| | The Southern Alberta Rangeland Network (SARN) is working to build capacity in range management extension in rural municipalities, conservation agencies, producer groups and other stakeholders. SARN is guided by Don McLennan of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/PFRA, Barry Adams of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development/Public Lands, and Greg Hale of Alberta Agriculture and Food.
Supported by PFRA’s Greencover Technical Assistant Component, this two-year training initiative started in February 2006 and involves a combination of workshops, hands-on training, and mentoring assistance for participants. In the first year, classroom and field sessions helped participants learn more about range management and methods to extend this knowledge to producers.
In 2007, participants will work on their own project, with the advice from a coach. The project is a real-life extension activity that fits into the overall extension program of the participant’s agency. It helps the participant learn more about packaging and delivering information to meet the specific needs of producers in their area.
At the end of the second year, the participants will come together in a wrap-up session to share lessons learned, tools and experiences.
“Barry Adams describes SARN as an opportunity to ‘learn from the circle’,” explains Hale. “When we acknowledge that all participants bring with them a level of experience and specific skills, then we can create training events where all participants can contribute to increasing everyone’s understanding of rangeland and grazing extension, without reference to a person’s experience level. In short, we can all learn from each other.”
Fundamental to SARN is the concept of ‘building capacity’ in people. From the very beginning, participants are involved in developing the concept, refining the training program, and determining what they get out of the process by their commitment.
“SARN’s goal is to build a network of professionals in rangeland management who understand what it takes to work together with producers to create healthier rangelands and landscapes,” says Hale. |
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