News from the Center

Lynn S. Adler, professor of biology, in collaboration with other American scientists, has been researching factors driving pollinator decline, including pathogens and pesticides, for several years.

Explore our new Pollinator resources section! Learn about upcoming bee events at UMass, information about keeping bees, creating pollinator-friendly landscapes, and supporting native pollinators in New England.

Governor Baker visited on December 11 to hear about plans for the busy downtown makerspace supported by CAFE and MassDevelopment.  

The American elm saplings at the UMass Agricultural Learning Center have already survived severe drought, abnormally wet conditions, deer munching, gypsy moth and Japanese beetle.

The thirty-plus undergraduates spoke with guests in front of the thirty-plus academic project posters that were pinned to boards throughout the airy room near the top of the UMass Amherst Campus Center late one September afternoon. The academic posters sported images, charts and graphs designed to impart the months of hard work put in by this enthusiastic cohort of “Summer Scholars.”   

Climate change, over-fishing, biodiversity, deforestation and declining bee populations. Serious stuff. Perhaps these topics are not what you imagine 12-16 year olds spending their summer time thinking about… but you would be wrong. To mark a decade of their “Summer of Science” program, Massachusetts 4-H Youth Development Program leaders explored ways in which to make an already-successful program even better.  This June, the result of good planning brought together eager young students from across the state to discuss real issues and make real recommendations for how to address them.

The work of a UMass Amherst environmental toxicologist and an air quality scientist are featured in two new "Research That Matters" videos released this week by the University’s Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE). CAFE director Jody Jellison says, “Meaningful research being conducted at UMass that impacts our lives in positive ways is of great interest to the public. These short videos, with links to more information, are intended to get the word out.”

In early February, Stockbridge School of Agriculture (SSA) and UMass Extension attended the fourth annual meeting of The Integrated Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (iPiPE) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. At this iPiPE Mixer, SSA was represented by graduate student Elizabeth Garofalo and undergraduate intern Nicole Foley. UMass Extension was represented by educators Jon Clements, Katie Campbell-Nelson, and Genevieve Higgins. iPiPE Mixers focus on training researchers, extension agents, and student interns on using this information platform.

On November 30, the University of Massachusetts Amherst hosted a one-day conference for the start of Massachusetts Ecosystem Climate Adaptation Network (Mass ECAN). Participants gathered at the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Headquarters in Westborough. Mass ECAN is a new community of practice for climate change adaptation practitioners and researchers who are interested in ecosystem resilience and natural resources conservation.