Fall in New England. Even those of us who have lived here for years or grown up here look forward to the annual brilliant display of color. The duration and intensity of color and even the proportion of reds vs. yellows changes from one year to the next. What are the factors that initiate and […]
Author: Kara Bonsack
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 8
Saturday, 8/24/2013 This week has gone by so fast; it’s my last day in Colombia. It has been an awesome opportunity, where I have learned about myself, the Colombian government, culture, nutrition views, entrepreneurship, and where partnerships can begin. I made my last trip to the University of San Buenaventura. Today, the outreach office offered […]
Learning Sustainability with Extension Forestry Program
Tom Worthley of UConn Extension’s Forestry Program spent Tuesday, October 1st at Crescent Lake in Southington teaching agricultural education students from Southington High School about forestry management. Crescent Lake has experienced problems with the invasive insect emerald ash borer. Worthley felled a damaged ash tree on Tuesday and used a portable sawmill to make lumber. […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 6 & 7
Thursday, 8/22/2013 Today I got to visit la Universidad de San Buenaventura Cali, where Ginna received her degree. I could see Ginna’s pride while she gave me the tour, along with a colleague. The campus was environmentally friendly; it was surrounded by beautiful natural landscapes. I had the opportunity to present to a group of 30 […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 5
Wednesday 8/21/2013 Ginna works as mentor to entrepreneur students at ICESI University. Every year ICESI hosts a competition for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses’ plans. The winner has the opportunity to showcase his or her business at the national level. The presentations I viewed were very impressive; all of the business plans and concepts were […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 4
Tuesday 8/20/2013 Today I visited Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, where I met with the director of the university’s social responsibility office. During this meeting, I learned about current programs established to target social issues in different communities throughout Cali. A two-week program has been created in collaboration with Gonzaga University (Washington) to focus on production of agriculture […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 3
Monday 8/19/2013 The day has finally arrived; I was able to visit the San Jorge community. San Jorge is a community composed of displaced families. The community is comprised of 400 peoples, 125 being youth of diverse ages. Ginna has been working with this community to empower the women and children economically. There are three lines to […]
Rineicha Otero in Colombia – Day 2
Sunday 8/18/2013 I wake to find another gorgeous day in Cali. The clear skies and fresh air made it for a great day to have a walking tour. Ginna and I walk over to a near by lake known as Humedal El Cisne La Babilla Tomasa, where you can sit and feed the ducks or […]
5 Tips for a Successful Home Canning Season
Start with a research-tested recipe. Just because a recipe is in print, doesn’t mean it’s safe for you and your family. Start with a recipe that has been tested to make sure that the product is safe and high quality. A great place to begin is with the recipes from the National Center for Home […]
Tolland County 4-H STEM Photos
UConn Extension’s Tolland County 4-H program had a great time at the 4-H STEM Mini Field Trips.
Program Plants Seed for Healthier Eating
UConn Extension recently completed an EFNEP program in collaboration with the Norwalk Health Department at a local community garden called Fodor Farm. The Norwalk Citizen highlighted the program. Read more about it on the Norwalk Citizen website.
Rineicha Otero – UConn Extension Fellow in Colombia
Saturday 8/17/2013 I finally arrived in beautiful Colombia! After much-anticipation, the visit has come and the expectation of reconnecting to the different cultures around the world has increased even more. As soon as the airplane touched the ground in Bogota the crowed cheered with excitement to be back in their homeland. I remembered the times […]
4-H Summer Science Photos
More photos from the UConn Extension 4-H STEM Summer Science program in Windham County.
Windham County 4-H Summer Science Mini-Camps
By Marc Cournoyer UConn Extension’s Windham County 4-H program continues to provide young people with an opportunity to explore the world of STEM education through hands-on minicamp programs taking place at various locations throughout Windham County. In 2013 we are focusing on three distinct programs; Junk Drawer Robotics, STEM Gardens and video production with special effects. […]
Sugar Maple – Value, Strengths, Threats and Resilience
By Tom Worthley, Assistant Extension Professor, UConn Extension Hardly an autumn season goes by without numerous writers in magazines, newspapers and websites extolling the virtues of sugar maples for their foliar brilliance and colorful contributions to the Connecticut countryside. Shortly thereafter the late winter and spring can be relied upon to summon forth additional textual homage […]
Not Too Late To Start Tomato Seeds!
Check out this recent post from UConn’s Home and Garden Education Center: As much as I try to accomplish tasks in a timely manner, life just seems to get in the way and things occasionally get done later rather than sooner. So it is this year with starting my tomato seeds. Here it is April […]
UConn Study of Food Insecurity in Connecticut is New Tool to Combat Hunger
By: Sheila Foran & David Bauman for UConn Today 4/10/13 Connecticut residents generally have dependable access to food, but the picture is not all rosy. A recent U.S. Household Food Security study showed that about one in seven households in the state reported not having enough money to buy food they needed in 2011. And […]
Salt of the Earth
UConn Extension’s Center for Land Use Education And Research (CLEAR) provides information, education and assistance to Connecticut’s land use decision makers, community organizations and citizens on how to better protect natural resources while accommodating economic growth. Read Michael Dietz’s blog post about road salt at the CLEAR website. One of UConn’s salt piles.
Impacts of Hurricane Sandy to Connecticut Shoreline
By Juliana Barrett UConn’s Connecticut Sea Grant Program (CTSG) and Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) hosted a discussion of Hurricane Sandy impacts to Connecticut’s beaches and dunes on November 20, 2012. Several municipalities and private beach associations attended and provided insights into local shoreline changes. Many areas along the eastern part of […]
NEMO Monitoring Project Looks At Nitrogen Processing Through “Bioretention”
By Chet Arnold In January, CLEAR’s NEMO Program broke ground on a new monitoring project focused on the Low Impact Development (LID) practice of bioretention. Bioretention is the practice of reducing the quantity, and increasing the quality, of runoff by directing it to a depression filled with plants. This is the same concept as the more widely recognized […]
Sustainable Food Systems
UConn Extension has been adding new programs in Sustainable Food Systems over the past couple of years. Extension Educator Jiff Martin is helping to coordinate a team of talented individuals as they build these programs. “I am more of a generalist than a specialist, so for me teamwork is pretty essential to getting things done,” Jiff […]
New Rain Garden Smartphone App Helps Protect Water Quality
By: Sheila Foran, UConn Today & David Dickson, UConn Extension The Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), a partnership between Extension and NRE in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and CT Sea Grant, has developed the Rain Garden smart phone app in Apple’s iTunes store. It is the University’s first mobile […]
CSA School: By Farmers for Farmers
UConn Extension (Jiff Martin, Jude Boucher, Joe Bonelli and Mary Concklin), the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) and CT NOFA sponsored a CSA School on November 28th, at the Middlesex County Extension Office. A total of 81 people attended the event and 49 (60%) filled out an evaluation form. Eighty percent of the participants grew […]