See what’s happening in the Gwynne Conservation Area: Farm Science Review 2021

Click the image here to see the full schedule of activities in the Gwynne Conservation Area during Farm Science Review, Sept. 21–23, as well as a map of the grounds.

You can find this, too, in the free program booklet that’s available at the event.

‘I learn something new there every year’

We’re reupping this story from a couple of weeks ago. Farm Science Review, hosted by CFAES, takes place Sept. 21–23, and from water quality to conservation tillage, cover crops to forage production, and especially all the many activities set for the Gwynne Conservation Area, there’s a lot you can learn there in the field of sustainability …

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3 ways to keep learning about gardening

Check out CFAES’ Agriculture and Natural Resources Madness series on Tuesday, April 28, for three sessions related to gardening and landscaping:

  • “Gardening for Pollinators” at 9 a.m.;
  • “Landscape Insects: Bagworms vs. The Tent Builders” at noon; and
  • “BGYLive! Ornamental Horticulture Updates” at 3 p.m.

All of the webinars are free and open to the public.

Find details and the links for watching.

If I were a carpenter …

Ohio’s coronavirus stay-at-home order continues through at least May 1. So you just might be noticing some busy new co-workers when you look out your dining room window from your “desk.” Let’s meet a few of them.

You might think I’m a bumble bee. I’m big like one. But my back end is smooth and shiny black, while a bumble bee’s is hairy and black and yellow. Our females make nests by boring into wood. It’s how we get our name. Our males are territorial and protective. They’ll hover and buzz around up in your grill if you get too close to their nests. But it’s a case of all buzz and no bite. The males don’t have a stinger; they’re harmless. I’m a valuable native pollinator of plants who some call a “gentle giant.” I’m …

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She works to help bumbles bee well

Doing good for bumble bees takes finding out what’s bad for them.

Sarah Scott, a CFAES entomology doctoral student, is studying how the fuzzy, buzzy, black-and-yellow pollinators get exposed to heavy metals in their environment—and what it can mean to their survival.

Scott, at CFAES’ Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory, poses near hives housing bumble bees’ domesticated cousins. (Photo: Ken Chamberlain, CFAES.)

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Spotlight on woods, water, wildlife

The annual Ohio Woodland, Water, and Wildlife Conference is for you if you work in natural resources, manage land, or both. The agenda features 15 expert-led sessions grouped in three tracks—woodlands, water, and wildlife—and is set for March 6 in Mansfield. Topics in the tracks range from managing tree galls to using drones, mitigating algal blooms to managing geese, conserving birds to helping bumble bees. Check out the full list of topics and speakers.

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