Month: July 2019

Categories
biweekly update

Biweekly Update – July 25, 2019

Biweekly Update – July 25, 2019

New Announcements:

1.    Master Gardener College Updates: September 19-22, 2019, Norfolk, Virginia

a.     Registration is open and more than 200 Extension Master Gardeners have already registered! View our registration information page.  Registration closes on August 30th! For more information on booking your accommodations (scroll down to “Accommodation Costs”).

b.    Book your room at The Main before August 15th! (some nights have limited availability, so please check availability with The Main). Please note that we are sold out of rooms at the conference rate for Saturday night only. You can still get the conference rate for all other nights but will pay a higher rate for Saturday night only. Please call the hotel directly to book your room. Booking online will result in inaccurate rates being assessed for your reservation. The direct number for The Main is 757-763-6200.

2.    Submit a Digital Brag Board for EMG College!

a.     Visit https://www.mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/brag-board-submission/ for guidelines and online submission form. Any unit may submit a digital brag board for display!

3.    Biennial 2018 EMG Summary– from the Extension Master Gardener National Committee

a.     Data collected indicates there are 86,076 EMG volunteers throughout the United States and Washington, D.C, contributing 5.6 million hours educating the public, providing youth programming, and facilitating produce donated to local food banks.

b.    While this is only the beginning of the value EMGs provide in their communities each year, 2018 efforts are estimated to have contributed 140 million dollars in value to the general public. Our volunteers reported over 8.6 million contacts and continue to be the front line of Extension’s consumer horticulture efforts. Forty-six states participated in this report.

4.    Hampton Roads 11th Annual Go Green Expo – Brittingham Midtown Community Center, Newport News – September 7th, 2019

a.     Family activities, lectures, green tech, plant sales and vendors as well as vermiculture, rain barrel and biochar workshops!

b.    10am to 3pm. Free admission. Food available for purchase.

5.    Waynesboro Tree Workshop “Reveling in the Magnificence of Trees”- Pembroke, VA – September 13, 2019

a.     Registration will open soon!

b.    For questions or inquiries contact:

                                              i.     Becky Woodson at (434)-220-9024 or treesvirginia@ntelos.net

 

6.    2019 ESVMG MG Training Registration Open – October 2- November 13, January 15- February 26 – VA Tech Research Center, Painter, VA

 

a.     The Eastern Shore Master Gardener (ESVMG) Program is accepting applications for the 2019 Master Gardener training class.

b.    The classes will be held in Painter beginning October 2nd and continue every Wednesday from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. until November 13th, break for the holidays and then resume January 15-February 26.

c.     For more information and the application contact the Eastern Shore of Virginia Gardeners hotline at (757)-678-7946 ext.29, the web site www.esvmg.com, or e-mail esmgva@gmail.com. 

d.    Fee is $100 for materials and lectures by local experts.

7.    ESVMG Garden Symposium– October 19th, 2019- Cheriton, VA

a.     The Eastern Shore of Virginia Master Gardeners (ESVMG) announces their second Garden Symposium which will offer lectures on a wide range of gardening topics by accomplished garden speakers. 

b.    The symposium will be held on Saturday, October 19, at the Cheriton Fire Station, 21334 Bayside Road. The daylong event begins at 8:00 am and includes five lectures, lunch and a lively raffle of local artisan items. 

c.     Topics include “The Landscape Revolution: Foodscaping with Natives,”  “The Landscape Revolution: Perennial Combinations,” “Make Your Garden Your Own” and more. 

d.    To read more about the upcoming event and download a registration form, go to www.esvmg.com.  You can also contact ESVMG through email at esvmg@gmail.com for a registration form or call (757) 678-7946, ext. 29

 

8.    Basil Downy Mildew: Occurrence Monitoring and Info Website for Gardeners

a.     A new website, created by Margaret McGrath and the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, on monitoring occurrence of downy mildew on basil in the US and Canada:

                                              i.     It maps occurrences and replaces them into a GoogleDocs spreadsheet since 2009. There is information about BDM at the website that is geared for gardeners. Gardeners have been the primary and most important reporters in helping with monitoring this disease.

b.    A handout for gardeners about reporting occurrences of BDM and 2 other important diseases: late blight and cucurbit downy mildew.

9.    Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items. Due to staffing limitations through the summer of 2019, submissions sent through email could be missed.

 

July Announcements:

10. Online Plant ID Classes– from Longwood Gardens and NC State- July 8th- October 31st

a.     Reduced fee for Extension Professionals so you can brush up on your plant ID skills and preview the classes to determine if they will be useful as advanced training opportunities for your volunteers.

