Consider The Spotted Salamander

So easy to miss, yet salamanders are pure magic to view, if you take the time to look for them.

Amphibians, such as this spotted salamander that appeared one spring in Killingworth, Connecticut, tell volumes about the health of the world in which they live. Since they have permeable skin, salamanders literally inhale their environment through their skin. Toxins, such as insecticides or weed killer used in yards can mean no more salamanders. (Read more about this at www.thedailygreen.com.)

The Connecticut Amphibian Monitoring Project (CAMP) started in 1998 and is a long-term study to assess population trends taking place in Connecticut over a 15-year period.

From the CAMP site: "Volunteers are trained to identify the 22 species of amphibians native to Connecticut and on how to use standard amphibian census techniques, like frog call surveys, salamander cover searches and night road transects for migrating amphibians.

"Information gathered from the project will provide a baseline for analyzing changes in relative species diversity and abundance of Connecticut amphibian populations."

Partners in this project include Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Kellogg Environmental Center, and Connecticut Audubon in the Northeast Corner. Also, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, Pfizer Teacher Resource Center, Sacred Heart University, Science Center of Connecticut, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

A comprehensive site about salamanders (including a sound clip of the noise they make) is http://ctamp.homestead.com/MoleSallies.html.

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.