This summer, the New Jersey Healthy Kids Initiative (NJHKI) worked both on and off Rutgers campus to educate local youth about nutrition and its importance in overall health. Partnerships with Scarlet Kids summer camp on Cook Campus and New Brunswick’s New Brunswick Fit summer wellness program granted dozens of kids and teens access to interactive […]
Community
Rutgers Synder Farm Hosts 2023 Open House and Tomato Tasting
On August 30, Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm hosted its Open House and Tomato Tasting in Pittstown, New Jersey. Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and NJAES Executive Director Laura Lawson joined a large crowd of loyal tomato-lovers at the annual event. With paper dishes and plastic forks in hand, visitors sampled more than 50 tomato […]
K-12 Students Participate in Immersive Forest Management STEM Experience at Rutgers
Shreya Dutt, a high school student in East Brunswick, was fascinated by the topic of controlled application of fire used by experts to manage forests that she developed a video for use in her local library and as part of her YouTube channel. Shreya was one of 20 high students who spent two Saturdays over […]
Plant of the Month: Buttonbush – A Plant in Need of Respect
By Bruce Crawford, Manager of Horticulture, Morris County Park Commission To borrow and slightly adjust a phrase from Mr. Rodney Dangerfield’s comedic repertoire: “Some plants get no respect”! The irony for these belittled or overlooked plants is how many are easily grown, even under challenging conditions and how many are native! Part of the problem […]
It’s ‘National Farmers Market Week’ – Visit Our Two Rutgers Markets!
Each year the USDA proclaims a “National Farmers Market Week” to remind consumers to visit these markets in the summer and fall. August 6-12 this year marks the 24th of this annual celebration that highlights the vital role farmers markets play in our nation’s food system. According to the NJ Department of Agriculture, there are […]
Rutgers Nursery and Ornamental Research and Demonstrations
With the help of RAREC farm crew and funding through RCE leadership, Tim Waller (Cumberland, Nursery Crops) has been diligently working to bring four Quonset-style high tunnels back into production for nursery and ornamental related research and demonstrations. Initially, the high tunnels required partial demolition, new flooring, hip and foot boards, wiggle-wire channels, 6mil plastic […]
Rutgers Center for Vector Biology has revamped New Jersey Ticks 4 Science!
“New Jersey Ticks 4 Science!” is a citizen-led initiative aiming to create a tick map showing the distribution of tick species and tick-borne pathogens across New Jersey by zip code. Ticks encountered by those working, living, or traveling in the state will be identified from pictures submitted to the NJ Ticks 4 Science website. Ticks […]
2023 Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days
By all measures, the Rutgers Turfgrass Research Field Days held on July 25 and 26, 2023, were a resounding success. Faculty, staff and students in the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science were able to present their current research findings during three events over the two days, which attracted more than 537 people from Finland, Canada […]
Plant of the Month: Jack-in-the-Pulpit, a Flower Insects Would Die For!
by Bruce Crawford, Manager of Horticulture, Morris County Park Commission Most herbaceous plants are noted for their showy and colorful floral displays. In some cases, they may have the added benefit of attractive foliage that will help carry interest within the garden well beyond the flower display. However, it is far more rare for a […]
4-H Teams with Rutgers Scientists and Engineers to Train 54 Teenagers to Serve as STEM Ambassadors
Since 2009, the Rutgers 4-H Youth Development department has trained and supported teenagers from several of New Jersey’s biggest cities to lead STEM programming for youth through camps, libraries, and afterschool programs. This July, the program’s 15th cohort of STEM Ambassadors spent a week at Rutgers-New Brunswick to expand their own understanding of STEM topics […]