UGA research shows some plants can remove indoor pollutants

Some plants have the ability to drastically reduce levels of indoor pollutants, according to new research at the University of Georgia. Researchers showed that certain species can effectively remove air-borne contaminants, including harmful volatile organic compounds, suggesting a critical new role for plants in home and office environments.

Of the 28 plants tested, researchers identified five “super ornamentals”—those that had the highest rates of contaminant removal, a process called phytoremediation. These include the purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternataa), English ivy (Hedera Helix), variegated wax plant (Hoya cornosa), Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus) and the Purple heart plant (Tradescantia pallida). Placed in glass, gas-tight containers, the plants were exposed to a number of common household VOCs, including benzene, toluene, octane, alpha-pinene and TCE. The work, funded by UGA’s Agricultural Experiment Stations, was published in the August 2009 issue of HortScience.

“The idea that plants take up volatile compounds isn’t as much of a surprise as the poor air quality we measured inside some of the homes we tested,” said Stanley Kays, UGA horticulture researcher and one of the study’s authors. “We found unexpectedly high levels of benzenes and many other contaminants that can seriously compromise the health of those exposed.”

In fact, harmful indoor air pollutants can cause a host of serious illnesses, including asthma, cancer, reproductive and neurological disorders—and more than 1.6 million deaths a year, according to a 2002 World Health Organization report. The VOCs emanate from furnishings, carpets, plastics, cleaning products, building materials like drywall, paint, solvents and adhesives. Even tap water can be a source of VOCs. The air inside homes and offices is often a concentrated source of these pollutants, in some cases up to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air, according to research.


Why some plants are very effective at remediation—while others show little promise—is a mystery. “That’s one of the things we want to learn,” said Kays. “We also want to determine the species and number of plants needed in a house or office to neutralize the problem contaminants.”

Kays, D.S. Yang and S.V. Pennisi at UGA collaborate with researchers at Konkuk University in Seoul and at the National Horticultural Research Institute in Suwon, Korea, “where scientists are substantially ahead of us in phytoremediation research,” said Kays. “My colleague, Kwang Jin Kim, has evaluated the ability of 86 species to remove formaldehyde in indoor environments.”

Not all VOCs are toxic, and plants themselves emit some VOCs, though most appear not to be toxic, at least at normal exposure levels. But Kays said a lack of information about chemical toxicity—and an affordable method for measuring interior air quality—makes assessing their presence and safety more difficult. Fifty million organic and inorganic chemicals are now registered in the CAS system, a registry that includes chemical substances identified since 1957.

Kays said simply introducing common ornamentals into indoor spaces has the potential to significantly improve the quality of indoor air, but further research could help scientists refine the concept.

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Don't trash that banana peel - composting is an easy, eco-friendly alternative

(ARA) - Recycling is certainly not a new concept. In fact, gardeners have been using one form of recycling - composting - for about as long as people have tilled the soil. Composting is a cost-effective, eco-friendly way to give your garden a boost.

Start your compost pile now, before winter settles in, and come spring you'll have a jump on nutrient-rich compost to help your garden produce its best harvest. Composting happens by itself through natural decay and the breakdown of organic matter. Depending on your local climate, the composting process may not be fully completed with useable humus or compost until temperatures warm up.

"Composting is easy and can be done for as little as $10 - or even free if you build your own bin," says Bruce Augustin, senior director in research and development with Scotts. "It's a great way to provide essential nutrients to your soil, while recycling kitchen and yard waste, which helps keep refuse out of landfills."

It's easy to get started composting: find a bin, gather materials, build your pile and compost. Augustin offers the following easy-to-follow steps for getting started:

Begin with a bin

Containing your compost pile in a bin saves space, hastens decomposition and helps keep the pile neat. You can find many pre-made compost bins at home centers and garden stores. Or, you can build your own from plans found on the Internet with materials around your home.

Gather materials

There are two main sources of materials for your compost pile - your yard and your kitchen. From the yard, you can gather leaves, grass and plant clippings, and shrub or tree trimmings. From the kitchen, add fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds (including the filters), tea bags and eggshells. It's okay to toss in shredded newspaper (not colored or shiny newsprint since these don't decompose readily), but avoid meat scraps, bones, dairy products, grease or pet or human waste since these can all harbor harmful bacteria.

Build your pile

You should build your pile in layers, starting with a 4- to 6-inch layer of coarse material such as twigs or shrub clippings. Then, add on 3 to 4 inches of grass clippings. Next, add another 4- to 6-inch layer of leaves or garden debris and soak with water; moisture will help the microbes decompose the material faster. You can modify this order as needed, depending on the types of materials you have. After a few layers, be sure to add a 1-inch layer of garden soil, such as Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables.

Maintain compost

"A high-nitrogen fertilizer like Miracle-Gro Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food, spread over each layer of your compost pile, will help the composting process by creating a favorable nitrogen to carbon ratio," says Augustin. Remember to turn or aerate the pile periodically to help move material from the outside closer to the center of the pile, where it will heat up and decompose faster. During the winter - depending on the region where you live - the center of the pile is where decomposition will take place, and adding water to keep the pile moist will aid the process.

Your compost will be ready to use once it has turned dark and crumbly, and gives off an earthy odor. Add the compost to your garden soil to help nourish your plants.

"Composting is not only beneficial for your garden, but it's also an easy, satisfying way to do something good for the environment," Augustin says.

For more tips on composting and other aspects of gardening and lawn care, visit www.Scotts.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Potted Christmas trees keep giving for generations

Families have fun choosing and decorating their Christmas trees. The twinkling lights, the bright colored ornaments, the handcrafted decorations the kids make and the yummy candy canes along with that fresh pine smell add a special glow to the holidays. But after the holidays, cleaning up those messy shed needles or dragging that tree out of the house isn’t as glorious.
There’s the age-old question: What do I do with the tree now?

Many retailers that sell fresh-cut Christmas trees also offer shredding service after the holidays. While shredded trees make excellent mulch for the landscape, one University of Georgia expert suggests consumers think about what to do after the holidays before they buy the tree.

“If you don’t need a huge tree, and a 6- to 7-foot tree will work, you can go to any garden center and look at the live conifers available,” said Matthew Chappell, a UGA Cooperative Extension horticulturist. “There are so many choices. Cupressus, Chamaecyparis, Thuja, Leyland Cypress, Cedrus and Juniperus all will work as Christmas trees.”

Using a live potted tree doesn’t require more work than a cut tree, just a little different care. There are two big points to remember, he said.

“The tree should only be inside for a week to 10 days,” he said. “Placing the tree inside will shock the tree because when you move a tree inside, you are significantly altering the growing environment to lower light, drier and warmer conditions, especially if you put the tree near a woodstove or fireplace. This means the tree should be removed the day after Christmas.”

Also, remember to water. “The tree will need to be watered every 1-2 days until water drains through the bottom of the pot,” he said.

Live trees can be economical, too. In the Atlanta area, a 6- to 7-foot live tree in a 15-gallon container at a local retail outlet sells for between $100 and $140. A 15-gallon 6-foot Leyland Cypress goes for between $90 and $100 at local nurseries and tree growers. Both are comparably priced to fresh-cut trees. Call around to check prices in your area.

Considering the benefits of trees in the landscape to provide shade, screening or improved air quality, a live tree is one holiday decoration that can last a lifetime. “This could be a great new ‘plant a tree for the environment this Christmas’ movement,” Chappell said.

For information on planting, pruning and caring for a landscape tree, read the UGA Extension publication “Trees for the Landscape: Selection and Culture” online at http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/B875.pdf or call the UGA Extension office in your county at 1-800-ASK-UGA1.

By Faith Peppers
University of Georgia

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Chinese develop taste for U.S. pecans

As the holiday season approaches, many American home bakers will be looking for Georgia pecans to add to pies, casseroles or cookies. They won’t be the only ones. Chinese consumers will be buying, too.

“It varies, but last year Georgia growers sold close to 50 percent of their pecan crop to China,” said Greg Fonsah, an economist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “The Chinese high demand for pecans has not significantly impacted prices nationally. But it is likely that individual growers and perhaps some states may take advantage of the Chinese demand and improve their profit margins.”

Wholesale prices for pecans vary from market to market and from cultivar to cultivar. In Los Angeles, for example, pecans from Alabama, Georgia and Texas are going for between $1.15 and $1.20 per pound, Fonsah said. In New York, Georgia pecans are being sold wholesale for a $2.10 per pound.

Setting prices

Most of Georgia’s crop comes from improved varieties, which bring higher prices than native and seedling nuts. Fonsah says several factors tie into the price of pecans.

“For instance, a cultivar like Desirable might command better prices than Sumner in one area and vice versa,” he said. “Also, some states might get better prices than others depending on quality, overall cosmetic appearance, negotiation skills of the grower and targeted markets.”

In 2008, Florida growers got $1.84 per pound for their nuts, compared to the $1.47 per pound Georgia growers received, he said. But in 2007, Georgia growers got $1.06 per pound and Florida nuts sold for 96 cents per pound on average.

