URI MGP Newsletter, Mar 30: Water, Birds and Daffodils

What lies behind this lovely border of hydrangeas? Come see on June 24 & 25

hydrangeas

Get your ticket/booklet online at: web.uri.edu/mastergardener.

Help Wanted - Continuing Education Team

We are looking for a few Master Gardeners to tally survey results following URIMGP continuing education seminars and workshops.  The tallies can be done as a group or individually at home your convenience.  These surveys are our best means for determining whether or not a seminar has met the Master Gardeners’ needs and planning future seminars.

If interested, please contact Alayne Senior at enyala@verizon.net

Tell us about your lawn care

uriResearchers at the University of Rhode Island conducting an online survey on lawn care management and its impact on water quality. These survey responses will provide us with vital information for this research funded by the National Science Foundation.

We’re counting on participation from residents like you. The survey takes around 20 minutes to complete and you will receive $2 in Amazon credit for your participation. The survey closes soon (March 31st) – please take the time to participate before this date!  

Type this in your browser: goo.gl/Jr5hBm

This research has been approved by URI’s IRB.

Hall of Fame Inductees, March 2017

Congratulations to our newest “URI Master Gardener Hall of Fame” inductees.  These URI Master Gardeners have contributed over 1000 hours to our mission.  Thank you for your service!

Our first hall of fame awardee is from the class of 2014 and has quickly become a leader and tremendous asset to the program.  A URI Master Gardener at heart, he had always been a go-to in the neighborhood for gardening questions, and continues to educate through many kiosk and soil testing events.  He is instrumental as a project leader at House of Hope garden project.  In fact, he’s such a great leader that he was asked to serve on the Master Gardener Program Council as Operations Coordinator, facilitating our important services such as soil testing, greenhouses, kiosks and more.  Thank you for your service – Bill Baddeley

Our next recipient graduated in 2007. He has earned his 1000+ hours the last 10 years as a project leader at the Glocester Senior Center where he has become an asset to the community up in the great northwest.  He has assisted in the Chet Clayton Rose Garden and our public outreach event.  Thank you for your service –  Bob Bernier

Now we have a graduate from class of 2000. She has earned over 1400 hours in the last 17 years mostly on projects at East Farm including the first poinsettia experiment, lilly planting, veggie greenhouse, the Vegetable Demonstration Garden and the Vegetable Greenhouse. She coordinated the herb garden at East Farm for over 10 years.  She has logged in more than 100 hours each year for the last 6 years. She also has a hidden talent with seaweed. Thank you for your service – Dori Gerhardt

We have a graduate from the class of 2003. She has earned her 1000+ hours for the last 14 years in the Ornamentals greenhouse at East Farm, Plant a Row for the Hungry support, been a Desourdy School Garden mentor, participated in direct education in kiosks and various senior and children’s gardens and at other special events.  Thank you for your service –  Audrey Pincins

Our final awardee is another project leader.  The Newport Harbor Walk project educates thousands of visitors to Newport RI about the beauty of native plants that support pollinators and monarchs, including locally sourced Rhody Native plants.   This project was even featured by the national partnership, Monarch Joint Venture as a “habitat success story”. This year the project plans to install a rain garden under her guidance.  As a project leader, she goes above and beyond in making community connections, guiding tours of the project and even attracting new interns with Hershey kisses with individual monarch wrappers.  Thank you for your service – Johanna Vietry

Newport Daffodil Days

daffodilLaunched in 2006 with the support of The Daffodil Project, an avid local beautification group, 681,750 daffodils have been planted throughout Newport during the past ten years. Beginning April 15 and continuing for 10 days, you are invited to see the results. There will be 20 events, many of them free, for children and adults.

On April 20 at 7:30 pm, spread your blanket on the lawn at Bellevue House at a special NewportFILM event “Seed: The Untold Story”. This award winning documentary follows passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old food legacy. See all events.

