groups can advocate based on scientific-based knowledge that Extension can share with them.” “I’m not sure what is meant by “policy changes” but it would seem that could venture close to political topics.” “Policy changes verge on getting too close to political involvement.” “Sometimes advocating for policy change can get you in a bind with political entities, individuals, etc. These must be played safely to assure solid footing organizationally in the future.” SOME TOPICS ARE OUTSIDE THE REALM OF EXTENSION OR ARE ADDRESSED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.
“Climate change impacts, alternate forms of transportation, issues currently addressed by federal, state and local governments. Why duplicate their activities?” “Some of the topics are addressed by other state agencies. Some of the topics are so specialized that we could not justify an Extension program for so few learners and/or sites.” “Some of these issues are larger than Extension and sometimes go outside of the resources within each state.”
EXTENSION SHOULD FOCUS ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCHBASED DATA.
“Extension offers quality information by basing its programs on data. It does not need to chase popular fads, such as “soil health,” unless that term can be defined and measured scientifically.” “Above all, I believe Extension efforts should be focused on providing science-based information to those engaged in utilization of natural resources. That in itself is a rather broad scope. While I embrace the existence of social issues like food and environmental justice, I don’t see these belonging within the scope of Cooperative Extension. I do, however, feel that it certainly should be a mission of public universities to explore social issues and find solutions to problems that should not exist in a country as wealthy and advantaged as the U.S. I also object to the term “food systems,” which has crept into agriculture. As an ag Extension agent, should I concern myself with trucking and highways and warehousing and the wholesale food industry? I say: absolutely not. Unfortunately, a very important category of Extension, production agriculture and many subsets of it, has been subsumed into food systems. Sorry, but that’s just plain wrong—as wrong as having a vast and giant amalgamation of dozens of government agencies into homeland security.” “When an issue is difficult to define outside of science and education, I am concerned.” “The county delivery form of Extension is meant to provide research-based information to the local community relevant to ag & natural resource issues.”
SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES Question 10 asked “Are there helpful resources you know of (from your own state, other states, the National Network for Sustainable Living Education, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, etc.) to assist in communicating with or educating your clientele around the principles of sustainability?” There were 1,183 respondents. Of those, 574 (56.97%) indicated that they knew of helpful resources and 509 (43.03%) indicated that they did not know of helpful resources.
509 43%
NO
YES
674 57%
THERE IS A BIG RISK IN PROMOTING POLICY CHANGES IN EXTENSION
The total number of respondents was 248. The most common resources listed were the USDA, SARE, ATTRA, and the EPA.
RESOURCE
f
%
USDA: https://www.usda.gov/wps/ portal/usda/usdahome
37
SARE: http://www.sare.org
26
10.48
ATTRA: https://attra.ncat.org
14
5.65
EPA: https://www.epa.gov
8
14.92
3.23
NRCS: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/
7
eXtension: extension.org
7
2.82
4-H.org
5
2.02
http://www.wicci.wisc.edu/
3
1.21
EDEN
3
1.21
3
1.21
NNSLE
2
0.81
Project Wet
2
0.81
2.82
http://erc.cals.wisc.edu/
2
0.81
NACAA
2
0.81
http://seagrant.noaa.gov/whatwedo/climate.aspx
1
0.40
http://www.confedmo.org/ programs/outreach/outdoor-action-committee-oaks/
1
Southface Energy Institute
http://stateclimatesummaries. globalchange.gov
1
0.40
0.40
Bad Wolf Press (plays for children about many different subjects)
1
0.40
1
0.40
Cornell horticulture curriculum for kids
1
0.40
Northeast Climate Hub: https:// www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/ northeast
1
0.40
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/green/
1
0.40
1
0.40
NC State Extension
1
0.40
USU Extension website https:// extension.usu.edu/
UGA
1
0.40
Soil and Water Conservation District collaborations
1
0.40
GCCI
1
0.40
IPM Centers
1
0.40
Network of experts
1
0.40
Soil and Water Conservation Districts
