Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a gold or first-place award in “Writing for Newspapers”; a silver or second-place award for “Writing for the Web” and two bronze or third-place awards for her photographs, one for a feature photo and the other for a service photo.
They will receive the awards at the ACE conference, set for June 8-11 in Charleston, S.C.
Nelson's winning article, “When Good Oil Goes Bad,” looks at the award-winning biosensor a team of UC Davis students built to help ensure olive oil quality for producers, retailers and consumers. Nelson won the 2010 ACE outstanding skill award for writing.
Garvey's winning article for best news writing was a light feature on forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey's plans for a field trip to Alcatraz, a day that happened to fall on Super Bowl Sunday. It was titled "Football Game? What Football Game?" The judges gave the story a perfect score, 100 out of 100.
The judges' comments:
- “VERY clever lead. The tie-in with the football game undoubtedly drew in more readers but was not forced--it was backed up by the faculty member's quote about getting back in time for the game. The creativity of the approach and the writing cast a wide net to all readers, showing that anyone can be excited about learning and discovery - no matter their age or education level or their interest in science or insects (or football, for that matter)."
- "Word choice expresses concrete imagery--"pigskin," "rat bait," "black lights." Metaphors work-- all the bird analogies, for instance. Information is spoonfed to the reader in the most enjoyable way. Sentences pack a lot of information, movement and progression. Every sentence offers something to celebrate, including the one that ends "just like scorpions," which gives a nod to the reader, assuming that he or she does, of course, know that scorpions glow under ultraviolet light! The work-play relationship of scientist to student comes through and adds interest to the piece. The writer makes the reader feel that they are being let in on a conspiracy of discovery rather than being talked at. A certain joy and passion spring from this piece, setting it apart from the others."
- Cool topic, and the writer makes its newsy
Garvey's silver award for web writing, “What's for Lunch?”, focused on a lady beetle eating aphids. It appeared on her Bug Squad blog on the UC Agricutural and Natural Resources website. She writes the blog every night, Monday through Friday, and has never missed a post since launching it on Aug. 6, 2008.
Wrote one judge:
“I admire anyone who can write a blog a day. Congratulations. I love that that the author replies to comments from readers and is active on multiple social networks. And again, kudos on the photography.”
Garvey received a bronze award for a feature photo on her Bug Squad blog. It depicts a praying mantis eating a western tiger swallowtail.
In addition, Garvey received a bronze award for a service photo, of two participants at the 2014 “Bugs and Beer” event sponsored by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. It showed a UC Davis student and his friend sharing a bug: one photographing it and one ready to eat it.
Since 2008, Garvey has won a total of 13 gold awards from ACE for her writing and photography. She was named the recipient of the Outstanding Professional Skill Award for Writing in 2011 and the Outstanding Professional Skill Award for Photography in both 2012 and 2013.
A New York City firm, Organic Pest Control, singled out 10 “bug” or entomology blogs and 40 “pest control” blogs for international awards.
Geographically, the authors range from California to Singapore to the UK. "These sites were shown to have valuable, fresh and frequently updated content that is helpful in both entomology and the pest control industry," a spokesperson said.
Alex Wild's Myrmecos blog and Kathy Keatley Garvey's Bug Squad blog were among the top 10 bug blogs. Wild is an Illinois-based entomologist and noted insect photographer who received his doctorate from UC Davis, working with ant specialist Phil Ward, professor of entomology in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Wild is especially known for his ant photos.
Garvey, who holds two degrees from Washington State University, is the communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. She began writing the Bug Squad blog, which appears on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) website, on Aug. 6, 2008, at the urging of UC ANR's Pam Kan-Rice, assistant director of News and Information Outreach. An avid writer, editor and photographer, Garvey has posted a blog every night, Monday through Friday, since launching it. She writes it for educational purposes.
The top 10 “bug" blogs as announced by the NYC firm:
Bug Girl's Blog (Charismatic Minifauna)
This blogger has a PhD in entomology (insect study) and is not afraid to share her fascination through the blog. Another standout feature of the blog is her knowledge of how to control insect populations without the use of pesticides. Top posts include “How to Inspect Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs” and “Ask an Entomologist.” (Note: this is by Gwen Pearson, who for a long time, never revealed her true identity, not even at an Entomological Society of America meeting.)
