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The Great Sunflower Project
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Dear Master Gardeners,
We have just launched The Great Sunflower Project, a community science project with the goal of increasing our understanding of where bees are doing poorly and how the pollination of our garden and wild plants are being affected. We're hoping you will join us by planting sunflowers in your garden. Community, demonstration, and school gardens are invited to participate.
We'll send you some free native sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed and twice a month, we'd like you to time how long it takes for 5 bees to visit one flower on that sunflower. This information will give us an index of pollination that we can compare across the United States. Once we know where bees are in trouble, we can start developing a plan to help them.
You can see the details about the project and register at www.greatsunflower.org or contact us at sfbee@sfsu.edu.
Do join us!
Thanks so much,
Gretchen LeBuhn
Associate Professor
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Tennessee Farm Fresh Program
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Many of you work with your local farmer markets. Please share this with those who might be interested in part of the TN Farm Fresh Program.
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Dear Tennessee Farmers Market Contacts,
You may have heard about a new "fresh and local" marketing initiative being developed through a partnership between the Tennessee Farm Bureau and the Department of Agriculture. Program details have been developed, and the program, officially named "Tennessee Farm Fresh," is moving forward. Guidelines for eligibility have been established, and the program is now accepting applications as the attached announcement about the program indicates. Program guidelines, requirements, a list of benefits and application form are available on-line at www.tnfarmfresh.com.Producers interested in joining the Tennessee Farm Fresh program and being included in the first marketing brochure need to complete the sign-up process by May 16, 2008.
Please feel free to share this information with others who may be interested. Contact Tennessee Farm Fresh coordinator, Tiffany Mullins, with questions at:
Tiffany Mullins, Assistant Director of Commodities
Tennessee Farm Fresh Coordinator
TN Farm Bureau Federation
P.O. Box 313
Columbia, TN 38402-0313
(931) 388-7872 ext. 2763
tmullins@tfbf.com
(See attached file: Tennessee Farm Fresh Accepting Applications.pdf)
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Eastern Native Grass Symposium
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The 6th Eastern Native Grass Symposium will be held in Columbia, SC. October 7 - 10, 2008.
The field trips will be a real treat. South Carolina has been called the most bio-diverse state in the US, when you consider our small size. We have a very diverse physiography, and we have numerous instances of plant species at their northernmost or southernmost occurrence. We have a large array of Natural Heritage Preserves, managed by our Department of Natural Resources. We will also see management research, seed source development, and natives-based wildlife enterprises.
So, if you are in research or Extension, government, agriculture, industry, or an environmental or gardening group, we think you will find your interest area well represented at our Symposium. For more information about the Symposium, and a call for papers and other participation, see www.clemson.edu/~bstrngr/E_Native_Grass Instructions are provided for submitting title/summaries for oral and poster presentations.
A registration form will be available in the very near future, as will instructions for commercial, agency or organizational exhibitors. We look forward to your visit to South Carolina, and a wonderful opportunity to talk about native grasslands.
Please circulate this e-mail among your colleagues and anyone you think might be interested.
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