- Author: Dr. Bob Niklewicz, PT, DHSc, UC Master Gardener of Napa Valley
One of the great pleasures of gardening is the reward and satisfaction of walking among your plants and seeing the unique way you have displayed your horticultural talents. A garden is a gift you give to yourself as well as to all those who take the time to appreciate your handiwork.
Working in the garden is an excellent way to stretch your muscles and get some exercise. It is both physical and mental therapy. As sore as your muscles may become, the benefits are worth it. Take short breaks from your garden work, admire your plants, and then, recharged, continue. When you are finished for the day, you have earned a rest. Put your tools down, put your feet up, and enjoy a beverage of your choice.
Walking is also an important way to stay healthy, and walking in your garden is a pleasure. The human body has about six hundred muscles, and between 25,000 to 600,000 miles of blood vessels. The hardest working muscle is your heart. All the other muscles work as needed, but your heart beats and contracts about 100,000 times a day.
Every time you take a step, reach, bend, or just smile, muscles will contract, then relax when the task is done. Your heart is constantly pumping for a healthy circulation. Think of your muscles as auxiliary pumps to transport blood. By having them do a lot of the work, they lessen the stress on the heart. With every muscle contraction, especially in a steady rhythmic way such as walking, you move fresh blood in and waste out of your tissues. Muscles move more blood as you walk and improve your fitness. It's a win-win situation.
As the Chinese philosopher Laozi said, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” So how do you start the journey? Always start by warming up. A slow steady walk may be al yu nee. My rule of thumb is: If you are wearing a sweatshirt with a zipper, when you feel the warm “glow” and you sense the need to pull down the zipper, you are warmed up. Walking around your yard several times should do nicely. Comfortable shoes are a must. Take your cup of coffee with you if the ground is flat. However, if you have uneven areas in your yard, consider a walking stick for balance.
Walk at a pace that is not stressful. Enjoy the view. You should swing your arms even if you are using a stick: right hand forward when the left foot steps forward. If you really want to check your progress, learn to take your pulse—or let your smart watch do it. The target heart rate for conditioning is 100 beats per minute. If you just want to warm up, go for the “glow.”
Gardens are also great promoters of mental health. Even just a few minutes a day in your garden can reduce stress. Gardening allows the experience of “Zen” as you spend time being part of your yard. As you manipulate plants and their placement, they become a vehicle for you to travel methodically through the soil and find that place that suits you as well as them. That in turn gives you an intuitive satisfaction as to their place in your space and time. Your work around other plants, removing rocks, and weeds, to give you a creative calm and satisfaction in that moment. When you sit back and look at your work, you like what you see and how you feel.
Many people compare activity in the garden as a type of meditation, which is a journey from external activity to inner silence. For most of your life, you may be busy doing things. The operative word is “doing.” When you guide yourself into a meditative state, that gives you the opportunity to just “be,” nothing more, nothing less. You are just there in your own peaceful world. To paraphrase Deepak Chopra, MD, you remember you are a human BEING, not a human DOING.
We usually work in the garden until we are done (seldom, in my case). To get back some of the energy that you have put into your garden, try doing nothing. All you have to do is “be.” I challenge you to stop earlier in the earlier in the day—or even take some time at the beginning of the day—to appreciate the gift you gave yourself by having a garden with the relaxation that is hidden there.
Become a Master Gardener Volunteer! U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County is now accepting applications for the class of 2025. Visit us at napamg.ucanr/edu to read the informational brochure and register to attend a mandatory information session for applicants. Applications are due September 25, 2024, at 5:00 pm.
Workshop: Join the UC Master Gardeners for a workshop on “Get Your Hands Dirty in the Pollinator Garden” on Saturday, June 29, from 10am to 12 pm, at Las Flores Community Center, 4300 Linda Vista Ave., Napa.
Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am until 1 pm at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number, and a brief description.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's a good reason why.
Shapiro has monitored the butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a research site at https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu. "I began doing the 4th of July butterfly count in 1978 and have done it every year since--always on the actual Fourth," he emailed his "posse" today.
"As I read the models, the first week of July this year will be at or near record heat every day," Shapiro wrote. "The maximum should be 108 or 109 on Wednesday, and Thursday the 4th about 106 here (Davis, Calif.)"
"As most of you know, under such heat butterflies go into heat-avoidance mode," he pointed out. "Any data generated after the T (temperature) reaches 100F are suspect. Does anyone record butterfly diversity when things are known to not be flying?"
Shapiro quipped that he knows his limits "and I am not going to push them, even with a supply of intravenous Gatorade. If I do the Willow Slough count it will be after the T retreats to a civilized level, which may not be until about the 9th or 10th."
"At any rate, don't expect a report on Thursday."
Note: You may know Shapiro not only for his incredible butterfly population data, but also for the "Beer for a Butterfly" contest he hosts every year in the three-county area of Sacramento, Yolo and Solano. The first person to net the first-of-the-year cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, and win the contest receives a pitcher of beer or its equivalent. It's all part of his scientific research. P. rapae is emerging earlier and earlier as the regional climate has warmed, Shapiro says. (See Bug Squad post)
- Author: Anne Schellman
Summer is here, and so is the Stanislaus County Fair! Our local University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Master Gardener Program volunteers are excited to have a presence at the fair this year. Our bright blue popup tent makes our booth easy to spot in front of the Floriculture building located just inside the fairgrounds near the Arch gate (off 900 North Broadway) in Turlock.
Free Seed Packets
Stop by to talk to our volunteers and ask for a packet of cilantro or CA poppy seeds (while supplies last). Cilantro and poppies thrive during cool weather, so wait to plant seeds until fall.