                                              i.     Discount Code for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers & Master Naturalists – MASTER ($98 fee) = $97 discount

                                             ii.     Discount Code for Extension Professionals – AGENT ($50 fee) = $145 discount

b.    Course instructor, Preston Montague, is a landscape designer, educator and artist.  He has a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in landscape architecture, both from NC State.  He has experience teaching at NC State, NC A & T, and many botanical gardens in the region.

August Announcements:

11. Newport News MG Training Class– Newport, VA – Apply BY August 1st. 

 

a.     The Newport News Master Gardener Association is currently accepting applications for its' 2019 Training Class! Become part of our educational programs and events. No experience necessary! Choose day OR evening classes, beginning in the Fall.

b.    Apply BY August 1st. nnmastergardeners.org or call our Help Desk 757-591-4838 with questions.

12. Master Gardener College Scholarship for 2019– Deadline for applications August 9th.

a.     (VMGA) Diane Relf Master Gardener College Scholarship Application Form

b.    Scholarship Application Process

c.     Scholarship Nomination Guidelines

d.    Scholarship Nomination Rules and Guidelines

13. Children’s Activities at the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park– Newport News, VA- 1st and 3rd Mondays, 10 AM, through August 19th

 

a.     Newport News Master Gardener Association will host various children’s activities in the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park, through the summer. Activities will be on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 10 am. The Garden is always open when the Park is open.

 

September Announcements:

14. Piedmont Master Gardeners Through the Garden Gate – Charlottesville-Albemarle County – May 11-September 1

15. PMG 30th Anniversary Event : “The Future of Landscapes in a Changing Environment”– Paramount Theater, Charlottesville, VA- September 8, 2019

a.     The Piedmont Master Gardeners Association and Virginia Cooperative Extension are sponsoring a poster contest as part of The Future of Our Landscapes in a Changing Environment event

b.    Entry forms due August 30th

 

October Announcements:

16. Save the Date: Protecting Pollinators in Urban Landscapes – Cincinnati, Ohio – October 7-9, 2019

Other Announcements:

17. Follow the State Office on social media:

                                              i.     Facebook

                                             ii.     Instagram

                                           iii.     YouTube

18.  Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming  

19. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions

20. Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here

21. An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter

22. Gardeners’ Survey – AmpleHarvest.org

23. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!

24. Every Kid in a Park Program

25. Information from Chad Proudfoot, 4H: “The program is very simple: every 4th grade student (or home school equivalent) in the United States is entitled to get one Every Kid in a Park pass which lasts through August 31

26. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018

a.     For information regarding the quarantine please see attached flyer

27. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019

 

Categories
Faculty Spotlight News

The GCC welcomes four new faculty affiliates in summer 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Meet our newest faculty affiliates:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”31270″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Dr. Sally Entrekin

Associate Professor, Department of Entomology

Research focus: macroinvertebrate population and community ecology and ecosystem function

Dr. Entrekin’s current research program addresses global change by working across disciplines that engage students and the public in water quality and quantity issues typically from development for urban centers, agriculture, and resource extraction[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”31302″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Dr. Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research interests: understanding the complex chemistry of the atmosphere in the context of anthropogenic and naturally-driven changes across environments

Dr. Isaacman-VanWertz’s research seeks to understand the fundamental processes that control the composition and transformations of air pollutants, as well as the short-term impacts of human emissions and long-term trends driven by anthropogenic changes to atmospheres and ecosystems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”31309″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Dr. Karen Kovaka

Assistant Professor, Philosophy

Recent work explores: biological debates about individuality and developmental plasticity and what they tell us about evolutionary theory, underdetermination, and scientific controversies

Current projects related to global change include:

  • an investigation of the problem of unintended consequences of environmental conservation
  • examining ethical and epistemic issues related to community science, in collaboration with the Galápagos Alliance

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”31308″ img_size=”250×250″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Dr. Linsey Marr

Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research interests: the emissions, transformation, transport, and fate of pollutants in indoor and outdoor air; the airborne transmission of viral pathogens and infectious disease

Dr. Marr collaborates broadly with others to understand how changes at the microscopic to global scale affect public and environmental health.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Conservation News Research Science Communication Seminars, Workshops, Lectures Special Events Water

‘Leaving no stone unturned’ at the Ninth Eastern Hellbender Symposium

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Header image: The hellbender is one of the largest salamanders in North America and its populations are plummeting. A male eastern hellbender guards his eggs in an underwater nest box. Photo Credit: Cathy Jachowski.

