Timely Topics

In July, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the migratory monarch butterfly as endangered and declared it “at risk of extinction” in the United States and Canada. The U.S. monarch population has declined between 22 and 72 percent…

The envelope, please. And the winner of the Favorite Vegetable of the 2022 Albemarle County Fairgoers is … carrots! Followed by broccoli and tomatoes, with only three votes separating the top and third-place winners. The least favorite vegetable: okra. The…

There’s no denying the usefulness of English ivy (Hedera helix) as ground cover: it’s evergreen, grows quickly, and tolerates shade, drought, and a variety of soil types. These characteristics, of course, also make it easy for English ivy to spread…

Do you like watermelon, avocados, nuts, apples, peaches, blueberries, or chocolate?  None of those foods would exist without pollinators. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 150 of our U.S. food crops depend on pollinators, including almost all…

It’s hard to imagine that, in 1900, white-tailed deer were nearly extinct in Virginia. The state’s largest herbivore has made a dramatic comeback over the past century, but its recovery has taken its toll on our forests, agriculture, health, safety…

This is International Compost Awareness Week, an ideal time to consider this great way to recycle organic material like food and yard waste. Composting uses natural decomposition to create a valuable soil additive while keeping the waste out of landfills,…

We all know the relief we feel when we walk from, say, a hot parking lot into a leafy landscape. Two things are happening: the trees are obviously sheltering us from the heat of the sun, but more subtly, they…