CT NOFA: Focus On Trees And Shrubs

The CT NOFA Annual Gathering is Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. Keynote speaker is Tom Wessels, an ecologist and founding director of the master's degree program in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England.

This year's program will focus on trees and woody shrubs in our landscape.

Farmland To Lease Or To Farm

Farmers now have a new guide to help them identify available land for farming and acreage for leasing.

The University of Connecticut and the American Farmland Trust (AFT) produce the resource for farmers and landowners in a state that has the third highest farm real estate values in the nation.

"We hope this guide will serve to connect those looking for farmland with those with farmland to lease," said Cris Coffin, director of AFT New England division. "Whether it's 5 acres or 100, farmland leased by communities, land trusts and institutions to farmers, or used for community farms, can help grow Connecticut's farms, food and economy."

For more information call (860) 683-4230, or visit www.farmland.org and www.workinglandsalliance.org.

October in Connecticut, 4-H Trail Ride

The Connecticut State 4-H Trail Ride will be held on Saturday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m., University of Connecticut Forest, Storrs, to benefit the state 4-H horse program. Open to the public; cost is $20 per rider. Visit the 4-H web site at www.4-H.uconn.edu for registration form and equine health form.

Rain date is Oct. 24.

Childrens' Book Fair At UConn

Connecticut Children's Book Fair is Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rome Commons Ballroom, Rome Hall, South Campus Complex University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Meet many well-known children's authors and illustrators, including Tedd Arnold, Holly Black, P.W. Catanese, Katie Davis, Diane deGroat, Gail Gauthier, Rudy Gutierrez, Janet Lawler, Lois Lowry, Wendell and Florence Minor, Leslea Newman, Anitia Riggio, Pegi Deitz Shea, Marc Tyler Nobleman, Mark Teague, Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, and Hans Wilhelm.

Storybook characters include visits with Clifford the Big Red Dog, Maisy, Chet Gecko, and Stella Luna. Enjoy sing-a-longs, crafts and stories out loud.

Admission is free. For more information visit the UConn Co-op web site or call (860) 486-5027.

Note: Since the book fair is a fundraiser for the Northeast Children's Literature Collection, no books from home.

Proceeds from sales at the event are used for the growth of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection in the Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries.

Under Glass, Beauty In Bloom, Tour Feb. 14

Oh the beauty of what grows and blooms under glass in February.

The public is offered a treat for winter-weary senses - the opportunity to tour plant collections in a special presentation Sugar and Spice and Chocolate!, led by UConn Ecology & Evolutionary (EEB) greenhouse staff on Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.

The UConn EEB greenhouses hold one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries. Learn about plant sources of many spices, foods, and medicines. (A great family outing to see how vanilla or cloves or pineapples grow.)

Clinton Morse, EEB plant growth facilities manager, posts photographs of plants blooming as of Feb 11, 2009, available for viewing online. (According to the site, some 126 different blooms at present.)

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

For more information or directions check the listings at this link, or call (860) 486-4460. The greenhouses are located at the main UConn Storrs campus.

Photography of visual beauty inside the greenhouses, courtesy of Clinton Morse, UConn EEB plant growth facilities manager.

All Things Horse At Symposium, UConn

The 2009 Connecticut Horse Symposium is set for March 29 and 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus, Ratcliffe Hicks/Horsebarn Hill arenas. The public is invited to the free events.

Sponsored by the University of Connecticut Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Connecticut Horse Council, events include senior equine management, saddle fitting, equine massage, the UConn Morgan Drill team, cowboy mounted shooting demonstrations, how to decide whether to shoe your horse, music for horses, what to look for in a pre-purchase examination, reining, UConn Equestrian Team, polo demo, Kentucky Mountain Saddle horses, UConn Dressage Team, and Ann Guptill demonstrating lateral dressage movements.

Tours are offered of area horse farms to view best management practices; sign up at mark.cummings@ct.usda.gov; space is limited.