Georgia battles with Texas over the No. 1 spot in pecan production. “Georgia may still be No. 1, but when we get hit with low production due to disease and drought or in ‘off’ years, Texas is No. 1,” he said. “This is an ‘on’ year for pecans, though.”

Economics of nuts

Georgia growers will harvest an estimated 90 million pounds of pecans this year, or 29 percent more than last. Nationally, production is up 59 percent, Fonsah said.
“This will definitely affect overall prices,” he said. “The price of nuts is lower during a good production year and higher during a bad production year. Volume has a direct impact on prices, and since pecans have an alternate-bearing pattern, this helps fluctuate the prices.”

That’s simple supply and demand economics.

Buyers who sell to the gift-box market get the highest prices for pecans and other nuts, said CAES agricultural economist Wojciech Florkowski.

“These are always the best quality nuts in terms of kernel size and color,” he said.

He says the current economic situation in the U.S. will also affect pecan sales this holiday season.

“The demand for pecans and nuts in general will be affected by household incomes,” Florkowski said. “Incomes have declined as compared to previous years, but older consumers are continuing to buy nuts with their health benefits in mind.”

By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia

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Plants liven up the holidays

Flowers are University of Georgia horticulturist Paul Thomas’s specialty. And, for holiday plant suggestions, they’re his top pick. But when asked, “What was the best plant you’ve ever gotten for Christmas?” his answer is: “A ming aralia that I got from my mother-in-law. It’s strictly a foliage plant, and it looks like a bonsai. It’s really awesome.”

Ming aralias, specifically polyscias fruticosa ‘elegans’, have carrot-like foliage and woody stems as they get older. A ming aralia was “the plant for kings and queens to have,” he said. “It grows slowly and beautifully.”

While they are beautiful and do make good gifts, they’re also a challenge, he said. The biggest danger is overwatering and over-fertilizing. They only need a tiny bit of diluted fertilizer every few months.

When it comes to buying gift plants, the best place to purchase them is at a local florist’s shop. “They have the best quality, and they’re grown by specialists for the highest quality,” he said.

Thomas likes to give flowering plants as gifts. A deep basket filled with a few pots of colored calla lilies or a basket with a cluster of cyclamen topped with white or silver grass “makes a stunning gift,” he said.

For gift giving, Thomas suggests:

• Calceolaria. The flowers look like a pocketbook, which gives it its common name of ‘pocketbook plant.’ “It’s just cool and unusual,” he said. Flower colors range from yellow to bright red with polka dots. The flowers are delicate, so handle it carefully.

The plants must be kept moist but not flooded with water. They like sunny windowsills that are cool but not freezing. There, they’ll last about a month. They can’t be saved and planted outside in Georgia, because they will die of plant diseases.

• Cinerarias. These plants look like daisies, but their colors are more intense, or, as Thomas puts it, they have “five times the impact” of daisy flowers. The blossom colors range from purple to yellow.

Like calceolaria, they need sunlight and water. “Don’t let either of these plants dry out ever,” he said. “I put them on my coffee table during the day and on the windowsill at night.” They will live about six weeks.

• Cyclamen. These plants bloom white, pink or bright red. They can be found in grocery stores, aren’t expensive and are a great substitute for poinsettias if someone is allergic to latex, which is found in poinsettia plants. Kept cool and moist, cyclamen blooms will last three to four months. “Buy five or six plants and put them in a big basket with white or silver grass, like the kind they sell at Easter,” Thomas said. “It makes a really nice Christmas gift.”

They’re also a good gift plant if the holiday you celebrate isn’t Christmas. Because they are native in Israel, they are a good choice as a Hanukkah plant, he said.

• Miniature roses. These tiny blooming beauties can do double duty as both a holiday plant and a garden attraction come spring. They prefer cool spots inside until all chance of frost has passed. Then plant them near the foundation or in another protected area of the yard.

• Calla lilies. “Normally, people would buy bouquets of calla lilies, but sometimes florists will sell calla lily bulbs in pots,” Thomas said. When growing calla lilies, their bulbs should be kept moist and their flowers dry. The stems also need to be staked so they won’t fall over and break.

“Three to four pots in a deep basket are a really nice gift,” he said. “They’ll last a long time.”

Before visiting a local florist, give them a call, Thomas said, especially if you have one type of plant you might want to give to several different people. “Get your orders in now to get the best quality for the Christmas season,” he said.

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

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Bring potted plants indoors

When wintry weather rolls in, landscape plants must fend off cold temperatures and frost on their own. But some potted plants are lucky enough to get a free pass indoors.

Without proper care, though, these new houseplants can have difficulty living through the winter indoors. There are some things you can do to make sure they survive just fine.

Temperature level essential

First, consider the temperature. Many container plants live on outdoor porches during the summer and early fall months. As temperatures dip to 50 degrees or less, plant owners begin to move plants indoors.

The best way to protect outdoor potted plants is to first bring them into a garage or basement that is a little warmer than the outdoors, but not as toasty as inside the house. If the plants are moved immediately from 50 degrees to 75 degrees, some may become stressed and suffer.
Plants should be acclimated slowly by a gradual increase in temperature. After a week or two, bring the plants into the warm house.

Most house plants grow best in daytime temperatures between 65 degrees and 75 degrees and nighttime temperatures between 60 degrees and 65 degrees. To further protect them, keep houseplants away from cold, drafty windows or hot radiators, stoves or air vents. Also keep houseplant foliage from touching cold windows. This can burn the leaves.

High humidity best

Humidity is important. Most houseplants prefer a humidity level of 40 percent to 50 percent. The relative humidity in most homes is closer to 15 percent – a level much too low for most houseplants.

Raise humidity levels by using a humidifier or grouping plants together. Placing houseplants on saucers filled with gravel or small pebbles and water will also increase humidity. The bottoms of the pots should always be above the water level.

Don’t mist houseplants in an effort to raise the relative humidity. Misting would have to be done several times throughout the day to have any real affect.

Water, but not too often

In general, houseplants don’t require as much water during the winter months. That doesn’t mean they can be completely ignored. The type of houseplant and soil will determine the water needs.

Ferns prefer evenly moist soil and fairly frequent watering. Cacti and succulents should only be watered when the potting soil becomes completely dry. Most houseplants fall somewhere between these extremes and should be watered when the soil is barely moist or almost dry to the touch.

When watering, apply a thorough amount. Water the plant until water drains out of the bottom of the pot.

Be sure that plants have good drainage. Never allow plants to sit in excess water unless the pot is placed on gravel to raise humidity.

Clean but don't fertilize

Drastically reduce or eliminate fertilizer during the winter months since most plants grow very little. Fertilize again in late March or April as growing conditions improve and the plants begin to flush out.

It’s important to keep houseplants clean while they rest through the winter. Grease and dust can accumulate on leaves and slow down the normal transpiration. Cleaning houseplants also improves their appearance, stimulates growth and can help control insects and mites.

Large, firm-leafed plants can be cleaned with a soft sponge or cloth dipped in a mild solution of dishwashing soap and lukewarm water. Leaves can also be cleaned by placing the plants in the shower under lukewarm water.

By Bob Westerfield
University of Georgia

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Leaf mulching and fertilizer: A back-saving, soil-enriching way to deal with fallen leaves

(ARA) – As Mother Nature adorns the trees in your yard with riotous reds, vibrant yellows and exotic oranges, you can easily get swept up in the romance of the season – until those leaves turn brown, drop from the branches and litter your lawn. Then you start to think of the hours of backbreaking raking work ahead of you.

This autumn, why not try working with Mother Nature by mulching those leaves instead of raking, bagging and condemning them to a landfill?

Leaf mulching is a time-saving, environmentally friendly way to deal with fallen leaves. Plus, if you live in a community that has cut back on collection services due to the economy, mulching can solve your dilemma of what to do with the leaves littering your lawn.

“It doesn’t make sense to rake leaves and bag them, just to have them end up decomposing in a landfill,” says Dr. Phil Dwyer, senior scientist at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. “Leaf mulching recycles a natural resource and enriches the soil of your lawn for free.”

In fact, turf benefits by receiving more nutrients when you mulch fall leaves back into the lawn instead of raking them, according to a study by Michigan State University turfgrass researcher Thom Nikolai and ScottsMiracle-Gro scientists. Recycling fallen leaves saves time and money, adds nutrients to the soil, speeds spring greening and reduces weeds.

Here’s how to recycle this fall’s crop of fallen leaves:

* Remove the grass catcher from your lawn mower. Mow over the leaves on your lawn. Repeat until they are reduced to dime-sized pieces.

* Mow until you see about half an inch of grass through the mulched leaf layer.

Any kind of rotary-action mower will do the job, and all kinds of leaves can be mulched. Throughout the season, you can chop up to 18 inches total of leaf clutter with several passes of the mower. Having a somewhat thick layer of mulched leaves is okay as long as you can still see the green grass blades poking through. As leaf bits settle into the ground, microbes and worms get to work recycling them.

