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Project Director, Doug Hayes, built an agenda that allowed each Working Group (WG) to engage the team and advisors for feedback on research strategies and implementation plans. Doug’s daily summaries of the input from each WG assured all participants were engaged with each Working Group’s activities. |
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Project
review and input from Advisors was the critical purpose of the meeting.
Advisors include industry experts, agricultural producers and representatives
of producer groups, and university research and extension experts in plastics,
horticulture and production agriculture. |
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The
team visited the East Tennessee Research and Education Center (ETREC) Plant
Sciences Unit, the site where the project’s field tests will occur in
Tennessee. Here, project Co-PD, Annette Wszelaki (far left), and BJ Delozier (second
from left), the manager of the Plant Sciences Unit, discuss the site plan with
other team members. |
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The
agenda allowed intensive work sessions for each Working Group (see Project Team
page for a list of the Working Groups). Here, Jessica Goldberger (far right)
confers with other members of the Technology Adoption Working Group, Jeremy
Cowan and Susan Schexnayder. |
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The
evaluations of the meeting revealed that some of the most valuable exchanges
occurred during meetings between the Working Groups. Considerable space on the
agenda was allowed for these cross-Working Group sessions, but conversations
always extended into breaks. Here, Jessica Goldberger, leader of the Technology
Adoption WG, and Jennifer DeBruyn, member of the Soil Ecology WG, discuss the
Technology Adoption’s on-farm case studies. |
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For
team and Advisory Committee members unable to participate in person,
participation was facilitated by video-conference. Here, Field Activities
Working Group Leader, Debbie Inglis, stands before a display screen showing the
content as viewed by remote participants. |
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Working
across traditional research disciplinary boundaries is an essential component
of successful study of the performance and adoptability of biodegradable
mulches. Dr. Douglas Jackson-Smith, Professor at Utah State University and
member of the project’s Advisory Committee, emphasized the benefits and
challenges of working in transdisciplinary groups (across disciplinary
boundaries with engagement of stakeholders). Here, he notes that these
opportunities must be cultivated, even when they require greater investment of
time. |
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The
team practiced cross-disciplinary engagement when members, including Advisors,
had to learn about several other members’ work. Here Advisory Committee member
Mark Amara, center, listens to another team member’s presentation, while other
team members look on. |
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Another
important step in engaging successfully as a team is getting to know one
another. Here, team members relax after several hours of intense meetings. |