“Veggies for Kids”Hoop House Workshop

Weed I.D. & Pesticide Training for CEU’s Intro to Geospatial Technologies Nevada Indian Agriculture Summit

“People of the Land” Laser Land Leveling

Walker River Community Garden

Volume 1, No. 1, Summer 2010

www.unce.unr.edu

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“Veggies for Kids” Collecting Native Edibles

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s “Veggies for Kids” program was busy collecting native edibles with tribal youth in late spring of 2010. Randy Emm, Indian Reservation Coordinator at UNCE, took youth to several locations throughout the western area of the state where native edibles can still be found.

In Hoye Canyon, just outside of Wellington, the youth gathered wild onions and watercress. Indian tea, choke cherries, and pine nuts were collected in Dessert Creek Canyon south of Wellington. Finally, buck berries were found in the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area in Yerington.

The foods were then brought back to Natchez Elementary Scool in Wadsworth, where instructor Dehan Dominguez teaches tribal youth about the importance of preserving Native American cultural traditions.

Instructors Emm and Dominguez discussed the native edibles that were collected with the children, traditional preparation methods were demonstrated, and most importantly, the kids were able to taste the foods!

About the Cover: Aletha Mullins performs the “Swan Dance” during lunch at the Nevada Indian Agriculture Summit.

Randy Emm collecting Indian tea in Desert Creek Canyon, Wellington.

A hands on learning experience at Natchez Elementary.

NICE-3Gathering watercress in Hoye Canyon, Wellington.

Wild onions in Hoye Canyon, Wellington (Top Left).Harvesting Buck berries at the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area (Top Middle/Right). Dominguez explains native edibles with kids at Natchez Elementary (Left).

Hoop House WorkshopOwyhee, NV Last Spring, UNCE teamed up with Western Nevada College and the Owyhee Combined School to demonstrate alternative farming methods on the Duck Valley Reservation. The workshop covered information about crops that grow best in a high-desert climate as well as the hands-on construction of a hoop house (a simple greenhouse structure that extends the growing season in cold weather).

Randy Emm, Shana Thomas, and Reggie Premo, of UNCE, are responsible for initiating the youth 4-H afterschool programming and “Veggies For Kids” program in Duck Valley, and were instrumental in obtaining the funding contributed by the Owyhee Combined School for the construction of the hoop house currently on campus.

On April 28-30, the space for the hoop house was cleared and leveled, post holes were dug, and the frame was assembled and secured. Due to frosty conditions however, the skin of the hoop house (a 12 mil. plastic sheeting), was impossible to stretch over the structure. When it was warmer towards the end of May, the team returned to finalize the project, ammending the soil with compost, adding the plastic skin roof, as well as building the doors and the vents for breatability.

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Preserve

Our

Goal is to

Help People Living

in the Arid West to

Face The Challenges of

A Changing World

Around Us...

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Phases of a hoop house (Above).Volunteers and workshop participants

working on the frame of the hoop house (Background).

Ray Johnson, of Custom Gardens Organic Farm, led the effort to construct the hoop house which is located just behind the football field at Owyhee High School in Duck Valley. He has several of the structures on his farm in Silver Springs where he grows everything from “artichokes to zucchini”. He provided the tools necessary to assemble the structure and offered insight on what types of vegetables would grow best in the hoop house depending on the season.

Students from the Owyhee High School were on the site during the times that they were not in class, and they provided much of the hands-on labor involved with assembling the structure. Emm and Premo, provided support to the crew of students and volunteers, as well as offering technical assistance with the tractor and post hole digger that were used to prepare the space for building.

With everyone’s help, the entire structure (20ft. x 30ft.) took around 4 days to complete.

At the end of the stay, the relevance of the project became apparant. Owyhee is an isolated community, 100 miles from the nearest “town”, making the cost of food expensive. A woman cookinging at the cafe explained that she paid, “five dollars for one head of red cabbage, and $10 for six onions.”

As the cost of oil continues to rise it effects the cost of goods transported by it. Therefore, it will become increasingly more economical to produce goods locally, eliminating the higher prices associated with fresh food in rural areas. For more information contact Randy Emm at 775-316-1184. Or email him at emmr@unce.unr.edu.