Once you’ve enriched your soil with leaf mulching, don’t forget that fall is the best time to feed and seed your lawn. A few simple steps can help ensure that your lawn will be strong next season and beyond:

* After mulching, feed your lawn with Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard fall lawn fertilizer to help build strong, deep roots for a better foundation and a more robust lawn next year. The nitrogen in the fertilizer will also help the mulched leaves decompose faster. Be sure to sweep excess fertilizer off hard surfaces like driveways and sidewalks.

* After feeding, spread seed where needed. To reseed your bare spots, dig up bare areas, mix in compost, sow your seeds and cover with more compost. If the weather is dry, keep the seeded soil moist until new grass begins to grow. Seeding autumn bare spots will thicken the lawn and make it more resistant to future bare spots.

To learn more about leaf mulching and autumn lawn care, visit www.scotts.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Today's Landfills: Safe, Smart, Green

(NAPSI)-Considering Americans generate more than 250 million tons of trash every year-and most of it ends up in landfills-the good news is that landfills are safer, smarter and greener than ever, thanks to many advanced technological innovations.

Modern landfills are high-tech, carefully monitored containment systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, control water and air emissions, and minimize nuisances such as odor. Strict federal regulations do not allow landfills in floodplains, wetlands or along fault lines. Special liners and collection systems protect groundwater.

Generating Energy and Jobs

Even better news is that landfill gases, the source of most odors, are controlled through gas collection and conversion into energy. Methane captured from modern landfills often is used as a form of green, renewable energy. Landfill-gas-to-energy projects can help ease our dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil. In fact, many of today's landfills have become renewable energy plants. In the last year, landfill-gas-to-energy projects delivered enough gas and electricity to power some 1.6 million American homes. These facilities also generate "green collar" jobs.

"Today, solid-waste companies build new landfills and expand existing landfills in ways that protect human health and the environment more than ever before," said Bruce J. Parker, president and CEO of the National Solid Wastes Management Association.

For the Future

Looking ahead, today's landfills provide continued environmental benefits even after they are closed. Engineers and landscape designers transform these landfills into parks, golf courses, wildlife refuges and other spaces that can be enjoyed by the whole community.

Learn More

Learn more at www.environmentalistseveryday.org and (800) 424-2869.

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City of Atlanta Launches Pilot Incentive Based Recycling Program

Pilot Recycling Rewards Program Will Help Promote Sustainability by Increasing Recycling Participation in Atlanta

The City of Atlanta announced today that a select group of Atlanta residents will soon be rewarded for their curbside recycling efforts. In an effort to encourage proper recycling habits, boost recycling participation, reduce the amount of recyclables being sent to area landfills and save taxpayer money, City officials introduced the pilot rewards program as an opportune way to move towards a greener, cleaner Atlanta.

In order to complement Atlanta’s existing sustainability initiatives, the City of Atlanta has partnered with Rehrig Pacific, a container company and service provider, to bring a unique incentive based pilot recycling program to its residents. As part of this pilot program, Rehrig Pacific has collaborated with key sponsor Coca-Cola Recycling, LLC and rewards partner RecycleBank® to offer Atlanta residents a premiere rewards and loyalty program that incentivizes household recycling. City officials are confident they will see a rise in recycling volumes and a decrease in waste tonnages. In addition to the benefit to the environment, the rewards program will give residents and local businesses a needed economic boost.

The City of Atlanta selected 10,000 households for the incentive based pilot recycling program. The participating households represent a cross section of recyclers throughout the City. The RecycleBank® rewards program will encourage better participation in the curbside recycling program. It will also allow the City to evaluate changes in the amounts of recyclables collected from residents participating in the pilot program.

“Incentive based recycling will help us to meet our recycling and sustainability goals while giving something back to our residents. During today’s recession and economic climate, saving money on groceries, on clothing, or at the pharmacy translates to great value. We have found a way to provide real financial rewards and help the environment at the same time,” said Mayor Franklin.

Each home in the pilot area will receive a brand new 96-gallon blue cart, retrofitted with an ID tag with the resident’s household address and RecycleBank account number. City trucks have been retrofitted with technology to read the cart ID tag. Upon activating their account with RecycleBank, either online or by phone, the household will begin to earn RecycleBank Points with every pick-up.

Points can be redeemed for rewards, gift cards, groceries, and products at hundreds of local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners. Partners include giant national brands and retailers such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Target.com, Publix, and CVS/pharmacy, as well as local partners like Zoo Atlanta, Radial Café, Rita’s Water Ice, MetroFresh, Edgewood Avenue Pizza, and Six Feet Under.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), housed in Atlanta, is a significant player in making the pilot program a reality for their local neighbors. Through sponsorship dollars, they have enabled the purchase of the ten-thousand Rehrig Pacific blue recycling carts needed for the pilot program.
ABOUT THE PARTNERS

CITY OF ATLANTA
The City of Atlanta Recycling Program is a division of the Department of Public Works /Office of Solid Waste Services
(http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/publicworks/dpwrecyclingprogram_08192008.aspx). This division promotes and supports recycling initiatives and programs, and educates City employees and the general public about waste reduction and recycling programs and opportunities. This division also serves as a liaison with local, state, and federal agencies on recycling issues to ensure responsiveness to problems and concerns, prepares grant proposals, and maintain records on the City’s recycling programs. The ReCART incentive based curbside recycling pilot project is a prime example of the City’s efforts to increase the amount of recyclables going to productive end uses rather than to area landfills.

RECYCLEBANK
RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to recycle. Using the RecycleBank proprietary three-step process Recycle, Record, Reward™. We quickly and easily measure the amount of material each home recycles and then convert that activity into RecycleBank points that can be used at hundreds of local and national rewards partners.

COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES
Through this partnership, the goal of the world’s largest bottler is to increase opportunities to recover and recycle in the marketplace through Coca-Cola Recycling. Through recovery of the Atlanta materials, Coca-Cola can expect 150 metric tons of packaging materials. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world's largest marketer, producer, and distributor of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment.

REHRIG PACIFIC
Rehrig Pacific is an international company with operations and licensees worldwide manufacturing an ever-expanding product line of sustainable packaging products that includes plastic crates, pails, carts, and pallets designed to handle, store, and transport goods in the agriculture, bakery, beverage, dairy, environmental and retail materials handling marketplaces.
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USDA wants to introduce families to their farmers

Kathleen Merrigan believes all families should know where their food comes from. To do that, they must first know where it all begins -- with farmers.

The deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited the University of Georgia campus in Athens Oct. 26 to promote the department’s new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer).

“By better connecting consumers of food to their producers, people across the country will have a greater understanding of the challenges in agriculture today and the effort it takes to put food on their tables,” Merrigan said.

The initiative is especially important considering the average age of a U.S. farmer is 59 and climbing and many national and state agriculture experts are nearing retirement age, she said. Getting the next generation involved now is important.

“There seems to be more opportunities to talk about agriculture now than at any other time in my adult life,” she said.

As part of the initiative, she wants farmers to have the chance to talk to her and other USDA officials in person and through Web sites like YouTube. “We want to recognize a lot of expertise comes from the countryside,” she said. “We want to know what’s going on in Georgia, what’s working.”

While on campus, she spoke with UGA researchers, administrators, farmers and students and found out what the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is doing to support locally grown food.

CAES promotes local food through work by the Center for Urban Agriculture, Farm to School programs, service-learning courses and community and school gardens.

The college recently graduated its first students in the organic agriculture certificate program, put together an organic production team that works with producers statewide and developed a new sustainable agriculture Web site (www.sustainagga.org) and newsletter.

“We have a unique opportunity to develop and supply local food systems right now,” said CAES sustainable agriculture coordinator Julia Gaskin.

To promote locally grown food, CAES also partners with the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Fort Valley State University, Georgia Organics, the Atlanta Local Food Initiative and Promoting Local Agriculture and Cultural Experiences, or PLACE.

Local food producers need places to process products like meat. CAES conducts feasibility studies to determine if meat-processing plants are feasible in certain parts of the state.

“There are no small processing facilities in the state,” said Georgia Organics director Alice Rolls. “For small poultry processing, they’re taking it to Mississippi.”

Merrigan mentioned there is interest in mobile poultry processing units, but said at best it’s a gray area when it comes to governing these facilities.

South Georgia farmer Bill Brim asked Merrigan how her department plans to tie food safety back to locally produced efforts.

“There is no size exemption on food safety,” she said. “We’re working on this.”

CAES dean Scott Angle reminded her that some critical research is not getting the funding it needs, for example, phosphorous use in watermelon and other environmental and sustainable issues.

“For farmers, it’s critically important, but government and industry doesn’t see it as important enough,” Angle said.

Farmers need financial help during disasters, like last year’s salmonella-related tomato scare that cost them $1.2 million in sales, said Terry Coleman, the Georgia deputy commission of agriculture.

