Boston Flora

Tag: University of Massachusetts

  • Sunday, August 12, 2:00 pm – Our Native Massachusetts Bees

    Join the Athol Bird& Nature Club on Sunday, August 12 at 2 pm at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main Street in Athol, for an Open House and lecture on Our Native Massachusetts Bees. Can you tell a bee from a wasp? What about a native bee from a honey bee? What is a bee and where does it live? The University of Massachusetts Bee Lab members -Andrea Sroka, Aliza Fassler, and Phoebe Hynes — will have specimens of bees and their look-alikes on hand for you to look at under a microscope. You will also learn about native bee nesting strategies and how to help bees in your backyards. Free.  For more information visit www.atholbirdclub.org

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  • Thursday, August 9, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Landscape and Forest Tree and Shrub Insect Workshop

    Join Tawny Simisky, UMass Extension Entomologist, on August 9 from 9 – 3 for this workshop where participants will gain hands-on experience with many important landscape and forest insect pests of trees and shrubs. The UMass Amherst campus arboretum offers a wide variety of ornamental and forest trees and shrubs. Selected insects to be discussed will include bark beetles and wood borers, pests with piercing-sucking mouth parts, defoliators, miners/leafrollers, galls, and more. An introductory lecture will review the basics of diagnostic entomology followed by a walking tour of campus. The day will end with a laboratory session using microscopy, giving us the opportunity for an up-close and personal view of some of these insects.
    Registration

    Preregistration is required, as space is limited to 25 participants; cost is $150/$135 per person. Lunch is on your own, morning coffee will be provided. To register visit http://ag.umass.edu/landscape/events/landscape-forest-tree-shrub-insect-workshop

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  • Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 18 – August 8, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Permaculture Design

    In this seven-session tutorial course to be held in the Cheney Room of the Education Building at Elm Bank, 900 Washington Street in Wellesley, Marie Stella, instructor, permaculturist and landscape designer, will introduce you to the principles and application of permaculture —a natural, ecological, and organic approach to land management and landscape design. This class is being offered through the Stockbridge School at UMass, and can be taken for 1 credit. MUST PRE-REGISTER.

    Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 18-August 8.

    For Credit, register at www.umassulearn.net.
    $482/in-state
    $691/out-of-state

    Audit this UMass Class through Massachusetts Horticultural Society. By registering here, you will be registering at a reduced rate, and will receive NO COLLEGE CREDIT. Sign up for the audit at www.masshort.org.  Mass Hort Member Cost: $150; Non Member Cost $200.

  • Thursday, June 9, 11:00 am – 3:30 pm – Madcap Midtown Tour of Pocket Parks in NYC

    Thursday, June 9, 11:00 am – 3:30 pm – Madcap Midtown Tour of Pocket Parks in NYC

    Join the Berkshire Botanical Garden and award-winning landscape architect David Dew Bruner for a lively walking tour of midtown Manhattan with a focus on open spaces and vest-pocket parks. Many of the spaces this class will explore are known as mitigation spaces and were acquired by the city of New York from developers who were given zoning variances. These parks contribute small but important open spaces throughout midtown. Led by the former deputy administrator of Riverside Park, this class (limited in size by the nature of the tour) will visit these spaces, as well as a few accessible private garden spaces. Starting at Grand Central Station, the group then heads northward through midtown to a multitude of gardens and open spaces, including ones at the Ford Foundation, Grace Plaza, Rockefeller Center, Greenacres Park (pictured), the Villard Houses, Paley Park, and Exxon Passageway, grabbing a quick lunch along the way before returning to Grand Central Station. This will be a long and rewarding day, but participants should be prepared to walk for the majority of the afternoon with occasional rests on benches at some of the sites.

    David Dew Bruner, ASLA, is an award-winning landscape architect and fine artist with over 35 years of experience, ranging from Deputy Administrator of Riverside Park, NYC, to amusement park design, historical restoration, and all scales of residential design. Originally from New Orleans, he has a BLA and a BFA from LSU as well as a MLA from the University of Massachusetts.

    Participants will have the option to meet at Grand Central Station at 11 am or to carpool with BBG trip-leader Elisabeth Cary to Wassaic, NY, and take Metro-North to Grand Central Terminal at 8:25 am, returning to Wassaic at approximately 5:50 pm.

    Cost of program ($40 for BBG members, $45 for nonmembers) does not include train fare or lunch.  Image from www.ny.curbed.com.

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  • Tuesdays and Thursdays, May 17 – June 9, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Introduction to Landscape Plants

    The Massachusetts Horticultural Society is now Partnering the Stockbridge School at UMass to offer classes at The Gardens at Elm Bank for UMass credit.

    Introduction to 50 common native and non-native ornamental species in landscape architecture, horticulture and urban forestry in New England. Plant identification from a horticultural perspective covering plant morphology and botany. Horticultural and environmental requirements of each plant will be discussed.

    Class will meet in Wellesley twice a week for four weeks.Tuesdays and Thursdays May 17 – June 9, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.

    Pre-registration required, register now at www.umassulearn.net. $450 for Mass Hort members, $660 for nonmembers. Photo from www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org.