Lisa Blecker and Reggie Premo identify weeds with pesticide aplicators both in

class (Below), and in the field (Background).

Weed Identification and Pesticide Training for CEUs

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On May 17-18, Lisa Blecker of UNCE provided weed identification and pesticide training to students in Owyhee, NV. Blecker brought samples of the ten most common invasive weed species occuring in Duck Valley along with photos and slides to identify weeds at different stages of growth. The class then went into the field to clarify identification methods. Afterwards, class participants were given training on calibrating a backpack sprayer and determining concentration ratios for the pesticides themselves.

Class participants who are licensed Pesticide Applicators with the Nevada Department of Agriculture were offered Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for their attendance. Licensed applicators are required to received at least 12 hours of instruction in pest management-related issues every four years in order to avoid re-testing and to keep their license (two of which are required in “laws”). One hour of instruction earns one CEU. The Weed Identification and Management training consisted of six hours of instruction and was worth five general CEUs and one law CEU. For more information contact Lisa Blecker at 775-427-5121. Or email her at bleckerl@unce.unr.edu.

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Discover

Various weed species discovered in the field methods

class for weed I.D. (Above), and a screen shot of Google

Earth (Background).

Intro to Geospatial

Technologies On May 18, Jordan Lubek of UNCE gave a brief introduction of geospatial technologies at Duck Valley Tribal Headquarters in Owyhee. The basics of collecting and organizing spatial data was explained to participants in conjunction with UNCE’s “Weed and Pesticide Training for CEUs”.

Lubek focused on the use of “Google Earth” which allows users to ‘fly’ anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain and even 3D buildings. Google Earth users can also customize their experience and can create content (such as points, lines and polygons), save toured places, and share with others.

Due to the checkerboard land tenure pattern that occurs on many (if not all) reservations, organizing and sharing spatial data using tools such as ESRI’s ArcMap and Google Earth can be helpful in the decision-making process.

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After the presentation, John Crumb wrote in with this question for Lubek,

“Was the presentation you provided for us at Duck Valley showing the use of Google Earth or GIS or both? I think that it would be very useful for me to learn how to do that. Some years ago Tetra Tech did work for the Environmental department here showing something similar. Since then, I have replaced computer systems and lost the application. I would like to designate water quality monitoring points on a map, and retrieve information by pointing on them. Please let me know. “

Lubek responded,

“GIS usually refers to the information system as a whole (including the hardware and software associated with collecting spatial data).

Typical GIS hardware includes computers, GPS devices, as well as printers, but it could also be a phone or some other type of processing device.

Typical GIS software (such as ESRI’s “ArcMap”) allows for the organization and analysis of data collected (points, lines and polygons), and allows for multiple file type outputs.

Google Earth is what is known as an “earth browser” or “digital globe”, which offers much of the same features as some of the traditional GIS software (such as ArcMap), but offers less in terms of analysis and organization of information. The nice thing about Google Earth’s “Pro” version of the software is that shapefiles created by ESRI’s “ArcMap” can be imported into the 3D earth browser (something the free version of Google Earth is incapable of doing). However, once you create and save the file in Google Earth Pro as a .kmz (keyhole markup language zipped file), anyone with the free version of Google Earth can interact and click on your data.

What I did for the presentation was a bit of both. I used a traditional GIS software product (ArcMap) to create a .shp (shapefile) which was then imported into an Earth Browser (Google Earth) and saved as a .kmz. I also created a direct photo link to some of the weed points using Picasa Web Albums.”

As technology continues to advance, we will have more tools such as these to direct and inform the management of tribal lands. For more information contact Jordan Lubek at 775-784-4848. Or email him at lubekj@unce.unr.edu.

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Develop

Nevada Indian Agriculture Summit UNCE and the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources(CABNR) hosted the 2010 Indian Agriculture and Rural Summit May 24-26 at the Fallon Convention Center. The conference featured a number of educational programs as well as addressing many issues facing Native Americans in agriculture.

