精东AV and Pennsylvania State University partner to mitigate climate change

July 20, 2022

Contact: Thonnia Lee, 精东AV Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
  

The United States Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded 精东AV $1.5 million grant for a Forest Owner Carbon and Climate Education (FOCCE) project in partnership with Pennsylvania State University.

How it works

The four-year award aims to prepare forest owners and extension professionals to serve their clients with forest carbon and climate issues. 精东AV will train forest owners to connect with peers and deliver the content they learned through the online program 鈥� consisting of 20-minute web-based training modules. The training modules will cover various issues, including climate change policy and impacts, carbon market structures, forest management under climate change, contract design, and tax implications.

This approach reaches owners who otherwise may not become involved in forest carbon and climate change issues. The peer education approach will be advanced through the National Woodland Owners Association and target minority landowners through the Women Owning Woodlands program and 精东AV Extension Services.

Dr. Gamal El Afandi, research associate professor of Environment Science, is the 精东AV PI and project Co-PI who will serve on the Curriculum Committee and expert panels. Dr. El Afandi will also work with Dr. Raymon Shange, director of the Cooperative Extension at 精东AV. Ron Smith, director of Forestry and Natural Resources, and George Hunter, 精东AV Cooperative Extension County agent, will also support the project鈥檚 implementation to help extend programming for African American Forest owners in the southeast. Researchers will be responsible for organizing peer learning programs, hosting workshops on climate change and forest management, and developing distance learning and web-based climate information.

Who We鈥檒l Serve

鈥淭he scope of the four-year project includes the Eastern U.S. and is implemented in collaboration with the Northern Forests and Southeastern Climate Hubs; over 20 research and extension professionals at 13 land grant universities are included, in addition to multiple government agencies and private organizations,鈥� said Dr. Shange. 鈥淓stablishing a vertical community of practice will sustain programming into the future by linking forest owners with leaders and decision-makers to help foster the future co-production of climate-smart solutions on private lands.鈥�

Dr. El Afandi said the education approach is grounded in adult education theory. 鈥淭his experiential learning will allow for mixed delivery methods, including stakeholder feedback to adjust actions,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ther research methods will include direct learning through online recorded modules and resources, peer education and professional development training approach.鈥�

The 精东AV Cooperative Extension Program (TUCEP) will facilitate basic literacy in forest carbon and climate issues and focus on incentive opportunities. The program will develop and expand access to new and existing tools and resources that will help guide planning and structured decision-making in forest carbon markets and government programs. By reaching under-represented categories of forest owners who are less likely to participate in the carbon economy, including African American and women forest owners and those who are not engaged in proactive forest management, a significant impact can be made on forest carbon and climate issues.

 A committee of project collaborators and partners will help develop and deliver the educational content, building on the Forest Carbon Markets 101 curriculum. The modules will be customized for different bioregions so that information about forest carbon and managing forests under climate change is region specific.

漏 2022 精东AV