The University of Connecticut supports both a men's and a women's polo team, with Coach Jim Dinger guiding riders for more than 12 years. For information on polo lessons or game schedules and cancellations call Dr. Dinger at (860) 486-3376 or (860) 486-8411. Photo: Appaloosa and rider, UConn Polo.

Where's My Food Come From? New Series

Do hot dogs have lips? Just what is head cheese? Why is it possible to buy summer sausage in the winter, and what makes American bacon so different from Canadian bacon?

These are just a few of the questions that students have asked Dr. Cameron Faustman, associate dean, University of Connecticut (UConn) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

As part of a new series about food and culture, the UConn State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center (part of UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), will offer lively events open to the public during 2009.

Dr. Faustman will present Why is There a Bag in My Turkey? on Sunday, Feb. 22, 3 p.m., as part of a new series, The Natural History of Food. (And yes, he will answer some of the humorous questions listed above.)


Explore the jungle-like plant collections in a special tour, Sugar and Spice and Chocolate!, led by UConn Ecology & Evolutionary (EEB) greenhouse staff on Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.

The UConn EEB greenhouses hold one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries. A special guided greenhouse tour will provide the uncommon opportunity to see the plant sources of many spices, foods, and medicines. (A great family outing, a real treat to see where vanilla and chocolate come from, or how cloves or pepper are grown.)

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Lectures, programs, and workshops include:

Dr. Margaret Bruchac, from UConn’s Anthropology Department, and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at the Avery Point campus, will talk about the wide-ranging impact the foods of the Americas have had since European explorers and Native American communities first interacted. Her program, Algonkian Indian Influences on Yankee Foodways, will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 1, 3 p.m.


Dr. Alexia Smith, assistant professor of Anthropology at UConn, specializes in ecological anthropology, climate and land use history, and the development of agriculture in the Near East. She will discuss the beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East in Seeds, Glorious Seeds! Examining Food Use in Antiquity, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 p.m.

For more information or directions to specific events (held at different campuses), check the listings at this link, or call (860) 486-4460. The greenhouses are located at the main UConn Storrs campus. Images, courtesy of UConn.

Where's My Food Come From? New Series

Do hot dogs have lips? Just what is head cheese? Why is it possible to buy summer sausage in the winter, and what makes American bacon so different from Canadian bacon?

These are just a few of the questions that students have asked Dr. Cameron Faustman, associate dean, University of Connecticut (UConn) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

As part of a new series about food and culture, the UConn State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center (part of UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), will offer lively events open to the public during 2009.

Dr. Faustman will present Why is There a Bag in My Turkey? on Sunday, Feb. 22, 3 pm., as part of a new series, The Natural History of Food. (And yes, he will answer some of the humorous questions listed above.)


Learn how horseradish grows and what cloves look like as they grow in a special tour, Sugar and Spice and Chocolate!, will be led by EEB greenhouse staff on Saturday, February 14, 10 am to noon.

The UConn Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth greenhouses have one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries. A special guided greenhouse tour will provide the uncommon opportunity to see the plant sources of many spices, foods, and medicines. (A great family outing, a real treat to tour the humid and lush plants inside glass houses.)

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Lectures, programs, and workshops include:

Dr. Margaret Bruchac, from UConn’s Anthropology Department, and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at the Avery Point campus, will talk about the wide-ranging impact the foods of the Americas have had since European explorers and Native American communities first interacted. Her program, Algonkian Indian Influences on Yankee Foodways, will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 1, 3 pm.


Dr. Alexia Smith, assistant professor of Anthropology at UConn, specializes in ecological anthropology, climate and land use history, and the development of agriculture in the Near East. She will discuss the beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East in Seeds, Glorious Seeds! Examining Food Use in Antiquity, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 pm.

For more information or directions to specific events (held at different campuses), check the listings at www.mnh.uconn.edu/currentcalendar.html, or call (860) 486-4460. The greenhouses are located at the main UConn Storrs campus.