  • Thursday, March 31, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm – Spring Kickoff for Landscapers

    More and more people are getting interested in sustainable landscapes. This March 31st program will address topics that will appeal to landscapers and anyone interested in sustainable landscape management. Come join us to learn ways to make your landscape business greener and sustainable. Topics will include: green infrastructure for storm water management in the landscape, establishing a flower meadow in the landscape, disease management for low input landscapes, landscaping with native plants and managing weeds sustainably in the landscape. The event, sponsored by UMass Extension, will be held at the Town Place Suites, 50 Rosebrook Place in Wareham.

    The registration rate is $85 per person, or $76 for per person for groups of 3 or more from the same company (10% discount). Lunch is included with registration. Online registrations will be charged a nominal processing fee.
    – See more at: http://ag.umass.edu/events/spring-kickoff-for-landscapers-umass-extension-landscape-education-day-0#sthash.TVzUjdn9.dpuf

  • Tuesday, March 22, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm – The Invasive Plant Issue and Invasive Plant Identification

    On Tuesday, March 22 from 9 – 2 UMass Extension’s Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program will sponsor a workshop on The Invasive Plant Issue and Invasive Plant Identification at the Doubletree Hotel, 11 Beaver Street in Milford. An overview of the topic of invasive plants, focusing on why we should be concerned about them and enhancing your ability to readily identify invasive plants as well as their look-alikes. The work of the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group, including its strategies, recommendations, and the recently released Early Detection/Rapid Response Priority List document, will be discussed.

    In the last several years, there has been growing interest in invasive plants and their management. While turf and landscape professionals might be very proficient in the development of a weed management program for turf and/or landscape, invasive plant management often reveals many new and unique challenges to these professionals. This 4-day program is intended to help participants meet these challenges when attempting to develop an invasive plant management program as part of their business. A certificate in Invasive Plant Management may be obtained by attending all four sessions and obtaining a passing grade on each. To earn the certificate, sessions A1 – A3 can be taken in any order, but must be taken prior to Session B, Developing an Invasive Plant Management Program. All sessions will be offered annually to facilitate earning the certificate over more than one year’s time. All sessions may also be taken individually. Registration Cost is $75, $68/person for a group of three or more registrations from the same company. Online registrations include a nominal processing fee.
    – See more at: http://ag.umass.edu/events/invasive-plant-issue-invasive-plant-identification-a3#sthash.Lu92CVbv.dpuf

  • Friday, March 25, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm – Assessing the Effects of Climate Change

    The Department of Environmental Conservation, as part of its Spring 2016 Seminar Series, will present Michael Frisk of Stony Brook University on the topic of Assessing the Effects of Climate Change: Exploitation and Predation as Drivers of the Collapse of Winter Flounder, on Friday, March 25, beginning at 12:20 pm in Holdsworth Hall, Room 105, at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

    Michael Frisk’s research focuses on the interaction of population dynamics, ecology and life history evolution in fishes in the general areas of applied ecosystem and population modeling, basic ecological questions and meta-analyses. He is developing a length-based statistical catch-at-age model for winter skate in the western Atlantic and a multi-species model of Delaware Bay using Ecopath and Ecosim. Knowledge of a species’ basic vital rates and ecology is essential for development of population models and management. For example, Frisk has estimated growth, age, fecundity and maturation for little skate and winter skate in the western Atlantic. Lastly, meta-analyses use previously published data to develop mathematical and statistical trends of related species to gain insight into the ecology, evolution and management of animal taxa. In this vein, Frisk’s current research focuses on developing meta-analyses for elasmobranchs and teleost species. In other words, he’s smart, and knowing about fish populations carries over to our general understanding of climate change.

  • Tuesday, December 8, 7:30 pm – Role of Floral Traits in Mediating Disease Transmission

    The next meeting of the Cambridge Entomological Club will be held on Tuesday, December 8 at 7:30 PM in in room 101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge. Lynn S. Adler, Professor of Biology at University of Massachusetts, Amherst,  will present a talk entitled Role of Floral Traits in Mediating Disease Transmission.

    All are welcome to join us at 5:45 at the West Side Lounge for an informal pre-meeting dinner. Please note the change in location from past dinners!

    Lynn’s work addresses how floral traits can affect bee pathogen loads and disease transmission. Although many researchers now study bee pathogens due to concerns about pollinator decline, we still know remarkably little about the role of plants in mediating bee diseases. In this talk she will demonstrate how nectar chemistry and pollen can affect bee gut pathogen loads, how transmission varies across plant species and consequences of plant variation for colony-level bee disease loads. The meeting is free and open to the public.  Image from www.nationofchange.org.

  • Tuesday, September 29, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Himalaya: Global Change in the Land of Primulas and Rhododendrons

    Kamal Bawa, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts at Boston, and President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, will speak on Tuesday, September 29, 7:00–8:30pm in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum. There is no fee but registration is requested at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu, or by calling 617-384-5277.

    The Eastern Himalaya—land of Gods, of ancient mountain kingdoms, of icy peaks and alpine meadows—is like no other place on Earth. The life and landscapes of the region are as diverse, spectacular and fragile as the mountains themselves. Even today, these mountains hold many mysteries: unnamed species, primeval cultures and the promise of magical cures to heal all of humanity. But development superimposed on global change will have an incalculable impact on this area. Dr. Kamal Bawa will discuss the role and limitations of science in addressing the pressing issues arising out of interaction between nature and society in the Himalaya, and suggest ways to move forward in resolving critical issues. Dr. Bawa is a newly elected Fellow of the Royal Society. His book, Himalaya: Mountains of Life, will be available for purchase and signing.