The conference included sessions on direct marketing strategies, food safety requirements, farm-to-school programs, business planning and budgeting, and federal insurance, loan and grant programs. 4-H Tribal youth were also encouraged to participate, and shared projects that they have been working on.

“The summit serves as a means for Indian tribes and individuals to come together, discuss items of common interest, become familiar with risk management strategies, and learn about existing USDA programming focused on specific changes that have made these USDA programs more attractive,” said Randy Emm, Indian reservation program coordinator for UNCE.

“Our goal is to provide an opportunity for Indian tribes and the Indian people in Nevada to utilize each and every available tool to sustain agriculture on the various reservations, providing for a better way of life.”

A free pre-conference workshop was held May 24, entitled “People of the Land: Sustaining American Indian Agriculture in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington” (see page 13 for more details).

Working Together: how can projects between tribal entities and usda agencies be more effective?

Following the pre-conference workshop, there was a facilitated session to identify ways Tribal entities and USDA agencies can be more effective partners in cooperative agricultural projects. This session was led by Steve Lewis of UNCE, who works in the fields of natural resources, community development, sustainable agriculture and youth development in Douglas County.

NICE-10 4-H tribal youth at the Nevada Indian Agriculture Summit (Above right).Kari Emm of UNR discusses education plans with tribal youth (Above).

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“The purpose of the facilitated session was for participants to leave with a revised personal approach to enhance collaboration success”-Steve Lewis, UNCE

Thirty four participants (13 Tribal, 10 Cooperative Extension, 11 USDA) engaged in small group discussions and individual written questionnaire responses. The following is an account of the results.

What traits can be attributed to collaboration success? Ideas from three individuals sharing success stories and the large group contributing success factors they’ve experienced:

• Bringingstakeholderstogether• Willingnesstocollaborate• Involvedintheprocess• Vision(shared)• Knowingprocess&procedures• Persistence• Understandingpartner’svalues• Projectmanagement• Rightpeopleinvolved• Recognitionofpayoff• Consistentwithsubjects• Buildingrelationships• Follow-thru• Beinghonestandupfront• Closingprojects What enhances project success more than anything else?

This is what Tribal entities think enhances project success:• Teamwork/Collaboration• Communication• AvailabilityofFunding

This is what USDA agencies think enhances project success:• Communication• Interest• Collaboration

This is what Cooperative Extension folks think enhances project success:• Commitment• Communication• MultiplePlayers

What are the pitfalls to successful collaboration – when a project fails what might be the reasons? Pitfalls from Group ACommunication breakdownChange in personnelNo clear understanding of program requirementsUnderstanding of finished productLack of technical assistance (agency) and technical knowledge (applicant)Communication of time lines and time sensitive informationLack of continuing education on programsChanging prioritiesDon’t be easily discouragedCost of project A) underestimate B) escalationLack of face-to-face (technology as impediment/asenhancement)Changing technology – email – texting

Pitfalls from Group BNo shared vision Incomplete stakeholder participationNo communication No collaborationNo resources Undefined roles Unrealistic timelinesBad facts or lack of factsNo KISS protocolNot following protocolPersonality/politicsUndefined goalsUnrealistic outcomesCommittee/personnelchangesPoorly defined benchmarksLack of leadership

Pitfalls from Group CLack of informationLack of involvementManagement problemsStaffturnover/dedicationCouncil/agencyturnoverComplexity/changeofrulesLack of interest – tribal membersLack of relationshipNo consistency

Pitfalls for Group DUniformedNot enough informationNot in loopLack of communicationNo directionDon’t listen to others speak…Lack of consistent outreach educationNo structureFear of changeLack of leadership

Pitfalls from Group EChanging partnersInconsistent interpretation of rulesPeople don’t show upVaguenessUnclear and complicated rulesRigidityUSDA programs don’t fit western U.S.Inequality in bargaining positionLow “buy-in” to projectLow trust

What does the collaboration partner need to work on – what are “they” lacking or in need of improving?

