Conservation Professional Training Program

Building the Carbon Positive City
2021-11-04 10:30 - 11:30 (America/Chicago)
A part of the Yale Forest Forum: The Future of Wood Building Products in a Changing Climate
Wood is a renewable resource that has wide material applications in many industries. Wood products sourced from sustainably managed forests store carbon and can play an important role in combating climate change. Recent innovations in the use of wood have led to the development of new products that can replace traditional fossil-based carbon-intensive materials, particularly in the construction and energy sectors. Understanding the potential environmental impacts and societal implications of increases in both conventional and emerging wood products across their respective life cycles, as well as their possible reuse in a circular construction economy, is critical in assessing the climate mitigation potential of wood vs. other materials.
What is the future role of forest products in addressing climate, resources, societal, and environmental challenges? What are the environmental, economic, and societal implications for using more forest products? Hear from speakers representing forestry, industrial ecology, architecture, conservation, and academia.
Info here.

Improving Restorations: The ongoing challenge of buckthorn
2021-11-04 12:00 - 13:00
This highly requested webinar will bring together researchers and practitioners to share updates and stories of success on the ongoing challenge of managing buckthorn in restorations. Researchers from the University of Minnesota will share new developments in the Cover it up! program working to understand if native plants can control buckthorn following removal efforts. Practitioners will also share what is working for them in the ongoing battle against this invasive plant.
Info here.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion: Why It’s Not Just About Data: How To Measure and Continuously Monitor Your DEI Progress
2021-11-04 12:00 - 13:30
Are you on a journey of creating a diverse and inclusive organization? Maybe you want to start out but don’t know where to begin, or you’ve had a few small successes, but it still feels difficult.
We know that this journey can be daunting for non-profits. So, in this practical, interactive 90-minute webinar, Anj will give you tools and strategies to help you to identify under-representation within your charity and the steps to address it. You’ll also learn strategies to help you navigate challenging or sensitive conversations within your non-profit.
Info here.

Field Day: Cover crops - winter wheat and alfalfa rotation
2021-11-04 12:00 - 16:00
Visit Larry Knutson Farm for a field day about cover crops.
Info here.

Planning for Community Climate Resilience: Tools for Local Governments
2021-11-04 14:00 - 15:30
Will your community be resilient in the face of more severe weather events and other challenges brought on by climate change? During this session, you’ll gain planning tools, resources, and strategies to build community resilience. You’ll hear from a team of UW-Madison, Division of Extension educators who will share practical tools and examples of effective planning to build climate resilience.
Info here.

Hoop House Winterization And Preservation
2021-11-04 17:00 - 18:30
Do you own or are you interested in owning a high tunnel or hoop house? Let Grace Summers of VSU Small Farm Outreach Program and her over 30 years of hoop house/high tunnel/greenhouse experience guide you into how to protect and preserve your growing investment going into the winter season. High tunnels are a major farm expense that yields a great market advantage but like anything else has to be maintained properly for proper and consistent performance. Ms. Summers will give you the do and don’ts of maintaining your high tunnel and also field your questions. This will be a hybrid event, allowing for virtual and in person viewing.
Info here.

Imperiled Shores
2021-11-04 19:00 - 20:00
Wildly varying Lake Michigan water levels have played havoc with the state’s shoreline and infrastructure. What do we need to know and how can we weigh in?
The Great Lakes region will spend nearly $2 billion over the next five years combating coastal damage exacerbated by climate change, according to a recent survey of local governments. Wisconsin will bear an estimated burden of at least $245 million as a climate “tug of war” — evaporation from warming temperatures and increasingly intense storms — drives extreme shifts in water levels. Low-water years require expensive dredging of waterways so boats can reach their destinations. But high water brings destructive storm surges that swallow beaches, swamp docks, erode lakeside bluffs and shutter businesses. Shoreline erosion — and how to afford infrastructure improvements needed to protect against damage from high water — challenges urban centers and small towns along the Great Lakes.
This event will explore the ways Northeast Wisconsin communities can protect their shorelines from Lake Michigan’s volatile waters in the coming years.
Info here.

