Ohio State surged four places on the Peace Corps’ annual list of the top volunteer-producing schools, cracking the top 10 (ninth, to be exact) for the first time among large universities, the international organization said Feb. 5. Ohio State’s Peace Corps office is housed in CFAES.
Month: February 2013
Two algae, both unlike in dignity
Spencer Hunt of the Columbus Dispatch wrote Feb. 3 about two algae-related CFAES efforts: A project developing algae as a biofuel source; and research on using gypsum on farms to cut Lake Erie’s algal blooms.
Urban farming? Local foods? Series helps you ‘Grow Your Own’
The Columbus group Local Matters and CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, have teamed up to present the “Grow Your Own” workshop series. The first one, on Jan. 19, looked at “Aquaponics and Aquaculture in Urban Settings” (which how cool is that?). It featured Extension aquaculture specialist Laura Tiu. Next is “The Future of Producing Food in Urban Areas in Ohio” March 2. The speaker will be the recently retired but still rather young Joe Kovach, who had appointments with Extension and with CFAES’s research arm, OARDC. We featured his innovative research on growing food on old parking lots here, here, and here.
Student team: New Ohio State buildings should have green roofs
Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee has expressed interest in the university becoming the most sustainable campus in the U.S. in five years. Ohio State has implemented several sustainability efforts but is yet to implement a green roof policy. Green roofs are able to further advance sustainability efforts through reduced energy costs for buildings; improved air quality by absorbing carbon, nitrogen, and other pollutants; and can reduce stormwater runoff by as much as 70 percent.
In addition to contributing to sustainability efforts, green roofs can also help utilize existing space for academic purposes through research opportunities. Other U.S. universities have implemented green roof policies in order to expand their academic horizons. Studies have found that the present value of the net benefits of a green roof, which include reduced stormwater runoff and lower electricity costs, can be up to 20-25 percent higher than a conventional roof (source here; pdf).
Our policy recommendation is that every time a new building is built on campus, it should be built so it can support a green roof. Also, whenever a roof is scheduled to be replaced and is a good candidate for a green roof, it should be replaced with one.
Through the One Ohio State Framework plan, the university has an opportunity to implement a green roof policy and join the network of green roof institutions across the nation, several of which (such as Michigan State) are Big 10 schools.
(Image: Artist’s depiction of green roofs on buildings near Ohio Stadium on Ohio State’s campus from a report titled “The Ohio State University Framework Plan.”)
Putting the b in sustainable
Related to our previous post: USDA’s Agricultural Research Service says bee pollination is responsible every year for more than $15 billion in increased crop value. And about one out of every three bites of food you eat has benefitted directly or indirectly from honey bee pollination.
Ways to bee sustainable
CFAES’s research arm, OARDC, hosts the largest educational beekeeping event of its kind in the U.S. March 1-2 in Wooster. The keynote talk, “Practical Natural Beekeeping,” is by University of Georgia honey bee researcher Jennifer Berry.
‘Covenant’ trailer: Farm animals ‘are twinned with us’
Watch the trailer for “Covenant” (2:13), which screens Feb. 7 in Columbus and Feb. 8 in Wooster. Read more in our previous post.
Film about farm animals, people screens Feb. 7 in Columbus, Feb. 8 in Wooster
“Covenant,” whose subtitle is “A Film About Farm Animals (and Us),” will have a screening and panel discussion Feb. 7 at Ohio State’s Wexner Center for the Arts (tickets $4-8) and Feb. 8 at the College of Wooster (free, no ticket needed). The writer-director is Ohio State art professor Michael Mercil. Sponsoring the Feb. 8 screening are Wooster’s Environmental Studies Program and the Agroecosystems Management Program (AMP) of CFAES’s research arm, OARDC. (Image by Baksteendegeweldige via Wikimedia Commons.)
Bigger Buckeye berry crops? Better berry benefits?
Berry demand is booming, and new research and outreach by CFAES scientists should boost Ohio growers’ ability to supply it. The work relates to sustaining the state’s farms, including small ones, and to ramping up local food production.
Meantime, another CFAES scientist has published a study on the colorful compounds that make berries so good for us, and whether, unlike the berries themselves, they even make it past our mouth. The findings may lead to new functional foods — foods that sustain and improve our health.
Feb. 7: ‘Civil Society and Collaborative County’
Doctoral candidate Joseph Campbell presents “Civil Society and the Collaborative County” Feb. 7 in the School of Environment and Natural Resources’ spring seminar series.