Boston Flora

Tag: UMass/Amherst

  • Saturday, April 14, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Native Pollinator Biology and Conservation

    Pollinators have received a lot of attention in recent years, mostly because of the decline in honey bee populations due to colony collapse disorder. Native pollinators are important cousins of honey bees and are in need of help, too. Come to French Hall at UMass/Amherst, 230 Stockbridge Road in Amherst on Saturday, April 14 from 10 – 12 to learn about the many types of pollinators present in our region and how to protect and encourage them in your landscape. The end of the class, to be taught by Sonia Schloemann, we will tour the UMass Permaculture Garden. $35. Image from www.justroots.org. Register at http://ag.umass.edu/fruit/news-events/mass-aggie-seminars/mass-aggie-seminars-2018.

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  • Saturday, April 7, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Home Orchard Establishment, Basics, and Pest Management

    Enjoy a day at Windy Hill Farm, 686 Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington, with Dr. Dan Colley and Jon Clements, as part of the UMass Extension courses, this time focusing on Home Orchard Establishment, Basics, and Pest Management. The morning session (10 – noon) will cover the basics of planting fruit trees, including site selection, choice of variety and rootstock, planting best practices, tree training and pruning, fertilization and ongoing fruit tree care. (In-depth pest management will be covered in the afternoon session.) If weather permits, there will be a hands-on demonstration of planting fruit trees at Windy Hill Farm Orchards. One of the most challenging thing about growing your own fruit is knowing how to identify the insect pests and diseases that might afflict them. From 1 – 3, learn the basics of pest and disease identification and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the home orchard. Hands-on, scouting, monitoring, placement of traps, etc. will be covered. You may take either session separately ($35) or take both at a reduced price. To register, visit http://ag.umass.edu/fruit/news-events/mass-aggie-seminars/mass-aggie-seminars-2018

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  • Sunday, March 3, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Edible Landscaping with Fruit

    This UMass Extension presentation on Sunday, March 3 will explore how fruit can be incorporated into an edible landscape setting. We’ll talk about common fruit like strawberries and blueberries and also more unusual fruit like Aronia and Lingonberries. Participants will learn what these plants can contribute to a home landscape and what it takes to grow them successfully. The end of the class we will tour the UMass Permaculture Garden. $35.

    The class will be taught by Sonia Schloemann at French Hall at UMass/Amherst, 230 Stockbridge Road in Amherst. Register and pay via credit card for any Mass Aggie seminar by visiting http://ag.umass.edu/fruit/news-events/mass-aggie-seminars/mass-aggie-seminars-2018. You will be taken to a secure RegOnline site where you will be able to choose which seminars you wish to attend and to pay. You will receive an e-mail receipt of your transaction. Image from www.espaliertrees.com.

  • Saturday, May 2, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm – Beyond the Honey Bee: Conserving Our Native Pollinators

    The Hubbardston-Ware River Nature Club and the East Quabbin Land Trust will sponsor a day long seminar Beyond the Honey Bee: Conserving Our Native Pollinators, on Saturday, May 2 from 8 – 4:30 at the Harvard Forest in Petersham. The purpose of this event is to increase awareness and provide information and resources to people who want to manage their properties to benefit native pollinators. It is designed for small landowners, public lands managers, small farmers, backyard gardeners, and others who want to manage open space with native pollinator needs in mind. Speakers include Dr. Rob Gegear of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, naturalists Gail Howe Trenholm and Charley Eiseman, Dr. Anne Averill of UMass-Amherst, Tom Sullivan (pictured below – thank you www.gazettenet.com) of PollinatorsWelcome.com, and author and garden coach Ellen Sousa. Schedule and registration information visit: http://hubbardstonnatureclub.weebly.com/conference.html.

  • Tuesday, October 26, 4:00 pm – Weaving American Indian Perspectives into the Study of Weather and Climate

    The Environmental Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst continues its fall lecture series on Tuesday, October 26 at 4 pm at 138 Hasbrouck Lab with Kevin Kloesel, Associate Dean for Public Service and Outreach, College of Atmospheric and Geographical Sciences, and Associate Professor of Meteorology at University of Oklahoma, speaking on Weaving American Indian Perspectives into the Study of Weather and Climate. Co-hosts are the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere, and STEM Education Institute.

    Western science has always given western scientists the credit for many of the foundational discoveries in weather and climate. However, careful study of Native American tribal art and oral histories suggests that a native science perspective may hold the keys to understanding the complexities of our earth atmosphere system. Using western science and ethno-science perspectives, this presentation will highlight the multicultural integration of past observations with present technological capabilities to give you a glimpse of weather and climate that you have likely never seen before.

    For directions and more information, log on to   www.umass.edu/tei/TEI/LectureSeriesFall2010.html.

  • Monday, October 18, 1:15 pm – Climate Change: Profiles in Paralysis

    Kevin Knobloch, President of the Union of Concerned Scientists, will speak at the Cape Cod Lounge in the Student Union of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, on Monday, October 18 at 1:15 pm.  His topic will be Climate Change: Profiles in Paralysis -  Why Our Political Institutions and Leaders Won’t Protect Us from Climate Change and How We Can Make Them.

    Kevin will discuss the failure (largely) of the American political system to address the looming catastrophe of climate change, even though it is in our economic, national security, ecological and health interests to lead the world in driving down greenhouse gas emissions and aggressively transitioning to a clean energy economy. The UCS and the national environmental community have just completed an unprecedented national two-year campaign to convince the US Congress and the President to enact a comprehensive policy to cap and reduce global warming pollution, only to fall short of this goal. Similarly, the once promising international negotiations to establish a post-Kyoto treaty are in shambles. According to Knobloch, “We are paralyzed even as the dangerous impacts of climate change are being documented by scientists to an unprecedented degree.” He will discuss this situation and will explain how the national environmental community is strategizing to still achieve the goal — the swift and deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from every sector and source — in the absence of a clear and bold national policy. For more information, log on to www.umass.edu/tei/TEI/LectureSeriesFall2010.html.