A new Rutgers University program involves a mutually beneficial human/equine relationship: it offers students an educational experience, while giving horses in need a chance to find homes… It’s the product of brainstorming to address animal science professor Sarah Ralston’s lack of access to horses for teaching… Department chair Wendie Cohick suggested getting horses just for teaching, and it was determined a year-round herd of four horses for that purpose and outreach, such as clinics, would be ideal. But even more horses were needed for Ag Field Day in New Brunswick at 10 a.m. April 25, a chance for students to show off their horses and what they have learned… “So many horses out there need homes, and most of the placements and rescues are full to the gills. If we take on even two or three horses, then we open up two or three spots for their parent organizations.”… Associate Professor of Animal Sciences and Extension Specialist Carey Williams noted, “The students are winning by getting to interact with different breeds and different types of horses from different backgrounds. These horses may or may not know what we are asking them to do, so approaching each one differently might be necessary… Anyone interested in seeing the horses in the Rutgers University Teaching Herd (RUTH) before Ag Field Day can attend the “Meet RUTH” get-together on the Cook Campus in New Brunswick from 1-3 p.m. April 11.
Warren County Celebrates ‘National Nutrition Month’ and Recent Grant Award
March is National Nutrition Month and the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders has issued an official proclamation in support of its designation, while highlighting the recent Shaping NJ Healthy Community Grant awarded to the Warren County Communi…
Centenary College’s Earth Day Celebration Scheduled for April 25
This year, Centenary College’s Earth Week Committee welcomes members of the community to the celebration of Earth Day, which will be held on Saturday, April 25, on the front lawn of the college… In addition, in an attempt to educate our community on Earth-related issues, the College offers a presentation on April 22, with Tony Broccoli, Professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University. He will speak at the College at 2 p.m., in the Ferry Building, room 12… Broccoli’s presentation titled “The Climate Ahead: Global Changes, Local Impacts” focuses on the science of climate change, including a discussion of the basic physics, global observations of climate change and model projections of future climate change. The talk will also discuss some of the potential impacts of climate change on our region and will close with a brief discussion of society’s options for dealing with climate change. Members of the community are invited to learn more about this topic and participate in a discussion after the presentation.
Got grass? Snowmelt Reveals Lawns For First Time Since January in Most of N.J.
After a brutal stretch of cold, there are finally signs that New Jersey is beginning to emerge from the clutches of winter… Temperatures could crack 60 degrees in many areas Wednesday for the first time in months, allowing the snowpack to melt away in most places to reveal grass for the first time since January 22… “We’re overdue to have lost this snow cover,” said David Robinson, state climatologist at Rutgers University. “It’s just a testament to the persistency of the cold we’ve seen recently… Satellite analysis from the National Weather Service shows that the snow pack has quickly been retreating north as warmer temperatures push into the region. Robinson said snow will likely remain for a few more days north of Interstate 78, where several inches of snow and granular ice still need to melt away.
Getting a Jump Start on Spring Gardening at Trailside Center in Mountainside
A group of 54 teachers and community volunteers braved the icy grip of winter to get a running start on the spring planting season, at last month’s “Get Your Youth and Community Garden Growing” conference. The event was conducted by experts from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County at the County’s Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside… The free Gardening Helpline is a project of the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County, an all-volunteer group run by the Extension with the support of the Freeholder Board. The group is based at the Extension offices in the County’s Colleen Fraser Building in Westfield. Among their many civic projects, Master Gardeners cultivate the elaborate grounds of the Demonstration Garden and host the Spring Garden Fair.
