PROMOTING CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE TO REDUCE RISK AND IMPACTS OF DROUGHT, WILDFIRE AND WOODY ENCROACHMENT ON LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION

There are two major goals of this project:Cultivate agents of change and a diverse workforce that can effectively communicate how climate-smart agricultural practices can reduce risk and incorporate them into managing working lands.Develop and implement scalable approaches to engage land managers and the public to promote resilience and sustainability of the Great Plains rangelands.The objectives for the first goal are:Recruit and support six Climate Hub Fellows (two each in NE, OK and TX) as Professional Master's students from diverse backgrounds and with strong interests in careers with USDA agencies.Design individualized degree plans for the Fellows which will include appropriate coursework and learning experiences to build credentials and competencies for successful professional careers, including expertise in climate-smart agriculture practices and inclusive leadership skills.Organize two summer internships for each Fellow, one with a Climate Hub and one with a targeted USDA agency through a pathways program for entering the workforce.Recruit and support two cohorts of educators and natural resource professionals (24 total) from diverse backgrounds as agents of change in Extension and education.Conduct an intensive summer workshop, followed by monthly cohort meetings and individual mentoring to support cohort participants in studying current science and pedagogy, designing and implementing high-impact education and outreach modules focused on climate-smart agriculture in their classes or programming, and conducting workshops to engage their peers for broader adoptions.The objectives for the second goal are:Leverage existing Prairie Project research and demonstration ranches to develop and conduct programing for stakeholders, with a focus on stakeholders from underserved groups and beginning or small landholders.Develop and conduct workshops for 9-16 educators to facilitate adoption of the educational materials and thereby reach a large number of students, with a focus on educators from minority serving institutions and schools.Develop online resources focused on climate literacy and pyric-herbivory and multi-species grazing as climate-smart agricultural practices for educators and professional to help them effectively engage students, rangeland managers and public to promote awareness, support and adoption.Develop and conduct social media campaigns to engage a broad range of stakeholders to promote climate literacy and awareness, support and adoption of pyric-herbivory and multi-species grazing as climate-smart agricultural practices.Co-organize with Climate Hubs an extension and outreach summit with key personnel from the southern and northern Great Plains regions to promote exchange and collaboration.