Celia Tamayo and Michelle Batista were recognized as two of Lamar Community College’s best and brightest at the 2018 Colorado Community College System’s Rising Start Awards Ceremony and Honorary Luncheon held on April 10. 

Southeastern Colorado communities already are benefitting from a $300,000 grant awarded to the Colorado State Forest Service late last year to address community forestry and tree health concerns in the area, through removing dead trees and planting others this spring. 

Most community forests in the area have seen significant decline in recent years, resulting in many dead and dying trees on both public and private properties.

With the help of Derek Stegelman, College of Health and Human Sciences assistant director of IT for application development; Edie McSherry, a Larimer County Extension agent; and a team of volunteers from across Colorado, the food preservation app was launched this spring. 

“Overall, CSU Extension has seen a rise in website viewers using mobile devices,” said Shackelton. “But our online resources aren’t mobile-responsive, so we wanted to incorporate our food preservation fact sheet information into the app to meet that need.” 

May 5 is “Wildfire Preparedness Day” in Colorado – a day when communities across the state come together to prepare for wildfires and take actions to reduce their wildfire risk. The proclamation, which dedicates a day to engage communities in focusing on activities that create awareness, education and action to reduce potential deaths and property losses through their preparedness efforts, coincides with the 2018 National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day.

The Colorado Master Gardener / Supporters of Horticulture Education annual plant sale has been set for May 12 at the Colorado State Fairgrounds Fine Arts Building.

The sale will be held from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. with vendors offering native plants, water-wise plants, vegetables, annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and other plants.

Purchases can be made with cash or checks only.

The Colorado State Fairgrounds is located at 1001 Beulah Avenue in Pueblo.

As part of a budding partnership between the two organizations, the Colorado State Forest Service has received a donation from the Girl Scouts of Colorado to provide 7,500 seedling trees to be used for reforestation efforts in Colorado. 

There are too many trees in Sierra Nevada forests, say scientists affiliated with the National Science Foundation (NSF) Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (CZO).

That may come as a surprise to those who see dense, verdant forests as signs of a healthy environment. After all, green is good, right? Not necessarily. When it comes to the number of trees in California forests, bigger isn't always better.

Extreme drought increased significantly across southern Colorado over the past week, with more than a quarter of the state’s area now experiencing extreme conditions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is reminding Colorado farmers and ranchers that the window is closing on the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. To date, NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed questionnaires, 33,176 of which are from Colorado, but both the national and Colorado return rates are currently lower than at this point in the 2012 Census.