This is what Tribal entities think collaborators need to do:• ImproveCommunicationand Information• ImproveCollaboration/ Working Together• AddresstheComplexityof Program and Lack of Consistency• ShoreUpFundingand Eligibility Issues

This is what USDA agencies think collaborators need to do:• BuildEffectiveCommunication

This is what Cooperative Extension folks think collaborators need to do:• CommunicateMoreEffectively• PracticeCommittedConsistent Cooperation

(“Working Together” continued on page 12)

Fallon Farm Tours In conjunction with the Nevada Indian Agriculture Summit, participants were treated to a

fabulous feast and tour of Lattin Farms in Fallon, courtesy of Rick Lattin and his wife B. Ann. The Lattin Family has been farming the Lahontan Valley for five generations, and since 1977, the family has pioneered the production of red raspberries in Nevada. Currently,the farm has been a driving force in the local movement for sustainable agriculture in desert climates. They produce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables every year, and have been providing locals with delicious and nutritious foods through roadside stands, farmer’s markets and “community supported agriculture” baskets (CSA’s). Lattin farms also offers a “pick your own” program where consumers are offered a discount on fresh produce. Participants of the summit were also offered a tour of Mewaldt Organics, a small, 10 acre farm just across the street from Lattin Farms. In 1984, Bill Mewaldt set out to prove that organic methods work better than the standard chemical/industrial model in Fallon. He immediately began improving the soil , planting windbreaks, excavating ponds and setting up watering systems. Bill and his wife Korina (a former Master Gardener at UNCE) have also taught organic gardening classes through the local community college and established a 4-H group in Fallon for young organic gardeners. Thanks to agricultural producers in Nevada such as Lattin and Mewaldt, much of the fresh food grown in the Lahontan Valley today is now done by embracing nature rather than fighting it.

(“Working Together” continued from page 11)

How might pitfalls be addressed – what solutions do you suggest to avoid or counter selected collaboration challenges?

Suggested solution to improve communication• Bepersistentinfindingaway to streamline the process that works (individual or department or program)• TransitionPlancouldbean MOU – Overlap, proactive approach, tracking record, Contingency plan• Establishapreferredformof communication at all phases• EstablishMOU’s• Designatedmeetingtime/date• Inputfromeveryone–addressing issues – LISTEN!• Positive/productiveenvironment• Findcommongroundof communication• Involvetherightstakeholders• Respecteveryone’sopinionsSuggested solution to undefined roles• Planneratbeginningof procedures • Designated“Chief ”• RightpersonforjobSuggested solution to lack of resources• Research(partnerships)• Nottooproudtobeg• Flexible/negotiate• Aimforthestars

Suggested solution to improve relationships • Dedicatedtriballiaison/tribal staff• Consistencyofoutreach• Assistance/supportduring application, contracting, practice implementation• Followup• CommonofficespaceSuggested solution to address lack of tribal member interest• Consistencyofoutreach• Councilsupport• CouncilenforcementSuggested solution to improve leadership• Leadershipeducation• LeadershipsessionSuggested solution to address inconsistent rule interpretation and application within Agency• Bettercommunicationwithin Agency(officesandstates)• InterpretationonInternet• PublishedFAQ’s• Improvedoversightofdecision making and interpretation• AgencyOmbudsmanor grievance mechanism• Usemultiplelearning technologies (audio – media) helps client advocacy• BoundaryFencing–seeRandy• Annunciatewhatpeoplecan expect

How shall you become a more effective collaborator – what are you personally going to improve or do differently?

This is what Tribal entities are going to do:• Improvecommunicationand build relationships• Makeregularcontact• Beabettercollaborator• Dobetterplanningandworkthe plan• Continuallyeducateone’sself

This is what USDA agency people are going to do:• Establishcontactsandmaintain communication• Providesupport• Bepersistent• Engageineducationand leadership training

This is what Cooperative Extension folks are going to do:• Learnandbepatient• Becomeabettercommunicator• Concentrateonapplication assistance

NICE-12Rick Lattin Discusses his hoop houses with tour participants (Above left). Various row

crops at Latting Farms (Center). Bill Mewaldt bags carrots for local CSA’s (Bottom left). Tour of a hoop house t Lattin Farms (Background)

