(Em)Power yourself!

May is Walk/Bike to Work Month

Want to get fit, lose weight, build muscle, lower your stress levels, save gas, and reduce air pollution?

Consider biking or walking all or part of the distance to work.

Many more of us could commute with our own two legs than do. You probably have a few good excuses for not powering yourself to work:

I live too far from work. It'll take too much time. I don't have a safe route to travel. I don't have a place to shower at work. I don't have a safe place to stash my bike. I don't want to appear weird. I'm too out of shape to go that far.

Many self-powering commuters have found creative ways to solve these and other problems.

One of the sites below may offer for a solution to yours. Although they speak specifically to bicycle commuters, many excuses and answers apply to walkers as well:

Save Time Commuting by Bicycle
The top 10 excuses for not commuting by bike
Another top 10 excuses
Overcoming bike commuting excuses
More overcoming
No more excuses

Check out The True Cost of Driving to calculate the dollar, pollution and social cost savings of commuting with your own two legs.

For a lot more information about commuting by bike, check out this new section of Lighten Up NH!

Smith Joins First Plant Diagnostic Training Team in Bangladesh

Cheryl Smith, UNH Cooperative Extension's plant health specialist recently returned from a trip to Bangladesh where she served as co-instructor for a week-long Plant Disease Diagnosis Training Workshop held at Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) in Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

"I've always been interested in international agriculture, sharing my knowledge and expertise to improve the plant disease diagnostic skills in developing nations, particularly in Asia," says Smith. "When my colleague Dr. Robert Wick of the University of Massachusetts asked me to join him for this first-of-its-kind training, I jumped at the chance. The plant disease diagnostic training workshop was the first of its kind ever offered in Bangladesh, or in Southeast Asia for that matter."

Wick and Dr. M. Bahadur Meah of BAU have collaborated as co-investigators on a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Bangladesh Cooperative Research Project aimed at establishing a plant-disease diagnostic clinic at BAU, the first of its kind for all Southeast Asia, and training faculty and staff in diagnostic techniques.

Smith says Wick and Meah hope to develop 8-10 satellite labs throughout Bangladesh, but funding efforts to develop them and train diagnosticians to staff them hasn't succeeded. "We're all hopeful that funding efforts will be successful now that the BAU clinic is up and running and the first group of workshop students have been successfully trained," she says.

"Before this workshop, many Bangladeshi plant diagnosticians relied heavily on visual identification of symptoms with little microscopic examination to identify plant health problems," Smith says. "They haven't had the intensive hands-on laboratory training they needed to work effectively with microscopes and conduct laboratory tests, which provide more accurate diagnoses and more cost-effective, environmentally sound treatments. Rob and I emphasized the importance of making an accurate diagnosis before an appropriate treatment can be prescribed."

Ten students from various Bangladeshi institutions, all with degrees in plant pathology, attended the week-long intensive training. Conducted in English, the workshop included work in clinical pathology, learning the steps to plant diagnosis, proper care and use of microscopes, preparing slides, making culture media, incubating samples for disease microorganisms and identifying pathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses.

"Working with such a small group of students gave everyone plenty of hands-on experience," Smith says. "Several growers even brought in samples during the workshop, giving the students (and us) a chance to tackle some real-life samples."

A UNH professional development grant helped subsidize Smith's trip. "I consider Rob one of the best diagnosticians in the U.S., if not the world," Smith says. "Working with him on this workshop reinforced and expanded my own skills. Even though the climate and many of the crops grown in Bangladesh are different from our own, the process for identifying pathogens is the same. What I taught and learned in Bangladesh will certainly help me solve plant health problems in my own work at the UNH Plant Diagnostic Lab."

See a slide show of Smith's trip to Bangladesh.

Too Much Mulch!

Spring is finally here. The days are longer and warmer, daffodils are popping up, and the mulch volcanoes are erupting.

The mulch volcanoes? You know, those piles of bark mulch mounded up beneath many landscape trees. I don't know where or why this practice started, but too much mulch under a tree or shrub actually does more harm than good, and is a waste of mulch and money.

Mulch serves several purposes besides dressing up your landscape. It helps retain soil moisture, important because most "feeder" roots (the roots that obtain water, air and nutrients for the tree) grow in the top 12 inches of the soil.

Mulch that's deeper than three inches can smother feeder roots and compromise the tree's health. Roots may actually grow up through a too-thick mulch past the base of the tree and encircle the trunk, a condition called girdling. As the tree grows, these roots could choke the tree and cause a slow death.