 

From VT News | July 15, 2019

With support from the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech and several other co-sponsors, the ninth Biennial Hellbender Symposium recently held three days of talks, exhibitions, and poster sessions.

The hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, is one of the largest salamanders in North America and the third largest salamander in the world after the closely related Chinese and Japanese giant salamanders. Two subspecies of hellbenders can be found along the Appalachian mountains and in the Ozarks of Missouri.

Despite the hellbender’s fearsome appearance, it’s known for paternal care of its offspring, the subject of an ongoing study by symposium co-organizer and hellbender expert, William Hopkins, professor of fish and wildlife conservation in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment and director of the Global Change Center.

In the past decade, populations of the hellbender have plummeted, and researchers are baffled as to why. Although adults can be found in the wild, few juveniles or young adults are found during surveys. Researchers have posited many possible causes: sedimentation caused by deforestation; pollution from fracking in the eastern mountains; loss of habitat due to a number of factors, climate change and agriculture among them; and the onset of the now globally ubiquitous chytrid fungus, a pathogen originating in Asia and spread through the pet trade.

The symposium was founded nearly 20 years ago as a means for researchers from academia, NGOs, zoos/aquaria, and state and federal agencies to gather and exchange information about their findings and the strides they’re making toward understanding the species’ decline and efforts toward its recovery. Professor Emeritus Thomas Pauley of Marshall University and this year’s keynote speaker, said, “I’ve been attending this symposium from the beginning and it has really provided a nucleus of research and community for those working with this species.”

Sometimes, with a species so seemingly secretive and difficult to study, one of the symposium’s best features is the camaraderie and information exchange it provides for researchers.

This year’s panels and presentations featured numerous talks about strategies for helping boost the hellbender’s populations — from a variety of underwater nest box designs to sharing data about the changing nature of the rivers and streams that hellbenders inhabit. For example, several research teams displayed modifications of concrete nest designs that allow researchers to monitor hellbenders in the wild and also serve as a valuable habitat restoration tool. Hopkins’ team has successfully used their box design to conduct innovative studies of the reproductive ecology of this poorly understood species.

Educators talk with symposium attendees about their educational programs.
An outreach table at the ninth Hellbender Symposium. Photo Credit: Kristin Rose.

 

Other presentations delved into the ways in which hellbenders are studied and whether or not better techniques might lead to better results in terms of tracking and survivorship. One study in particular by Stephanie Morrison, a graduate student at Missouri State University, looked at how electrofishing, a common technique for surveying fish populations, might be detrimental for hellbenders.

Researchers also discussed the environmental impacts on streams that some of them have been monitoring for decades. Populations in eastern Ohio have dropped 82 percent in the past decade. With the rise of fracking, streams are showing much heavier sedimentation and pollution than in previous years. One fracking company in eastern Ohio self-reported over 70 watershed violations. Gregory Lipps of Ohio State University asked rather poignantly, “Is the original goal of having self-sustaining hellbender populations realistic? Are we just buying time for what we hope is a better future?”

In the face of such alarming signs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was in attendance to discuss its ongoing assessment of the eastern subspecies and whether it, or any of its distinct population groups, should be federally protected as threatened or endangered. The Ozark hellbender subspecies is already considered critically endangered and received federal protection.

“Such a bleak outlook for the species can be a bit depressing, but this symposium always gives me hope,” said Hopkins. “It is inspiring to see nearly 100 experts gather to compare notes in hopes of saving this species from the brink of extinction. Scientists came to Blacksburg from as far as Japan to help address this conservation challenge. The passion in the room was palpable.”

Researchers check out various concrete nest box designs.
Researchers checking out concrete nest boxes that help to protect the salamander population. Photo credit: Kristin Rose.

One thing that was clear from all the talks, posters, and updates given from the hellbender’s range: each population is unique, often responding differently to the same recovery technique that is successful elsewhere. What works well in Missouri may not work as well in North Carolina or New York and no one is sure why. All that can be done is to keep trying, keep innovating on what works and modifying it to specific field conditions.

Pauley encouraged his successors in the study of salamanders never to lose their curiosity or sense of wonder: “Leave no stone unturned. You never know what might be under there.”

