News from the Center

Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker has declared the week of June 20th as MA Pollinator Week. Government officials will visit and learn more about the state apiary located at UMass Amherst Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the Agricultural Learning Center, 911 North Pleasant St. The declaration recognizes the impacts of pollinators on agriculture and encourages the public’s support of pollinators. The kick-off is on Monday June 20 at 10 am, and the event is open to the public.

The Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) has kicked off its Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program. This new program provides summer employment internships for UMass Amherst undergraduate students in the labs and offices of University faculty and in communities where professional Extension educators are engaged with citizens. The program will provide substantive professional or academic training and also enhance the goals and objectives of research and extension initiatives associated with CAFE.

Home lawn and garden tips for the month of May, 2016 include practical and timely advice. Read this monthly resource to know when to set out transplants, harvest asparagus, deal with invasive Japanese knotweed, develop a watering routine, and more.

The Zika virus has been in the national news in recent weeks, and many people are wondering whether this disease is likely to become established in Massachusetts. According to Dr. Stephen Rich, Director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, it is highly unlikely that citizens of Massachusetts will contract the disease while in Massachusetts.