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Spring Miku
Spring blossoms full of color
Super blooms beginning their show
Spring fever, allergies and plant rebirth
'Dr. Zac' to Present UC Davis Seminar on Honey Bee Research, Life Experiences
"A lot of students take a gap year between their undergrad and grad program," says honey bee scientist Zac Lamas, a National Institute of...
Honey bee scientist Zac Lamas, a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) postdoctoral fellow with the USDA's Agricultural Research Services.
Lotus Love
I recently received a gift from a friend, a lovely brooch pin that is shaped like a lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) flower, with beautiful oval-shaped petals. My friend said that she chose the lotus brooch because of my love for yoga and nature.
“Lotus” is a term used in yoga to describe a cross-legged sitting pose for meditation, where each foot is place on the opposite thigh. The lotus flower represents strength, self-realization, and positive transformation. The reason the lotus flower represents these positive elements is because the plant seems to be “reborn” each day during its bloom cycle.
The lotus plant is rooted in mud,and the flower will rise above water for a full dose of bright sunshine. At night, the whole plant - beautiful petals and all – will “dive” back under the mud where it instead will remain immersed all evening. The next day the flower will again push up through the mud and surface to open its petals for the day. The petals have a waxy protective coating that repels water and dirt, so the flower emerges cleansed of the mud and ready for a sunny day of nourishment. The flower petals will open clean and shiny each day, which is why the lotus has become a symbolic association with rebirth.
I now wear the lotus brooch gift on my favorite gardening hat. I appreciate the sentiment of the gift, which is the same feeling I carry whenever I am digging in earth while tending my garden.
frog-2504507 1280 - Pixaby, Couleur
Decisions, Decisions: Solar Eclipse or a Bumble Bee?
What insects did you see during the Solar Eclipse, dubbed "The Great North American Eclipse?" And what were they doing? In some parts of North...
A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Connecting California’s forest landowners with California Tree School
While trees and forests are often emblematic of constancy in a fast-paced world, our state's forests are actually changing before our eyes. Since 2020, the UC ANR Forest Stewardship Education (FSE) program has been helping California's forest landowners be proactive about the inevitable shifts their forestland will experience. The Forest Stewardship and Post-Fire Forest Resilience workshop programs use an online educational format, which guide landowners through the basics of creating forest management plans and managing post-fire landscapes, respectively. Now, the FSE team is piloting a new program to engage a wider audience of forest landowners and community members passionate about trees.
This spring, the Forest Stewardship and UC ANR Fire Network teams are holding the first California Tree School, where individuals attend multiple in-person classes on the forestry topics they are most curious about. “The existing online programs are very focused on forest management plans and post-fire activity, and [Tree School] lets us tackle other topics,” said UC ANR forest and natural resources advisor Susie Kocher.
A one-stop shop for continuing forestry education
California Tree School was inspired when Forest Stewardship Academic Coordinator Kim Ingram, Post-fire Academic Coordinator Katie Reidy and Kocher attended Oregon State University Extension's Tree School event in Clackamas County, Oregon. OSU Tree School is a day-long experience comprised of classes that cover the different dimensions of forestry: constructing a house from your own timber, carbon cap and trade, and buying portable sawmills are just a small sampling of the options for attendees. OSU Tree School students ranged from forest landowners to community college students, contributing to a space which would facilitate community connections as well as learning.
Kocher described the experience as a “a great one-day, one-stop shop to keep up-to-date on what we [forest landowners and professionals] should know.” Excited by the breadth of opportunities offered at OSU's Tree School, Ingram, Kocher and Reidy were inspired to bring the format to California.
“It's our time to discuss the whole ecosystem,” noted Reidy. “Tree School is bringing in the trustworthy, reliable group of experts who can provide more information on the questions pertaining to landowners' specific goals.”
California Tree School will be offered in two locations this spring, with CA Tree School- Hopland taking place on May 4, and CA Tree School- El Dorado on June 1. Similar to OSU's Tree School, attendees are expected to be a mix of forest landowners, natural resource professionals and interested community members.
Connecting statewide professionals; personalizing forestry education
Tree School offers attendees the opportunity to focus on subjects that pertain to their specific learning needs. This personalized approach is a new foray for the Forest Stewardship team, but is something that Ingram says workshop participants have been wanting for some time.
“Our participants never think they learn enough. They are always asking for more information, and this Tree School gives us the chance to expand on things we might not have had a chance to go over in the workshop series,” remarked Ingram. Additionally, Tree School instructors had creative freedom when it came to developing their classes, from the topic to the class format. This is evident when browsing through each session's class catalog. CA Tree School attendees choose four classes to attend, meaning they can build their first burn pile, understand the ins and outs of regional wildlife, paint outdoors and learn how to aid statewide reforestation efforts all in one day.
“I felt that Tree School created a sense of trust around complex topics,” noted Reidy about her experience last year in Oregon. For CA Tree School, the Forest Stewardship team aims to do the same. This meant recruiting from throughout the UC ANR network and other organizations, including CALFIRE and CARCD (California Association of Resource Conservation Districts), to bring trusted voices to the community.
“What's exciting about Tree School is that we are bringing natural resource professionals from all around to engage everyone at the same time, and all in one place,” noted Ingram.
The team is excited to see all the connections that will be made between community members and professionals during this pilot year, and “if this is successful and we can bring it back next year,” commented Kocher, “we are definitely interested in partnering with more people and expanding our outreach.”
Making CA Tree School an in-person experience was important to the team, as much of the education is hands-on. Additionally, Kocher sees enhanced potential for building personal connections: “In person, you have this opportunity for people to identify as part of a community,” noted Kocher, “So I'm excited for people to hang out with each other.”
Encouraging an informed community
“You can't separate the emotional from the physical, and there are a lot of topics in forestry like wildfire and economics that can be a bit of a downer,” said Ingram. “I'm excited to help create a positive learning environment, and one that encourages folks to turn to UC Cooperative Extension for these resources.”
“Our main goal here is to get science out there,” concurred Reidy. “The more exposure people have to science, the more confident they feel in themselves and their wants and needs.”