~Written by Tiffany Trent

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

CONTACT:

Kristin Rose

(540) 231-6614

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Interfaces of Global Change IGEP New Courses Seminars, Workshops, Lectures

Fall 2019 Course of Interest to IGC: Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

July 15, 2019

GCC Faculty member, Dr. Ashley Dayer, is teaching a course titled Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife this Fall:

This course will prepare students to address the human dimensions of fish and wildlife conservation in their research and/or future careers – as managers, conservationists, biologists, interdisciplinary scientists, or social scientists—using the best available social science. Through readings on social science theory and its application in fish and wildlife management and conservation, students will learn how current domestic and international issues can be addressed through an understanding of human thought and behavior. In-class activities, case studies, and individual and group projects will enhance students’ skills in articulating the role of human dimensions and interpreting and applying social science theory and results. The course will begin with reflecting on how people intersect with fish and wildlife management and conservation and an introduction to the human dimensions field of study (also known as conservation social science). This will be followed by a review of social science disciplines that are used in human dimensions research and key theories and concepts from those disciplines. The course will provide an overview of quantitative and qualitative research methods, and finish with an examination of how human dimensions research is applied by public agencies and in private lands conservation.

FIW 5464: Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife  |  CRN 84695  |  3 credits

MWF 1:25-2:15 (meeting with FIW 4464) and an additional hour for weekly discussion between Dr. Dayer and graduate students at a mutually convenient time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Ideas Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Research Science Communication Video

To Save The Science Poster, Researchers Want To Kill It And Start Over

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

From NPR  |  June 11, 2019

Mike Morrison hardly looks like a revolutionary. He’s wearing a dark suit and has short hair. But we’re about to enter a world of conformity that hasn’t changed in decades — maybe even a century. And in there, his vision seems radical.

“We are about to walk into a room full of 100 scientific posters, where researchers are trying to display their findings on a big poster board,” says Morrison, a doctoral student in psychology at Michigan State University.

The idea of a science poster is simple. Get some poster-making materials and then slap on a title, the experimental methods and the results. Almost everyone has created a poster like this at some point — often in childhood, for a school assignment or a science fair.

In the world of science and medicine, posters are a huge deal. Major professional conferences invariably feature sessions that are devoted entirely to research posters.

Posters get tacked up on rows of boards that fill ballrooms and convention centers. Scientists often stand beside their posters, hoping their work will catch the eye of other experts milling around the room.

Tens of thousands of people go to these sessions every year. The annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience alone draws about 30,000 people. Geophysicists, chemists, experimental biologists, planetary scientists, cancer researchers, physicians — no matter what the field, science and medicine professionals routinely go to conferences and that means spending time either making or viewing posters.

“A poster session, ideally, is this incredibly fertile ground for creative insight,” says Morrison, who met me at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C. “You’re walking into a room, completely open-minded, and ready to hear and read findings around stuff that you didn’t even study before. If there are 50 posters here, it should transmit 50 new insights into your brain.”

Morrison says the reality is not like that. He believes poster sessions are usually a dispiriting waste of time for all involved.

Together, we walk through a ballroom filled with posters.

“Imagine you’re driving down the highway, and you see billboards, but instead of an image and a catchy phrase, there’s paragraphs of text all over the billboards,” says Morrison. “That’s what we’re seeing; we’re walking through a room full of billboards with paragraphs of text all over them.”

It’s impossible to take in unless you stop in front of a poster to read it. But there are so many posters that we just keep moving.

“It’s mostly noise. You’re just skimming desperately,” says Morrison, “and you’re going to miss a lot as you walk by.” Maybe people stop and engage with one or two posters, Morrison says, but it generally takes time to even figure out what the poster is about. That means researchers often spend time with a poster that turns out to be not all that significant for them.

In his view, this is more than just a bummer for scientists. Insights that could help humanity are buried in a jumbled mess that keeps them from being noticed by the right folks.

“So whatever you care about — whether it is exploring the universe sooner or curing a disease that your friend has — is happening slower right now than it should, because we have all these inefficient systems for disseminating knowledge among scientists,” says Morrison. “I think people assume that science is progressing as fast as it can, and it’s not.”

This really bugs Morrison. So a couple of months ago, he tweeted out a little video. It’s a cartoon he made about the nightmare that is the scientific poster session.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58″ align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] 

In it, he proposed a new poster design. It looks clean, almost empty. The main research finding is written right in the middle, in plain language and big letters. There’s a code underneath you can scan with a cellphone to get a link to the details of the study.

This video went viral. His design is now popping up all over the place. In fact, in our visit to a poster session, we easily spot one that was surrounded by more traditional posters.

