News Stories - Page 45

News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

December Nights and Holiday Lights will take place at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens in Savannah on select nights from Nov. 25 through Dec. 24. CAES News
CGBG Holiday Lights
The Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm, operated by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, will soon be spreading holiday cheer with their December Nights and Holiday Lights event in Savannah. On select days from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24, visitors can view nearly 5 acres of the gardens lit up for the holidays.
Lewis Bartlett presents at the Young Harris Beekeeping Event last May. (Photo by Sidney Rouse) CAES News
Beekeeper Outreach
No line of research is too big or small for Lewis Bartlett — literally. From mammoth extinctions to the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), he’s published on a wide range of topics during and since university. But bees have had his attention since childhood.
To help create a less stressful holiday meal, University of Georgia Extension specialists offer these tips. Plan ahead. 
Don't go it alone. Resist the urge to buy new things or try new recipes. Set realistic expectations for family affairs. Consider a seating chart. Remember, the traditional turkey your family has always enjoyed will round out your holiday meal much better than a half-frozen, half-cooked, deep-fried turkey would. CAES News
Worry-free Holiday
Does the stress of preparing for the holidays hit you like a sledgehammer? Are you Googling new recipes the night before the feast to find the perfect sides? Does a relative want Grandma’s cornbread stuffing instead of the Stouffer’s you had planned to prepare? Let’s face it: The holidays may look picture-perfect on social media, but in reality, they may not be so full of harmony and smiles.
2022 Marie Fort Garden Club Scholarship CAES News
Marie Fort Garden Club scholarship
Srijana Thapa Magar was named the 2022 recipient of the Marie Fort Garden Club Scholarship, presented annually to a student in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia Griffin campus. Thapa Magar, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Horticulture at UGA-Griffin, was thrilled to receive the award, which she said will help further her academic and career goals.
Although she has done extensive work in GMO advocacy, Van Eenennaam’s own research centers on a different topic entirely: genome editing. (Photo by Dennis McDaniel) CAES News
D.W. Brooks Lecture
Genetic improvement, particularly improvements related to animal production, has been one of the most transformational agricultural advancements in our history. The breeding of healthier, more productive livestock has been achieved through genetic selection over the course of time, both through natural genetic selection and through increased use of artificial insemination.
With a similar taste to turkey, Tofurky has a higher amount of protein per serving than regular turkey, ensuring that the consumer is not missing out nutrients found in meat. CAES News
Tofurky and Alternative Proteins
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday for food. On the fourth Thursday of November, people across the country sit down at the “good dining table” (or the broken folding table for the kids) and eat the same thing — copious amounts of turkey. Vegans and vegetarians may find this holiday to be a more difficult one. What can a person on a plant-based diet eat on Thanksgiving without missing out on the holiday fun?
A young student in the Georgia 4-H Environmental Education program reaches out to gently pat a turtle at a Georgia 4-H center. CAES News
Natural Wonderland
A math teacher and a gym coach take long steps down to the sandy ground from the bottom stairs of two yellow school buses. It is still early March, but the air is already warm and sticky; a gentle breeze stirs the Spanish moss that droops from live oak trees above their heads. An instant later, 64 middle-school students pile out of the buses and take in their surroundings at Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island.
Through the Rural Georgia: Growing Stronger initiative, the annual Farm Stress Summit and the Georgia Agriculture Wellness Alliance, UGA Extension is expanding its work to improve rural stress and mental health to serve the 1.5 million Georgians who live and work in rural communities. (Photo by Andrew Tucker, Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA) CAES News
Rural Health
More than 60 million Americans and 1.5 million Georgians live and work in rural communities and value being members of small communities, but access to health care and treatment is challenging in areas where doctors and hospitals can be far from home.
Pedro Fontes is an assistant professor in beef cattle reproductive physiology in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA) CAES News
Pedro Fontes
With dual roles in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension, Pedro Fontes engages with stakeholders and producers, as well as his students, to teach them about beef cattle reproduction and current technological advancements in the field.
Melanie Biersmith is the ninth State Leader for Georgia 4-H CAES News
Georgia 4-H Leader
Georgia 4-H has selected Melanie Biersmith as the new state 4-H leader. Effective Nov. 1, Biersmith is the ninth state leader in the organization’s 118-year history. Biersmith most recently served as the associate state 4-H leader for facilities and residential programs for Georgia 4-H, where she managed operations and personnel at all six Georgia 4-H centers.