April 25, 2014

Historic tree dedicated in WSU Arboretum on Earth Day

An Earth Day ceremony marked the first tree dedication at the Washington State University Arboretum and Wildlife Center. The sapling originated from a butternut tree planted more than 165 years ago by George Washington Bush, an American pioneer who settled in the western territory that would eventually become Washington state.

“In 1890, George Washington Bush’s eldest son William Owen Bush, who served two terms in the Washington state legislature, introduced the bill to establish what would become Washington State University,” said Stan Wills. Wills is president of the state chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and genealogist for the Washington State Society of the War of 1812. He donated the butternut tree to the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences because of the historical association between the university and Bush. More information is available, here.

Tom Power awarded 2014 WSU Outstanding Department Chair/School Director

Dr. Tom Power, chair of Human Development and program director of the doctoral program in Prevention Science has been awarded the 2014 WSU Outstanding Department Chair/School Director.

Power is the first to receive the award. Daniel Bernardo, interim provost and executive vice president of WSU created the award to celebrate excellence in unit-level leadership.

“They [department chairs] have one of the most difficult jobs at the university, and collectively represent perhaps the most underappreciated group at WSU,” he said.

According to Bernardo, Power received the award in recognition of his leadership of the Department of Human Development over the past 12 years.

“Most notably, Tom was able to transform a department largely focused on undergraduate education to one characterized by excellence across undergraduate education, graduate education, research and engagement,” said Bernardo. “Of equal importance is how he accomplished this transformation – he did so without marginalizing any of the faculty and by recognizing everyone in the unit for their contributions to this multi-faceted mission.” Read more.

2104 reception recognizes CAHNRS Faculty and Staff

A gathering of faculty and staff at Merry Cellars winery in Pullman celebrated the achievements and excellence of several of our CAHNRS colleagues at the 2014 Faculty & Staff Awards Night. Heartiest congratulations to this year’s recipients:

• Dennis Pittmann, Crop and Soil Sciences- Administrative Professional Technical Staff Excellence Award
• Becky Priebe, CAHNRS & WSU Extension Business and Finance Center- Administrative Professional Staff Excellence Award
• Marlene Guse, School of the Environment- Excellence in Advising Award
• Carolyn Ross, Food Science- Early Career Excellence Award
• Kim Patten, WSU Long Beach Research and Extension Unit- Faculty Excellence in Extension Award
• Sachin Rustgi, Crop and Soil Sciences- Faculty Excellence in Research Award
• Hayley Chouinard, Economic Science- R.M. Wade Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award
• Team Interdisciplinary Award- Washington State Biofuels Cropping Systems: Taylor Beard, Ron Bolton, Kristy Borrelli, Ian Burke, Hal Collins, Margaret Davies, Kefylew Destalew, Aaron Esser, Steve Fransen, Stephen Guy, Ashley Hammac, Scot Hulbert, Dave Huggins, Kisusan Khati, Allyson Leonhard, Don Llewellyn, Drew Lyon, Tai Maaz, Isaac Madsen, Vicki McCracken, Michael Neff, Bill Pan, Tim Paulitz, Megan Reese, Dennis Roe, William Schillinger, Ron Sloot, Karen Sowers, Dale Whaley, Frank Young, Lauren Young.

Sustainable in Seattle

Students from nine different universities across the nation arrived in Seattle last Thursday for the 2014 IAAS National Summit, hosted by the WSU International Development Club. Everyone spent a rainy Seattle day on a farm tour, a winery tour, and a tour of the Pike Place Market, all with the focus of sustainability. Friday brought a day of intense discussion on the topic with industry representatives and a keynote speech from Brantley Browning, senior program officer for Ag. Development at the Gates Foundation. Visit the Summit’s Storify page for more information and pictures! https://storify.com/cahnrsglobal/iaas-natsum-2014

Celebrating 100 Years: Extension nurtures leadership skills in future senator

“I grew up in the rural Illinois town of Robinson, where Extension was very important for the support of our small, agricultural community. As a child I participated in 4-H, which I credit for developing some of my leadership and communication skills.”

So begins the story that WSU-Spokane Chancellor and former state senator Lisa Brown submitted to the Voices of Extension Story Project. This project is part of the yearlong celebration of the 100^th Anniversary of Extension.

WSU Extension is asking students, faculty, staff, alumni, volunteers and friends to share their experiences of how Extension programs, services and people have enriched their lives. The goal is to collect 100 stories. To read other stories or to submit your own, visit http://ext100.wsu.edu/anniversary/storyproject/.

WSU piloting effort to help families eat healthy on a budget

Studies show 16.2 million U.S. children live in households that lack the means to get nutritious food on a regular basis. Washington State University Extension 4-H has received $150,000 to engage 2,500 youth and families in 13 counties in the 4-H Food Smart Families program.

Washington is one of five states selected for a pilot program by the National 4-H Council and ConAgra Foods Foundation. A ConAgra gift will fund the initiative.

During the first year, the council will evaluate the program and later replicate it to reach youth and families nationwide. It will ultimately equip families with healthy living skills and education that will translate into lasting behavior changes. Read more.

Learn more about 4-H at http://www.4-H.org, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/4-H and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/4H.

‘Horsing around’ helps reduce stress in youth

New research from Washington State University reveals how youth who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress – and the evidence lies in kids’ saliva.