This poster says, in giant letters: “Jurors overwhelmingly vote ‘not guilty’ when an eyewitness is inconsistent in their identification, regardless of the actual reliability of that identification.” It was created by Kendra Paquette, a student at California State University, Fullerton.

“Everybody’s talking about this new poster format, they call it Poster 2.0,” says Paquette. “There’s a little video that I watched and it just made sense.”

Told that Morrison created the video, she greets him like he’s a rock star. “I’m totally supportive of it,” says Paquette, who admits that she felt a little nervous about trying this new format.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]But it seems like a lot of people have seen the video, she says, so “everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I wanted to try it, I’m so glad you did, now I’m going to do it next time.’ “

Clearly, Morrison’s idea has made an impression. On Twitter, scientists have been debating its merits and sharing photos of their own rejiggered posters.

One enthusiastic supporter is Christian Suharlim, a public health researcher at Harvard who became familiar with the problems of the usual wall-of-text design when he was involved with running an event called “Poster Day” at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“It was just impossible to gain insights from the many posters presented in such a short time,” Suharlim told NPR. “When we ask people to rate ‘Audience favorite,’ they have small numbers of posters they evaluated, and are unable to provide their ratings effectively. It is just not an efficient design.”

That’s why he says Morrison’s new format has been made the required layout for a poster session on immunization economics that’s being held next month. It will have more than 40 posters from 20 countries, and all will feature the spare design.

“The current method is not effective in communicating research findings. For instance, in my field, we all want improvements in our life: vaccines for all diseases, easier delivery of vaccines, innovative way to finance vaccines, effective ways tackling vaccine hesitancy,” Suharlim says. “Experts are all coming to these conferences, and they have limited time to update their knowledge.”

Morrison is now working on experiments to study the effect of different poster designs. He wants to track people’s eyes to see whether they are more likely to read a simple poster and wants to see whether they actually absorb and retain more information from less-crowded posters.

In the meantime, he did what any scientist would do. He created a poster about his new poster.

“In the middle, it just says, ‘This poster could communicate findings more quickly,’ ” says Morrison.

And he presented it at this psychology conference — at a poster session.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
News

Welcome Jessica Nicholson! New GCC Administrative Associate

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

July 15, 2019

We’d like to welcome Jessica Nicholson as she joins the Global Change Center this month in the new role of Administrative Associate!  Jessica is a Radford native and an Earlham College alumna, holding a BA in biology and psychology and MA in teaching.  As a former teacher of biology and environmental science at both the high school and college levels, she has worked to foster interdisciplinary connections and frameworks for exploring large-scale questions in academic settings.  In the past 15 years, she has lived and worked in four states and ten countries, including Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Tanzania, expanding her own understanding of our complex world and of the many environmental and societal issues we face.

Jessica’s most recent ventures have included developing an organic, homestead farm in Christiansburg, which has fueled not only her own family but the small business she runs as a farm-to-table catering service providing weekly meals to local clients.  She also volunteers service as a Youth Outreach Committee member for the New River Valley Land Trust.  Jessica is thrilled to align her passions for sustainability, the environment, education, collaborative work and community action with the Global Change Center’s initiatives.  She’s especially excited to grow our communications efforts, as well as contribute to the growth opportunities ahead for the Interfaces of Global Change IGEP.

Welcome aboard, Jessica!

[hr][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
biweekly update

Biweekly Update – July 9, 2019

New Announcements:

1.    Master Gardener College Updates: September 19-22, 2019, Norfolk, Virginia

a.     Registration is open and more than 200 Extension Master Gardeners have already registered! View our registration information page.  Advance registration ends on July 14th so register today! Also, registration costs increase on July 15th and we open registration up to the public for one-day public registration which will be Saturday, September 21st. For more information on booking your accommodations (scroll down to “Accommodation Costs”).

b.    Room block information available! Book your room at The Main now! (some nights have limited availability, so please check availability with The Main). Please note that we are sold out of rooms at the conference rate for Saturday night only. You can still get the conference rate for all other nights but will pay a higher rate for Saturday night only. Please call the hotel directly to book your room. Booking online will result in inaccurate rates being assessed for your reservation. The direct number for The Main is 757-763-6200.

2.    Master Gardener College Scholarship for 2019– Deadline for applications August 9th.

a.     (VMGA) Diane Relf Master Gardener College Scholarship Application Form

b.    Scholarship Application Process

c.     Scholarship Nomination Guidelines

d.    Scholarship Nomination Rules and Guidelines

 

3.    Submit a Digital Brag Board for EMG College!

a.     Visit https://www.mastergardener.ext.vt.edu/brag-board-submission/ for guidelines and online submission form. Any unit may submit a digital brag board for display!