Opportunities and Challenges in Offshore Wind
2021-11-05 09:00 - 11:00
Interest in the development of offshore wind is continuing to grow, as more governments and industries are committing to the net-zero goals. This trend is gaining momentum in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) as well. Energy generated by offshore wind will be an important component of reaching net-zero emissions. In order to ensure that offshore wind is best integrated into the US energy landscape, the complex technical and political frameworks must be understood. These include managing the needs of stakeholders involved in bringing wind farms to market, ensuring that local infrastructure can reliably deliver offshore wind energy into the electrical grid, and conducting research and development to produce technologies that make offshore wind energy safe, environmentally responsible, and fiscally competitive. During this colloquium, our panel of experts in research, policy, and technology will discuss the value of offshore wind energy in the United States, highlighting opportunities and challenges in the sector as it aims to meet the nation’s clean energy goals.
Info here.

West Central WI Fall Grazing Conference
2021-11-05 10:00 - 15:00
Join River Country RCD for the Fall Grazing Conference.
Info here.

Climate Change Resources for Wetland Managers
2021-11-05 10:30 - 11:30
Climate change impacts wetlands, but not all wetland types and locations are at equal risk. Find out what types of wetlands are most vulnerable, what site-level factors can improve resiliency, and most importantly, what resources are available to help you create a customized adaptation plan for your specific site.
Ryan O’Connor is an ecologist who coordinates and conducts biotic inventories of natural communities for WDNR’s Natural Heritage Conservation program. His professional interests include providing land managers with high-quality data to make better decisions, developing adaptation resources, and hunting for rare and invasive plants.
Info here.

Oat Variety Selection and Tools
2021-11-05 12:00 - 13:00
Good oat production starts with matching desired traits with a variety that can deliver. Farmer Matt Miller usually grows two oat varieties every year and in 2021 he tested three varieties in an on-farm research trial. Join Matt and PFI staffer Lydia English as they share takeaways from variety trials and discuss considerations for variety selection on your operation.
Info here.

2021 Conserve Sauk Film Festival
2021-11-06 10:00 - 17:00
The 2021 Conserve Sauk Film Festival will be held November 6th from 10am until 5pm at the UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County Campus (1006 Connie Dr, Baraboo). We are so excited to be able to host this program again this year and would like to invite you to join! The line up of films this year includes more than 20 films that cover topics including forestry, water, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, and more.
Check out the website for all the information on the event including the complete list of films and schedule: www.conservesaukfilmfest.org
The event is free and open to the public, but we do require registration this year. The link to the “free tickets” is located here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2021-conserve-sauk-film-festival-tickets-176504849757

Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety & Health (MRASH) Conference
2021-11-08 - 2021-11-12
Spotlighting safety and health for agriculture’s essential workers: Raising the cloak of invisibility
Info here.

SnapPlus Helpline
2021-11-08
Need help with nutrient management this season?
To assist your efforts, the NPM Program and DATCP will have a team member on-call daily during the planning season. For each week, they will have SnapPlus open, ready to answer your soil test, manure, fertilizer, and general SnapPlus and nutrient management questions.
Info here.

Manure Mondays
2021-11-08 15:00 - 16:00
Manure Mondays is a webinar series that continues where the Manure Expo left off and provides the opportunity to share new technology and information about managing manure. A series of educational sessions will be presented by OMAFRA and NAME (North American Manure Expo). Registration is free and includes access to all sessions.
Sessions will run Mondays from November 8 to March 21, 2022 from 3 – 4 pm (CT). Please note that all webinar events will be recorded.
Info here.

18th World Lake Conference
2021-11-09 - 2021-11-11
The Conference invites discussions and presentations, in English or Spanish, in a wide range of socio-economic and cultural issues related to the sustainable use of lakes, wetlands, and other bodies of standing water, as well as the more traditional and classic topics linked to eutrophication, pollution, and biodiversity, as characterized below;
In-lake issues such as unsustainable fishing practices, the introduction of invasive species of fauna and flora, pollution impacts to water quality and biodiversity, salinity changes, weed infestations;
Nearshore/lakeshore problems such as nutrients from fish cages, domestic and industrial effluent discharges, excessive water withdrawals, and degradation of shoreline wetlands and ecotones;
Problems from lake basin activities such as excess sediment inflows, nonpoint pollution, agrochemical and fertilizer runoff, land-use changes, including urbanization, industrialization, and excessive tourism, and their impacts on the quantity and quality of water runoff, management of stormwater runoff, and the management of infringements on the shoreline region;
Global-scale challenges such as climate-change-related problems and their impacts, water temperature changes, depletion of dissolved oxygen, long-distance transport of airborne pollutants, and dramatic changes in lake basin demography that infringes on the ecological buffering capacity of lakes and other bodies of standing water.
Info here.