American Woodcock Study

Do you love birds and the great outdoors? Have you ever wished you could participate in scientific research, but aren’t sure how to get involved? Well, now’s your chance to participate in a citizen science study on a unique forest bird—the American Woodcock!

Come meet and chat with URI scientists at our orientation on Thursday, April 13th from 6pm to 8pm in the Coastal Institute on the Kingston campus (room TBD). At this orientation, you will learn about:

  • The history of the American woodcock population in the northeast
  • Woodcock breeding behavior (aka “sky dances”)
  • Early successional forest habitats in the northeast, and how they have been changing over time
  • Some of the research mysteries that still remain about woodcock
  • How to look and listen for woodcock, and how to enter count data and habitat descriptions into a data sheet.

Since we’ll be going outside, you’ll want to wear good shoes that can withstand a little bit of mud and dampness!

The time commitment will be relatively light compared to most citizen science studies. You’ll need to attend the two-hour orientation and conduct roughly 6 surveys from mid-April to mid-May that will each only last about one hour. Please contact the coordinator of the study, Erin Harrington, by April 7th if you would like to participate. You can contact her at e_harrington@my.uri.edu, or stop by her office in the URI greenhouses, Room 205. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the American Woodcock and early successional forests, please check out the Woodcock Management Plan at www.timberdoodle.com. Hope to see you in April!

The hours will count as Continuing Education for Master Gardeners.

Public Speaking Workshops

Public Presentation Orientation
Thursday, April 6, 6 – 7 pm
Pharmacy 240

Discover if teaching others is your calling in the Master Gardener Program.  We’ll hear from some of our MG speakers about this rewarding experience.  If you like learning about a topic in-depth and sharing that knowledge with your community, this class is for you! Registration is required in Volgistics.

ppoSpeaking Skills Training Session
Tuesday, June 6, 6 – 8 pm
Pharmacy 240

Our public presenters will be on hand to share some of the “tricks of the trade”.  We’ll fill you in on existing presentations that can be edited for your use and our process for fact-checking presentations.  We’ll even practice our opening remarks.  Registration is required in Volgistics.

Volunteers Needed for the Desourdy School Garden Mentors

desourdyVolunteers are needed NOW in several schools around the state as part of The Desourdy School Garden Mentor Program.  The programs run from spring through fall with parents, teachers and MGs working to teach and train students to learn gardening. We hope students will continue a lifelong pursuit of learning how to plant seeds, water, nurture, weed, harvest and prepare for the next season. MG Mentors provide advice, information, and reference materials so teachers can have success with their school gardens as outdoor classrooms. Parent involvement makes the programs run throughout the summer break.

There will be a training for New Volunteers on Wednesday, April 5, 6 – 8 PM at the Warwick Public Library (600 Sandy Lane, Warwick). All school volunteers are required to complete a RI BCI background check.  If you’re interested in learning more, please sign up for the training in Volgistics.

In the East Bay Region, the following schools have openings for MG Mentors:

Bradley, Portsmouth, RI
South Elementary, Somerset, MA
Sowams, Barrington, RI
Westport, MA

The Regional Managers for the Eastern Region SGMs are Linda Griffiths and Jacqueline Guerra Lofgren. If you are interested in this MG project, or if you would like further information, please contact us.

Linda Griffiths
lgriffithsrimg@gmail.com
Jacqueline Guerra Lofgren
jglofgren53@gmail.com

Help Wanted: Engaging Children in Nature

Spring 2017 Learning Landscape Field Trips at the URI Botanical Gardens

childrenWould you like to share your love of nature with elementary school children in the beautiful URI Botanical Gardens? Consider joining URI staff, students and returning URI Master Gardener educators by signing up to become a URI Learning Landscape Educator this spring. Gain three volunteer hours each session while inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards in fun, hands-on educational lessons.

