The grass is always sweeter on a sustainably managed pasture

Old wooden calendar with October 1.Cows. Chickens. Turkeys. Hogs. All of them raised on pasture. The Joel Salatin-inspired Sweet Grass Dairy in Fredericktown in central Ohio hosts the Pasture-Raised Multi-Species Livestock Farm Tour tomorrow — Saturday, Oct. 1 — from noon to 4 p.m. It’s another in the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Graze nutrient-filled details here on p. 14.

Watch: ‘A new set of rules to play by’

Ted Turner, born in Ohio, shares his thoughts on ways to help people and the planet in the video above. He’s the subject of a talk at Ohio State on Oct. 25. Speaking will be Todd Wilkinson, author of Last Stand: Ted Turner’s Quest to Save a Troubled Planet. Wilkinson will speak, too, the evening before, together with photographer Thomas Mangelsen, about an equally large personality, Grizzly 399. Tickets to both events are free, but space is limited. Read more and find a link to get tickets here.

Ohio State hosting talks on famous grizzly bear, Ted Turner’s green impact in West

T. A. Moulton BarnTwo special events at Ohio State will look at two big personalities — a famous grizzly bear and media mogul turned environmentalist Ted Turner, who was born in Ohio — and the mark they’re making on the American West. Continue reading

Earthkeeping Summit is Saturday

Columbus-based Ohio Interfaith Power & Light, CFAES’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, which is in Delaware near Columbus, are teaming up to co-sponsor the 2016 Earthkeeping Summit, which is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 24, on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. It’s a chance, the event publicity says, “to discover how we can work together, with hope, for climate and social justice.” Learn more and register here.

Americans’ growing love for animals, including big fierce ones

Great white shark fings and teeth“Americans love animals more than they used to — even ‘scary’ ones,” says the headline of a Sept. 20 story in the Washington Post. It’s on a recent study by CFAES scientists called “Changes in attitudes toward animals in the United States from 1978 to 2014,” which the journal Biological Conservation recently published. Americans’ changing attitudes, the scientists wrote, “may be indicative of growing concern for the welfare of animals — both wild and domestic.” The scientists are with the Department of Animal Sciences and the School of Environment and Natural Resources. Read their study here. (Photo: Great white shark by Ramon Carretero from iStock.)

Buckeyes’ behind-the-scenes members of the team

Up to 95 percent of the garbage tossed, dumped but hopefully not thrown in Ohio Stadium during Ohio State football games is turned into compost or recycled. Which is fantastic. So who does the good, hard, Earth-helping work of all that recycling? WOSU’s Esther Honig says the answer may surprise you. (Also, see who makes the compost in this story.)

Good news, everyone: Not a cruel summer for Lake Erie

Satellite image of Lake ErieNOAA scientists predicted a smaller algal bloom this summer in western Lake Erie. Tom Jackson of the Sandusky Register reports that the good news is, “Apparently, they were right.” (Photo: Recent Lake Erie satellite image via NOAA’s Lake Erie HAB Tracker.)

The fruits (and vegetables) of growing school gardens

Mother and son outdoorsSchool gardens can be magical places for kids. And “peaceful, interesting and exciting,” too. So says CFAES’s Sue Hogan, a 4-H educator who’s coordinating the fourth annual Ohio School Garden Conference on Oct. 7 at Ohio State in Columbus. It’s for teachers, administrators, after-school program staff and interested members of the community. Details.

How to grow fresh food in winter, even in Ohio

Dog dressed with hat, scarf and sweater, sitting on snowThis workshop’s name says it all: “Season Creation — Pay for Your High Tunnel in Six Months Harvesting Food Through the Winter.” It’s from noon to 4 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Mustard Seed Market at Highland Square in Akron. There’s a fee to register. Space is limited. It’s part of the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Details …