“They’re vulnerable to natural disasters and also to misspeak,” Coleman said.

To get the next generation involved, young people need access to land and skills to grow food, said Craig Page with Athens-based PLACE.

“We need to be making it affordable so young people who want to farm closer to urban areas can,” he said, “so they can meet their social needs, too, and not be restricted to rural areas.”

Brian Barrett with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service told Merrigan that Georgia may soon move from being a state with few certified organic acres to one of the top 25. A $1.2 million NRCS grant will help it do that.

“Ag continues to grow in Georgia,” Angle said, “both at the state and local levels. It’s an interesting place to be right now.”

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia
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UGA pumpkin variety grows well for Georgia farmers

Heading to a local pumpkin patch to pick the season’s best is a time-honored fall family activity. Thanks to University of Georgia researchers, a better, Georgia-specific pumpkin is available for carving or baking.

"Most of the pumpkins traditionally grown commercially in Georgia are Cucurbita pepo types," said George Boyhan, a horticulturist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "They're in the same species as summer squash. And they're highly susceptible to viruses and other foliar diseases."

Even with an aggressive program to control tiny insect pests called aphids, aphid-transmitted viruses can quickly devastate the crop, he said, at times resulting in complete loss.

But Orange Bulldog is not so weak on the vine. The improved variety -- developed from germplasm collected in the jungles of South America – has greater levels of resistance to viruses than conventional pumpkins.

When Boyhan and retired CAES horticulturists Gerard Krewer and Darbie Granberry began working with the jungle seed, they discovered long, flat pumpkins, or ones not easily carved into jack-o’-lanterns.

The team worked to develop a more disease-resistant variety with a good jack-o’-lantern shape that’s adapted to Georgia’s climate. Orange Bulldog debuted in 2004.

It consistently yields 13,000 pounds to 20,000 pound per acre in northern and southern Georgia. Boyhan is now working to develop a variety with more uniformity in shape and color but with the same disease resistance as Orange Bulldog.

“The goal of the variety was to produce a pumpkin with higher levels of disease resistance,” he said. “So, it lends itself to organic farming where herbicides and fungicides are limited to a few organic compounds. We are looking at small growers and farmers markets and organic fruit seems to fit there.”

Organic seeds for Orange Bulldog will be available for next year’s crop.

The pumpkin variety has a considerable amount of variability, something shoppers at roadside stands and pick-your-own farms find appealing.

“People really like the variation of the pumpkin, they can use it for variety in decorating,” said Raymond Joyce, the UGA Cooperative Extension coordinator in Laurens County.

T&T Farms, a pick-your-own farm in Dudley, added an agritourism activity for school groups as well as an additional fall crop when they planted three-acres of Orange Bulldog this year. Joyce said he was surprised to see how well the pumpkin did in the field. It was grown without irrigation and had to be sprayed only once with a fungicide and then once with a herbicide.

“We had planted pumpkins in the past, but they always grew out too soon and never did too good,” said Nancy Tomlinson, owner of T&T Farms. “The neat thing about these pumpkins is they are all different. Some are long. Others are squatty. The color varies from light-yellow to bronze or deep orange. And some have green mingled in. It is neat to watch the variation in size, shape and color all come off the same vine.”

Having a successful pumpkin crop meant more business to the family farm this season. So did adding a corn maze and hayrides.

Apart from looking good, Orange Bulldog tastes good, too. In its immature state, it is bright yellow and can be prepared and eaten like summer squash. It’s particularly good sautéed with Vidalia onions, Boyhan said. The meat of a mature pumpkin can be cubed and cooked to make pumpkin pie filling.

“I’ve used it in cakes, pies and candy and cooked it like squash. You name it, we’ve tried it,” Tomlinson said.

To find pick-your-own pumpkin and other fruit or vegetable patches in your area, visit the Georgia Market Maker Web site at ga.marketmaker.uiuc.edu.

By April Sorrow
University of Georgia

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Master Gardeners celebrate 30 years in Georgia

This fall marks the 30th anniversary of the Master Gardener program in Georgia, and Master Gardeners gathered recently to celebrate the occasion by volunteering their skills at the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, located near Buford.

"Once we decided to go ahead and make the celebration a workday, we put out a call for locations,” said Krissy Slagle, a program assistant for the University of Georgia Master Gardener program.

Kathy Parent, Master Gardener and UGA Cooperative Extension program assistant in Gwinnett County, suggested the Gwinnett center because it's a green space and a teaching facility about water.

"We were looking for a location that would represent collaboration between Cooperative Extension and other educational organizations in the county, and the GEHC was just what we were looking for. Water has been a critical issue for the metro areas and the whole state, and it probably will be even more so in the future. They have done a great job creating an interactive educational exhibit for all of the generations,” said Marco Fonseca, the program’s state coordinator.

With tools in hand, 60 Master Gardens volunteered their services to build raised beds at the center. Kids who participate in gardening programs at the center also helped.

In addition to the raised beds, several other projects were completed.

Shannon Pable, a Gwinnett County Master Gardener, led an effort to extend a bed that she created soon after the center opened. The award-winning Georgia Gems garden showcases UGA plant introductions. Donated plants were added to the area to showcase low-maintenance ones suited for Georgia landscapes.

Throughout the year, Master Gardeners volunteer at the center, which is a model for sustainable horticultural practices.

"They willingly give their time and energy to support the Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center, sharing their knowledge with the public at our educational programs through Earth Day events and the Junior Master Gardener program and donating their time to improve our landscape,” said Catherine Long, exhibit program coordinator at the GEHC.

As Master Gardeners look back over the past three decades, Fonseca says that understanding, protection and enhancement of urban natural ecology are the future of program.

“We know that sustainable garden and landscape practices are in the best interest of all of our communities, and it’s our job to share that with others and to pass it along to the next generation,” he said.

University of Georgia

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Cutest Chick Found in Fayette County Classroom

Pre-K students in Dana Wren’s class watch as the baby chick pecks its way out of its shell.

The cutest chick in Fayette County is in Dana Wrenn’s pre-K classroom at Brooks Elementary.

Wrenn’s 20 students watched in amazement on October 9 as a baby chicken broke through its eggshell and hatched after two days of pecking.

“Finally the beak came through and we began to see a wet feathery creature appear, it looked like an alien to me,” says Wrenn. “When she was gathering her strength for the next portion of her hatching, we could see her heart beating and the rise and fall of her chest. She stretched her wings and poof; she arrived. It was so amazing.”

The hatching of the chick coincides with a life science farming unit Wrenn is teaching this month. A family of one of Wrenn’s former students raises chickens as a hobby and brought in three fertilized eggs. The eggs were kept in an incubator in the classroom but only one hatched after 21 days.

“What an incredible life lesson it is to see the magical wonder of an egg becoming a living chick. Children who are growing up in a techno world crave opportunities to experience life outdoors. I try to offer opportunities for exploration of life experiences and the wonder of our marvelous world,” says Wrenn.

As soon as the baby chick arrived, students began researching how to care for her. They knew they had to keep her warm and place her in a larger environment.

“We learned chicks must be kept at 95 degrees for their first week of life so we rounded up a plastic aquarium and rigged a lamp from the classroom to keep her warm,” says Wrenn.
The students also learned that chicks drink sugar water and eat starter scratch.

“They are keeping her watered and fed. We also discovered that we had to teach her how to drink and peck at her food,” says Wrenn.

The class named the chick Bemmie after a chicken character from the book “Love, Ruby Lavender,” a tale about Ruby Lavender, her grandmother and three stolen hens in the township of Halleluiah, Mississippi.

Bemmie will stay in the classroom for two weeks before she is transferred to the school’s butterfly garden. In the meantime, the students are waiting for a new batch of fertilized eggs in the hopes of getting another chick so Bemmie will have a companion.

Not only are students getting a lesson in life science, but they are also cultivating their writing skills by journaling about the experience and enhancing their vocabulary by learning new words. The students plan to publish a story, complete with pictures, about Bemmie’s transformation from a chick to a hen.

“Our Bemmie is growing by leaps and bounds In fact, she’s already getting pin feathers and trying to fly,” says Wrenn.

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Pickin' up pawpaws - a yummy garden chore

Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket, Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket, Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket, Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.

I sang that song as a child even though I had never seen a pawpaw, and my parents or grandparents never talked of one. As far as I knew, gathering pawpaws was like hunting a snipe or lassoing Sasquatch.

As an adult, I obtained two pawpaw seedlings and planted them out of curiosity and desire for the unusual. The pawpaws have been bearing for several years now, and I am pleased I gave in to my curiosity and desire. I also realized there is a lot this little folk ditty can teach us about this native but little-known fruit tree.

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) are indeed more likely to grow “down yonder” in bottomland with deep soil than on higher and drier sites. They send up suckers and form a small colony of trees, or a “patch.” It’s is the largest fruit native to temperate North America and has a soft consistency.