Mulch should never touch the trunk of the tree. Because it holds moisture, mulch will keep the trunk damp, encouraging bark rot and disease. Also, insects and rodents may find homes in the mulch volcano and feed on the bark of the tree.

Spread the mulch in a uniform layer two to three inches deep and out at least to the drip line (the area beneath the outermost branch tips of a tree). You want the natural flare at the base of the trunk, where it meets the ground, to be exposed. You can renew mulch each year by adding a little to the surface; there's no need to remove old mulch, but don't allow it to become deeper than four inches.

Because mulch helps prevent roots from drying out, especially when newly planted, use a quality, natural mulch. Untreated plant-based mulches are best, since they help improve the soil as they decompose. These include wood chips, bark mulch, straw, leaves, and pine needles. Avoid wood-chip mulches made from construction materials, pressure-treated lumber and old telephone poles, as these might contain harmful chemicals.

Mulch can also prevent weeds from growing around the base of the tree. Particularly when the tree is growing in a small or confined area, unwanted plants (or even flowers) may compete with the tree or nutrients and water.

Finally, mulch provides a "safe zone" between your lawn and the tree. This makes lawn mowing easier, and protects the bark from mower or trimmer damage.

If you'd like to remove the mulch volcano from your tree, do it gradually over a few months. The trunk has been kept shaded and damp from the mulch, and sudden exposure to the sun could cause it to crack. If the feeder roots have grown up through the mulch, they could dry out and lose their ability to absorb water. Remove the mulch a little at a time, remembering to water the roots thoroughly for 20 minutes each time.

You may lose some roots to exposure during this process, but in the end your tree will benefit from having deeper roots and a healthier growing environment.

By Melinda Wright, Cooperative Extension Master Gardener and Tree Steward

Photo: the Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University Used with permission.

Marine Debris-to-Energy Project Launches

Project will locate, collect, and recycle marine debris

The star attraction at a ceremony held at the Yankee Fishermen's Cooperative in Seabrook April 18 was a dumpster. But this dumpster had a special assignment--collecting marine debris, abandoned fishing gear and other items that can harm the marine ecosystem.

When it's full, the dumpster will be hauled to a waste-to-energy plant, where the debris will be burned to make electricity.

The ceremony launched The NH Marine Debris-to-Energy Project. Funded by a grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the project aims to:

• Better characterize the sources and distribution patterns of ocean-based debris, especially "derelict fishing gear" (DFG)--nets, lines, pots, and other fishing equipment that has been lost, abandoned, or discarded in the marine environment. DFG is an extremely dangerous form of marine debris.
• Develop protocols for undertaking a unique underwater cleanup program to identify and remove DFG and other debris.
• Continue to investigate the sources of land-based debris.
• Mitigate the problem through education and outreach.

On hand at the Seabrook kick-off ceremony were the project's primary investigators: Ken La Valley, commercial fisheries specialist with UNH Cooperative Extension Sea Grant, and Jenna Jambeck, a UNH research assistant professor of civil/environmental engineering, as well as representatives from partner organizations: Jen Kennedy, director of the nonprofit Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, and Alan Davis, district manager for Waste Management.

In his remarks, La Valley noted that getting the help of local fishermen 'wasn't a tough sell."

New Hampshire Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter congratulated the project coordinators and Waste Management for joining forces, noting it showed a maturation of the environmental movement by demonstrating, "we can find the answers by working together."

Main project activities

• Researchers will make an initial assessment of the volume of underwater marine debris using sonar for the first time for this purpose in New Hampshire.
• Commercial and recreational fishermen will become actively involved in removing DFG at sea and collecting it in the Waste Management dumpster at the Yankee Fisherman's Co-op.
• Fishermen will have access to bins where they can discard their fishing line for recycling.
• Anyone collecting marine debris will be able to report it online via an easy Web interface.
• Cleanups along the New Hampshire coastline will expand, involving more volunteers and creating more aesthetically-pleasing, healthier and safer beaches.
• Members of the public, schools, and scientific researchers will have access to interactive marine-debris data and GIS maps.
• Teachers and their students across the world will have access to marine-debris data to use in their lessons, and local schools will be able to work directly with project investigators and partners in viewing data, participating in cleanups and contributing to the database.
• Project staff and others around the world can use the data and protocols developed in this project to target further pollution-prevention and outreach efforts.
• The quantities of debris in the ocean and on the shore, potentially harmful to wildlife, people, vessels, and the economy, will diminish.