“People of the

Land” Wins National

Award UNCE’s “People of the Land,” a self-paced, eight-chapter curriculum examining the historical, social and economic attributes of Indian reservations within a four-state region of the West, has earned the prestigious Gold Award from The Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals (ANREP). This is the highest award given by this organization in their national publication competition. It is the second national award in recent months for the 2009 publication written by Extension Educators Staci Emm of Mineral County and Loretta Singletary of Lyon County. Emm and Singletary accepeted the award in Fairbanks in June at the 7th Natural Resource Extension Professionals Conference at the University of Alaska. “People of the Land” was also a top winner in the National Association of County Agricultural Agents’ Communications Awards Program in May 2010. In July, the authors travel to Tulsa, Okla., to attend that awards ceremony. While there, Emma and Singletary will represent the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) as program ambassadors and visit withtribalofficialswiththe

Cherokee and Creek nations. “People of the Land” is designed to help agricultural and natural resource professionals work more effectively with American Indian farmers and ranchers in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. ”This is a terrific honor for Staci and Loretta,” UNCE. Southern Area Director Jerry Buk said of the ANREP award. “Some of the best educational materials in the country are entered in this contest, so this shows just how great a publication ’People of the Land’ is.” The two researchers’ curriculum is the result of a three-year quality-of-life assessment of American Indians and the U. S. Department of Agriculture professionals who work with them. While government officialshavesaidtheyhavetrouble helping Indian farmers and ranchers develop sustainable agriculture and natural resource management skills on reservation land, tribal leaders have expressed their desire to strengthen agriculture on Indian lands. The Cooperative Extension study by Emm and Singletary identified a “knowledge gap” that indicated the need to improve understanding and appreciation of individual tribal histories and cultures in order to work more effectively with tribes. UNCE’s Dean and Director Karen Hinton praised Emm and Singletary

fortakingonadifficultjob. ”This is an example of how our faculty use science-based research to help people,” she said. “People of the Land shows how we try to bring real solutions to real people to improve the economy and people’s lives.” Singletary and Emm have already taught the curriculum, published last year, to hundreds of tribal agriculture producers and land managers within the four-state region. Program impact measures showed that agency professionals working on Indian reservations came away with increased knowledge of key issues, including: American Indian culture; federal Indian policy; issues surrounding Indian land tenure, including

checkerboard and fractionated lands on American Indian reservations; Indian agriculture irrigation projects; and Indian governance. The 166-page textbook is already in its second printing, and Emm and Singletary — at the requestofcountyofficialsandstate educators — are working on two separate publications — one focused specifically on Nevada tribes and another written for Nevada students.

For more information contact: Staci Emm, Extension Educator, 775-945-3444 or Loretta Singletary, Extension Educator, 775-463-6541. Or visit our website at www.unce.unr.edu.

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By Reggie Premo, UNCE’s Duck Valley Tribal Outreach Program sponsored a laser land leveling workshop on June 21st in Owyhee.

Randy Emm from the Walker River Reservation provided information on the process of field staking, survey methods, field design (slope and grade), how and where to set up the laser equipment, issues and challenges encountered while land leveling, and finally, the end result and how it ties into more improvedwaterandflowandefficiency,highercropyieldsandless labor in the field with irrigation.

The idea of moving dirt to level land is very old. Although in agriculture most of the time we are talking about putting a smooth surface with a specific slope on the ground. What is important with laser land leveling is that the actual surface finish can be controlled to very tight tolerances. A laser-controlled land-leveling system could be described as follows. A rotating laser light source (like a miniature lighthouse) is located somewhere in the field mounted on a tripod. As the laser rotates rapidly, a virtual “plane” of light is produced in the field. A receiver is mounted on the leveling equipment and connected hydraulically to the earthmoving blade via a control unit mounted inside the cab of the tractor.

When activated, the receiver (and thus, the blade) will “lock on” to the laser source, thus providing a smooth surface.