Myrmecos
Visit here for a blog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild. The blog's name is derived from the Greek word for ant and contains Alex's musings on the little creatures that share our planet. The galleries are a must see given Alex's love of both insects and his talent with a camera.
Insects in the City
Mike Merchant has served as entomology specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension since 1989. His areas of specialty involve research on the insects that effect people including spiders, scorpions, fire ants, termites, and others. Get pest control from an academic point of view by stopping at his blog.
6legs2many
This blog is named after a quote from Joseph Krutch on the human standpoint on insects. Alison also fills her blog with other discoveries on insects and closer looks at them. Everything from ants to wolf spiders are featured.
Butterflies of Singapore
Because some bugs can be downright beautiful, there is this blog. Get a look at “nature's flying jewels” without ever leaving your home. With entries dating back to 2007, there are loads of butterflies to see.
Living With Insects Blog
Jonathan Neal also has a Ph.D in entomology and teaches at Purdue University. His blog is devoted to the intersection of people and insects. Subjects such as fire ants, bees, and many more are often discussed.
Beetles In The Bush
Ted C. MacRae is a research entomologist by vocation and beetle taxonomist by avocation. With entries on loads of common and uncommon household pests, his focus is of course the beetle. However, you can also find entries on items such as spiders, reptiles, and most recently, Bichos Argentinos.
Urban Dragon Hunters
These bloggers standout for targeting their insect research and blog towards the largely ignored urban areas. Located in Wayne County, Michigan, they have recorded 50 new species of odonata, or dragonflies. Stop by to see which and learn more about them.
Bug Squad
Bug Squad is the blog of Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. This blog, launched in 2008, is part of the University of California's Agricultural and Natural Resources website. Check for the latest research and other information.
What's That Bug?
Also known as The Bugman, Daniel Marlos is the author of “The Curious World of Bugs.” With a healthy pest-free garden in Los Angeles, he is free to explore his love of bugs, as well as share useful pest control tips. Be sure not to miss specialty posts on just about every insect in the U.S.
Here's a list of the top 50 blogs.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
From UC Davis Dateline, June 6, 2013
By David Jones, Editor of Dateline
dljones@ucdavis.edu
Kathy Keatley Garvey, Diane Nelson and Alison Van Eenennaam are being recognized for their stories, photos and a video highlighting UC Davis’ work in agriculture and the life sciences.
The recognition is from the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, or ACE, specifically its annual Critique and Awards Program.
The awards presentation is scheduled to take place at the annual ACE conference, scheduled this year from June 11 to 14 in Indianapolis.
Garvey is classified as a senior writer in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, but she is known as much for her writing as her insect photography — for which she is receiving the ACE Outstanding Professional Skill Award for the second year in a row (she won it last year with a bee sting photo).
Her 2013 skill award goes along with two gold awards (first place) in photography, one for a feature photo and the other for a picture story. The feature winner shows a praying mantis lunging at a honeybee (taken in UC Davis’ Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven), in a photo titled Missed! (the caption begins with the word “Danger!” in this post on Garvey’s Bug Squad blog). The picture story shows a gulf fritillary butterfly laying an egg (in Garvey’s back yard); see the picture story on Garvey’s blog.
Garvey received a silver award (second place) in writing for newspapers and an honorable mention in writing for magazines.
The silver recognizes her work in reporting on a doctoral candidate who answers questions on the online site Quora and who received an award for one of his answers, to the question: “If you injure a bug, should you kill it or let it live?”
Matan Shelomi’s answer went viral, according to Garvey’s story, and netted him recognition in the 2012 Shorty Awards, honoring the best in social media — in this case first place for the best answer on Quora.
Nelson, senior writer, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is the recipient of a gold award for promotional writing, for “Hope Dawns for UC Davis Feed Mill,” exploring UC Davis’ effort to replace its aging mill, and why that matters to the people of California, the nation and the world. Nelson won the 2010 ACE outstanding skill award for writing.
Van Eenennaam, a Cooperative Extension specialist in animal genomics and biotechnology, Department of Animal Science, is the recipient of an ACE honorable mention for a video that she wrote and directed: Were Those the Days, My Friend? It previously received the most votes in a contest sponsored by the American Society of Animal Science. Read about the video and see it here.