1
ENGO sites State Nutrition Action Coalition USU water research labs http://kerrcenter.com/
1 1 1 1
landstewardshipproject.org/
1
0.40
Community Development Society
1
0.40
http://www.unitedwayalice.org/ reports.php
1
0.40
Rodale Institute
1
0.40
Florida Climate Institute
1
0.40
Texas A&M AgrilLife Extension
1
0.40
0.40
Nat'l Wildlife Federation
1
0.40
0.40
Missouri Department of Health
1
0.40
0.40
Climate Hubs
1
0.40
0.40
UM IoE
1
0.40
0.40
Georgia Department of Agriculture
1
0.40
1
0.40
Union of Concerned Scientists
1
0.40
http://masgc.org/climate-outreach-community-of-practice/ summary
http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org
1
0.40
https://energy.ces.ncsu.edu/
1
0.40
https://www.cornell.edu/
1
0.40
http://www.nespal.org/
1
0.40
http://www.capacitycenter.org/
1
0.40
develop my own training materials
1
0.40
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/ green_tv/
1
0.40
1
0.40
curriculum from the State Departments of Natural Resources Private Foundations
1
0.40
1
0.40
https://cars.uark.edu/
1
0.40
https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/healthy-homes-partnership
1
0.40
SEACCCOP: https://seacccop. wordpress.com/
2
Land Stewardship Project
2
0.81
Northwest Earth Institute: https:// nwei.org/
2
0.81
Project Wild
2
0.81
Boys and Girls Clubs (to get the word out to our kids)
APA Planning for Food Access and Community-Based Food Systems 2012
suquamish.nsn.us
1
0.40
1
0.40
Farming the woods
1
0.40
IPM
1
0.40
0.40
the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
1
0.40
Northwest Earth Institute
1
0.40
air.utah.gov
1
0.40
1
0.40
Different Farmers organizations AASHE
1 1
0.81
0.40
Master Conservationist
1
0.40
Utah Agriculture in the Classroom http://utah.agclassroom.org/
1
0.40
E-Extension: http://e-extension.gov. ph/elearning/
ORGA
1
0.40
ISU Extension Specialists as resources
1
0.40
http://animalagclimatechange.org/
1
0.40
0.40
MPCA
1
0.40
Friends of Long Island Horticulture
1
0.40
1
0.40
https://nifa.usda.gov/resources
1
0.40
FDA
1
0.40
Minnesota Food Charter
1
0.40
www.sfa-mn.org/
1
0.40
Building Soils for Better Crops
1
0.40
http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/edu/ docs/7-capitalshandout.pdf
1
0.40
https://iacgreatlakes.com/
1
0.40
Climate Hubs: Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Team
1
0.40
Water quality resources
1
0.40
https://www.ncat.org/
1
0.40
NC Water Initiative
1
0.40
http://www.northcentralsare.org/
1
0.40
Family Connections groups
1
0.40
U of MN Extension
1
0.40
http://www.sripmc.org/
1
0.40
http://www.anrep.org/people/initiatives/nnsle/
1
0.40
Farm Bureau Federation
1
renewable energy sites
UGA School of Environmental Design
1
Utah Water Watch
1
0.40 0.40
http://extensionhealthyhomes.org/
1
0.40
NatureWatch catalog
1
0.40
NEAFCS resources
1
0.40
Step Up to Leadership
1
0.40
https://www.flseagrant.org/
1
0.40
UW Extension
1
0.40
The Clean Energy Resource Teams
1
0.40
Midwest Agroforestry collaborations
1
0.40
1
0.40
Wisconsin's horticulture education for kids
1
0.40
MISA: https://www.misa.umn.edu/
1
0.40
NAAEE Excellence in Environmental Education
1
0.40
Sightline Institute http://www. sightline.org/
1
0.40
County Libraries
1
0.40
http://wec.ifas.ufl.edu/buildingforbirds/web/home.html
Field to Market
1
0.40
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/
1
0.40
Monsanto
1
0.40
NOP
1
0.40
Farm Bureau
1
0.40
NAEFCS
1
0.40
Division of Energy Resources
1
0.40
Institute of Child Nutrition
1
0.40
Institute on the Environment
1
0.40
Gulf of Mexico Climate Community
1
0.40
The Healthy Homes Partnership
1
0.40
Rural Coalition
1
0.40
www.utahcbcp.org
1
0.40
Local nonprofits
1
0.40
http://studentclimatedata.unh.edu/
1
0.40
Healthy Communities
1
0.40
Farm Viability Grants
1
0.40
Department of Energy
1
0.40
IATP
1
0.40
Va Tech Food Systems Planning Guide 2011
1
0.40
MN State Energy Office
1
0.40
USGS
1
0.40
0.40
http://www.sref.info/
1
0.40
0.40
EDIS
1
0.40
0.40
Blue Thumb stream education
1
0.40
Texas A&M Agri life
1
0.40
NCAT in San Antonio
1
0.40
http://www.floridaclimateinstitute-uf.org/
1
The Forest Rangers and Smokey The Bear
1
Home Energy Conservation
1
0.40 0.40 0.40
Junior Master Gardener program and curriculum: www.jmgkids.us
1
0.40
Stanford Social Innovative Review
1
0.40
Community Development Academy: http://extension.missouri.edu/cda
1
0.40
CERES
1
0.40
Iowa Economic Development Authority https://fyi.uwex.edu/sustag/
1 1
0.40 0.40
Public Policy Education publications Quivera Coalition http://northcentralwater.org/
1 1 1
How Does Climate Change Your Plate?
