Summer Conference, Biodiversity, Field Days

The 2011 Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference with Northeast Animal-Power Field Days, takes place at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Aug. 12 to Aug. 14.

More than 225 workshops include topics that range from farming, gardening and land care to draft animals in farming and forestry; plus homesteading, sustainability, nutrition, food politics, activism, and even more.

Keynote speakers are Eric Toensmeier and Ignacio Chapela.

Toensmeier has spent 20 years exploring edible perennial agroecosystems and authored the award-winning book "Perennial Vegetables" and co-authored "Edible Forest Gardens" with Dave Jacke. Eric studies the potential of perennial farming systems to mitigate climate disruption and to provide a stable source of food and livelihood for communities in the Northeast and globally.

Chapela is actively involved in debates on technology policy and the consequences of declining biodiversity. An associate professor of biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior scientist at the Norwegian Center for Biosafety, Dr. Chapela exposes both the ecological dangers of genetic engineering and the political crisis of accountability that threatens food security.

Special workshops designed for children and teens.

Music and dance, an old-fashioned country fair, farmer's market, games.

BioBlitz In Stratford, Connecticut

Members of the Yale Peabody Museum joins forces with The Connecticut Audubon Society and Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo for a “BioBlitz” of Stratford, Connecticut.

Scientists come together and try to count every species that lives in a town or park as fast as they can and often, over years, the same places are visited each season to look for differences.

Many organizations are involved with the Stratford BioBlitz, but it is co-hosted by Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, The Connecticut Audubon Society and Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo.

The species count begins Friday at 3 p.m. with the goal to identify as many species as possible in a 24 hour stint.

Seen One? Report Turtles To Biologists

Help biologists gather information on local turtle populations. Enter sightings and photos and learn how to identify species at www.turtleatlas.org. Currently, the New England Turtle Atlas accepts sightings in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

From the site, ongoing research:

"My research will involve the use of radio telemetry to study the life history characteristics and habitat requirements of the stinkpot turtle. This will be the first in depth radio telemetry study on the species. Stinkpots are not state-listed in Massachusetts; however they are listed under endangered species law in some states (Iowa, Vermont, Maine). In other states there is some concern about this species due to suspected declines or lack of information (Connecticut, DC, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island)."

- Lori Johnson, Conservation Biology Program, Environmental Studies Dept, Antioch University.

Editor's Note: Chuck Landrey of the Turtle Atlas (www.turtleatlas.org) provided the identification of the photo above, taken in Connecticut in 2009, as a spotted turtle.