Pawpaws drop to the ground when ripe, hence the necessity to pick them up, rather than harvest them off the tree. It is possible to pick them, but they are sweetest if not picked until fully ripe and ready to fall or have already fallen.

The pocket referred to in the song is an apron pocket or a tie-on pocket – a garment that women wore before pockets were sewn into clothes. A pawpaw in the pocket of modern-style clothes would make a mess – if you could even fit one in there. The pocket reference is an indication of the age of the song and how long people have been eating pawpaws.

I can understand why Nellie would slip away to gather pawpaws. They are sweet and tasty.
Not only Nellie and I think so. The Father of Our Country, George Washington, proclaimed the chilled pawpaw a favorite dessert. In addition to the rich flavor, he probably liked the creamy, custard-like texture. (Remember his false teeth.)

The flavor has been described as a mixture of mango, pineapple and banana. Friends and coworkers have mentioned overtones of pear, papaya and cantaloupe.

If the fruit is so flavorful, why is it not more popular?

The main reason is probably the fruit’s short shelf life, which is two to three days at room temperature and a little longer in the refrigerator. I tried picking some of the fruit green to see how it would ripen. The results were not satisfactory. The flavor was smoky and harsh.

Other reasons could be problems with propagation. Pawpaws don’t transplant well from the wild. However, unlike apples and pears, pawpaws grown from seed are similar to their parents. The downside is that the seeds should not dry out, are slow to germinate and require a period of moist chilling before they will sprout.

Some people may be put off by its texture because they think a fruit so soft must be over-ripe or spoiled. Others find the creamy texture appealing.

The smooth pulp can be an asset as it blends easily into ice cream. I imagine it would be ideal for sherbets or sorbets as the frozen pulp is practically a sorbet all by itself. I mixed the soft pulp into pancake batter for pancakes so moist and sweet they didn’t require syrup. (And I even cut down on the sugar in the recipe.)

Since growing your own is currently the only way to get a taste, I encourage gardeners to give the pawpaw a try. A few garden centers and mail-order nurseries carry pawpaws. Some offer named varieties propagated by cuttings or grafting.

Avoid bare-root plants as they do not transplant well. Buy those grown in containers instead.

And don’t be afraid to plant small ones.

For good pollination, plant two different varieties.

Aside from their fruit, pawpaw trees can be interesting additions to a garden. The leaves, which can be a foot or more long and six inches wide, provide a tropical effect. Fall color on my trees is an attractive moderate yellow, although I have read that some varieties can be more vibrant.

By Arty Schronce
Georgia Department of Agriculture

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24th Annual Southern Gardening Symposium at Callaway Gardens®: January 29-31, 2010

While it’s still cold outside, get inspiration for your “dream garden” at the 24th annual Southern Gardening Symposium, one of the nation’s premier gardening events at beautiful Callaway Gardens®.

Make your plans to attend this January 29-31 symposium where you can listen and learn about gardening from an outstanding group of experts. Designed for novice to expert gardeners, this jam-packed schedule includes lectures, presentations and demonstrations. Though content-rich, this event provides the unique opportunity for personal interaction with the speakers throughout the weekend. The 2010 SGS program includes:

· Learning how to create an oasis in your own garden from Taunton Press’ “Idea” author Lee Anne White, who will discuss water garden design.

· Dreaming of a bold, tropical garden? Author Pam Baggett recommends sizzling plants for our sultry Southern climate.

· How about the dream “easy” garden? Author Pamela Crawford will highlight some of the easiest plants to grow in the southern garden.

· For the ultimate dream garden, June Mays will offer inspiration from the British landscape.

· Learn sustainable management practices including insect and disease basics from the University of Tennessee’s entertaining entomologist, Dr. Mark Windham.

· Sustainable gardening starts with good soil and William Cureton, a.k.a. “Captain Compost” will share his soil improvement techniques that anyone can do.

· George Sanko, from Georgia Perimeter College, will talk about ferns for shade gardens and even some ferns that tolerate sun.

· Keynote speaker, TV personality and garden writer Erica Glasener will share stories from ‘A Gardener’s Diary.’

Join like-minded gardening enthusiasts to dive right into the fun and learning with a series of pre-conference workshops and tours on Friday. Lee Anne White will lead a digital garden photography workshop and Erica Glasener will teach a garden design workshop. Truly be inspired by a tour of Jim Scott’s magical Lake Martin Garden. This garden has been featured in several gardening magazines for its creative use of rock and water.

In addition to these presentations, guests can indulge their passion at the SGS Marketplace offering one-stop shopping for the gardener. You’ll find an assortment of choice plants, many of which are touted by Symposium speakers as the new “must-haves”; a superb book selection including new releases by SGS speakers; and a delightful array of garden ornaments. Garden Delights, top supplier of native azaleas in the U.S., will be offering a selection of southern classic plants. McMahan’s Nursery, owned and operated by exotic plant collector Scott McMahan, offers amazing new and rare plants. Rocky Branch Garden Center will be selling plants highlighted by SGS speakers. Blooming Idiot will offer a wide selection of herbs, annuals and perennials. Petals from the Past will have heirloom varieties of favorite fruit trees and flowers. One-of-a-kind garden art pieces can be found from Lewis Simmons and Wade’s Metal Works.

SGS participants will have an exciting opportunity to participate in both silent and live auctions. The auction items include books and plants recommended by speakers; garden ornaments; botanical artwork by the late-Athos Menaboni; special plants provided by Callaway Gardens’ horticulture department, Hills & Dales Estate and Auburn University; items contributed by Marketplace vendors; and much more.

Preregistration for SGS is required by Friday, January 22, 2010. The program registration fee of $225 includes Friday’s opening reception; Saturday’s continental breakfast, programs with printed materials, box lunch and evening banquet; and Sunday’s continental breakfast and programs with printed materials.

The Southern Gardening Symposium is approved for seven contact hours for Georgia Certified Landscape Professional Continuing Education Units.

Callaway Gardens provides a variety of lodging options for SGS participants. The special rate of $75 per room per night is available in the Mountain Creek Inn® (based on double occupancy). This rate includes admission to Callaway Gardens per night of stay and day of departure. Nestled in the trees, the spacious Cottages and Villas are available for the choosing. Those looking to pamper themselves will love the luxury Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens.

Early–bird Specials! There are two great offers for those who register by October 31st, 2009:

Registration: Receive $25 off the program registration fee. Lodging: Receive the second night FREE when reserving the special SGS lodging rate of $120* per room in Mountain Creek® Inn.

For further information about SGS or to request a brochure, contact the Education Department at 1-800-CALLAWAY (225-5292), 706-663-5153 or education@callawaygardens.org.

*The above room rates are available only to registered SGS participants. Valid for Mountain Creek® Inn only and based on availability and double occupancy. Some restrictions apply. Symposium registration fee is separate.

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Autumn spiders

From big, fat barn spiders to their yellow garden cousins, between now and Halloween we will be seeing more spiders around our yards.

The first hard frost will kill them, but now they are mating and producing egg sacs that will overwinter and re-establish the population next spring.

The most commonly seen ones are orb-weaver spiders with large webs.

Barn spiders (Araneus cavaticus) can be found on porches, where flying insects attracted to porch lights get trapped in their webs. These spiders are nocturnal, constructing a new web every evening and taking it down before dawn. This rusty brown spider has legs extending about 2 inches, making it look large and noticeable. These spiders hide during the day, but at night are found in the middle of the web, waiting for insects to be trapped.

The yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia) is one of the longest spiders in Georgia. It is frequently found in gardens and around shrubbery, where it constructs large webs to trap flying insects. The abdomen has distinctive yellow and black markings while the front part of the body, the cephalothorax, is white. The female typically remains in one spot throughout her life, repairing and reconstructing her web as it is damaged and ages. Her web may have a distinctive zigzag of silk through the middle, explaining its other common name, “writing spider.”

Unlike the nocturnal barn spider, the yellow garden spider can be found in its web anytime. Sometimes a smaller spider will be found in the web with her; this is the male.

These spiders have been present all summer, eating pest insects and growing. By late summer, they are large enough that people start noticing them.

Georgia has more than 800 species of spiders, all of which are harmless if you leave them alone. All spiders are more afraid of you than you are of them.

By Nancy Hinkle
University of Georgia

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Water-logged lawns

As flood waters across the state recede after record rainfall, homeowners are left with a messy aftermath to deal with. This includes water-logged lawns that could suffer from the effect of too much of a good thing.

“Excessive rainfall creates an unfavorable soil environment for root growth,” said Alfredo Martinez, a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension plant pathologist. “The oxygen is displaced in the soil pores by water.”

Roots need oxygen

Without oxygen, root growth is restricted. In extreme cases, toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfides and metallic sulfides can accumulate, he said.

The result is weak or dead plants. Water-logged soil stays warmer longer and can increase turfgrass damage.

“Turfgrass injury due to flooding appears as dead brown areas,” Martinez said.

