Nov. 29: Maize, Mexico, climate change

Kristen Mercer of the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science in our college will present “Challenges for Crop Landraces in an Era of Climate Change: The Case of Maize in Mexico” tomorrow (11/29) in Columbus and by video link in Wooster. She spoke on the topic recently at EcoSummit 2012. Related posts here and here.

Nov. 27: Climate change program in Columbus

Columbus welcomes author and Middlebury College (Vt.) professor Bill McKibben, pictured, and his cross-country “Do the Math” tour this Tuesday (11/27) for what’s billed as a “unique and interactive” program on climate change and green energy. Introductory speakers include Jason Box of Ohio State’s world-famous Byrd Polar Research Center (College of Arts and Sciences).

Game day forecast: Light, northerly winds

In the interest of full disclosure and not getting olfactorily smug, OSU Extension’s own Ohio Trees bulletin describes the bark of the Ohio buckeye as “ill-smelling when bruised.” And the National Arbor Day Foundation says, “Ohio buckeye is seldom used as a street tree because of the odor it produces when damaged, giving it the popular name of fetid buckeye.”

Now THAT’S tactile learning

Stone Lab, which is Ohio State’s island campus at Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie and part of CFAES, has announced its 2013 summer science courses. They’re for college students, advanced high-school students, and educators. Check out the list if you want to dive (sometimes literally) into learning about the environment and do it in a hands-on way — in the lab and in the field and also in the water. Download an application here.