February 2022 CALS in the News

CALS and Extension faculty, staff and students are making headlines for their commentaries, research findings, as subject matter experts, and for outreach collaborations. Below is a collection of recent stories.

1. American Horses – PBS Nature episode about the origin story of American horses, and features Vermont’s beloved Morgan Horse.
2. UVM researchers study climate changes impact on toxic algae blooms in Lake Champlain – Continuing news coverage of Asim Zia’s research on blue-green algae in Lake Champlain. Green Reporter.
   • VermontBiz
   • Read the publication on ScienceDirect
3. How pandemic need, federal dollars and local collaboration are driving better ways to help food-insecure Vermonters – The article discusses food insecure families in Vermont and references recent research from the National Food Access and COVID research Team on the subject. Seven Days.
   • UVM researchers find declining health in Vermont during pandemic. WCAX.
4. UVM researcher: School meal programs continue to be vital during the pandemic – Meredith Niles was interviewed for this story about school breakfast and lunch programs. Vermont Public Radio.
5. 11 great crops to grow in your greenhouse – UVM Extension recommendations for indoor grape varieties are mentioned in this article. Modern Farmer.
6. Vermont sees its first bat tick – UVM Entomologist Cheryl Sullivan was interviewed about her discovery of soft ticks on bats. WCAX.
7. Looking into the impacts of a cold winter on Vermont’s tick population – Several subzero and snowy days have people wondering whether ticks are making it through the winter in Vermont. University of Vermont tick expert Cheryl Frank Sullivan says its honestly too soon to tell and it depends on the tick. Snow is actually a good thing for ticks. WCAX.
8. NET selected as new technologies for agricultural Extension accelerator project – Lisa Chase was selected as an Extension Foundation Fellow for a grant from the USDA NIFA New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program. The project is focused on scaling up the National Extension Tourism Network.
9. How public opinion can help shape climate policies – The article was written about research by Brian Beckage, et. al., that indicates feedback between climate change and social systems could limit the extent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and projected climate change. Popular Science.
10. Is intermittent fasting good for athletes? – Lecturer Jamie Sheehan, Nutrition and Food Sciences, wrote an article about intermittent fasting for athletic performance. Vermont Sports.
11. UVM hires new horticulture program manager – Deb Heleba recently joined the UVM Extension as the statewide outreach and education program manager for Community Horticulture Programs. Addison Independent.
12. Mark Isselhardt: Immersed in maple – Isselhardt was interviewed for Northern Woodlands magazine about his UVM research with maple and work at the Proctor Maple Research Center.
13. The importance of cover crops – Examples of USDA NIFA-supported research and Extension include UVM Extension’s new calculators to help farmers assess nutrient load and value of cover crops.