 

4.    Newport News MG Training Class– Newport, VA – Apply BY August 1st. 

 

a.     The Newport News Master Gardener Association is currently accepting applications for its' 2019 Training Class! Become part of our educational programs and events. No experience necessary! Choose day OR evening classes, beginning in the Fall.

b.    Apply BY August 1st. nnmastergardeners.org or call our Help Desk 757-591-4838 with questions.

 

5.    Children’s Activities at the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park– Newport News, VA- 1st and 3rd Mondays, 10 AM, through August 19th

 

a.     Newport News Master Gardener Association will host various children’s activities in the Grin & Grow Learning Garden at Riverview Farm Park, through the summer. Activities will be on the 1st and 3rd Mondays at 10 am. The Garden is always open when the Park is open.

6.    Biweekly Update Submission form – Please use this form for submitting future biweekly update items. Due to staffing limitations through the summer of 2019, submissions sent through email could be missed.

 

July Announcements:

7.    Wildlife Gardening with the Humane Gardener – Bristow, VA – July 13, 2019

8.     Cullowhee Native Plant Conference – Western Carolina University – July 17-20, 2019

9.    Online Plant ID Classes– from Longwood Gardens and NC State- July 8th- October 31st

a.     Reduced fee for Extension Professionals so you can brush up on your plant ID skills and preview the classes to determine if they will be useful as advanced training opportunities for your volunteers.

                                              i.     Discount Code for Extension Master Gardener Volunteers & Master Naturalists – MASTER ($98 fee) = $97 discount

                                             ii.     Discount Code for Extension Professionals – AGENT ($50 fee) = $145 discount

b.    Course instructor, Preston Montague, is a landscape designer, educator and artist.  He has a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in landscape architecture, both from NC State.  He has experience teaching at NC State, NC A & T, and many botanical gardens in the region.

 

10. The American Horticultural Society’s National Children & Youth Garden Symposium- University of Wisconsin, Madison in Madison, Wisconsin – July 10th-13th

11. 2019 Strengthening your Facilitation Skills Trainings – May 9 – July 18

 

September Announcements:

12. Piedmont Master Gardeners Through the Garden Gate – Charlottesville-Albemarle County – May 11-September 1

October Announcements:

13. Save the Date: Protecting Pollinators in Urban Landscapes – Cincinnati, Ohio – October 7-9, 2019

Other Announcements:

14. Follow the State Office on social media:

                                              i.     Facebook

                                             ii.     Instagram

                                           iii.     YouTube

15.  Resources for fertilization of lawns and for those involved with Healthy Virginia Lawns programming  

16. Do you have questions coming in to your Extension Master Gardener program and need to find some answers? Extension Search Resources for EMG Questions

17. Registration now open for online Plant Identification Classes by Longwood Gardens and NC State – Click Here

18. An update from National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture: 2018 accomplishments letter

19. Gardeners’ Survey – AmpleHarvest.org

20. Visit the VCE Lawn and Garden Calendar!

21. Every Kid in a Park Program

22. Information from Chad Proudfoot, 4H: “The program is very simple: every 4th grade student (or home school equivalent) in the United States is entitled to get one Every Kid in a Park pass which lasts through August 31

23. Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive pest insect– found in Winchester, VA- January 2018

a.     For information regarding the quarantine please see attached flyer

24. eXtension Good and Bad bugs webinar series – Feb 1 – Dec 6, 2019

Categories
Disease New Publications Research Sustainable Agriculture

Researchers publish new study on citrus greening disease

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

From VT News | July 11, 2019

Orange juice is a staple on many breakfast tables, but the future availability of citrus products is threatened by the global spread of huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease.

Knowing which environmental conditions are suitable for disease transmission and where those conditions occur is vital for crop management. A new study published by researchers at Virginia Tech with a team of international researchers in Journal of Applied Ecology investigates the thermal suitability for transmission of citrus greening with implications for surveillance and prevention.

The bacterium responsible for causing citrus greening prevents the formation of commercially viable fruit and is transmitted by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid.

Both the pathogen and the insect vector have been spreading in recent years, devastating regions famous for high citrus production and threatening the future of the citrus industry. As citrus greening becomes an increasing threat to growers worldwide, the future of the industry may depend on identifying locations that do not have a high risk of production collapse.

