Recent Posts
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As summer comes to a close, many families are spending this weekend preparing for the school year. If you are looking for fun, educational experiences for the young people in your life, look no further! Forsyth County 4-H is currently registering youth in Kindergarten-12th grade for many of the organization’s popular programs. Georgia 4-H is…
Posted in: 4-H -
Georgia has several problematic invasive plants, but kudzu seems to get the most attention. The vine is highly visible, covering banks, trees, and abandoned houses, whether you’re driving in the country or around town. The spread of kudzu has been an ecological concern in the southeastern U.S. for several decades.
Posted in: ANR -
Since vultures feed primarily on carrion, they provide dead animal clean-up free of charge and without sending animal carcasses to the landfill. In doing so, vultures remove disease pathogens from the environment. Their stomach acids are strong enough to allow them to digest decaying animals – including diseases the dead animal may carry, such as…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
Heat stress can affect people, animals, and plants. The interaction of heat and humidity creates a heat sensation beyond air temperature alone. A calculation of this interaction gives us the Heat Index – an estimate of how hot we really feel under the temperature and humidity conditions if we’re standing in the shade. For example,…
Posted in: ANR -
There is a portion of a wall in our living room that is bare and is a source of aggravation for beloved husband. We’ve considered and experimented with different furniture items but haven’t found the thing that’s just right. The one we hoped would work, a tri-level plant stand, failed when the various potted plants…
Posted in: ANR -
Boxwood shrubs (Buxus sempervirens) were imported to North America in the 1650s, but they were features in European and Asian gardens long before that. Durable, versatile, and evergreen, boxwoods are used to create garden walls, sculpted walks, topiaries, and formal parterre gardens. They’re also a popular choice for foundation plantings around homes. So, when a…
Posted in: ANR -
Each year, Georgia 4-H hosts the State 4-H Horse Show at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Georgia.
Posted in: 4-H -
Citizen science, also called participatory science, is helping universities and environmental agencies answer questions like these and do other things, like monitor streams for pollution, to address real-world issues. Many projects are suitable for both youth and adult participants.
Posted in: ANR -
In the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed an eruption of weeds in juniper ground cover plantings around the county. I saw this same issue last year, too, beginning in March. Ground covers are generally used as a low maintenance means to control weeds, sometimes in areas that are difficult to access. Creeping junipers (Juniperus…
Posted in: ANR -
Considering the increased focus on mental health over the past few years, I was surprised to learn that May has been national Mental Health Awareness Month since 1949. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is not a fixed characteristic; it can change from time to time like our weight or hair…
Posted in: ANR