From the UC Blogosphere...

Bring on the Bugs!

Insects populate the earth and they're also populating the 140th annual Dixon May Fair (May7-10). Sharon Payne,...

Dixon May Fair Youth Building superintendent Sharon Payne with some of the insect photographs taken by youth exhibitors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dixon May Fair Youth Building superintendent Sharon Payne with some of the insect photographs taken by youth exhibitors.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lady beetles, aka lady bugs, are popular images at the Dixon May Fair. Dixon May Fair Youth Building assistant superintendent Julianna Payne holds two of them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lady beetles, aka lady bugs, are popular images at the Dixon May Fair. Dixon May Fair Youth Building assistant superintendent Julianna Payne holds two of them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Chris Conklin works on the agricultural display in Madden Hall, Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Chris Conklin works on the agricultural display in Madden Hall, Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dixon May Fair chief administrative officer Patrica "Pat" Conklin stands next to a photo of a bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dixon May Fair chief administrative officer Patrica "Pat" Conklin stands next to a photo of a bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Daily Life For Master Gardeners

Sweet Peas By Andrea Peck   "The odor of the sweet pea is so offensive to flies that it will drive them out of a...

The Buzzingham Palace

"All the buzz" in England is the birth of a new member of the royal family, Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte...

This bee observation hive, named "The Buzzingham Palace," will be on display Thursday through Sunday, May 7-10 at the Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This bee observation hive, named "The Buzzingham Palace," will be on display Thursday through Sunday, May 7-10 at the Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Staff research associate Billy Synk of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, opening the Buzzingham Palace. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Staff research associate Billy Synk of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, opening the Buzzingham Palace. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Staff research associate Billy Synk of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, checking the frames. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Staff research associate Billy Synk of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, checking the frames. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Elkus Ranch seeks to expand

The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center near Half Moon Bay is making plans to expand its conference center to offer more flexible facilities for conventions and team-building exercises, reported Julia Reis in the Half Moon Bay Review.

The ranch was donated to UC in 1975 and hosts more than 6,000 youth and adults from all over the San Francisco Bay Area each year. UC ANR presents 4-H programs at Elkus Ranch for children from preschool through high school to explore the processes of producing food and fiber, nutrition programs, community service days and special events. The site is also available for daytime retreats, meetings, workshops, weddings and other special events.

Elkus Ranch director Virginia Bolshakova send a request for qualifications to area planning firms which are due this Friday. The proposals should include potential project scope and plans for improved overnight accommodations, new field laboratory areas and new walking trails.

Program coordinator Leslie Jensen took the reporter on the tour of Elkus Ranch's facilities and shared the staff's vision for improvements. The staff envisions adding yurts for student housing or replacing or renovating the building where students currently sleep. The ranch's water system is also in need of updating and the staff wants the education center to be "greener." The study is to be completed by Sept. 1.

 

A Case of Mistaken Identity

"Ah, look at that cute little yellow ladybug! Isn't it pretty?" How many times have you heard that? Often it is not the...

A spotted cucumber beetle foraging on Iceland poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A spotted cucumber beetle foraging on Iceland poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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