Is your garden in need of drought relief?
WVXU's Cincinnati Edition invited a University of Cincinnati biologist onto its gardening program to field listener questions about this summer's regional drought and invasive species.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Theresa Culley is an expert on invasive species and is an avid gardener.
She told host Lucy May about a new project she is leading to organize public gardens into an early warning network for emerging nonnative, invasive species. So far she has organized a collection of more than 50 public gardens across North America to share expertise about potentially problematic plants that they are observing.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the costs of eliminating invasive species get exponentially greater once the plants become well established. If gardens can warn property owners earlier, they might be able to stem their spread before they can take hold, she said.
Culley helps states such as Ohio identify invasive plants that pose a threat to the economy, the environment or agriculture.
“We really need to know what plants are rising up to be a problem. Plants like Amur honeysuckle are already a huge problem that take a lot of time and effort to remove,” she said.
Culley said experts who maintain public gardens often are the first to notice nonnative plants that one day could become problematic.
Culley was joined on the show by Turner Farm Community Garden program director Peter Huttinger and Jon Butcher, CEO of Madison Tree Care & Landscaping.
Listen to the Cincinnati Edition episode.
Featured image at top: WVXU Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May, left, and UC Professor Theresa Culley sit in the WVXU studio. Photo/Michael Miller
Latest UC News
- CCM’s Music Education Division hosts workshop with violinist Tracy Silverman on Oct. 16The UC College-Conservatory of Music's Division of Music Education and the Ohio Collegiate Music Education Association present a free workshop with electric violinist Tracy Silverman beginning at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Silverman will work with CCM students throughout the day on Oct. 16, discussing his career and providing master classes. His residency will culminate with a strum bowing and improvisation workshop, which is open to teachers and college students from throughout the Tristate area.
- UC students unearth history at Tharros archaeological digEvery summer, a group of undergraduate students from the UC Department of Classics make the journey from Cincinnati to Tharros, Italy. However, these students won’t be sipping lemonade and lounging by the Mediterranean Sea all summer. They will be participating in experiential, hands-on learning, working as archaeologists on an important excavation.
- Can regenerative farming help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?UC Adjunct Professor Teri Jacobs tells WVXU that farming practices such as no-till planting, cover crops and rotating crops help protect soil and prevent carbon from being released into the atmosphere.
- Forbes Under 30 Summit showcases Cincinnati’s entrepreneurial spiritYoung talent from across America gathered in Cincinnati to gain insights from esteemed business leaders and discover the Queen City’s vibrant entertainment and business scenes.
- Knowledge Nexus aims to empower new faculty with research capabilitiesKnowledge Nexus is a series of workshops—presented in partnership with the University of Cincinnati's Associate Dean of Education Innovations and Community Partnerships and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (Dean’s Office, CECH)—that outline common intricacies of research development at CECH and UC, which, as an R1 institution, absolutely values research activity.
- UC Clermont Summer Scholars program launches student success2024 marked the second year for the UC Clermont Summer Scholars program, which focuses particularly on providing opportunities to students who might be underprepared, underrepresented as a minority or with a disability, or are the first generation in their family to attend college.