Led by Rachel Taylor of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in the United Kingdom, the team of researchers behind the study created a mathematical model to calculate how suitability for citrus greening transmission depends on temperature and mapped how this translates into areas where the disease could become established.

“Our suitability maps can be used to underpin risk-based surveillance and prevention to ensure resources to fight citrus greening are applied in the best locations,” Taylor said.

Disease transmission dynamics are largely dependent on temperature, both for successful replication of the HLB bacterium and survival of psyllid vectors. The model was built with data collected under laboratory conditions, directly incorporating the effects and limitations of environmental temperature into the estimate of suitability.

“Although the approach is fairly simple, we’ve shown in other systems that we can make surprisingly accurate predictions,” said coauthor Leah Johnson, assistant professor in Department of Statistics in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.

The model predicts that successful infection of host plants can occur between 16˚C and 33˚C, with peak transmission at around 25˚C. Using this information of the temperature limits for disease spread, the authors were able to make maps of global suitability, showing how many months of the year have temperature conditions that would place citrus groves at risk for infection with HLB. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many regions with nearly year-round suitability for citrus greening include some of the citrus-growing areas hit hardest by the disease, including Brazil and South-East Asia.

This work provides critical information for citrus production and crop management moving into the future. “Translating these models into maps helps communicate our findings to citrus stakeholders and creates a baseline for thinking about potential climate change impacts,” said coauthor Sadie Ryan, from the University of Florida.

Some locations identified by the model as suitable for transmission for half of the year, such as California and the Iberian Peninsula, are currently free of citrus greening. In these areas known for high citrus production, preventing the establishment of the disease vector through increased surveillance and management may help prevent the devastating effects that citrus greening has had on other growers.

“We hope that this model can be a useful planning tool for growers and policymakers dealing with HLB,” said Johnson, who is also an affiliated faculty member of the Global Change Center, an arm of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech.

[hr_shadow]

CONTACT:

Kristin Rose

(540) 231-6614

[hr][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Blog Evolution Ideas Interfaces of Global Change IGEP Science Communication Uncategorized

Evolution2019 Dispatches: Navigating relationships between science and the public

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

From the Society for the Study of Evolution Blog 
By Kerry Gendreau | July 5, 2019

Header image art by Dave Cutler.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”dotted”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

“To be maximally helpful in society, scientists in academia need to take collective action to engage effectively.”    
– Jane Lubchenco

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]How do we bridge the gap between scientific and public knowledge and address the resulting disconnect between data and public policy? The American Society of Naturalists’ Vice Presidential Symposium at this year’s Evolution meeting, entitled “Politics, the public, and science: navigating the new reality,” addressed this topic as a call to action. Organized by professor and science writer Doug Emlen, this symposium brought together four science communicators from different fields: journalist and science writer Carl Zimmer, professor and author of the science blog Dynamic Ecology Meghan Duffy, executive director of The Story Collider podcast Liz Neeley, and ecologist and political advisor Jane Lubchenco.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”30927″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Carl Zimmer started the discussion by addressing the mounting crisis in journalism of fabricated news and “alternative facts,” touching on the common theme uniting all of the talks: how do we get people to recognize credible news sources and to understand the information that they provide? He referenced the website Natural News, which uses its platform to propagate anti-vaccination and anti-science sentiments to advertise “natural” and holistic health products, noting that Natural News had more followers than the New York Times before being banned from Facebook for providing misleading and inaccurate information. He pointed out that foreign intelligence agencies promote such websites to exacerbate the polarization of news sources and create discord among US citizens.

This bombardment with discordant information has resulted in widespread mistrust of scientific evidence, which is reflected in recently proposed bills like the Honest Act (H.R. 1430), which may limit the use of scientific data for environmental policy decisions. Environmental policy depends on environmental science, and it should be obvious that scientific expertise is critical to making rational and sustainable environmental policy decisions, yet this bill was passed in the House in 2017 without amendment before being stalled in the Senate.

As a solution to such issues, Zimmer emphasized the need for education reform, suggesting that public schools provide courses in digital literacy (the ability to assess the credibility of information found on the internet) and basic statistics.