When the equipment, in this case a Cat Challenger (provided by the Duck Valley Soil Conservation District and carry-all scraper provided by Eric Bues) has to climb over a high spot in the field, the blade will dig in as the receiver tries to stay locked on to the laser source. When the equipment goes over a low spot, the blade will lift up, again keeping locked onto the laser source, and dump soil into the low spot.

However, the system is not totally automatic. When there is a high spot in the field, the unit must be switched from “automatic” to “manual” to prevent overloading the leveling equipment,whichcancauseenginestallingand/ordamagetoequipment resulting in costly repairs.

A field demonstration was provided, and allowed those present the opportunity to operate the machinery to get a feel what it takes to level land with laser technology. Emm was more than willing to provide this training and informed the few individuals present that if they needed assistance with their fields in the area of laser land leveling, he would be glad to help. For more information contact: Reggie Premo at 775-757-2120. Or email him at premor@unce.unr.edu.

to Improve the

Communities We

Live In

Laser Land Leveling

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A tractor with laser leveling functionality (Above). Equiptment used for laser land leveling, and final results (Left).

“This year our community garden started a little late but Randy Emm and Ariel Richardson, of UNCE, have worked hard to map out the garden area which identified existing water lines and the proposed garden area which is located in the field behind what was formerly known as Jr’s Market. The most challenging project was to construct a waterline across the field so there would be easy access to water the plants. Joey Frank and Carl Johnson helped expose the existing waterlines, dug the trenches to install a new waterline and faucets, and then backfilled the trenches covering the new waterline. Thanks to the Walker River Health Clinic, we were able to use their tractor to make this possible. Four faucets were installed in locations for existing and future gardening efforts. Plants were purchased from Community Roots in Dayton,

Nevada. Funding for the garden was provided by Donna McDonald and the Community Coalition. Currently planted in the garden are: squash, tomatoes, peppers, bell peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, and strawberries. The herbs we planted are: cilantro, parsley, and oregano. Thank you to Chelsea Thomas, Cory Poafpybitty, and Jessie Ponca for helping plant the vegetables. If not for them we would have been there all day. Our future plans include: constructing a hoop house to take advantage of season extension opportunities, planting a fall garden that would include carrots, beats, and other root crops, creating a native plants and flower garden, and establishing an annual pumpkin patch for the whole community.”

Walker River Community Garden

2010

By Ariel Richardson,

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Tribal youth of the Walker River Reservation helped to plant a community garden with herbs,

vegetables and berries (Above).

Who We Are

The University of Nevada, Reno is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, creed, national origin, veteran status, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation in any program or activity it operates. The University of Nevada employs only United States citizens and aliens lawfully authorized to work in the United States.

Dehan DominguezPyramid LakeDehan educates youth on environmental issues around the Pyramid Lake Reservation. Her programming focuses on providing youth with lifelong skills, preserving Native American traditions, music, art and language.

Reggie PremoDuck ValleyReggie is the program facilitator for the Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program funded by CSREES to assist Native American farmers and ranchers to access the various USDA program offerings.

Randy EmmWalker RiverRandy is the Indian Reservation Program Coordinator at UNCE. His programming focuses on providing farmers and ranchers with information and resources designed to improve organization and operation of tribal

lands.

Frank FlavinRenoAs the Director for the Western Area, Frank oversees fivecountyofficesin Northern Nevada. He is co-director of the Nevada Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (FRTEP).

Ariel RichardsonWalker River Ariel coordinates the summer activities on the Walker River Indian Reservation. These activities include coordinating the summer garden activities, native food gathering activities, and assisting in various native food presentations.

Jordan LubekRenoJordan educates on a variety of new practices for community sustainability and planning. His programming focuses on the use of geospatial data and technology to better improve productivity and communication in a changing global environment.

www.unce.unr.edu

Lisa BleckerFallonLisa is the Research Coordinator for the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Program. She develops and delivers educational programming in weed ID and management to tribal members throughout the state.

Shana ThomasDuck ValleyShana was responsible for initiating the youth 4-H afterschool programming and “Veggies For Kids” program. She left us in June to pursue a Master’s Degree in Wyoming. We thank her for doing an excellent job and wish her the very best .