Symptoms will appear a few days after the flood water recedes, and the injured areas will follow the outline of low flooded areas. The first sign of trouble is raw sewage-like odor, which indicates a lack of oxygen in the soil.

After long periods of flooding, turfgrass can partially rot, he said.

“As with diagnosis of many turfgrass problems, history of the area is critical to correctly identify the problem,” Martinez said.

Watch for signs of damage

Additional problems associated with excess water are the diseases that thrive in extremely moist conditions and take advantage of the stressed plants.

The extent of damage depends on the length of flooding, said UGA Extension turfgrass specialist Clint Waltz.

Bermuda grass and bahia grass are most tolerant of flooding. Centipede is least tolerant. Zoysia and St. Augustine are intermediate.

To assess damage, look for white roots, green leaves or green or white runners above and below the soil surface. Green and white indicate a healthy plant while soft, milky white or brown stems and roots suggest the plant is dead.

Lend a helping hand

Lightly rake brown turf areas to determine if some grass has survived.

To help your lawn recovery from the flood:

* Improve surface and subsurface drainage. Keep drains clean. Dig temporary surface drains or put in subsurface drains.

* Remove any sediment like soil and organic debris on the surface by raking or shoveling to help surviving turf recover. Mow off dead leaves.

* Apply one-half pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet to encourage grass recovery. Follow normal maintenance practices the rest of the year.

If 40 percent to 50 percent of the area has healthy grass, there’s probably enough left to ‘grow in’ the rest, Waltz said.

Replacement an option

If more than 60 percent is lost, consider using sod, seed, plugs or planting a cover to restore the lawn. Sod produces an instant lawn with less long-term mess.
You can seed tall fescue now until early-November. Plugs should be installed later in the growing season.

You can establish a temporary cover with ryegrass or tall fescue. This should be done from mid-September through early-November. Turf-type tall fescue seeded at five pounds to six pounds per 1,000 square feet may survive if seeded in September. Higher seedling rates will lead to disease and other stress problems and should be avoided.

If tall fescue is used and bermuda, centipede or zoysia is wanted, the tall fescue will survive until next summer when centipede can be seeded or sodded into the tall fescue providing a gradual transition.

“In conditions like these, keeping things simple and being patient are the best strategies,” Waltz said.

For more information on caring for your turfgrass and landscape, contact your local UGA Extension agent at 1-800-ASK-UGA1. Or, visit the Web site www.GeorgiaTurf.com.

By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia

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Leaf mulching and fertilizer: A back-saving, soil-enriching way to deal with fallen leaves

(ARA) – As Mother Nature adorns the trees in your yard with riotous reds, vibrant yellows and exotic oranges, you can easily get swept up in the romance of the season – until those leaves turn brown, drop from the branches and litter your lawn. Then you start to think of the hours of backbreaking raking work ahead of you.

This autumn, why not try working with Mother Nature by mulching those leaves instead of raking, bagging and condemning them to a landfill?

Leaf mulching is a time-saving, environmentally friendly way to deal with fallen leaves. Plus, if you live in a community that has cut back on collection services due to the economy, mulching can solve your dilemma of what to do with the leaves littering your lawn.

“It doesn’t make sense to rake leaves and bag them, just to have them end up decomposing in a landfill,” says Dr. Phil Dwyer, senior scientist at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. “Leaf mulching recycles a natural resource and enriches the soil of your lawn for free.”

In fact, turf benefits by receiving more nutrients when you mulch fall leaves back into the lawn instead of raking them, according to a study by Michigan State University turfgrass researcher Thom Nikolai and ScottsMiracle-Gro scientists. Recycling fallen leaves saves time and money, adds nutrients to the soil, speeds spring greening and reduces weeds.

Here’s how to recycle this fall’s crop of fallen leaves:

* Remove the grass catcher from your lawn mower. Mow over the leaves on your lawn. Repeat until they are reduced to dime-sized pieces.

* Mow until you see about half an inch of grass through the mulched leaf layer.

Any kind of rotary-action mower will do the job, and all kinds of leaves can be mulched. Throughout the season, you can chop up to 18 inches total of leaf clutter with several passes of the mower. Having a somewhat thick layer of mulched leaves is okay as long as you can still see the green grass blades poking through. As leaf bits settle into the ground, microbes and worms get to work recycling them.

Once you’ve enriched your soil with leaf mulching, don’t forget that fall is the best time to feed and seed your lawn. A few simple steps can help ensure that your lawn will be strong next season and beyond:

* After mulching, feed your lawn with Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard fall lawn fertilizer to help build strong, deep roots for a better foundation and a more robust lawn next year. The nitrogen in the fertilizer will also help the mulched leaves decompose faster. Be sure to sweep excess fertilizer off hard surfaces like driveways and sidewalks.

* After feeding, spread seed where needed. To reseed your bare spots, dig up bare areas, mix in compost, sow your seeds and cover with more compost. If the weather is dry, keep the seeded soil moist until new grass begins to grow. Seeding autumn bare spots will thicken the lawn and make it more resistant to future bare spots.

To learn more about leaf mulching and autumn lawn care, visit www.scotts.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Fayette Students Design Scarecrow for Garden

Eighth grade select art students pose for a picture with Skatecrow before he is taken to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for display.

Art students at Fayette Middle School have been busy scaring up a unique display for the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Scarecrows in the Garden event.

A life-sized middle schooler with a backpack and riding a skateboard, titled Skatecrow, will be one of 125 scarecrows adorning the garden October 1-31.

The eighth grade select art students, 21 in all, designed the scarecrow using chicken wire and paper mache for the body and adorned it with recycled materials such as telephone wire for the hair, bottle tops for a belt and hand-me-down clothes and shoes. The students included something from all categories of life that young adolescents love: sports, music, iPods, cell phones, snacks, etc.

Making the scarecrow was both a learning experience and struggle for the students. It took about five weeks from inception to finish.

“The students used materials for this project that they normally would not use and have learned many concepts beyond the artwork itself,” says art teacher Ellen Mitchell.

To be eligible for the eighth grade select art class, students must have a teacher recommendation and maintain an 85 percent or higher grade point average during their seventh grade year. The class lasts for one semester and is designed to offer students an opportunity to create more difficult, challenging and lengthy projects.

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Conserve Georgia’s Natural Leaders Awards Serves as a Carbon Neutral Model for Sustainable Events

Governor Perdue to address state environmental issues and recognize conservation award winners from throughout the state

Wednesday’s Conserve Georgia’s Natural Leaders Awards, hosted by the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, will be more than an awards luncheon, it will be a model for and celebration of sustainable events and business practices.

The event, which is open to the public, concludes a morning of workshops organized by the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia that include “Starting a Sustainability Program” and “Carbon Footprinting 101.” The awards luncheon itself will serve as a case study in how to organize and measure a sustainable business event as every aspect of the event is being measured and evaluated.

A number of tactics that the event planner, Eventologie, is incorporating to minimize the carbon footprint of the day’s program include:

· Sourcing locally grown organic, in-season foods,
· Collecting recyclable and compostable goods,
· Using bulk beverages and condiments as well as washable tableware and linens, and
· Sending paperless invitations and registration

According to organizers, these steps and purchasing carbon offsets for possibly as little as one dollar per person will result in a carbon neutral footprint for the event. The purchase of carbon offsets is made possible by support from event sponsors that include the Carpet America Recovery Effort, Elanco, TWOvital, Eventologie and Southeast Green. The program will then be used as a case study and baseline for planning and implementing future events.

“Conserve Georgia was developed to help create a culture of conservation, and it’s important for us to lead by example,” said Chris Clark, Chair of the Conserve Georgia Council and Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. “Conserve Georgia’s Natural Leaders Awards provides us with an excellent opportunity to recognize citizens, businesses, local governments and other organizations for the great work they’re doing to preserve our environment and to show how easy it is to implement conservation practices in our daily activities.”

Citizens and organizations from throughout the state will be recognized for improving their communities as it relates to the conservation of energy, land, wildlife and water; the improvement of air quality; the prevention of litter; and the promotion of recycling. Governor Perdue will present the awards and address the event’s attendees on the state of conservation in Georgia.

Conserve Georgia was launched in April 2008 by Governor Sonny Perdue to create a culture of conservation. The www.ConserveGeorgia.org Web site serves as an information portal with links to dozens of conservation programs that are implemented by state agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Conserve Georgia’s Natural Leaders Awards will be held on Wednesday, September 30, at the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta and hosted by the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, an active participant in Conserve Georgia.

For more information on the event, visit www.NaturalLeadersAwards.com. For more information on Conserve Georgia, or to nominate a program or project for next year’s Conserve Georgia’s Natural Leader Awards, visit www.ConserveGeorgia.org. For more information on the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia, visit www.GASustainability.org.

A Culture of Conservation
The Conserve Georgia program was developed to foster a culture of conservation throughout the state of Georgia. Nine state agencies and authorities are working together with businesses, civic leaders, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and residents to make Georgia’s air, land, water, energy and wildlife resources more sustainable now and for generations to come. The program’s Web site – www.ConserveGeorgia.org – serves as a portal to help Georgians find information on a wide range of conservation resources and programs.

Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia Free and open to any business, the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia was established by the Sustainability Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to foster environmental leadership and recognize superior environmental performance. The Partnership offers a variety of incentives, including cost savings through increased efficiencies, potential regulatory flexibility, free technical assistance and training, and access to networking and mentoring among peers, state and local officials. For more information, visit www.GASustainability.org.
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Female monarch butterflies on 30-year decline in eastern North America

Female monarch butterflies in eastern North America have significantly declined over the past 30 years, a new study by a University of Georgia researcher reveals.

Andy Davis, a Ph.D. candidate in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, analyzed published overwintering and migratory data for the insect from 1976 to the present, discovering that the female to male ratio for the butterflies east of the Rockies has gradually been changing. In the late 1970s, Davis said, females made up around 53 percent of the monarch butterfly population that migrated to Mexico for the winter. Today, that number has dropped to about 43 percent which paints a dire picture for population recruitment. Davis outlines his findings in a new paper co-authored with Eduardo Rendón-Salinas of World Wildlife Fund-Mexico. The paper appears in Biology Letters, rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org.

“I nearly fell over when I saw the trend,” said Davis. It was an unintentional but extremely important finding.”

The monarch butterfly, one of the most well-known and widely-recognized insects in the world, is a flagship species for conservation. North American Monarchs can migrate more than 2,000 miles as they fly to Mexico from Canada and the U.S. for the winter. “The implications of this decline are huge,” Davis said. “Female monarchs can lay as many as 400 eggs over their lifetime, which is why the species is so resilient.”

But Davis said that as the monarch population continues to struggle because of breeding habitat loss, widespread pesticide use, and deforestation of the overwintering sites, losing a significant number of females could seriously hinder the population’s ability to rebound after periodic crashes. Davis, who studies monarchs in addition to his doctoral work, said that news of the decline has gone unnoticed until now “because no one’s ever looked at the data like this. For years, scientists have been collecting male and female monarchs at the overwintering sites and during the fall migration. When we compiled the numbers from these collections, along with the year they were made, the trend was obvious.”

At their wintering sites, monarchs cluster on trees and form massive colonies that can number in the millions. Illegal logging of these trees is a serious threat to their wintering stage, but the threats they face in their breeding range in the United States and Canada are just as important. Further, because the decline in females is also present in the fall migration, Davis says, it means that whatever is causing this decrease is happening during the breeding season in the U.S. and Canada.

“That tells us we need to look here to see what the cause is,” he said. Whatever it is, Davis explained, “it must be something that affects females more so than males. This will be the challenge for future studies to sort out. We’ll also need to monitor the numbers of females in the population closely over the next few years, at all stages of their life cycle.

This discovery just goes to show how new insights can be gained from critical re-examination of published studies, and more generally, how much we still need to learn about this amazing insect before it is too late.”

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Fall decor trends feature rustic charm with homespun elegance

(ARA) - The air is becoming crisp, colors are changing and cozy sweaters are starting to make their way back into your wardrobe's rotation. Autumn has arrived, and its natural beauty shines radiantly to warm the heart and inspire fresh crafting ideas.

"This fall season, warm colors, rich textures and creative details stand out," says Susan Atchison, manager of trend development for Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. "Interest in homemade crafts and do-it-yourself decorating projects has never been stronger."

Clever crafts can help to create an autumn atmosphere that is simply elegant or pure fun for the family. When thinking about your fall DIY projects, try some of these ideas to capture your creative spirit when decorating your home or planning your next festive get-together:

1. Fabulous fall decor with versatility and value
Start by decorating your table with exceptionally affordable wool felt. Available in plenty of mix-and-match autumn colors, felt can be sewn, glued, colored or cut – the sky is the limit.

One easy option that provides a beautiful visual presentation is to cut out shapes on a felt cloth. For example, draw scattered maple leaves all over two different colors of felt and cut out the pieces. Layer the two felt squares together on your table for a windblown, just-fallen look.

What to do with the felt leaves you just cut out? Create a harvest-themed wreath with a classic yet contemporary look. Decorate an18-inch grapevine wreath with miniature lights, felt leaves and any other favorite fall items you have around your house or yard.

2. Classic adornments with surprising details
Need a great fall centerpiece? Rethink the classic pumpkin and try decorating with unique embellishments. For a beautiful fall-themed pumpkin, choose gold-toned wire and bend to create fun leaves and vines, attaching to the pumpkin's top. If you're looking for a Halloween theme, decorate the face of the pumpkin with masks and feathers to create different characters like a witch, owl or masquerader.

One way to save money and create a cherished piece of decor you can use year after year is to decorate a reusable pumpkin like Fun-Kins. These light artificial pumpkins are easy to work with and sure to become wonderful works of art.

3. Fall food made fantastically fun
Food is a must at any fall gathering. When the temperature cools, many of us are turning on our ovens to bake delightful must-taste treats. Rich and decadent brownies are tantalizing no matter what, but how about taking them a step further? Serve them kabob-style with marshmallows, fruit and a drizzle of icing to make them irresistible. Arrange on a tray for a beautiful presentation and watch them disappear in minutes.

If you're looking for a dessert with a theme, use uniquely shaped silicone baking pans. Try baking brownies in a jack-o’-lantern muffin pan. After they cool, pop them out, turn over and decorate their faces.

4. Double your fun with homemade costumes
If a costume party is in your future, you'll need something fun that stands out. The homemade costume is officially back and allows your creativity to shine. Brainstorm with your child to figure out what you both want to be for Halloween and then hit up a craft store to get the necessary supplies. What's the newest trend for costumes? Two-in-one options that have the ability to quickly convert from one character to the next.

For example, a sparkling dress can serve as the base for both an astronaut and a robot. With simple accessories and removable changes, your little girl can attend one party as a robot and then zoom off to another as an astronaut. Plus this is a fun alternative to traditional girls' costumes without losing the glitz. Reversible options also work for double-duty costumes. For example, try keeping one side of a cape black so you can be a witch and the other side gold. Add a feathered boa and you can become a queen in an instant.

For more information and to get supplies for creating homemade fall projects, visit www.Joann.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent



Craft Project ideas
Courtesy of Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores

Masked Fun-Kins - Owl

Supplies and tools:
* Fun-Kins carvable pumpkin
* Black mask
* Feathers: 2 Half Hackle plates, 2 Pheasant pads, 1 package Pheasant Plumage Almond
* 9-by-12-inch craft foam: black, brown, yellow, white
* Black glitter glue
* 1 1/2 yards 3/8-inch brown ribbon
* 2 gemstones
* Tacky glue
* Scissors
* 2 ball-head straight pins
* Patterns available at www.joann.com.

Directions:

1. Remove elastic from mask.

2. Glue Half Hackle feathers near the top of the mask on each side. Glue Pheasant pads to overlap the Half Hackle feathers and extend nearly to the nose of mask.

3. Cut a yellow craft foam beak following.

4. Cut eyes from black, white and brown craft foam. Glue smaller black circles to white circles and cover black pupils with black glitter glue. Cut brown circle in half for eyelids. Draw a line of black glitter glue along the bottom of each eyelid. When glitter glue is dry, glue eyes onto mask, over the feathers. Glue eyelids onto eyes as shown.

5. Fill in the area above beak with single Pheasant Plumage feathers. Cut and glue two brown craft foam triangles to the top corners for ears.

6. Tie brown ribbon through mask holes. Tie mask around pumpkin. Secure mask to pumpkin with straight pins.

Approximate crafting time: 2 hours plus drying time

Skill level 1: No experience needed


Wire-Embellished Fun-Kins

Supplies and tools:

* Fun-Kins carvable pumpkins
* Floral accent wire: gold, copper, bronze
* Wire cutter
* Round-nose pliers
* Paper and pencil

Directions:

1. Draw maple and oak leaf shapes on paper.

2. Using drawing as a guide, bend a length of floral accent wire with round-nose pliers and fingers to the approximate shape of leaf. Cut excess wire to create a 4-inch stem. Puncture pumpkin with the stem and insert leaf.

3. Using a new length of wire, create curly vines by wrapping wire around a pencil to form shape. Loop wire vines around the pumpkin stem.

Approximate crafting time: 1 hour each

Skill level 1: No experience needed

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'Smart Trash’ Could Reinvent Recycling with a Cash Incentive

Envision a distasteful trip to the curb to take out the trash as a pleasant — and profitable — stroll.

Some juiceless batteries - those are good for a few cents. An old keyboard might fetch a couple of bucks. Even that empty box of Pop-Tarts might be worth something.

No need to sort these discards: the trashcan has already done it, inventorying all contents and calculating the worth of this waste. Next month’s garbage bill could be accompanied by a check.

“Recycling and consumer waste are still managed with 1950s technology,” said Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. “Of course it can’t keep up. The flow of products out of the household needs to be managed with at least as much intelligence as the flow of products into the household. It’s sort of obvious.”

