UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program (NEP) program partnered with Pernet Family Health Service of Worcester. Various program elements are showcased in national online publication. (SNAP-Ed Connection 1/2018)
News from the Media
Massachusetts Success Stories Featured in USDA SNAP-Ed Connector
January 29, 2018
Hurricane Irene: It Wasn’t the Wind, it was the Water, UMass Professor Explains
January 29, 2018
Christine Hatch, UMass extension associate professor of water resources and climate change, pens editorial about the devastating weather event of August 28, 2011.“Tropical Storm,” Irene’s official designation, doesn’t do justice to what occurred in watersheds along the mid-Atlantic coast, Connecticut River Valley and tributaries: a catastrophic flood. (Gazette 1/26/18)
UMass Food Scientists Developing Low-cost Tool to Detect Bacteria in Food, Water
January 23, 2018
Food scientist Lili He and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they have developed a new, rapid and low-cost method for detecting bacteria in water or a food sample. Once commercially available, it should be useful to cooks using fresh fruits and vegetables, for example, and aid workers in the field responding to natural disasters, He says. (Indianpublicmedia.org 3/1/18, MSN.com 2/23/18, wellandgood 2/22/18, WFCR, KPCC 2/19/18, NEPR 2/6/18, Wonderful Engineering 1/27/18, Cooking Light, News Medical Life Science 1/25/18, The Tribune [India], 1/25/18, The Health Site, Morning Ag Clips, The Baltimore Sun, Swiftnary, Deccan Chronicle [India], R & D magazine, Feedstuffs, 1/24/18, Science Codex, Phys.org, Daily Meal 1/23/18)
Katie Kahl Named Extension Assistant Professor at UMass Amherst’s Gloucester Marine Station
January 22, 2018
Gloucester resident Katie Kahl was named to a newly created position, extension assistant professor in sustainable fisheries and coastal resilience, at UMass Amherst’s School of Earth and Sustainability at the Gloucester Marine Station. Kahl will serve as a contact between community interests and the university’s research resources. (Globe 1/19/18; News Office)
Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association Names First Female President
January 16, 2018
The Massachusetts Fruit Growers’ Association elected Joanne M. DiNardo as its first female president at its recent annual business meeting. UMass Extension educator Jon Clements, said, “In this day and age, gender difference is not what it used to be, although farming and apple growing were largely male-dominated. That is changing now and most apple growers just view Joanne as an extremely competent, well-versed advocate of apple growing.” (Telegram 1/3/18)
Experts Dash Hopes That Frigid Temps Will Kill Local Ticks
January 13, 2018
Ticks have a natural antifreeze system that helps them survive cold — even severe cold — weather. "Ticks lying underneath the snow pack could be larvae, nymphs or adults,” said Dr. Stephen Rich, a microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Adults will be active as soon as the snow melts and temps warm,” he said. “Nymphs will follow in late May/June.” (Cape Cod Times 1/13/18)
MassWildlife Proposes Limits on Dogs in Preservation Areas, UMass Professor Weighs in
January 10, 2018
After repeated complaints regarding negative and unsafe encounters with unleashed dogs and issues with dog waste, MassWildlife is now taking action. They’ve proposed regulations that require dogs to be leashed and their waste to be removed from wildlife management areas. UMass professor Paige Warren offers comments. (Hampshire Gazette 1/9/18)
Release of 1 Million Gallons of Sewage into Nantucket Harbor a 'Serious Concern,' UMass Professor comments
January 8, 2018
The release of over 1 million gallons of raw sewage into Nantucket Harbor following a sewer main break on Thursday could cause significant harm to the harbor's ecosystem and shellfish populations, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst professor of environmental conservation, Timothy Randhir. (Masslive 1/6/18)
Winter Moth May Become a Non-Pest Says Professor Elkinton
January 3, 2018
“We are in the process of turning the winter moth into a non-pest,” said Joe Elkinton, professor in the Agricultural Engineering Department at UMass Amherst, who heads an effort to control the winter moth with the Cyzenis albicans fly. (Wicked Local Ipswich 12/27/17)
CAFE’s Clean Energy Extension Works on Large Battery Project at UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst has been awarded a $1.1 million state grant from the Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage project to work with Tesla Energy to construct a large battery at the Central Heating Plant. Working with Tesla and the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment’s Clean Energy Extension, the goal is to reduce peak energy demand on the Amherst campus and related costs. (Business West12/8/17, Energy Manager Today 12/8/17, Masslive/Springfield Republican 12/7/17, Commonwealth magazine 12/7/17, WBUR 12/7/17, State House News Service 12/7/17, Electrek 12/10/17, Framingham Source 12/8/17, Daily Hampshire Gazette 12/13/17, Greenfield Recorder 12/14/17)