UConn Master Gardener Program Accepting Applications for 2015

The UConn Master Gardener program is now taking applications for 2015 class beginning in January 2015 at the Middlesex County Extension Center in Haddam.

 

Students enrolled in this program receive training in an extensive range of horticultural and environmental topics, including botany, plant pathology, entomology, integrated pest management (IPM), herbaceous and woody ornamentals, edibles, turf grass, invasive plants, and diagnostic techniques for the home gardener.

 

Following formal classroom instruction, Master Gardener students receive hands-on training in the Extension offices or the Bartlett Arboretum; they are supervised in researching a broad range of horticultural questions, including identifying insects and plants, diagnosing plant diseases, and providing sound cultural recommendations.  In addition, interns engage in a wide range of community outreach projects. Examples include community gardens, horticultural therapy, educational booths for programs ranging from Earth Day celebrations to agricultural fairs, and working with the CT Invasive Plant Group, just to name a few.

 

Please see our website for additional information. 

Arts & Science in Five Weeks

Summer is almost here and so is Green Street's Summer Arts & Science Academy.

Green Street Arts Center of Wesleyan University is offering the chance of a lifetime this summer! Monday through Friday, July 6th through August 5th from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm, your child will have the opportunity to take exciting classes with scientists, artists, dancers and musicians as part of an interdisciplinary curriculum that intersects the arts and sciences through music-making, painting, dance, drawing, observation and experimentation. Field trips to Wesleyan University Science laboratories, libraries, and local nature walks are just some of the exciting field trips planned, and the whole academy will participate in tending the Green Street plot at the Erin Street Community Garden.

Spaces are still available for children entering Kindergarten through fifth grade. To register call 860-685-7871 or email gsac@wesleyan.edu. And if you are worried about vacation, don’t be! We can accommodate any combination of weeks.

Another fire incident at Wesleyan

The Hall-Atwater Laboratories building at Wesleyan, which has been partially closed since the fire on Sunday night, has again been evacuated and closed, after a minor fire broke out around 2PM Wednesday afternoon. A senior administration official explained to me that when electrical power was returned to the building, a piece of equipment malfunctioned, sending smoke into the building. The Fire Department responded and brought hoses into the building to extinguish the fire.

Althought the damage from this latest "minor incident" does not appear to be extensive, Hall-Atwater will remain closed until 7AM Thursday morning. The full restoration of power to the research labs in the building is also likely to be delayed.

Wesleying reports that 5 firetrucks responded to this fire.

Wesleyan fire update

This morning's fire in a Wesleyan science building damaged or destroyed at least six research laboratories, and has left about half of the labs and classrooms in the Chemistry and Molecular Biology Departments without power. Wesleyan physical plant staff are on hand to assess the damage, restore power, and begin the clean-up process.

Research scientists in the affected laboratories, including professors, PhD students, and lab technicians, are scrambling to protect their ongoing research projects.

Economic downturn hits Wesleyan University

Wesleyan’s plans for the most significant new building on campus since the construction of the Center for the Arts in the 1950s were put on hold last week, a victim of the economic turmoil. The building is to house classrooms, laboratories and offices for the Molecular and Life Sciences, replacing two aged buildings between Church Street and Lawn Avenue, at the southern end of campus. This signature building will provide the balancing counterweight to Wesleyan’s renowned Center for the Arts, framing the campus. Plans are for a 226,000 square foot building to be built at a cost of $160M (about 25% larger and 75% more expensive than Middletown’s new high school). It is a very complex project; construction, moving of research and teaching facilities and staff, and subsequent demolition of the old buildings will require 5 years to complete. Currently, the Design Development is nearly complete, but it appears that ground breaking will be delayed by at least 5 years from the original construction start date of next year.

The Wesleyan Argus, the student newspaper, reported today that in an October 5th meeting with the Wesleyan Students Association, Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan, emphasized that in this economic downturn, fiscal responsibility was imperative. The current recession has eroded the value of the endowment and hampered fundraising efforts. Wesleyan simply does not have the financial resources necessary for such a large construction project.

He and other administrators emphasized that Wesleyan remains committed to recruiting science students and providing them with the best possible resources. Roth told me, “The university is committed to investing in the sciences, but the upheaval in the financial markets requires us to revisit our original plans.” During the next month, there will be discussions between Roth, administrators, faculty, students, and trustees regarding the future of this new science building.