CFAES On Sustainability

Grow your own food in the city? 3 ways to learn how to do it

knebusch.1 — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:11:43 +0000

Local Matters and the Godman Guild, both of Columbus, and CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, are co-hosting three upcoming workshops for people who farm in the city or want to. The topics are backyard chickens, keeping urban honey bees, and keeping the food you grow clean and safe. The theme is “Grow Your Own.” Details.

See what they’re growing, learn how they do it

knebusch.1 — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:37:45 +0000

This year’s Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series schedule has been announced. Download the booklet, which has details on the farms, topics, dates, locations, directions, etc., here (pdf). A co-sponsor of the series is CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team.

Invasive species in your yard, woods, or garden … and what you can do about them

knebusch.1 — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:14:12 +0000

CFAES’s Ohio Woodland Stewards Program is holding a four-part seminar series for gardeners, landscapers, homeowners, and others on invasive species, the problems they cause, and how to deal with them. Read the whole story. The stewards program is part of our statewide outreach arm, OSU Extension. (Photo: Invasive insects called hemlock woolly adelgids (the fuzzy white spots) on a hemlock branch by Nicholas A. Tonelli, Pennsylvania, USA, via Wikimedia Commons.)

Tree-mendous way to help your trees

knebusch.1 — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:36:02 +0000

The signup deadline for CFAES’s Tree School in Mansfield has been extended to Monday, May 13. Program brochure here (pdf). Online registration here. The workshop is May 18.

Beech aphid excrement. It’s what’s for dinner. If you’re a Scorias spongiosa

knebusch.1 — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:50:32 +0000

Fun fact No. 1: There’s something called a beech aphid poop-eater. Fun fact No. 2: It’s one of the “Weird Things in Your Woods” that make up one of the 20 expert-taught sessions (pdf; scroll down) at CFAES’s first-ever Tree School May 18. It’s for anyone interested in knowing more about and growing trees. Sign up by ~~tomorrow (May 10)~~ Monday, May 13, if you’d like to attend.

Fun sustainability-related fact via the linked-to Tom Volk’s Fungi website, which puts the fun in fungal: “Leaves covered in sooty molds [of which the beech aphid poop-eater is one] adsorb more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals from air than clean leaves. Thus they may be more efficient at cleaning up polluted air.”

‘This is your life’s obligation’

knebusch.1 — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:05:17 +0000

Just a great short interview with CFAES student Henry Peller (Sustainable Plant Systems) here (video, 0:49). He was recently named a national Udall Scholar. Read more about him here.

School for trees: Sign up soon

knebusch.1 — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:37:44 +0000

[Update: The signup deadline has been extended.] CFAES’s first-ever Tree School is May 18, and the sign-up deadline is soon: ~~Friday, May 10~~ Monday, May 13. The program is for anyone interested in learning more about growing our tall, woody friends, including farmers, gardeners, landscapers, woodland owners, Christmas tree growers, and bird and other wildlife lovers. Get details on the program’s 20 sessions here (pdf). Register here.

That’s no convergent lady beetle, that’s a Harmonia axyridis

knebusch.1 — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:00:18 +0000

“Many types of native lady beetles are declining in Ohio,” says CFAES scientist Mary Gardiner, “while the introductions of exotic non-native species of lady beetles are increasing. Lady beetles are a beneficial insect for gardeners and farmers because they provide natural pest control.” Here’s how you can pitch in to help Gardiner, native lady beetles, and the plants you grow. (Photo by Stu Phillips via Wikimedia Commons.)

Ohio’s forests growing green(er)

knebusch.1 — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:56:33 +0000

When a tree falls — is felled — in a forest in Ohio, it supports a $22-billion-a-year industry and more than 100,000 jobs. And is replaced by more than two trees worth of new growth. So says CFAES forest-products specialist Eric McConnell, who is documenting the green that grows in the state’s woods. “Sustainably managing our woodlands,” he says, “plays a critical role in the health of Ohio’s rural economies.” Read more.

‘It’s going to take some work, but there really is hope’

knebusch.1 — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:13:58 +0000

There’s a wonderful short video about Steven Amstrup — what drives him, and how he’s helping polar bears and also in the process all of Earth’s species (including and especially Homo sapiens) — here (scroll down, click the arrow; 6:23). It’s at the website for the Indianapolis Prize, which he won in 2012. He speaks at Ohio State May 14.