To become a MG Learning Landscape (LL) educator, you’ll need to attend one training session at the URI Mallon Outreach Center on 3 East Alumni Avenue in Kingston on Wednesday, April 19th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, or Thursday, April 20th, same times. Special arrangements will be made if another training time is needed.  When the program begins on April 26th, you’ll have a couple of opportunities to shadow experienced LL educators before signing up to lead a small group of children through the outdoor learning stations.

The Spring Learning Landscape Program runs Tuesday through Friday, April 26 – June 9, 2017 at the URI Botanical Gardens. You choose your level of involvement, from 1 – 3 sessions/week, on-site from 9:20am-12:30pm.  For more information and/or to sign up for a training session, please contact Amy Cabaniss at amy_cabaniss@uri.edu

Michael Dirr in Newport - Continuing Education Credit

Michael Dirr in Newport - Cont Ed Credit

Urban Agriculture Kick Off

Southside Community Land Trust will be hosting four neighborhood Urban Agriculture Kick Off events across the city on Sat., April 8, from 11 am-1 pm (rain date: April 9). These free, public events will take place at four sites: in Providence’s West End, South Side, Olneyville, and East Side neighborhoods.

Each site will have an agriculture expert on hand to answer questions about chemical-free gardening and how to get the most out of small plots, containers and backyard gardens. SCLT will be giving away non-GMO, organic, and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower seeds, and share helpful tips on how to have a successful growing season.

New SCLT members and those renewing for 2017, including anyone who joins that day, can bring home up to 50 gallons of free, high-quality, organic compost. They will just need to show a membership card and bring large containers to cart it away.

Locations:
Sessions Street Community Garden
60 Sessions Street, Providence, RI 02906
Joslin Community Garden
40 Florence Street, Providence, RI 02909
Davey Lopes Recreation Center                
227 Dudley Street, Providence, RI 02097
Groundwork Community Garden
16 Ring Street, Providence, RI 02909

The Living Landscape: Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke come to RI!

landscapeOn Saturday, June 24th, Sogkonate Garden Club sponsors a free workshop, The Living Landscape, by nationally acclaimed authors Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke from 9-3 at Wilbur McMahon School.   Registration is at sogkonate.org, Go to the home page, and click the green button.   Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to see your landscape in a different way.

The program is free, but for planning purposes, please register.

Beginning Farmer Workshops - Southside Community Land Trust

Preventing crop disease & pests – in partnership with University of Rhode Island
Sat., Apr. 1, 9-11:30 am
Roger Williams Park Botanical Center

Learn many practices growers can do to avoid insect and disease problems in vegetable and fruit plantings. Techniques will range from general practices for all crops to crop-specific practices. We’ll also scout for pests in the Roger Williams Botanical Center. Taught by URI’s Heather Faubert. Sign up by calling the SCLT office: 401-273-9419

Infrastructure Development
Sun., April 2, 10 am – 4 pm
Urban Edge Farm, 35 Pippin Orchard Rd., Cranston

Chuck Currie from Freedom Food Farm will discuss how to determine what machinery is appropriate to your operation and your scale. Other topics of the day include irrigation, NRCS EQIP program, composting toilets and urine diversion, and more! This event is outside, so please dress for the weather!

Hot Topics from the URI Consumer Horticulture Educator

rosanneThe following science-based articles may help you answer questions from the community.  Rosanne Sherry, URI Consumer Horticulture Educator, recommends you read them to help sharpen your own gardening and educator skills! Please send comments or suggestions for articles to rsherry@uri.edu.

UMass Extension Hort Notes
March 2017, Vol. 28:2
ag.umass.edu/landscape/newsletters/hort-notes/hort-notes-2017-vol-282
Improving Forest Health, Wildlife Habitat and Water Quality in RI
Do you own land near a stream, pond, lake or other freshwater wetland?
Are you interested in forest health, wildlife habitat or water quality?
If so, we’d like to talk with you about the URI Regional Conservation Partnership Program. We can provide technical and financial assistance to implement a wide range of activities on your property, depending on your interests.

