WVII (Channel 7) spoke with Kate Garland, horticulturist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for the latest installment of its “Backyard Gardener” series. Garland demonstrated planting some of the season’s last crops.
Foster’s Daily Democrat reported last month’s annual plant sale hosted by the Master Gardener Volunteers with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in York County was a success. The sale, held in Sringvale, saw hundreds of customers and generated several thousand dollars for community programs, according to the report.
Creating a garden using only plants native to Maine will take center stage at the University of Maine’s Rogers Farm June 18. The free UMaine Cooperative Extension program begins at 6 p.m. It is the fourth in the summer series Public Nights at the Garden, and will be held rain or shine. Soil preparation, plant selection and best planting practices will be discussed and demonstrated by UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and Kate Garland, UMaine Extension horticulturist, at the Rogers Farm Demonstration Garden, 914 Bennoch Road, Stillwater. For more information or to request a disability accommodation, contact the UMaine Extension Penobscot County Office, 207.942.7396.
A recent blog post by Sharon Kitchens on Huffington Post titled “Pollination of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Crop” contains quotes from David Yarborough, a wild blueberry specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Frank Drummond, an entomologist and blueberry pollination expert at UMaine. The Portland Press Herald also carried the blog post recently.
Ronald Beard, extension educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant, was recently awarded the Gulf of Maine Council 2013 Visionary Award for Maine.
The award is presented annually to an individual or organization within each of the Gulf of Maine jurisdictions of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and recognizes innovation, creativity and commitment to marine protection, according to Bruce Carlisle, chairman of the Gulf of Maine Council for the Marine Environment.
Beard, who is based in Hancock County, focuses his education on community development through work with local organizations and citizens. He is also a member of the Marine Extension Team.
Anyone who uses Maine’s beaches — from surfers to business owners — is invited to attend the 2013 Maine Beaches Conference to share information with other stakeholders.
The latest on erosion, weather and water quality at Maine’s beaches, as well as the importance of tourism and property rights, will be discussed Friday, July 12 at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.
The conference aims to share data from the state’s beach monitoring programs, as well as provide a forum for communication among beach stakeholders, such as property owners, recreational users and managers.
The 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. event will include multimedia sessions and exhibits, presentations and a walking tour during lunch.
Session topics will include the effects of Superstorm Sandy, erosion control, tourism promotion, water quality, pollution, ecological values and property rights.
Representatives from several organizations including the Maine Geological Survey, National Weather Service, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Office of Tourism and Maine Beaches Association will present during the sessions.
The conference is coordinated by Maine Sea Grant and a steering committee of public and private partners.
Steering committee members representing conference stakeholder groups are responsible for designing and implementing the event, according to conference coordinator Kristen Grant, a marine extension associate with Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension based at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The first Maine Beaches Conference was held in 2000 and emerged from Sea Grant-funded research by UMaine faculty Joseph Kelley and Daniel Belknap who developed a volunteer beach erosion monitoring program in response to recommendations of the Southern Maine Beach Stakeholder Group, according to Catherine Schmitt, Maine Sea Grant communications coordinator.
“Even in that first year, it was clear the interest in that information extended far beyond the monitoring volunteers,” Grant says. “Because beach stakeholders in Maine represent a diverse range of interests, the conference has always sought to provide continuing opportunities for communication and exchange of the most current information among these stakeholders.”
Grant says participants continue to return to the conference because they say it provides up-to-date information and many opportunities to learn and network.
“They also appreciate the chance to meet resource people face-to-face, the sharing of diverse perspectives and new ideas, and the action-orientation of the conference,” Grant says.
For more information or to request disability accommodations, call Grant at 207.646.1555, ext. 115.
Registration information, program details, speaker biographies and session and exhibit descriptions are available online.
Contact: Elyse Kahl, 207.581.3747
A recent post on the Portland Press Herald blog “The Root,” titled “Pollination of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Crop,” contains quotes from David Yarborough, a wild blueberry specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Frank Drummond, an entomologist and blueberry pollination expert at the University of Maine.
The Daily Bulldog of Franklin County reported on a celebration in Farmington to mark the 4-H program’s 100 years in Maine. 4-H is a program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Richard Kersbergen, University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator on sustainable dairy and forage systems, spoke with Capital Press: The West’s Ag Website about how summer annuals benefit dairy farmers.
Foster’s Daily Democrat reports the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners will offer a hands-on workshop titled “Drip Irrigation for the Home Garden” on June 4 at the Wells Reserve in Wells.