1
0.40
Community Food Pantries like 'Gilmer Community Food Pantry'
1
0.40
Footprint calculators
1
0.40
CDC
1
0.40
Extension EDU resources
1
0.40
Project Learning Tree
1
0.40
0.40
1
0.40
1
0.40
Extension Specialists
1
0.40
NC State Research-Based Support for Local Food Systems 2011
1
Soil and Water Conservation
Leopold Center: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu
capacitycenter.org
1
0.40
Good Forestry in the Granite State
1
0.40
Utah Stream Side Science
1
0.40
The Utah Department of Health
1
0.40
www.HeartlandsConservancy.org
1
0.40
WSU publications https://pubs. wsu.edu/
1
0.40
Interaction Institute for Social Change: http://interactioninstitute. org/ UNDP
1 1
0.40 0.40
Climate Learning Network- online website
1
0.40
MNDNR
1
0.40
NMSU
1
0.40
https://extension.unh.edu/goodforestry/
1
Southern Region IPM Center
1
0.40
https://www.usrsb.org
1
http://mngreenstep.org http://www.gcfi.org/index.php
0.40
Fire Departments
1
0.40
0.40
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
1
0.40
1
0.40
http://www.marketplaceliteracy.org/ index.html
1
0.40
http://www.resilience.org/
1
0.40
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
1
0.40
reducing non-target impacts from pesticides
1
0.40
http://mnfoodcharter.com/
1
0.40
https://www.nifi.org/
1
0.40
Materials from Europe
1
0.40
but there are lots of materials
1
0.40
0.40
NREL resources
1
0.40
0.40
https://350.org/
1
0.40
FCI
1
0.40
www.wicci.wisc.edu/
1
0.40
https://www.thinkwater.us/#home
1
0.40
Community Food Security Coalition
1
0.40
SeaGrant Network
1
0.40
https://www.consciouscapitalism. org/
1
http://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/ sarep
League of Conservation Voters Small Business Administration
1 1
https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/CP/ Graphic.php?IM=IM_3CstFirLA4Py0yp
1
Stronger Economies Together
1
0.40
Environmental issues forum: NAAEE
1
0.40
Conservation Districts
1
0.40
https://www.pca.state.mn.us
1
0.40
Energy conservation materials
1
0.40
USU Water Quality
1
0.40
MDA
1
0.40
http://www.rmi.org/reinventingfire
1
0.40
https://mn.gov/commerce/consumers/your-home/energy-info/
1
0.40
0.40
0.40
http://www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/
1
1
0.40
ERME
1
0.40
1
0.40
Triumph Over Tragedy
1
0.40
0.40
Top 10 Most Offered sustainability areas This question sought to identify whether participants offered any public programs, outreach, or education to support various listed topics. The total number of respondents for this question was 1,040. The top 5 topic areas that respondents addressed were environmental education, water quality, consumer education, increasing youth’s interaction with nature, and soil health. Many respondents also listed other programs in an open-ended response option.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Land conservation, 247, 23.75 12. Water quantity, 206, 19.81 13. Food access, 201, 19.33 14. Inclusivity/diversity, 197, 18.94 15. Community resiliency, 194, 18.65 16. Disaster preparedness, 191, 18.37 17. Grasslands stewardship and management, 187, 17.98 18. Land use planning, 187, 17.98 19. Climate change impacts, 182, 17.50 20. Forest stewardship and management, 173, 16.63 21. Energy efficiency, 142, 13.65 22. Waste (landfill, recycling, compost), 138, 13.27 23. Renewable energy, 126, 12.12 24. Storm and wastewater management, 123, 11.83 25. Policy changes, 116, 11.15 26. Systems