Non-Profit Boot Camp: Grant Writing for Federal Funding
2021-11-09 - 2021-11-11
From finding the right grant program to apply to, designing the project, writing the proposal… actually accessing federal funding can be tough!
Join Margaret Krome of Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and Una Van Duvall for a 3-session, hour-long workshop to strengthen your skills, ability, and confidence around applying for federal USDA funding for agricultural endeavors. The lessons will inform, direct, and coach attendees by utilizing real-life funding examples, peer-to-peer learning, and tips and suggestions on how to design sound projects, find funding and write successful grant proposals.
Info here.

Federal Funding for the Prevention, Monitoring, and Treatment of Harmful Algal Blooms
2021-11-09 - 2021-11-10
EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center (WIRFC) is hosting a two-day virtual forum to provide state agencies and coastal and inland communities experiencing harmful algal bloom (HABs) related issues with an overview of federal funding programs available to prevent, monitor, and treat HABs and case examples of communities that have utilized those funds.
Info here.

Smart Salting for WI Roads Workshop
2021-11-09 08:00 - 13:00
Free training for winter maintenance professionals who remove snow, apply road salt or maintain snow removal equipment used on roads.
Learn how using the right amount of salt can save time, budget and our waters.
The training will include: best management practices to keep paved areas safe, benefits of using a liquid salt system, guidance on how to determine the right amount of salt to use, and case studies from local applicators.
Info here.

Strategies to Reduce Stress on the Farm
2021-11-09 10:00 - 11:00
Farm women are the backbone of the American farm, often working both on and off the farm to help make ends meet. The stressors that come with this responsibility are numerous!
Now add in the responsibility of communicating with family members, farm partners, and industry professionals. This can become a difficult and daunting task.
PA Farm Link would like to assist PA women in Agriculture by means of this web series. We hope you can join us and that this valuable information assists you in your everyday work and life.
Participants will receive materials and skills to assist in communicating with the difficult personalities in their lives, stress-reducing methods will be also, be provided to participants.
Info here.

Planting Green - Planting New Ideas, Growing Conservation
2021-11-09 12:00 - 13:00
We will look at corn at harvest, rutting compared to non-planted green fields, yields and cover crops after harvest.
Info here.

It All Starts on the Farm: Raw Milk Parameters that Impact Pasteurized Dairy Product Quality
2021-11-09 13:00 - 14:00
What happens on the farm does not stay on the farm when it comes to the impact of raw milk quality on pasteurized dairy product. Many tests are used to determine the quality of raw milk, some tests tell us about animal health, some about the efficacy of milking hygiene or equipment cleaning and sanitation, etc. However, when it comes to the impact of raw milk quality on pasteurized dairy products, there are only a few parameters that are truly impactful. This webinar will cover these parameters, how they impact pasteurized dairy products and what can be done at the farm to control them.
Info here.

Structured Decision Making for Lake Habitat Restoration
2021-11-09 13:00 - 14:00
Structured Decision Making (SDM) is a great tool to guide strategic habitat planning and address challenges and priorities to achieve restoration and conservation success. This webinar will provide an overview of how SDM can be used to balance largescale landscape needs with local restoration actions to guide decision making and achieve project goals. An overview of how to incorporate multiple competing priorities including species and population needs, partner and stakeholder interests, and climate impacts will be demonstrated alongside examples focused on lake ecosystems and habitats.
Info here.

USDA Forest Service 2022 Wood Innovations Grants Program Pre-Application
2021-11-09 13:00 - 15:00
The USDA Forest Service Wood Innovations Program expands and creates markets for wood products and wood energy that support long-term, sustainable management of National Forest System lands and other forest lands. The program has two national competitive grants programs, as well as project activities funded under discretionary agreements and annual work plans.
The webcast will inform applicants how to submit projects to the Wood Innovations Grants Program. The two funding sources that will be discussed are the Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity (CFDA 10.708) and the Community Wood Energy & Wood Innovation Program (CFDA 10.674).
Info here.

Beyond Greenness: Quantifying Climate-Vegetation Interactions from Leaf to Globe
2021-11-09 16:00 - 17:00
Presentation by Mallory Barnes, Assistant Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
Assessment and prediction of the impacts of climate change on the environment and human societies requires multi-scale understanding of interactions between biogeochemical, hydrologic, and atmospheric cycles. For many years, measures of greenness from spaceborne satellites were the only way to consistently observe the terrestrial biosphere. Recent and emerging advances in remote sensing technologies and data science present a timely opportunity to explore new aspects of vegetation-climate interactions. In this talk, I highlight two plant processes that impact climate: carbon uptake and transpiration. I will first show how machine learning techniques can be used to globally upscale carbon uptake measurements from eddy covariance towers in highly heterogenous drylands. Next, I will show that the biophysical impacts of reforestation in the Eastern United States reduced anthropogenic warming in the Eastern United States. I will end by highlighting future opportunities for emerging technologies to overcome key knowledge gaps in vegetation-climate interactions.
Info here.

