CFAES prof, Ohio EPA chief to speak tonight at Stone Lab

Ohio State scientist Jiyoung Lee presents a research brief tonight as part of Stone Lab’s weekly summer lecture series.

Lee, who has appointments with CFAES and the university’s College of Public Health, is studying if and how algal bloom toxins affect water, food and people’s health. She’s also testing whether viruses can limit the blooms’ growth.

Headlining tonight’s program, which starts at 7 p.m. at the lab at Put-in-Bay, is Craig Butler, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Admission to the event is free. A paid ferry ride, water taxi ride or both are needed to get there. You also can watch online.

Big win for Buckeyes

Ohio State’s Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) program has won APPA’s 2017 Sustainability Award.

The award honors educational institutions that have implemented “programs and processes that enhance service delivery, lower costs, create a green and/or sustainable environment, or otherwise benefit the educational institution supporting student success and environmental stewardship,” said an Ohio State press release.

APPA’s subtitle is “Leadership in Educational Facilities.”

FOD’s sustainability work includes recycling and zero-waste initiatives, green building guidelines, and energy conservation projects.

Retail Meat Sales Farm Tour is tonight

The Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series continues this evening — Tuesday, July 25, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. — with the Retail Meat Sales Farm Tour. It’s at Berry Family Farm in Pleasantville in Fairfield County. The farm sells grass-fed and non-GMO grain-fed beef directly to consumers. It also sells pasture-raised pork, chicken, eggs, seasonal turkeys and a limited supply of lamb. Admission to the event is free, but preregistration is encouraged.

CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a co-presenter of the series and is the specific presenter of this tour.

Download the series brochure.

First Energy Impacts Symposium starts Wednesday

The first-ever Energy Impacts Symposium is taking place this Wednesday and Thursday at Ohio State.

The event is an international research conference on the effects of new energy development — including both renewable and fossil fuels — on people, communities and economies.

Organizers are expecting about 140 energy-related social science experts from 25 U.S. states, Canada, five continents and 100 universities.

The experts will represent fields such as public health, public policy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science and community development. Continue reading

Learn how to cut down a tree safely, and actually get to do it

When it comes to using a chainsaw, there are things you want to cut, like any of Ohio’s millions of still-standing dead ash trees killed by the emerald ash borer pest, and things you don’t want to cut, like … anything not a tree.

A class you can take on Aug. 3 will help you keep them straight. (Photo: iStock.)

Tours of urban farm, produce farm Saturday

The Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series continues on Saturday, July 22, with two events.

CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a co-presenter of the series.

Download the series brochure.

They took a paved not-so-paradise, and put up an urban farm

Dayton’s Urban Renewal Farm, which is turning an abandoned factory into an urban farm, will host a free public tour this Thursday, July 20, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The farm grows food in raised beds set on the old factory’s parking lot. There are plans, too, to turn the factory itself into a year-round growing facility. Admission to the tour is free. Preregistration is encouraged.

It’s part of the ongoing Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a co-presenter of the series and is the specific presenter of this tour.

Download the series brochure.