thinking, 100, 9.62 27. Food waste, 99, 9.52 28. Poverty reduction, 95, 9.13 29. Food justice (aims to ensure that the benefits and risks of producing, distributing, and consuming food are shared fairly by everyone involved and to transform the food system to eliminate inequities), 93, 8.94 30. Green infrastructure, 79, 7.60 31. Air quality, 68, 6.54 32. Fisheries, 66, 6.35 33. Social systems, 64, 6.15 34. Alternative forms of transportation, 24, 2.31 35. Transitional economies, 18, 1.73 36. Transition planning for communities traditionally dependent on extraction industries, 14, 1.35 37. Integrated pest management, 8, 0.77 38. Youth development, 6, 0.58 39. Efficiency in agriculture, 3, 0.29 40. Wildlife, 3, 0.29 41. Parenting, 3, 0.29 42. Food safety, 3, 0.29 43. Plant pests, 2, 0.19
44. Invasive species, 2, 0.19 45. Workforce development, 2, 0.19 46. Sustainable agriculture, 2, 0.19 47. Leadership development, 2, 0.19 48. Plant health, 2, 0.19 49. Management, 2, 0.19 50. Physical activity, 2, 0.19 51. Civic engagement, 2, 0.19 52. Food preservation, 2, 0.19 53. Youth adult partnership, 1, 0.10 54. Public health pests, 1, 0.10 55. Behavioral health, 1, 0.10 56. Urban commercial landscape management, 1, 0.10 57. Sustainable arboriculture, 1, 0.10 58. Agroforestry, 1, 0.10 59. Home gardening, 1, 0.10 60. Production agriculture, 1, 0.10 61. Plant selection, 1, 0.10 62. Child care, 1, 0.10 63. Crop consulting, 1, 0.10 64. Urban landscapes, 1, 0.10 65. Habitats, 1, 0.10 66. Sovereignty, 1, 0.10 67. Implementation & management, 1, 0.10 68. Public health entomology, 1, 0.10 69. Horticultural production, 1, 0.10 70. Antibiotics, 1, 0.10 71. Pecan, 1, 0.10 72. 4-h, 1, 0.10 73. Adult education on youth development, 1, 0.10 74. Estate/succession planning, 1, 0.10 75. Stem education, 1, 0.10 76. Healthy homes, 1, 0.10 77. Sustainable food production, 1, 0.10 78. Sustainable viticulture, 1, 0.10 79. Aquaculture programming, 1, 0.10 80. Volunteer engagement, 1, 0.10 81. Waste, 1, 0.10 82. Sustainable landscape design, 1, 0.10 83. Nutrient management, 1, 0.10 84. College access, 1, 0.10
85. 86. 87. 88.
Adoption, 1, 0.10 Textile, 1, 0.10 Ticks, 1, 0.10 Landscape maintenance, 1, 0.10 89. Collaboration/decision-making, 1, 0.10 90. Environmental risks of pesticides, 1, 0.10 91. Water policy, 1, 0.10 92. Tribal food sovereignty, 1, 0.10 93. Mangement, 1, 0.10 94. Swine health, 1, 0.10 95. Volunteer management, 1, 0.10 96. Weed control, 1, 0.10 97. Pesticide reduction, 1, 0.10 98. Local government, 1, 0.10 99. Cultural competencies, 1, 0.10 100. Managing insect pests, 1, 0.10 101. Beginning farmer education, 1, 0.10 102. Small animal production, 1, 0.10 103. Row crop, 1, 0.10 104. Increasing profitability, 1, 0.10 105. Sustainable domestic practices, 1, 0.10 106. Turfgrass management, 1, 0.10 107. Resource management, 1, 0.10 108. Efficiency, 1, 0.10 109. Legal issues, 1, 0.10 110. Invasive pests, 1, 0.10 111. Alzheimer’s education, 1, 0.10 112. Disease management, 1, 0.10 113. Wildlife management, 1, 0.10 114. Economics education, 1, 0.10 115. Animal welfare, 1, 0.10 116. Financial education, 1, 0.10 117. Interpersonal communication, 1, 0.10 118. Agricultural environmental management, 1, 0.10 119. Wetlands, 1, 0.10 120. Community leadership development, 1, 0.10 121. Family strengths, 1, 0.10 122. Teen leadership education, 1, 0.10 123. Water efficiency, 1, 0.10
124. 125. 126. 127.