Grassland Birds & Conservation
2021-11-09 18:30 - 19:30
Jenn Simons is an expert on grassland birds and the Southern Driftless Grasslands Project Manager. Jenn has been working in sustainable agriculture and conservation for nearly a decade, most recently conducting research on conservation grazing at The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands in northern Illinois as part of her MS degree in restoration ecology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Since 1970, North American grassland bird populations have decreased by 53% – a loss of more than 720 million birds. Grasslands in southwest Wisconsin are vital for grassland birds. Join us for a presentation and discussion covering the various grassland birds that can be found in the region along with what can be done to protect them.
Info here.

Building Scientific Understanding to Guide Native Pollinator Habitat Restoration Practices
2021-11-10 00:30 - 14:30
This workshop aims to increase restoration practitioners’ understanding of the scientific foundations that guide native habitat restoration and management. This includes plant-pollinator interdependency and long-term ecosystem sustainability; why holistic approaches to habitat management are important to biodiversity; the significance of native and invasive plant species for pollinators/wildlife and to restoration outcomes; and how to translate knowledge gained from research into practical management actions.
TOPIC 1: Establishing diverse prairie restorations.
Becky Barak, Ph.D., Conservation Scientist, Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University
TOPIC 2: Understanding the cascading impacts of invasive plants and why natives are part of the solution.
Dawn Slack, Director of Stewardship, The Nature Conservancy and Chair for the Invasive Plant Advisory Committee to the Invasive Species Council
TOPIC 3: The implications from current research on managing monarch and other native pollinator habitat.
Nathan Haan, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Landis Lab, Michigan State University
Info here.

Clean Lakes 101: At-Home Water Quality Action
2021-11-10 08:00 - 09:00
Join us Wednesday, November 10th to hear Katie Richgels discuss actionable ways for residents to reduce stormwater runoff from reaching the lakes. Land use and climate impacts, such as heavy rain and runoff, and other headwinds threaten our progress toward healthy lakes. Fortunately, you don’t need to live on the lakes to make a difference in our Yahara Watershed. Many small actions can make our landscape more resilient and add up to big impacts for water quality.
Our speaker will cover how stormwater from the Madison Metro area impacts the Yahara Watershed and provide some practical strategies for reducing runoff and capturing stormwater where we live. From complex water mitigation installations such as swales and rain gardens, to simple redirection of downspouts and collection of leaf litter, we’ll highlight the many large and small ways you can reduce your impacts and contribute to sustainability of our lakes for many generations to come. Let’s challenge each other to change just one thing, because together we can have a positive impact on the issues affecting our watershed.
Info here.

Smart Salting for Parking Lots and Sidewalks
2021-11-10 08:00 - 12:00
Free IN-PERSON training for winter maintenance professionals who remove snow, apply road salt or maintain snow removal equipment used on roads.
Learn how using the right amount of salt can save time, budget and our waters.
The training will include: best management practices to keep paved areas safe, benefits of using a liquid salt system, guidance on how to determine the right amount of salt to use, and case studies from local applicators.
Info here.

Restoration for whom, by whom? Exploring the socio-political dimensions of restoration
2021-11-10 09:00 - 10:00
As the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration launches into action, urgent attention is needed to the power and politics that shape the values, meanings, and science driving restoration, to enable the creation of equitable restoration initiatives. In this webinar, we adopt a feminist political ecology lens, with a focus on gendered power relations, historical awareness, and scale integration, to examine the socio-political and economic dynamics of restoration. We demonstrate the potential of such a perspective for thinking about the social inclusivity of restoration agendas and initiatives, and demonstrate its applicability to different restoration contexts.
We bring this perspective to life through three case studies published in a special issue of Ecological Restoration that asks: “Restoration for Whom, by Whom?”. The first case, based in Kenya, shows how attention to power relations is needed to create more equitable Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. The second, which focuses on the restoration of an urban lake in Bengaluru, India, demonstrates the importance of taking a historical perspective to understand equity considerations in restoration. The last shows the importance of conducting multi-scalar analyses to promote inclusion in and through restoration, using wetlands restoration as an example. Together, these present more grounded and nuanced ways forward for inclusive restoration initiatives.
Info here.
