News from the Media

The drought can also take its toll on wildlife, including salamanders and tadpoles, according to Scott Jackson, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts who is a wildlife biologist with a particular interest in reptiles, amphibians and fish. (Globe, Gazette, 8/27/16)

Masoud Hashemi, UMass Extension, offers comments in a story about how local farmers are reacting to this year’s drought. He says some are seeking information about “no-till” farming that leaves fields unplowed and has crops planted on top of leftover plant matter from previous crops. (WFCR, 8/24/16)

AMHERST – Students and farmers at the University of Massachusetts' Food for All Garden will give a tour and talk about the Agricultural Learning Center at a program for the community Wednesday, August 17, 2016. (masslive.com 8/15/16)

Farmers in Massachusetts have been scrambling to get water to their crops. More than half the state is in severe drought. "There are farmers whose irrigation ponds are drying up. And so they have to lay a lot more irrigation pipe," says Katie Campbell-Nelson, vegetable extension educator, UMass Amherst. (npr.org 8/6/16)

On Thursday, Aug. 4, the Center for Human Development in collaboration with the UMass extension of 4-H and Student Bridges, graduated all eight of the "Your Future Starts Now" participants. (Masslive.com 8/6/16)

While energy policy debates continue in the Massachusetts House and Senate, many city and town governments are charging ahead with local efforts to boost the use of renewable power sources.

“In Massachusetts, we can get 100 percent of our energy from renewable sources,” said Ben Hellerstein, state director of the Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center. (Wicked Local Needham 8/2/16)

D. Julian McClements, food science, is teaming up with Kayon Partners, an investment group and business development firm, to commercialize foods that enhance the body’s ability to absorb drugs and vitamins. (CNBC.com, 7/18/16)

Make-It Springfield, Springfield's downtown community makerspace, is establishing more permanent roots in the City. Make-It Springfield began as a temporary pop-up project on June 1, 2016, a collaboration between MassDevelopment, the University of Massachusetts Design Center in Springfield, and the Springfield Business Improvement District. "We are excited to see a broad array of UMass faculty and students participate in Make-It Springfield next semester." said Michael DiPasquale, an assistant professor in the University of Massachusetts Extension and Program Director of the UMass Design Center in Springfield. facebook.com/MakeItSpringfield/

Massachusetts is in the midst of the worst plague of gypsy moth caterpillars since 1981, said Joseph Elkinton, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “It’s everywhere,” Elkinton said. “You can hear the frass falling,” he added, using the scientific term for caterpillar droppings. “And you can hear the chewing; it’s quite a dramatic phenomenon.” (Boston Globe 6/30/16)