March 18, 2025
Agents of Change for Prairie Conservation
The Prairie Project is looking for educators to fill a few more slots in this summer’s Agents of Change cohort (see program description below). This is of special interest to Extension educators (mostly County staff) and Middle or High School teachers interested in learning more about rangeland conservation in the Plains and eventually becoming an ‘Agent of Change’ at their locations.
For more information, please contact Melissa Shehane (melissa.shehane@ag.tamu.edu).
Application form can be found at: tx.ag/HUB24
The Great Plains region is the center of the nation’s livestock production, but its sustainability is threatened by increasingly frequent and intense droughts and wildfires, which are associated with climate change and woody plant encroachment. This Climate Hub Partnership project is an integrated extension and education effort to promote adoption and public understanding of climate-smart practices, such as pyric-herbivory and multi-species grazing in the Great Plains rangelands.
Recruitment
We are recruiting two cohorts of educators and natural resource professionals as agents of change. The participants role will be to develop, implement, and disseminate high-impact educational outreach resources and programming. The objective of the agents of change is to increase climate awareness and to promote adoption and public support of climate-smart agricultural practices in the Great Plains rangelands.
Participation
Attend a 5-day intensive summer workshop to study the current science on climate risks, climate-smart practices, and current pedagogies for effective engagement, visit research and demonstration ranches, and design a learning module or outreach activity with an assessment plan. During the following Fall and/or Spring, participants will implement and assess the learning module or outreach activity in their own classroom or outreach programming. Upon completion of cohort projects, participants may be invited to join the project team in conducting workshops or organized sessions at professional meetings and Extension programs to engage peers.
Support
Cohort participants will receive a $2000 stipend and be reimbursed for travel expenses for the summer workshop. There will be monthly online meetings where participants can engage in discussions and receive feedback from the project team and fellow cohort participants. Participants will also have regular individual consultations with designated facilitators of the project team to discuss implementation and assessment throughout the year.
Professional Development Opportunities in Education and Outreach
We are recruiting two (2) one-year cohorts of twelve (12) educators and natural resource professionals to serve as agents of change in a USDA-NIFA funded Climate Hub Partnership collaborative project among Texas A&M University, Oklahoma State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and USDA-ARS Southern Plains and Northern Plains Climate Hubs. We are looking for highly motivated individuals with a strong interest in increasing climate awareness and promoting pyric-herbivory and multi-species grazing as climate-smart practices.
We seek cohort participants from a diverse range of backgrounds, including secondary and undergraduate educators, Extension agents, Natural Resource professionals from government agencies, and NGOs who engage in stakeholder and public outreach. Cohort participants will be supported with a $1000 stipend upon completion of the summer workshop, a $1000 stipend at the completion of the implementation, assessment, and virtual presentation, and reimbursed travel expenses for the summer workshop. The participants will grow as agents of change, positively impacting the learning in their own classes and programming and influencing their peers through three components of cohort activities:
• Summer Workshop – Cohort participants will attend an intensive, 5-day workshop facilitated by the project team. The workshop will be held as follows:
June 16-17: Virtual
June 18: Travel Day
June 19-21: Field Experience
June 22: Travel
The Participants will study current science on climate risks and how pyric-herbivory and multi-species grazing, as climate-smart practices, can promote climate resilience and sustainability of livestock production and ecosystem services. They will also learn about current pedagogies for effectively engaging students, stakeholders, and the public and visit Climate Hub and Prairie Project’s research and demonstration ranches to engage in field experiences and interact with researchers, extension specialists, and ranch managers. Each participant will design a course-based learning module or outreach activity tailored to their own class or programming, including an associated assessment plan, by the end of the summer workshop.
• Implementation, Assessment, and Sharing – Each participant will implement the learning or outreach module in their own classroom or outreach programming and conduct an assessment during the following Fall and/or Spring. They will make a short video presentation of their project which will be made available, along with their lesson/programming plan, to peers on the project website and/or through appropriate publications. Their efforts will be supported by the project team and fellow cohort participants through (1) monthly online meetings and (2) individual consultations with designated facilitators of the project team regarding implementation and assessment throughout the year.
• Engagement and Training of Peers – Following the completion of cohort projects, participants may be invited to join the project team in conducting workshops and organized sessions at professional meetings and Extension programs. Therein they will share current science, pedagogies, and the design, implementation, and assessment of their learning modules. These are designed to facilitate the adoption or adaptation of the learning or outreach modules by peers in their own teaching or outreach efforts.