Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
University of California
Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Posts Tagged: native milkweed

Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought

Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...

Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.

A patch of former lawn, mostly dead, with a few green weeds and Bermudagrass

Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2024 at 3:30 PM
Tags: drought, turf
Focus Area Tags: Yard & Garden

Monarchs on the Move: A Migration and a Bohart Museum Open House

It's Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 1 and a female monarch butterfly flutters into our Vacaville pollinator garden. Me: "Welcome Ms. Monarch! Aren't you a little late for the migration?" Ms. Monarch: "No, I'm just a late bloomer,. so to speak. I'm...

A female monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch spreads her wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female monarch spreads her wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch spreads her wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little flight fuel and the monarch is off to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little flight fuel and the monarch is off to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little flight fuel and the monarch is off to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 3:42 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Wings Up! Bohart Museum Sets Open House on Monarchs

Wings up! Butterfly and monarch scientists will discuss their expertise at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on "Monarchs," set Saturday, Nov. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event, free and family friendly, will be held in Room 1124 of the...

A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female monarch nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar chewing on narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar chewing on narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar chewing on narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch eclosing from its chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch eclosing from its chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch eclosing from its chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 1:54 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

And Just Like That, A Monarch Fluttered into Our Garden

And just like that, a female monarch butterfly fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden this morning, Aug. 10, and left a dozen or so calling cards: precious eggs.  We earlier saw a male monarch patrolling the garden on the morning of...

A female monarch flutters into a Vacaville garden on Aug. 10 and checks out the narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female monarch flutters into a Vacaville garden on Aug. 10 and checks out the narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch flutters into a Vacaville garden on Aug. 10 and checks out the narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch heads for another milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch heads for another milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch heads for another milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch investigates a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch investigates a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch investigates a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tiny monarch egg clings to the underside of a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tiny monarch egg clings to the underside of a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tiny monarch egg clings to the underside of a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, August 10, 2023 at 7:33 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Climate-Change Resources

University of California UC ANR Green Blog (Climate Change and Other Topics) https://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green/index.cfm?tagname=climate%20change (full index)

Examples:

     -  Save Trees First: Tips to Keep Them Alive Under Drought https://ucanr.edu/b/~CdD 

     - Landscaping with Fire Exposure in Mind: https://ucanr.edu/b/~G4D

     - Cities in California Inland Areas Must Make Street Tree Changes to adapt to Future Climate  https://ucanr.edu/b/~oF7

 
 

Drought, Climate Change and California Water Management Ted Grantham, UC Cooperative Extension specialist (23 minutes) https://youtu.be/dlimj75Wn9Q

Climate Variability and Change: Trends and Impacts on CA Agriculture Tapan Pathak, UC Cooperative Extension specialist (24 minutes) https://youtu.be/bIHI0yqqQJc

California Institute for Water Resources (links to blogs, talks, podcasts, water experts, etc.) https://ciwr.ucanr.edu/California_Drought_Expertise/

UC ANR Wildfire Resources (publications, videos, etc.) https://ucanr.edu/News/For_the_media/Press_kits/Wildfire/ (main website)

      -UC ANR Fire Resources and Information https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/ (main website)

            -Preparing Home Landscaping https://ucanr.edu/sites/fire/Prepare/Landscaping/

UC ANR Free Publications https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/ (main website)

- Benefits of Plants to Humans and Urban Ecosystems: https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8726.pdf

 -Keeping Plants Alive Under Drought and Water Restrictions (English version) https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8553.pdf

  (Spanish version) https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8628.pdf

-  Use of Graywater in Urban Landscapes https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8536.pdf

-  Sustainable Landscaping in California https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8504.pdf

 

Other (Non-UC) Climate Change Resources

Urban Forests and Climate Change. Urban forests play an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Active stewardship of a community's forestry assets can strengthen local resilience to climate change while creating more sustainable and desirable places to live. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/urban-forests

Examining the Viability of Planting Trees to Mitigate Climate Change (plausible at the forest level) https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2927/examining-the-viability-of-planting-trees-to-help-mitigate-climate-change/

Reports and other information resources coordinated under the auspices of the United Nations and produced through the collaboration of thousands of international scientists to provide a clear and up to date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change. United Nations Climate Action

Scientific reports, programs, action movements and events related to climate change. National Center for Atmospheric Research (National Science Foundation)

Find useful reports, program information and other documents resulting from federally funded research and development into the behavior of the atmosphere and related physical, biological and social systems. Search and find climate data from prehistory through to an hour ago in the world's largest climate data archive. (Formerly the "Climatic Data Center") National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA)

Think tank providing information, analysis, policy and solution development for addressing climate change and energy issues (formerly known as the: "Pew Center on Global Climate Change"). Center for Climate & Energy Solutions (C2ES)

Mapping Resilience: A Blueprint for Thriving in the Face of Climate Disaster. The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) was launched in July 2010 and is managed by EcoAdapt, a non-profit with a singular mission: to create a robust future in the face of climate change by bringing together diverse players to reshape planning and management in response to rapid climate change. https://www.cakex.org/documents/mapping-resilience-blueprint-thriving-face-climate-disaster

Cal-Adapt provides a way to explore peer-reviewed data that portrays how climate change might affect California at the state and local level. We make this data available through downloads, visualizations, and the Cal-Adapt API for your research, outreach, and adaptation planning needs. Cal-Adapt is a collaboration between state agency funding programs, university and private sector researchers https://cal-adapt.org/

Find reports, maps, data and other resources produced through a confederation of the research arms of 13 Federal departments and agencies that carry out research and develop and maintain capabilities that support the Nation's response to global change. Global Change (U.S. Global Change Research Program)

The Pacific Institute is a global water think tank that combines science-based thought leadership with active outreach to influence local, national, and international efforts to develop sustainable water policies. https://pacinst.org/our-approach/

Making equity real in climate adaptation and community resilience policies and programs: a guidebook. https://greenlining.org/publications/2019/making-equity-real-in-climate-adaption-and-community-resilience-policies-and-programs-a-guidebook/ 

Quarterly CA Climate Updates and CA Drought Monitor Maps (updated each Thursday) https://www.drought.gov/documents/quarterly-climate-impacts-and-outlook-western-region-june-2022

 

 

 

 

Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 1:21 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment

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