Rainwater catchment, 1, 0.10 Manure, 1, 0.10 Pesticide use, 1, 0.10 Commercial fruit production, 1, 0.10 128. Corrections, 1, 0.10 129. Preserving working landscapes, 1, 0.10 130. Sustainable beef, 1, 0.10 131. Forages, 1, 0.10 132. Invasive species management, 1, 0.10 133. Self-awareness, 1, 0.10 134. Facilitating group processes, 1, 0.10 135. Livestock education, 1, 0.10 136. Landscape design, 1, 0.10 137. Family economics, 1, 0.10 138. Legal issues in agriculture, 1, 0.10 139. Arboriculture, 1, 0.10 140. Sustainable farming practices relative to pollinator services, 1, 0.10 141. Parenting support, 1, 0.10 142. Commercial horticulture, 1, 0.10 143. Health insurance education, 1, 0.10 144. Landscape management, 1, 0.10 145. Literacy, 1, 0.10 146. Healthy relationship development, 1, 0.10 147. Apparel overconsumption, 1, 0.10 148. Vector borne disease prevention, 1, 0.10 149. Non-profit decision support, 1, 0.10 150. Pesticide education, 1, 0.10 151. Pesticide safety, 1, 0.10 152. Family issues, 1, 0.10 153. Farm management, 1, 0.10 154. Career readiness, 1, 0.10 155. Integrating permaculture, 1, 0.10 156. Crop management, 1, 0.10 157. Preservation, 1, 0.10 158. Beef cattle production, 1, 0.10 159. Grazing management, 1, 0.10 160. Some of the composting, 1, 0.10 161. Organic gardening, 1, 0.10
162. Financial management, 1, 0.10 163. Organic agriculture, 1, 0.10 164. Consumer food preservation, 1, 0.10 165. Outreach to veterans, 1, 0.10 166. Livestock education for the small farm, 1, 0.10 167. Natural history education, 1, 0.10 168. Program evaluation, 1, 0.10 169. Appropriate child development practices, 1, 0.10 170. Local foods, 1, 0.10 171. Turf management, 1, 0.10 172. Poverty simulations, 1, 0.10 173. Engagement, 1, 0.10 174. Sustainable urban landscape design, 1, 0.10 175. Livestock systems, 1, 0.10 176. Judicious use of chemicals, 1, 0.10 177. New agent, 1, 0.10 178. Child protective issues, 1, 0.10 179. Riparian buffers, 1, 0.10 180. Other horticulture topics, 1, 0.10 181. Community development, 1, 0.10 182. Strategic planning, 1, 0.10 183. Sustainable tourism, 1, 0.10 184. General agriculture, 1, 0.10 185. Animal production, 1, 0.10 186. Again, 1, 0.10 187. Agriculture, 1, 0.10 188. Caregiving across the lifespan, 1, 0.10 189. Non-native pest detection, 1, 0.10 190. Coparenting, 1, 0.10 191. Conservation of wild pollinators, 1, 0.10 192. Organizational development, 1, 0.10 193. Urban forestry, 1, 0.10 194. Row crop production, 1, 0.10 195. Soil conservation, 1, 0.10 196. Aging issues related to home, 1, 0.10 197. Biodiversity conservation, 1, 0.10 198. Family resiliency, 1, 0.10 199. Blueberry trainings, 1, 0.10
USda regional climate hubs In this question, participants were asked “Have you heard of the USDA Regional Climate Hubs? (http://www.climatehubs. oce.usda.gov).” There were 1,236 respondents. Of those, 411 (33.25%) indicated they had heard of the USDA Regional Climate Hubs while 825 (66.75%) had not.
825
YES
66.7%
NO
For those who had heard of the hubs, our team asked whether they had worked with anyone and/or used materials from the hubs. A large number of the 415 respondents, 254 (61.2%), had not, while 161 (38.8%) indicated they had worked with someone or used materials from the hubs.
254
411
61.2%
33.3%
NO
YES
161
38.8%
The respondents who had heard about the hubs were also asked “What should the role of Extension be in working with the hubs?” There were 135 respondents for this question. The top three themes for Extension’s role in working with the hubs are to supply information to others, collaborate with Climate Hub, and for the development of resources. SUPPLY INFORMATION
“helping to connect community members and clients with deeper understanding of data and implications.” “Conduit to various client groups as a useful resource to share fact-based info.” “We are the people at the front—communicating science to the public in a manner to assist landowners, community members and other stakeholders with their agriculture and natural resource concerns. So Extension should be an integral part of those hubs.” “Educate end users about climate related information and provide resources and knowledge for extreme events.” “Obtaining and providing science-based information and putting climate issues in a context that producers and others in the community can understand and are willing to work with.” COLLABORATION BETWEEN CLIMATE HUB AND EXTENSION
“Extension can work with hubs to consolidate research. Extension can provide leadership in developing outreach strategies and materials as well as conducting outreach programs and sharing materials in states and regionally.” “Team up. Use their resources and also produce new materials to populate their tool box. Form teams to apply for grants and to influence or inform agencies on the need of them working together on planning and working toward a sustainable economy and society.” “Two-way, as outlets for information generated through the hubs and setting priorities for hubs work.” “Extension should (a) support the mission of the hubs, (b) be well integrated with the work of the hubs, including opportunities to contribute to hub direction, stakeholder engagement, and research funding opportunities.” “I think they should work hand-in-hand. We are beginning to in my state. Very good ties exist between the Climate Hub and Extension.” “Working together to develop high-quality educational materials, based on cooperating on educational events related to climate science.” “I believe we should be integrally tied to them and use their resources to inform and educate our clientele as well as conduct research from the field to inform the hubs of what is needed in the field.”
DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES
“Help develop educational material and disseminate it.” “Help gather data.” “Use as resources in programming.” “Participation and use of resources in education.”
SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED PROGRAMS The National Network for Sustainable Living Education built a national database of sustainability-focused Extension programs (https://extensionsustainability.usu.edu/nationalsustainability-focused-extension-programs/). To assist in this database formation, participants were asked “Do you offer any sustainability-focused programs where sustainability is the focus, not just one part or an association?” There were 1,232 respondents to this question. The majority of respondents, 973 (78.98%), indicated that they do not offer sustainability-focused programs and 259 (21.02%) indicated they did.
YES
973 79%
NO
259 21%
The next question then asked those who responded “yes” to question 15, to list the program(s) title and URL. There were 176 respondents to this question with a variety of programs mentioned, ranging from Sustainable Agriculture to a Lake and Stream Leaders Institute. All programs were researched, contacted, and those who responded were added to the national database, available at https://extensionsustainability.usu. edu/national-sustainability-focused-extension-programs/. This was a rating question regarding the value of various tools to communicate sustainability information to the public. 1,201 responses to this question were received. The following table displays responses ranked from highest value down.
Rating of Tools:
M
SD
State specialist to refer to
2.45
1.50
Fact sheets
2.74
1.41
Professional development training on how to incorporate sustainability with current county or state programs
2.79
1.60
Youtube videos
2.89
1.57
Online courses
3.03
1.52
State level websites
3.09
1.46
3.31
1.57
eXtension website
3.55
1.54
3.78
1.56
National Network for Sustainable Living Education (a national Extension sustainability group) website
4.29
1.68
Note. Importance measured on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (Extremely valuable), 2 (Valuable), 3 (Somewhat Valuable), 4 (Neutral), 5 (Not at all valuable) and 6 (Don’t know) to calculate mean and standard deviation. Only 49 (4.08%) selected Other to write-in a tool. Of those, the most common tools listed were face-to-face interactions, workshops, and trainings.
NATIONAL SURVEY WELCOME The purpose of this research is to determine to what degree Cooperative Extension integrates or supports the concepts of sustainability and to discern what we are doing well, and where the gaps lie. The results will be used to guide future professional development and funding opportunities through eXtension and the USDA. This form includes detailed information on the research to help you decide whether to participate. Please read it carefully and ask any questions you have before you agree to participate.
PROCEDURES Your participation will involve completing a survey seeking your input on sustainability outreach in Extension, requiring approximately 20 minutes of your time. If you agree to participate, you will not be asked for identifiable information and your replies will not be connected to your email.
RISKS This is a minimal risk research study. That means that the risks of participating are no more likely or serious than those you encounter in everyday activities. In order to minimize any risks and discomforts, the researchers have ensured anonymity and kept the survey at a reasonable length. However, loss of confidentiality is always a risk. If you have a bad research-related experience or are injured in any way during your participation, please contact the principal investigator of this study right away at 435-797-5116 or roslynn.brain@usu.edu.
BENEFITS Participation in this study may benefit you by creation of a national strategic plan for sustainability outreach in Extension that includes your input. This study will help the researchers learn more about sustainability outreach in Extension and may help guide future funding opportunities and outreach programs.
CONFIDENTIALITY Every effort will be made to ensure that the information you provide as part of this study remains confidential. Your identify will not be identifiable. We will collect your anonymous responses through Qualtrics. This information will be securely stored in a restricted-access folder on Dr. Brain’s password-protected computer. It is unlikely, but possible, that others (Utah State University, USDA or state or federal officials) may require us to share the information you give us from the study to ensure that the research was conducted safely and appropriately. We will only share your information if law or policy requires us to do so. The research team works to ensure confidentiality to the degree permitted by technology. It is possible, although unlikely, that unauthorized individuals could gain access to your responses because you are responding online. However, your participation in this online survey involves risks similar to a person’s everyday use of the internet.
