Vegetable Farmers Switch to Reduced Tillage/Deep Zone Tillage By Jude Boucher, UConn Extension Educator In 2006, after several 4 to 6-inch rainstorms, and having to contend with 4-foot deep erosion gullies in his sweet corn fields, Nelson Cecarelli of Cecarelli Farm decided he needed a better way to farm the rolling hills of Northford […]
Climate Adaptation & Resiliency
Advancing Adaptation and Resilience in a Changing Climate
Extension App Challenge
The UConn Extension App Challenge is a contest to develop innovative apps that tie UConn’s research to real life. Students are invited to work with a UConn Extension faculty member to develop software applications for smartphones, tablets, or web browsers that create greater community access to UConn science, research, and information. Students developing the most […]
Make Your Landscape Sustainable
By Joan Allen – Assistant Extension Educator – UConn Home & Garden Center A sustainable landscape incorporates a holistic approach of functionality, environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic sensibility. These principles are tied together in the design and maintenance of a landscape in order to maintain and preserve natural ecological habitats. Your Landscape Impacts The […]
UConn Extension Centennial Video
UConn Extension Ties Research to Real Life for citizens of Connecticut every day. Join us as we take a tour of some of our UConn Extension programs.
Blue-Green Algae
Prolonged dry conditions can cause problems; one of these is blue-green algae, which can overgrow in a stagnant pond. Aerating a pond can prevent blue-green algae, but if this is not possible the pond should be fenced off from livestock and avoided by humans and companion animals. Examining a water sample under a microscope […]
Keep Phosphorus Out of Our Waters
By Dawn Pettinelli – Extension Instructor Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Phosphorus is an essential element for plant growth and as such is a component of many fertilizers. Many may not be aware that phosphorus pollution is the number one cause of declining water quality in fresh water lakes and ponds in Connecticut and other […]
What Every CT Resident Needs to Understand About UConn Extension
I wish UConn Extension was not the best-kept secret in the state. It’s time everybody knew what a tremendous resource Extension is. Congress established the Cooperative Extension System as a national network in 1914 to tie university research to real life. UConn Extension programs have evolved over time, and as our state has changed, so […]
Using Water Wisely
By Faye Griffiths-Smith – Extension Educator Family Economics and Resource Management Did you know that the average person in the U.S. uses 100 gallons of water every day? Drinking, taking a shower, brushing your teeth, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, gardening and lawn care — with its many uses, water is essential to our lives […]
The Basics of Composting
By Dawn Pettinelli – Extension Instructor Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Did you know that almost 25 percent of a typical household’s waste can be recycled right in the backyard? Recycling reduces the amount of solid waste being trucked and dumped into landfills, and the end product of this process, compost, is beneficial to the […]
New Guide to Help Fish, Shellfish and Seaweed Growers Manage Risks
New Guide to Help Fish, Shellfish and Seaweed Growers Manage Risks GROTON CT—A new 285-page illustrated manual, the Northeastern U.S. Aquaculture Management Guide, has just been published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center. Edited by Tessa L. Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant and UConn Extension aquaculture specialist, the manual is a […]
CLEAR Keeping Track of Stormwater on UConn Campus
Although UConn is in the midst of a pastoral setting in the quiet corner of northeast Connecticut, we sometimes have problems like a big city. This is because the buildings, roads, parking lots and sidewalks that make up the core of campus do not allow water to pass through into the ground. Instead, rainfall is […]
Water Conservation Tips
Source: UConn Photo: Illinois Extension As we experience seasonally dry conditions, conserving water is important to maintain an environmentally sustainable water supply. You can help by conserving water voluntarily at home. Please consider the following: Taking shorter showers; Running dishwashers and clothes washing machines with full loads; Shutting off water while washing dishes, shaving, brushing […]
Great Gull Island Boat Trip
Photos and article by Juliana Barrett for UConn Extension Great Gull Island (GGI) is a 17-acre island between Block Island and Long Island Sounds. As one of the most important nesting habitats for roseate terns and common terns in the western hemisphere, it is critical to maintain and improve the nesting habitats on GGI. […]
Bringing Some Green to Our Big Cities
By Michael Dietz, UConn Extension When people think of Hartford and New Haven, “green” may not be the first thing that jumps to mind. However, recent efforts of the UConn Extension Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program are helping to make these cities a little bit greener, both figuratively and literally. This past June, NEMO […]
House Sparrows
By Carol Quish for UConn Extension Photo: Illinois Extension Recently we’ve received quite a few questions about house sparrows nesting in inappropriate places, such as under awnings or in the rafters of a porch. Our experts at the UConn Home and Garden Education Center offer the following advice. House sparrows are non-native birds to the U.S. […]
Where’s Your Garden’s Water From?
