Backyard Orchard News
Her Name Was Olive
Her name was Olive. Every Friday morning she'd come bounding over to greet me, her tail wagging...
Olive attentively watches for Kris Kolb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sarah Hodge pets Olive, while Kris Kolb gardens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Olive faithfully follows Kris Kolb as she hauls away clippings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings of Freedom
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." That's the line that came to me Saturday...
A newly emerged Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary returns to the site where it was released. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Gulf Fritillary caterpillar survived the frost. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Where the Boys Are
The boys won't be back in town for awhile. But they will show up. Girls, too. Native pollinator...
Male leafcutter bee, Megachile fidelis, as identified by Robbin Thorp, on coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male longhorned bee, Melissodes communis, as identified by Robbin Thorp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble Bee Book: The Wait Is Over
If you've been itching for that long--awaited book about North America's bumble bees, the...
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee and yellow-faced bumble bee sharing a coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A video of the recent soil health workshops is available.
A video of the soil health workshops that were held last week on Tuesday, December 10th in Davis and Wednesday, December 11th in Five Points with Jay Fuhrer, a district conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Bismarck, ND and Brendon Rockey, a farmer from Center, CO is now available for viewing. These workshops attracted over 150 participants and generated many good ideas and interactions between attendees.
The Conservation Agriculture Systems Institute (CASI) thanks all who took part and also extends warm gratitude to Jay and Brendon for taking the time to share their experiences with California Ag stakeholders.
Biotic soil resulting from conservation agriculture practices.