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION & WITHDRAWAL Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. If you agree to participate now and change your mind later, you may withdraw at any time by exiting the online survey. If you decide not to participate, there will be no impact to you in any way. The national strategic plan we create simply would not include your input, as it wasn’t provided. The researchers may choose to terminate your participation in this research study if your responses were incoherent or the survey was over 50% incomplete.
COMPENSATION There is no compensation for your participation in this study.
IRB REVIEW The Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human research participants at Utah State University has reviewed and approved this study. If you have questions about the research study itself, please contact the principal investigator at 435-797-5116 or roslynn.brain@ usu.edu. If you have questions about your rights or would simply like to speak with someone other than the research team about questions or concerns, please contact the IRB Director at (435) 797-0567 or irb@usu.edu. You can download a copy of the official Letter of Information, here.
Roslynn Brain Principal Investigator (435) 797-5116; roslynn.brain@usu.edu
COMPLETE NATIONAL SURVEY CONTINUED INFORMED CONSENT By clicking below, I certify that I have read the Letter of Information and agree to participate in the survey. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I can skip questions or stop at any time. I have read the Letter of Information and agree to participate in the study. I decline to participate in this study. Please certify that you are 18 years of age or older. I am 18 years of age or older. I am younger than 18 years of age.
WHY WE ARE SEEKING YOUR INPUT You were selected to participate in this Extension sustainability outreach survey because you are an Extension educator with insight to share. The purpose of this survey is to determine to what degree Cooperative Extension integrates or supports the concepts of sustainability and to discern what we are doing well, and where the gaps lie. The results will be used to guide future professional development and funding opportunities through Extension and the USDA.
SUSTAINABILITY DEFINED For the purpose of this survey, sustainability is defined in accordance with the National Network for Sustainable Living Education (NNSLE): “an ethic of stewardship in which our desire for fulfilling and productive lives is thoughtfully and consciously balanced with the social, economic, and environmental security of life on Earth, now and for future generations.” Sustainability may have subtle differences in meaning to different people, but it boils down to some very basic concepts: • Activities or practices in any given discipline are undertaken with the objective of continuing that activity indefinitely in a way that doesn’t deplete the resource(s) the activity depends upon. • Sustainability takes into equal account the social, environmental, and economic consequences of every practice, so that a positive, winwin-win result is most closely approximated. • Nearly every activity or practice, regardless of how small, is related in some degree to a larger issue – such as ground-water depletion or the loss of agricultural lands. Many of the workshops, curricula, and best practices we teach in Extension may already be considered sustainable living education, though not explicitly labeled as such. For example, Extension’s Water Wise programs implicitly embody principles of sustainability through water conservation practices that reduce consumption, save money, and create a resource conservation ethic in communities. Likewise, Family, Consumer and Health Sciences’ workshops that teach people how to manage their personal finances more responsibly also support sustainability since these practices ultimately reduce wasteful spending and consumption, thus conserving resources.
SURVEY CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Survey questions were designed with input from colleagues attending the 2016 National Extension Sustainability Summit, Community Development Extension Institute, and National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals conference. The survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. We appreciate your participation!
WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THIS SURVEY? This survey is being distributed to Extension educators across the U.S. All U.S. Extension professionals are eligible. If you are not an Extension employee, there is no need for you to complete the survey. Participation in this survey is voluntary and anonymous, but to validate our results, we need as many participants as possible to complete the survey.
RESEARCH TEAM AND CONTACT The survey team consists of representatives from the USDA, eXtension, and the National Network for Sustainable Living Education. If you have questions about the study or your eligibility, please contact the project leader: Dr. Roslynn Brain, Utah State University: roslynn.brain@usu.edu If you have questions or concerns about the survey and would like to contact someone other than the researchers, you may contact the Utah State University IRB Administrator at (435) 797-0567 or email irb@usu.edu; refer to IRB protocol #7797. Thank you very much for your help!