The competition for the 2012 calendar year also recognizes three editors with UC’s Agricultural and Natural Resources: Janet White, Hazel White and Janet Byron, for their work on “Analysis reveals potential rangeland impacts if Williamson Act eliminated,” which appeared in the October-December 2012 issue of California Agriculture.
May 7, 2012
Communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology is the recipient of three gold awards for her writing and photography from the international Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), comprised of communicators, educators and information technologists in agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.
ACE annually conducts a Critique and Awards (C&A) program that recognizes excellence in communications skills for individuals involved in the public sector – USDA, land-grant universities, state extension service or experiment stations, and international foundations.
This year Garvey won the first-place award in the news writing competition (about the discovery of a warrior wasp); the first-place award in the feature photo category (a bee sting); and the overall Outstanding Professional Skill Award in the photography division for the sting photo.
In previous years, she received four other gold awards for writing and the overall Outstanding Professional Skill Award in the writing category.
Wrote Eric Mussen in his newest edition of from the UC apiaries, posted online: "This year the coup de grace was one of the world's most appreciated photos – a honey bee trying to leave the scene after stinging me on the wrist. Usually, the break between the sting and abdomen is clean. Occasionally, intestinal tissue remains attached (as it did this time). The judges are still trying to determine how she was able to arrange the lighting, the camera, the wrist and the bee to get that good a shot. That is our secret! The photo has been picked up and used in all sorts of ways. A person in Iraq even placed his own copyright on it!"
ACE will present the awards at its annual conference, June 11-14, in Annapolis, Md.
Garvey, a 25-year UC Davis employee and a former newspaper editor, is an avid writer/editor and photographer. In her leisure time, she captures images of insects but especially prefers honey bees, native bees, dragonflies and butterflies. "I shoot only for educational purposes," she said. Garvey's camera of choice: a Nikon D700 camera equipped with a 105 macro lens and a motordrive. In addition, she writes a nightly Bug Squad blog, featuring insects and the people who study them. Since she began writing the blog on Aug. 6, 2008 on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) site, she has posted every single weeknight, including holidays and vacations, "not missing a day," Mussen noted. Now nearing 1000 entries, Bug Squad has received some 2.7 million hits. Garvey also shares photos on Flickr, primarily insects. Her Flickr account now includes more than 22,000 photos.
Garvey and her work are featured in a four-page article in the June edition of the American Bee Journal.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
Garvey also won the top award (the gold award) in two categories: writing for newspapers and writing for a specialized publication.
In addition, she took home a silver award for her feature photo of a honey bee in flight.
Garvey received the awards at the ACE awards ceremony on June 12 in Denver, Colo.
Judges scored the writing entries on content, writing quality, creativity and writing style and awarded one gold, one silver and one bronze in each category.
“You deserve much credit and recognition for your excellent work,” wrote ACE president-elect Elaine Edwards, news media coordinator, Kansas State University. The awards program drew 233 entries.
The best newswriting award was for Garvey's work on "Saving Franklin's Bumble Bee," about UC Davis emeritus professor Robbin Thorp who is monitoring the endangered bumble bee, found only in a small area of southern Oregon and northern California.
The best writing-for-a-specialized publication award was for her work titled “Miss Bee Haven,” about Davis artist Donna Billick's six-foot-long bee sculpture in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis.
The judge of “Saving Franklin's Bumble Bee,” wrote: “Great story. It takes the humble bumble bee disappearance story and reduces it down to a specific local level. I'll bet a lot of people didn't know that the Franklin bee is a specific genus of bee—but they do now. Way cool. The writing was great and the words just flowed so well throughout. I even learned something—and that's saying a lot from me. This is very well done.”
The judge of “Miss Bee Haven” wrote: “Very nice job in describing an art project destined to attract many people to learn more about the honey bee”
This is Garvey's fourth gold award from ACE in four years. A former newspaper editor and a UC Davis communicator since 1986, she is a writer-editor, photographer, news media specialist and web person in the Department of Entomology. In her leisure time, she writes the daily UC ANR blog, “Bug Squad,” which has tallied nearly two million hits since she began writing it in August 2008.
One of her passions is capturing macro images of insects, especially honey bees. Garvey, who grew up on a 300-acre dairy farm in Washington state and earned two degrees from Washington State University, is fascinated by insects, especially honey bees. Both her father and grandfather kept bees.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894