Project timeline

Spring 2008 Develop and launch Web-based system (developed at UNH Cooperative Extension) for reporting of marine debris, install the dumpster at the cooperative, and install monofilament recycling bins at several fishing locations along the coast from Durham to Seabrook.

Summer 2008 Conduct underwater mapping, start collecting data from fishermen and cleanup volunteers through the project's Web site.

Fall 2008 Publish a best-management-practices manual, hold a public workshop about the project, and offer training for best practices for dealing with marine debris.

Throughout the project, organizers plan to conduct shoreline cleanups and conduct informational sessions for fishermen, the public, and schools in the area.

More information

NH Marine Debris to Energy Project
Get involved!




Posted April 24, 2008 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tick alert: Lyme disease up 43 percent in 2007

A new report from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS) notes that cases of Lyme Disease in the Granite State rose 43 percent last year, from 619 in 2006 to 892 in 2007.

The highest rates of disease occurred in Rockingham, Strafford, Hillsborough, Merrimack, and Carroll Counties.

The culprit: blacklegged tick
"The state monitoring program found that half the adult blacklegged ticks collected in Strafford, Rockingham and Hillsborough Counties, and 20 percent to 50 percent in Merrimack County carried the Lyme disease bacterium," says UNH Cooperative Extension entomologist Alan Eaton.

Eaton adds, "New Hampshire is home to 15 species of ticks, but the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis, also called the "deer tick") is the one that transmits Lyme disease."

"The blacklegged tick itself becomes infected with Lyme disease-causing bacteria by feeding on an infected 'reservoir host,' an organism that carries high levels of the bacteria in its bloodstream," says Eaton. "In New Hampshire, the primary reservoir host for Lyme disease is the white-footed mouse."

Protect yourself
"Although the risk of acquiring Lyme disease is greatest in June and July, adult blacklegged ticks are becoming active now in southeastern New Hampshire," says Eaton. To protect yourself and your family, Eaton and public health officials recommend:

• When possible, avoid walking through tall grass and brushy areas, prime habitats for ticks.
• If you do walk into tick territory, wear protective clothing. Long pants and long sleeves help keep ticks off skin. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirts into pants to keep ticks on the outside of clothing. Tape the area where pants and socks meet so ticks can't crawl under clothing.
• Light-colored clothing will make it easier to spot ticks.
• Use insect repellent containing 20 percent to 50 percent DEET on clothes and exposed skin.
• Don't use DEET on babies younger than two months old, and use a preparation containing less than 30 percent DEET on young children.
• Pressurized spray products containing the insecticide permethrin sprayed on clothing will kill ticks that attach themselves to the clothing. Never apply permethrin-containing products directly to the skin. Spray them on clothing before you put it on. Always follow the label when applying a pesticide.
• After being outdoors, wash and dry clothing at a high temperature to kill any ticks that may remain on clothing.
• Perform tick checks after being outdoors. Removing ticks early can reduce the risk of infection. Inspect all body surfaces carefully (including scalp, hair, and between the toes) and remove attached ticks with tweezers. Grasp the tick firmly and as close to the skin as possible. With a steady motion, pull the tick's body away from the skin. Avoid crushing the tick's body.
• Don't try to remove a tick using Vaseline, a hot match, nail polish, or other products.
  
• After removing the tick, clean the bitten area with an antiseptic.
• Monitor the site of any tick bite for signs of infection, and monitor your overall health closely after a tick bite, staying alert for signs and symptoms.
• To reduce ticks around the home where people spend time, keep grass short, remove leaf litter, and create a wood-chip or gravel barrier where the yard meets the woods,

For specific concerns or questions about tick-borne diseases, call the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control at 271-4496 or 800-852-3345 x4496.

To have a tick identified
Residents who want to have a tick identified have two options:

UNH Arthropod ID Laboratory
Fee is $5. Follow directions on submission form for preparing specimen. Mail or walk-ins.

Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food No fee. Residents can also take advantage of this service by dropping off specimens at the Health and Human Services Building at 29 Hazen Drive in Concord. Please read submission form for proper preparation of specimen.

Note: Laboratories identify tick species, but don't test for presence of disease-causing organisms.

More information

NHDHHS general Lyme disease information
Lyme disease fact sheet
New Hampshire Tick-Borne Disease Bulletin: 2007 Update
Biology and Control of Ticks in New Hampshire

Photo credit: Alan Eaton, UNH Cooperative Extension