By Karen Filchak – Extension Educator – Residential Environmental & Water Quality Water for farms and gardens can come from several possible sources, including wells, municipal sources, ponds and rain barrels. Some water sources are more likely than others to be harboring harmful pathogens that might contaminate your garden goodies with salmonella and E. Coli […]
Tick Testing at UConn
By Heather Haycock for UConn Extension Summer in Connecticut is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. There are beautiful trails to hike, parks to visit with your children or dogs, and there is the simple joy of lying in the lush, green grass. Of course, the warm weather also comes with the […]
Controlling Ticks
By Carol Quish for UConn Extension The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends creating a tick-safe zone. Ticks feed on blood of animals including humans. Tactics to reduce the attractiveness of animals traveling into your yard will keep the number of ticks dropping off of them reduced. Do not feed the birds […]
Stormwise
Two major storms that struck Connecticut and much of the northeastern U.S. in 2011 resulted in extended power outages and billions of dollars in property, and interior forest damage. As Connecticut seeks to lower future damage risk while sustaining the trees and forests that are so essential to our daily lives, management of infrastructure-adjacent forests […]
Lily Leaf Beetles – Help with our Research!
Your Help is Needed For Our Research Project! Researchers at UConn are conducting a lily leaf beetle biological control project during the summer of 2014. If you grow lilies in Connecticut, have a minimum of 12 plants in the lily family (Oriental lilies, Asiatic lilies, Turk’s Cap lilies, or Fritillaria) in your garden, and have […]
Farming with Technology
UConn Extension has taken delivery of a new manure spreader. This spreader is not your typical manure spreader. This spreader has gone hi tech with integrated scales, computer and GPS. Unlike a typical spreader which requires the farmer to guess how much manure is being loaded, and keep handwritten records of how many loads went […]
Soil Testing
By Dawn Pettinelli – Extension Instructor Plant Science & Landscape Architecture Saves Money & The Environment! A soil test is an inexpensive and valuable tool to help determine what will grow best in your soil, and what it might need to boost its fertility. It’s a smart decision to test the soil every three to […]
Rain Forests, Intelligent Consumption
By Thomas Worthley-Assistant Extension Professor, Forestry Stewardship Recently an article on the environmental information website Environmental News Network caught my attention because it advocated the slowing of tropical deforestation as a key action to “significantly cut the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere”. As a professional forester, I am always heartened […]
Touring UConn’s Green Infrastructure – From Your Desk!
Anyone who has been to the UConn campus in the last few years has likely noticed a lot of changes. Beautiful new and renovated buildings are remaking the campus. Along with those changes are a lot of more subtle changes that you might not notice – namely the integration of green infrastructure. As discussed in previous […]
Monitoring the Weather – For More than 125 Years
By Sheila Foran for UConn Today Every day at 8 a.m. for the last 45,625 days (give or take a day or two), weather information at UConn’s Plant Research and Education Facility on Agronomy Road has been recorded and sent to the National Weather Service. That’s every day for 125 years. It’s a long time […]
Is It Time for a Rain Garden?