– Managing your woods to improve forest health and wildlife habitat in a way that protects water quality. You could do a range of forestry activities, such as thinning your woods to make your trees more resistant to pests and disease; eliminating invasive species; or improving a stream crossing on a forest access road to prevent erosion. Our support is available whether you do the work yourself or hire a contractor. The first step is generally preparing a forest management plan (unless you already have one). Our program can support approximately 75% of the costs of preparing a new plan or implementing the recommendations of an existing plan. Preparing a forest management plan can also help you reduce your property taxes.

– Increasing stream continuity to allow fish and other aquatic wildlife to move further upstream. This could involve replacing a damaged culvert on your driveway or farm/forest road, which could also reduce the risk of flooding.

– Creating or improving vernal pools to provide habitat for turtles, frogs, salamanders and other species. Even if you don’t have a wetland on your property, it may be possible to create a small breeding pool that would support rare amphibians.

– Establishing vegetation buffers near streams, rivers, ponds, lakes or other wetlands to improve water quality. Tree, shrub or herbaceous buffers can prevent sediment, fertilizers, pesticides and other potential contaminants from entering our waters.

We can also support many other related activities. To learn more about this program, a URI collaboration with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, please contact:

Bill Buffum
Department of Natural Resources
University of Rhode Island
buffum@uri. edu
(401) 874-7532

Look for Vegetable Notes 2017 Vol. 29:2  in the link below for an excellent article on resistant vegetable varieties to look for in tomatoes, squash and cucumbers.
http://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/newsletters

From Xerces Society February 2017 newsletter

  1. Protection delay
    http://www.xerces.org/blog/rusty-patched-bumble-bee-deserves-protection-not-delay/
  2. Monarch declines
    http://www.xerces.org/blog/2017-monarch-numbers-are-down-lengthening-a-worrying-trend/
  3. Plants for pollinators
    http://www.xerces.org/blog/plants-for-pollinators-giant-hyssop/

From New Terrain  Feb. 15, 2017
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has adopted rules that prohibit the sale of 33 plants deemed to be invasive. Sale of those plants is prohibited after January 1, 2018. The ban includes cultivars, varieties and hybrids of prohibited species. Here’s the list:
Acer platanoides; Alliaria petiolata; Berberis thunbergii; Celastrus orbiculatus; Elaeagnus angustifolia; Euonymus alatus; Fallopia japonica; Frangula alnus; Hesperis matronalis; Iris pseudacorus; Lonicera morrowii; Lonicera tatarica; Lythrum salicaria; Robinia pseudoacacia; Rosa multiflora; Acer ginnala; Aegopodium podagraria; Ailanthus altissima; Amorpha fruticose; Artemisia vulgaris; Berberis vulgaris; Euphorbia cyparissias; Ligustrum vulgare; Lonicera japonica; Lonicera maackii; Populus alba; Impatiens glandulifera; Ampelopsis glandulosa; Fallopia baldschuanica; Microstegium vimineum; Paulownia tomentosa; Persicaria perfoliata; and Phellodendron amurense

From ELA newsletter February 18, 2017
http://www.ecolandscaping.org/02/ecological-landscaping-101/walk-wild-side/
http://www.ecolandscaping.org/02/plant-science/phyto-principles-resources-site-remediation-landscape-design/
http://www.ecolandscaping.org/02/permaculture-edible-gardens/takeaways-landscape-heroes/

Invasive heavenly bamboo!!! What a contradiction!
rosie musingFrom Decatur, GA  NE of Atlanta. Thanks for the link from Sue Dunn, RI MG
http://www.decaturish.com/2017/03/invasive-bushes-in-decatur-killing-cedar-waxwings/
Rosie’s musing: This plant does show up in RI for sale.
Nandina was originally installed in Roger Williams Park Botanical Center. We convinced the director to remove all the plants because of its potential to become invasive in RI as well as the possibility that it might kill migrant birds feeding on the berries in the fall. We also had confirmed nesting of the species in this article in the Botanical Center.