Picking up on the idea of scientific literacy, Meghan Duffy discussed her experiences trying to incorporate lessons on climate change in her undergraduate biology classroom. She showed some striking results from surveys of undergraduate students suggesting that, while most students acknowledge that climate change is a real threat, they do not necessarily understand what it is or what is driving it. She stressed the importance of teaching climate literacy to undergraduate biology students by equipping them not only with facts, but with the capability to make informed decisions about climate-related policy. I realized that, coming from a background in molecular biology and biotechnology, I was never asked to read a science-related bill or to know a politician’s stance on environmental issues during my undergraduate studies. This was during a time at which major climate legislation was being proposed. Had we discussed the costs and benefits of this proposed legislation in school and had someone imparted to me the power of my voice in government, I would have taken an active role in advocacy ten years ago when we were still talking about climate change mitigation rather than adaptation.

Jane Lubchenco and Liz Neeley focused on effective communication, giving advice on how to engage the public by keeping our messages simple and accessible. Neeley also discussed the importance of properly framing conversations about science and the public. A popular narrative among scientists has been the idea that policymakers are engaged in a “war on science”; however, this framework, said Neeley, may be detrimental to the public opinion of the scientific community. The panelists collectively encouraged incorporating a human element into our discussions about science, by building relationships with our audiences, actively listening, incorporating warmth into our conversations, and acknowledging the uncertainty and messiness that is inevitably a part of all science, rather than just providing facts and arguments.

Lubchenco pointed out that scientists have a tendency to dictate rather than to inform, highlighting this as one of the underlying causes of the current disconnect between scientists and the community. She went on to illustrate the effectiveness of a two-way scientific conversation when she recalled her experience briefing then-Vice President Joe Biden on the potential effects of a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Biden was amazed at her straightforward explanations, which he didn’t expect from a scientist.

Lubchenco ended her talk by stressing the urgency of taking action to increase scientific literacy and to bridge the gap between science and the public. Scientific advancement need not be limited to scientists but should be co-created by listening to and addressing public needs and fostering two-way conversations. We need to promote public understanding of the use and interpretation of data rather than suppressing it. If we want to use scientific knowledge to make a difference,academics need to recognize their responsibility to teach the citizens of tomorrow and we, as scientists, need to actively and honestly share our stories and opinions with the public and with our elected representatives.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator style=”shadow”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”18265″ img_size=”150×150″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Kerry Gendreau is a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech and an IGC Fellow. She studies genome evolution and adaptation in snakes and salamanders, and is particularly keen on the evolution of nervous systems and sensory perception.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Categories
Accolades News Research

Six students receive Sigma Xi Awards for 2019

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

From VT News | July 2, 2019

 

Congratulations to IGC Fellow, Sydney Hope, for receiving a 2019 Sigma Xi scholarship award.

IGC Fellow Lauren Wind was one of three runner-ups also awarded induction into Sigma Xi – kudos!

 

[hr_shadow]

Among Virginia Tech’s many rich traditions is one of giving back to students involved in groundbreaking research. An old endowment from the Waste Policy Institute funds students through the campus chapter of Sigma Xi. Six students — two undergraduates and four doctoral students — received grants from this endowment. They were honored at the annual Sigma Xi induction ceremony on April 25.

The scholarship awards, totaling $8,000, are given each year to students whose research is deemed worthy of recognition and support.

Committee members this year were Kang Xia, Ann Sorenson, John Jelesko, Tammy Henderson, Jesse Radolinksi, and Lydia Patton.

Three runners-up were awarded induction into Sigma Xi along with the grantees at the induction ceremony. The runners-up were Lauren Wind, Dajun Yu, and Sheldon Hilaire.

Sigma Xi award recipients honored at the induction ceremony in April.

 

Undergraduate awards were as follows:

Morgan Roth, entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – Methods for controlling two European honey bee (Apis mellifera) pests: varroa mites (Varroa destructor) and small hive beetles (Aethina tumida).

Alex Norris, mining and engineering, Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering – Characterization of respirable coal mine dust by electron microscopy.

Doctoral awards were as follows:

Xianlin Zou, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science – Distinct control of PERIOD2 degradation and circadian rhythms by the oncoprotein and ubiquitin ligase MDM2.

Qing Jin, Food Science Technology – Integrated processing and techno-economic evaluation of grape pomace for the production of value-added products based on the biorefinery concept.

Erin Heller, fisheries and wildlife, College of Natural Resources and Environment – An assessment of how prey may limit the Western Atlantic red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) and how these predator-prey interactions are influenced by island geomorphology and climate on Virginia’s barrier islands.

Sydney Hope, fisheries and wildlife, College of Natural Resources and Environment – Effects of the early developmental environment on physiology and behavior of wood duck ducklings.

 

– Written by Tiffany Trent

[hr_shadow]

CONTACT:

Kristin Rose

(540) 231-6614

[hr][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]