This is the concept behind “Smart Trash,” an approach developed by Thomas that has caught the attention of major corporations and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Smart Trash systems not only provide sustainable and productive ways for discarding items, but also can redefine the relationship people have with their garbage.

There are a number of manufacturers, retailers, recyclers and researchers now working to actualize the Smart Trash idea. Project PURE (Promoting Understanding of RFID and the Environment) — featuring representatives of companies such as Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard, as well as recyclers and developers of product codes — is working to refine this concept and push it toward mainstream reality.

Consumer recycling is currently fairly simplistic, focusing mostly on paper, aluminum and steel cans and some plastic bottles. For the system to evolve and thrive, it must be expanded to a variety of different products while maintaining ease of use and adding incentives that encourage participation.

“There are advantages on both sides to the consumer and the recycler,” said Angie Leith, senior policy analyst at the EPA Office of Solid Waste in Washington, D.C.

Leith recruited Thomas to take part in Project PURE, which is funded by the EPA, after being impressed with her research and the promise of Smart Trash.

“Valerie understands industrial ecology,” she said. “If there’s always going to be trash, when it gets to end of life, you should be able to do something with it. Let’s try to do it in a smart way. It really makes sense.”


Two essential elements are involved in making Smart Trash function.

The first is a Universal Product Code (UPC) or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that identifies specific merchandise. A scanner equipped within a trash receptacle would be able to immediately record what is being disposed, allowing consumers to track their trash and determine what pieces are potentially valuable.

The second component is a retrofitted recycling truck or recycling center that can sort trash that can sort recyclables. Valuable items could be sent to auction sites where the proceeds could be sent directly back to consumers. Items with hazardous components could be shunted aside for appropriate management.

A Wi-Fi connection provides the bridge between the trashcan and the recycling service, relaying information that can anticipate and properly organize the contents.

Recyclable items with significant value — such as consumer electronics — would be forwarded to online auction services where the maximum value could be actualized. Consumer recycling credits could also be issued for something as insignificant as a frozen pizza box or a shampoo bottle. Any money garnered from this waste could be applied to a consumer’s monthly sanitation bill or sent as a check.

Simple. Sensible. Sustainable.

“Just about anything could be recycled in this manner,” Thomas said.

Not everything can be resold for cash, though. Some items in the trashcan — a banana peel, a used paper towel — clearly have no resale value.

Those items would be disposed of in a more traditional matter, composted or even potentially be used for fuel.

“There’s no point in having a potato chip bag that’s going to last for thousands of years,” Thomas said. “I’m not advocating that everything be recycled because at some level it’s way too hard. Every product should either be completely safe to burn, compost, eat or it should be easy to recycle.”

Thomas advocates using non-recyclable waste to provide energy via combustion. Burning non recyclable disposables in an environmentally friendly manner could provide power for everything from lights to appliances. It also helps resolve any privacy issues that result from the entire contents of a garbage can having a constant inventory.

“Depending on the nature of the product, there would be some reasonableness about how much information you would want to keep about something,” Thomas said. “There’s no reason for people to know how much cereal you eat. That’s another reason most of the packaging should be biodegradable or burnable.”

Smart Trash technology provides benefits that go beyond a garbage can. The system can potentially be used for inventory purposes or to pinpoint products that have been recalled for health and safety reasons.

With the ability to scan and determine the value of just about any item in a home, Smart Trash technology could eventually become a sustainable weapon against clutter. Just scan old items taking up space, note the value and send these straight to the recycling bin.

Think of it as a living yard sale.

“It’s such a pain to get rid of things when you don’t want to just throw it away or think you might use it later” Thomas said. “You could really have your house cleaning itself for you.”

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Conserve Georgia Renews Commitment To Creating a Culture of Conservation

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Clark Unveils Web Site and Social Media Program at Georgia Environmental Conference

Note: Hopefully this is one of those "better late than never" stories... we missed it back on Aug. 27th but thought it was worth sliding on here. Wish we'd watched our inbox a little closer that day! - NFNG

Conserve Georgia, Governor Perdue’s statewide initiative charged with helping create a culture of conservation throughout Georgia, is renewing its call to preserve the state’s natural resources at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s fourth annual Georgia Environmental Conference in Savannah. An updated www.ConserveGeorgia.org Web site, a new social media program, and outreach plans for local government and business organizations are being introduced to business and civic leaders from throughout the state.

“Georgia’s natural resources are finite and precious, so we must all do our part to preserve them for future generations,” said Chris Clark, Chair of the Conserve Georgia Council and Commissioner of Natural Resources. “Whether you’re interested in recycling, land management, air quality, wildlife, or water and energy conservation, ConserveGeorgia.org is a single portal to find information about caring for and enjoying our state’s natural resources. In order to better communicate with Georgians, we also have started communicating directly through our new Facebook page.”

Conserve Georgia is a public information program that is composed of 10 state partner agencies which manage dozens of conservation-oriented programs, ranging from the Partnership for a Sustainable Georgia to waterSmart. Conserve Georgia also is working through the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), the regional growth authorities, and youth organizations to inform Georgians about the program and how their members can take a more active part in preserving Georgia.

Some of the programs that Conserve Georgia brings together include:

· Backyard Composting, Zero Waste at Work and regional recycling collection hubs that are operated through the Georgia Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA);

· Wildlife, forest, coastal, water, air and land management and preservation programs that are managed and operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its Environmental Protection Division (EPD);

· The Governor’s Energy Challenge, which directs all state agencies to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent by 2020 and has challenged Georgia businesses, local governments and citizens to do the same, and the funding of conservation and green energy initiatives through the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), including projects that receive dollars from the federal stimulus program; and

· The Georgia Department of Transportation’s (Georgia DOT) Adopt-A-Highway, Litter Control and Wildflower programs.

“The choices we make as individuals have a significant, collective impact on our state’s natural resources,” continued Clark. “That’s why Governor Perdue and the Conserve Georgia partner agencies are challenging all Georgians to participate in conservation programs.”

Visitors to www.ConserveGeorgia.org can access dozens of state and public/private conservation initiatives while navigating through 3-D scenes of Georgia’s varied natural environment: urban life, rural Georgia, the north Georgia mountains and coastal Georgia. The site is user-driven, allowing each visitor to select the kind of content they want to see based on their interest as an individual, business, educator, agribusiness or local government entity.

3-D elements provide a virtual-world experience complete with the ability to have some virtual fun – visitors can watch crops grow during the irrigation process, throw another log on the campfire, or pick up trash and deposit it in a receptacle. The site’s functionality is designed to get Georgians more engaged, form a tighter connection with Conserve Georgia and retain more information.

Conserve Georgia’s new presence on Facebook.com also engages Georgians in an online environment in which they are already currently active. Georgians who become a “fan” of Conserve Georgia on Facebook.com will receive information about conservation-related events and programs as well as seasonal conservation tips.

Conserve Georgia partner agencies include the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the University System of Georgia (USG), the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission (GSWCC), the Department of Education (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Agriculture (DOA).

A Culture of ConservationThe Conserve Georgia program was developed to foster a culture of conservation throughout the state of Georgia. Nearly a dozen state agencies and authorities are working together with businesses, civic leaders, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and residents to make Georgia’s air, land, water, energy and wildlife resources more sustainable now and for generations to come. The program’s Web site – www.ConserveGeorgia.org – serves as a portal to help Georgians find information on a wide range of conservation resources and programs.
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As Temperatures Cool, Brown Recluse Spiders Are Not So Reclusive

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Although a frequently misidentified species, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) reminds homeowners of the real health threats posed by the brown recluse spider as fall begins. With bites that can take three hours to develop and three weeks or longer to heal, the brown recluse injects a venom, which can cause severe allergic reactions, notably in children, the elderly or those with preexisting medical conditions.

Often identified by a dark brown violin shape on its back, the brown recluse spider is predominantly found in the Midwest and Southeast of the United States. This species is well known for its “secretive” behaviors as it prefers to take residence in warm, dry and dark environments, such as woodpiles, basements and closets.

“As the brown recluse is known for its bites, many assume that this spider is aggressive when the opposite is true,” said Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for NPMA. “This arachnid bites, usually unintentionally, when it feels trapped. Whether we dig through our storage in the attic or wear a piece of clothing in which a brown recluse has made its home, their bites are reactionary. Therefore the sheer presence of this pest can increase the potential pest-related health risks facing homeowners and their families.”

NPMA offers the following tips to help prevent contact with brown recluse spiders:

* Avoid keeping clothing and shoes on the floor and consider storing inside plastic containers.
* Shake out all clothing that has been in a hamper before wearing or washing.
* Keep garages, attics and basements clean and clutter free.
* If you are bitten by a spider, contact your primary care physician for medical advice.
* If you have an infestation in your home, contact a licensed pest professional to inspect and treat the pest problem.

For information regarding brown recluse spiders or to find a pest professional, visit: www.pestworld.org.

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