Have a Pest Problem?
UC IPM Quick Tips cards for common pests are available FREE in English or Spanish on topics like ants, powdery mildew, gophers, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and more!
For more information about the fair, visit the Stanislaus County Fair Website. http://stancofair.com/
/h3>/h3>- Author: Gregory C Ira
I recently came across a national forum thread on iNaturalist where someone was curious to know more about the value of becoming a “certified” naturalist. Not surprisingly, there was a wide range of opinions. These ranged from supportive to skeptical to cynical. Because many of the responses came from people who have not taken a course themselves, I thought it might be valuable to share some data from people who actually completed a course – in this case, the UC California Naturalist course offered by over 60 different organizations around the state.
To summarize the forum discussion, the believers - commonly people who actually have taken a course – found that taking a course was useful for people who were new to an area, had no previous science background, or were looking for ways to connect and engage in volunteer service locally. The skeptics often cited the improbability of becoming a “master” or expert in anything after just taking a short course or the fact that a degree in many science fields would render certification unnecessary. Finally, the more cynical views suggested that certification was just another ploy to separate people from their money.
In California, our End-of-Course Evaluation provides useful insight into why people pursue naturalist certification, as well as their level of satisfaction with the course. The five most commonly cited reasons for pursuing naturalist certification from over 1,000 respondents were: 1) to learn more about the local environment, 2) learn about conservation issues, 3) spend time outside, 4) career development, and 5) meet people with similar interests. Securing the certification ranks sixth out of ten choices and is rarely the driving factor for taking the course.
Regardless of their rationale for taking the course, 72% of those who completed the course were very satisfied with their experience, and 93% were either very or somewhat satisfied. Regarding putting their experience to use, 95% of the respondents indicated that participation in the course improved their capacity to do their volunteer service, and the majority indicated they plan to do more in the coming year. Increasingly, more course participants are looking at the course as a form of professional development, and about 93% indicated that participation in the course improved their capacity to do their work or the work they would like to do in the future. Anecdotally, we find the social learning component of our program and our efforts to create an inclusive community of naturalists to be essential to the high levels of satisfaction and an important factor in sustained engagement.
It's also important to address the skeptical views and challenge the more cynical views of certification. First, no reputable naturalist certification program claims to make expert naturalists in a matter of a dozen weeks. The use of the term “master” naturalist is problematic for that and other reasons, which is why it's not used in our California program. We all agree that expertise is gained over time - often a lifetime - and our program is happy to simply inspire, support, or reinforce that pursuit.
Finally, while we live in a time full of scams, cons, and frauds the suggestion that certification is just a way to separate you from your money really reinforces my view of the debilitating nature of cynicism. Most naturalist certification programs are run on a shoestring budget. Statewide program costs are often supported by land grant universities, non-profits, or state agencies. The registration fees of a typical course are barely enough to cover the costs of the educators who deliver them. State and local programs regularly pursue grants, constantly writing proposals to ensure that cost isn't a barrier to participation. Having worked in this field for several decades now, I can safely say that the course instructors are driven not by profits but by their values and deep sense of purpose.
So, next time someone asks you about that California Naturalist or Climate Stewards pin you have on your hat/backpack/lapel, let them know what certification really means. Embrace their interest, address their skepticism, redirect their cynicism, and invite them to join our community and transform the way they see their environment and their role in protecting it.
/span>- Author: DIANA CERVANTES
En la Escuela Popular en San José, una academia bilingüe (inglés/español) para estudiantes desde kinder hasta el octavo grado, algo emocionante está ocurriendo.
La mañana del 18 de junio, un grupo de estudiantes llegó y se puso en manos de los instructores del programa 4H de la División de Agricultura y Recursos Naturales de la Universida de California (UC ANR). Este día hay dos retos por cumplir: el primero es integrar a los estudiantes en un plan de estudios, y el segundo, servir de ejemplo sobre cómo enseñar a otros instructores a dar los cursos que 4H imparte.
“El propósito de este campamento es compartir todas las actividades con un grupo de jóvenes y, al mismo tiempo, que estas actividades y maneras en que han sido enseñadas hoy en día sirvan como un ejemplo para educadores o profesionales que trabajen en programas después de la escuela, para que ellos o ellas puedan impartir estas lecciones”, explicó Fe Moncloa, asesora emérita de extensión universitaria de UC ANR.
Las actividades que se impartieron provienen del currículom iCode, el cual utiliza tres conceptos: el desarrollo juvenil, la computación y la justicia social. Todas las actividades realizadas en el aula giran en torno a estos temas.
Uno de los estudiantes, John, de 13 años, comentó: “Yo me enteré sobre el campamento por la maestra, ella nos invitó y yo me interesé en los temas que iban a presentar. Me dio curiosidad por saber más; los temas son buenos, es algo que sí me llama la atención”.
Zubia Mahmood es una de las instructoras de 4H. Para Zubia, la clave de una buena instrucción es la adaptación. “Trato de adaptar el currículo para no ofender a nadie y hacerlo fácil y entendible para todos”, explicó Mahmood, quien además utiliza actividades que permiten romper el hielo entre estudiantes, así como entre estudiantes y maestros.
El campamento en la Escuela Popular es un reflejo de cómo la educación puede ser inclusiva y relevante, ofreciendo a los estudiantes no solo conocimientos académicos, sino también habilidades prácticas y una comprensión profunda de temas sociales. Al final del día, tanto los estudiantes como los instructores salieron enriquecidos, llevando consigo nuevas lecciones y experiencias que trascenderán más allá del aula.