The results are published in the American Psychological Association’s Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin this month.

“We were coming at this from a prevention perspective,” said Patricia Pendry, a developmental psychologist at WSU who studies how stress “gets under the skin” and the effects of prevention programs on human development. “We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems.” Read more in WSU News.

Economic, community impact of farmers markets

Farmers markets in Washington have more than doubled in the last decade, from nearly 80 to more than 160, according to a recent report by Washington State University. The report is based on a 2010 study that examined economic and community impacts of farmers markets that could help shape strategies and policies to sustain them.

1. Most are concentrated in the population centers of the Puget Sound region, with more than one-fourth in King County.
2.  In 2010, 169 farmers markets were identified in 32 of the state’s 39 counties.
3.  Markets reported a total of $30 million in annual sales. (The actual total is likely higher given that one-third of markets in the study did not provide sales data.) The top 10 markets accounted for more than half of sales.

Click here to continue reading 15 facts about Washington Farmers Markets.

Spring cleaning and updates to Extension Publications

On May 2, 2014, the warehouse inventory of printed publications created in 2008 and before will be greatly reduced. This is part of an effort to ensure the relevance and accuracy of educational materials in the WSU Extension Online Store as well as reduce costs and be more environmentally conscious.

More about CAHNRS Communications’ new web-first distribution model is available at http://cahnrs.wsu.edu/communications/?p=24212&preview=true.

Spring ReConnect digital magazine coming soon

The spring issue of ReConnect will be coming to e-mail inboxes soon, so make sure you and your fellow CAHNRS alums are on the subscription list.

The upcoming issue will pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of Extension at WSU. Sign up now for the interactive guided tour of your history.

Kudos

Dr. Juming Tang has been elected Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), along with 14 other elected fellow members, in 2014. IFT is the largest professional organization in the field of food science and food engineering, with 18,000 members from more than 100 countries. The IFT Fellow designation recognizes outstanding distinction and extraordinary contributions in the profession.

Shanna Pumphrey, Academic/Internship Coordinator in the department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles has been selected as an Outstanding Advising Award-Primary Advising Role Certificate of Merit recipient from the National Academic Advising Association as part of the 2014 National Awards Program for Academic Advising.

The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) has announced the 2014 best enology and viticulture paper awards, based on all research articles published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture (AJEV) in 2013. The Best Enology Award has been bestowed on “Sensory Impact of Extended Maceration and Regulated Deficit Irrigation on Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon Wines,” by L. Federico Casassa, Richard C. Larsen, Christopher W. Beaver, Maria S. Mireles, Markus Keller, William R. Riley, Russell Smithyman and James F. Harbertson.

The article “Training System Affects Sweet Cherry Harvest Efficiency,” by Yiannis G. Ampatzidis and Matthew D. Whiting [HortScience 48(5):547-555], has been named the Extension Publication Award winner for papers published in 2013 by the American Society for Horticultural Science. The authors will be honored during the 111th ASHS Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, in July.

The article “Manipulating Stem Number, Tuber Set and Size Distribution in Specialty Potato Cultivars,” by Jacob M. Blauer, Lisa O. Knowles, and N. Richard Knowles, has been named the Outstanding Paper for 2013 by the American Journal of Potato Research [Am. J. Potato Res. (2013) 90:470-496].

Tim Smith, Extension Tree Fruit Agent for north-central WA, was featured in this month’s issue of the Good Fruit Grower.

Congratulations to Interior Design major Anne Borges for her SURCA award and work with Kathleen Ryan on the project, “The New Rural Library.”

Events

April 28-30: Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels + Co-Products Conference. WSU Extension and USDA are primary sponsors of this first-of-its-kind event to be held in Seattle. The conference features a packed agenda with first-rate speakers, including Peter Goldmark, Washington State Director of Public Lands.

May 8: 100 Years of Community Engagement: Join the Celebration. The public is invited to attend an open house to be held May 8, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the WSU Snohomish County Extension Offices located at McCollum Park in South Everett (600 128th St SE). The open house will include program spotlights such as garden tours, forest walks, 4-H Robotics, and interactive activities from a variety of additional programs. Join us as we celebrate Extension’s past contributions and look forward to the next 100 years of service. Stay tuned for more service opportunities in your own county and community.

May 9: WSU Hort Club Graduation Plant Sale, in the greenhouse across from Ferdinand’s. Bedding plants, Cougar Red tomatoes, hanging baskets, and more. Friday, May 9 from 11 am – 3 pm. We grow beautiful plants!

May 27: Thinning and Pruning Workshop for landowners. Attendees will learn: 1) basic tree physiology that explains how trees respond to thinning and pruning; 2) common reasons for thinning and pruning, focusing on decreasing stand susceptibility to wildfire, proactively improving forest health, and creating habitat for wildlife; and 3) programs available to provide technical and financial assistance to landowners whose lands may benefit from thinning and pruning. Cost is $20 per ownership (more than one family member may attend). Learn more.

View more upcoming events in April/May on the CAHNRS Events calendar.

In eNewsletters

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April 16 – On Solid Ground- Horse Therapy, Innovators, Celebrate Extension

March 26 –  Voice of the Vine- Clean Plants, Taste Washington, Maritime Grapes

Feb. 19 – Green Times – Bioasphalt, Fungi, Soil.