QUESTIONS In your opinion, what topic areas is your state Cooperative Extension system currently doing a good job at addressing? Consider dedicated staff time, programs, curriculum development, fact sheets, etc. (select all that apply): Air quality Alternative forms of transportation
Food waste Forest stewardship and management
Soil health Storm and wastewater management
Climate change impacts Community resiliency
Grasslands stewardship and management Green infrastructure
Systems thinking Transitional economies
Consumer education Disaster preparedness
Health education Inclusivity/diversity
Economic development Energy efficiency
Increasing youth’s interaction with nature Land conservation
Transition planning for communities traditionally dependent on extraction industries
Environmental education Fisheries
Land use planning Local food systems
Waste (landfill, recycling, compost) Water quantity
Food access Food justice (aims to ensure that the benefits and risks of producing, distributing, and consuming food are shared fairly by everyone involved and to transform the food system to eliminate inequities)
Nutrition/health education Policy changes Poverty reduction
Water quality Others:
Urban agriculture
Renewable energy Social systems
Were any issues listed in Question 1 that you feel your state Extension service should not play a role in addressing? Yes No
Please explain:
Do you (as an individual, not your state Extension system) offer any public programs, outreach, or education to support the following topics? (if so, select all that apply): Air quality Alternative forms of transportation
Food waste Forest stewardship and management
Soil health Storm and wastewater management
Climate change impacts Community resiliency
Grasslands stewardship and management Green infrastructure
Systems thinking Transitional economies
Consumer education Disaster preparedness
Health education Inclusivity/diversity
Economic development Energy efficiency
Increasing youth’s interaction with nature Land conservation
Transition planning for communities traditionally dependent on extraction industries
Environmental education Fisheries
Land use planning Local food systems
Waste (landfill, recycling, compost) Water quantity
Food access Food justice (aims to ensure that the benefits and risks of producing, distributing, and consuming food are shared fairly by everyone involved and to transform the food system to eliminate inequities)
Nutrition/health education Policy changes Poverty reduction
Water quality Others:
Urban agriculture
Renewable energy Social systems
How important do you feel it is to engage your clientele in learning about sustainability? Not at all important Slightly important
Important Extremely important
Why do you feel it is or isn’t important to educate your clientele about sustainability?
How supported by state Extension leadership do you feel in educating about sustainability? N/A: I do not educate about sustainability Slightly supported Not at all supported Supported
Extremely supported
What are the top 5 emerging sustainability issues for your state Extension service to address? (Please organize in rank order [drag and drop] with the most important emerging issue at the top): Air quality, Alternative forms of transportation, Climate change impacts, Community resiliency, Consumer education, Disaster 1.) preparedness, Economic development, Energy efficiency, Environmental education, Fisheries, Food access, Food justice (aims to ensure that the benefits and risks of producing, distributing, and consuming food are shared fairly by everyone involved and to transform the food system to eliminate inequities), Food waste, Forest stewardship and management, Grasslands stewardship and management, Green infrastructure, Health education, Inclusivity/diversity, Increasing youth’s interaction with nature, Land conservation, Land use planning, Local food systems, Nutrition/health education, Policy changes, Poverty reduction, Renewable energy, Social systems, Soil health, Storm and wastewater management, Systems thinking, Transitional economies, Transition planning for communities traditionally dependent on extraction industries, Urban agriculture, Waste (landfill, recycling, compost), Water quantity, Water quality, Others:
2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)
What are the biggest challenges to educating about sustainability in Extension? (Please organize in rank order with the biggest challenge at the top): Communication (this includes maintaining a clientele base while talking about politically charged issues, how to tie in sustainability with various clientele values, etc). Community collaboration (this includes having time to engage and find what is important to communities, a two-way feedback loop between your office and the community, etc).
Lack of community interest/competing priorities.
Fear of crossing the line from objectivity to advocacy.
Lack of staff professional development. Green infrastructure
Fear of losing political support. Fear of losing employment.
Overcoming institutional barriers (this includes needing upper administrative support, the need to expand Extension’s traditional role, etc).
Others?
Are there helpful resources you know of (from your own state, other states, the National Network for Sustainable Living Education, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, etc.) to assist in communicating with or educating your clientele around the principles of sustainability? Yes No
Please include resource title(s) and online link(s) if possible:
Have you heard of the USDA Regional Climate Hubs? (http://www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov) Yes No Have you worked with anyone and/or used materials from the hubs? Yes No What should the role of Extension be in working with the hubs?
Do you offer any sustainability-focused programs where sustainability is the focus, not just one part or an association? Yes No
Please list the program(s) title and URL:
What is your role in Extension? County/regional educator County director
Regional specialist State specialist
Administrator Other:
35-44 years old 45-54 years old
55 years or older
In what state do you work? What is the gender you identify as? Male Female How many years have you worked for Extension? What is your age? 18-24 years old 25-34 years old
How would you rate the value of the following tools to communicate sustainability information to the public?
Don’t know
Not at all valuable
Somewhat valuable
Neutral
Valuable
Extremely valuable
Extension website National Network for Sustainable Living Education (a national Extension sustainability group) website State level websites Professional development training on how to incorporate sustainability with current county or state programs Fact sheets
Online courses
YouTube videos
State specialist to refer to
Other:
Thank you very much for your time and insight! We will be developing and sharing a national strategic plan based on the results of this survey.
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