Jen McGuinness who blogs at Frau Zinnie wrote an excellent blog post about the rain garden presentation Dr. Mike Dietz of UConn Extension presented at the Master Gardener Symposium in March. In Jen’s words: MANCHESTER, Conn. – With April showers imminent, you’ll soon be reminded of how much stormwater leaves your property. Water rushing through […]
A Climate Adaptation Academy for Connecticut
Modeled after CLEAR’s highly successful Land Use Academy, we are embarking on a new forum for land use officials and other interested professionals, a Climate Adaptation Academy (CAA). The CAA, sponsored by Connecticut Sea Grant and CLEAR, will serve as an outreach arm of the recently announced Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation. We […]
Environmentally Friendly Lunches
by Sherry Gray – Extension Instructor Nutrition Educator, EFNEP Supervisor Foods and Nutrition They’re Healthy & Affordable With a little thought and preparation, it’s not hard to pack an eco−friendly lunch from home. You’ll end up with less waste and a healthier lunch. You don’t need to spend a fortune on expensive lunch containers. Pack […]
A New Focus on Communities & Climate Change: CIRCA 2014
January saw the announcement of a new institute at UConn dedicated to providing answers and assistance to the state’s communities as they struggle to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Connecticut Institute for Resiliency and Climate Adaptation, or CIRCA, is a partnership of UConn and CT DEEP, and its creation is in direct response […]
Pest Forecasts Come to Connecticut
It hurts when codling moths riddle your apples, powdery mildew blasts your grapes, or anthracnose takes over your turf. But it’s really nettlesome when growers or groundskeepers mere miles away get off without a snag. Blame it on the weather: on a multitude of variables that we barely notice. Sophisticated weather stations can pick up […]
LID versus Green Infrastructure
If you deal with stormwater issues or land use planning, chances are you have heard the phrase “green infrastructure” mentioned a lot recently. It is rapidly replacing “Low Impact Development” (LID) as the phrase du jour in the stormwater biz. But before we all go willingly adopting this into our lexicon, we must first ask some pertinent […]
Connecting Sustainable Woodland Management and High School Technical Arts Programs: An Initiative Creating Educational Opportunities for Local Wood Utilization
-Article by Tom Worthley, Extension Forestry- During a conversation in 2010 between myself and a teacher from the industrial arts department at Haddam-Killingworth High School, the suggestion was made that the School District could continually grow, harvest and process a portion of the annual lumber needs for the shop class from part of of 150 […]
Where in Connecticut?
Connecticut (and the rest of the world for that matter) looks so different from above than from the ground. I spend a good deal of time looking at aerial imagery of Connecticut including different color combinations, times of year (leaves or no leaves) and different years to see change. There are many places that I […]
Snow Removal Tips
Photo and Article: West Virginia Extension Stay safe from slips and strains by following these recommendations for safe and effective snow removal. Shovel all sidewalks adjacent to your property to the bare pavement. This includes any sidewalks outside your fence lines and to the sides/rear of your property. Clear a path at least 36 inches […]
Squirrel Issues
Until recently, Etienne Benson, an assistant professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of History and Sociology of Science, consciously chose to investigate a creature that may be considered less exotic, and is certainly smaller for his latest publication. “I wanted to write about something a bit closer to home, about things we see and […]
Road Salt Use in Connecticut: Balancing Safety & Water Quality
This conference is being organized by the NEMO Program, an outreach program of the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research. Additional support provided by the Connecticut Institute for Water Resources Friday March 28, 2014 8:30 am – 3:00 pm UConn Student Union REGISTER Chloride use in winter deicing has been steadily increasing. […]
NOAA and Sea Grant Announce Projects for $1.4M Coastal Storm Awareness Program
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 16, 2014 – Connecticut Sea Grant, New Jersey Sea Grant, and New York Sea Grant have awarded funds totaling $1.4 million to support ten social science research projects to improve community understanding and response to coastal storm hazard information as part of NOAA Sea Grant’s Coastal Storm Awareness Program. Despite the […]
Keep Your Butts Off Our Beaches
Recently a columnist in a local Southeastern Connecticut newspaper wrote about the things that bug him when driving. It included the usual gripes that we all have—people driving slowly in the passing lane, failure to use turn signals, merging on the highway with little consideration of the traffic already on the highway, able-bodied people parking […]
Dr. Carl Salsedo on the Search for Sustainability
Ever smell a tomato plant? Dr. Carl Salsedo did, and it changed his life. He was three at the time, visiting a greenhouse in Thomaston with his father. One whiff of that singular scent launched a lifetime love affair with plants, gardening, and the interwoven mysteries of the natural world. At six, Salsedo had his […]
Nigerian Visitors
Dr. YA Umar and Dr. DB Maikaje from the Nigerian Defense Academy (it is similar to West Point) traveled to the UConn Extension office in Haddam last week. They took our Geospatial Training Program’s 3-day Geographic Information System (GIS) training course with Cary Chadwick and Emily Wilson. Dr. Umar and Dr. Maikaje are both epidemiologists in the […]