Bridgewater-Raritan Senior Wins First Place in Woofminster Dog Show
James Clelland, a senior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, and his Australian Shepherd, named Jack, won first place in the Junior Showmanship Master Senior Class, at the recent 4-H Woofminster Winter Dog Show… According to James, he and his parents have met a lot of new people and made many friends at the various 4-H and AKC dog shows. He considers the past eight years “as a great experience to show and work with dogs, as well as compete in Obedience Trials and Junior Showmanship classes.”… Somerset County 4-H Woof Dog Club members and their dogs, as well as members of the 4-H Wags & Whiskers Club (Somerset County) can be seen at the annual NJ State 4-H Dog Show. It will be held on April 25 at the Rutgers G.H. Cook Campus, New Brunswick.
Hunterdon 4-H Members’ Bird Knowledge Put to the Test at Avian Bowl
Nineteen 4-H members were part of six teams representing four counties (Hunterdon, Middlesex, Ocean, and Salem) who competed in the New Jersey 4-H Avian Bowl Winter Event held on Feb. 28 in Gloucester County… The Ocean County Shore Poultry team captured first place in the Senior Division and Salem County Cool Chicks team took second place. In the Junior Division, the Hunterdon County Fur ‘n Feathers Junior 2 team won first place and Hunterdon County Fur ‘n Feathers Junior 1 team captured second place… “The 4-H Avian Bowl is an educational event, in its inaugural year in New Jersey, which offers 4-H’ers an excellent opportunity to work as a team to advance their knowledge in poultry related topics.” said Jeannette Rea Keywood, New Jersey 4-H Youth Development Program – Small Animal Project Advisory Council liaison… The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station – Cooperative Extension.
Princeton Environmental Film Festival Offers Free Movies and an Emphasis on the Word ‘Enough’
For the past eight years, every time its Princeton Public Library organizers brainstormed an annual goal to provoke exploration of their Princeton Environmental Film Festival, they focused on a word or phrase. One year it was “a sense of place.” Another time it was “risk.”… Bracketed by a March 13 Climate Change Cabaret at the library beginning at 7 p.m. and ending with an April 25 “Let It Go” community yard sale, the film festival includes the world premiere “Antarctic Edge: 70 Degrees South” at The Garden on March 24 at 7 p.m… The documentary is the result of a partnership between the Rutgers University Film Bureau and the Rutgers Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences that explores the National Science Foundation’s long-term ecological research in the West Antarctic Peninsula. The film follows a team of scientists who are in a race against time to understand the fastest winter-warming place in the world, a location whose ice sheet was declared unstoppable just last year.
An Equine Intervention: Rutgers Students Team up With Horses in Need of New Homes
Horses in need of re-homing and animal science students — perfect together. That’s the idea behind the new Rutgers University Teaching Herd (RUTH): Fostering horses for teaching and outreach program. These horses, fostered at Rutgers for the spring semester, will be trained and shown by students at Ag Field Day on April 25. Representatives from their parent equine rescue/placement organizations will be on hand to accept adoption applications after the horse show… Rutgers professor, Dr. Sarah Ralston stressed that this was not a continuation of the Young Horse Teaching and Research Program, which went on hiatus two years ago after a decade of success. This new herd is strictly for teaching and outreach purposes… Dr. Wendie Cohick, chair of the Department of Animal Sciences, came up with the idea for the teaching herd. “As any horse owner knows, it is very expensive to have horses — and a primary reason why many horse lovers don’t own horses,” said Cohick… Rutgers Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Dr. Carey Williams noted that students will be using the teaching horses in a variety of ways.
4-H’s Small Animal Symposium in Clayton a Hands-on Learning Experience
It wasn’t just the rabbits that were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at Saturday morning’s Small Animal Educational Symposium — so too were the young 4-H members eager to learn more about caring for their little friends… Attendees from nine New Jersey counties who came to the Gloucester County complex, in Clayton, received first-hand lessons on fundamentals like poultry showmanship as well as preparing rabbits and cavy (think guinea pigs and the like) for judging… Now in its second year, the event put little critters in the spotlight and sometimes on the table while the finer points of their health and handling were taught. Other event attractions included a rabbit-hopping competition and a “Health Check 101” seminar.
