Penn State alumna pursues passion for conservation at The Nature Conservancy

November 7, 2018

Katie Turner, a 2013 Penn State graduate in environmental resource management, is putting her love of soil science to good use as the Pennsylvania agricultural program manager for The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental organization that serves the global community.

Revision to Improve Phosphorus Planning

November 5, 2018

Pennsylvania’s next version of a fertilizer planning calculation will give farmers better site-specific information for preventing phosphorus loss. Jennifer Weld, a Penn State doctoral student and project associate, spoke on the topic at the Keystone Crops and Soils Conference on Oct. 23 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg.

Dancing with danger: A look inside the Penn State Woodsmen Team

November 2, 2018

The team, a registered student organization on campus, is made up of 14 members. And while they all come from a variety of backgrounds and majors, they all have one thing in common: They like working with their hands and getting dirty.

Soil Judging Team takes 4th at 2018 Regionals; qualifies for Nationals in California

October 31, 2018

The Penn State Soil Judging Team placed 4th at the Regional Collegiate Soil Judging Contest in south-central Ohio. The contest was held the week of October 22nd in the area around Hillsboro and Wilmington.

Johnson named recipient of Peace Corps' Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Award

October 31, 2018

Jacob Johnson, a doctoral candidate in forest resources and in international agriculture and development in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received a Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Award in recognition of his service to others.

The Arboretum at Penn State hosts 2018 Pumpkin Festival Oct. 14, 19-20

October 11, 2018

The 2018 Pumpkin Festival, hosted by The Arboretum at Penn State on Oct. 14 and 19-20, will feature a pumpkin-carving contest and lighted jack-o'-lantern display. Festivities will take place in the Arboretum's H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, at the corner of Bigler Road and Park Avenue on the University Park campus.

Penn State Beekeepers Club fosters importance of honey bees

October 11, 2018

The Penn State Beekeepers Club, which was founded in 2013, brings together beekeeping enthusiasts and those who simply are interested in learning about and sharing the beekeeping hobby.

Walk in Penn's Woods - Sunday, October 7

October 4, 2018

On October 7, Pennsylvanians across the state will walk in, and celebrate, Penn’s Woods! Rural, urban and suburban woods, state and national forests and parks, municipal watersheds, conserved areas, private lands and industry in the state’s 67 counties will hold open houses and guided woods walks showcasing the multiple values and diverse uses of our state’s priceless forest resources.

Jacobson named first Global Faculty Fellow in College of Agricultural Sciences

September 27, 2018

Michael Jacobson, professor of forest resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, has been named the first Global Faculty Fellow in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Forest expert: Expect foliage display to be late, muted

September 27, 2018

Warm, wet weather is predicted to continue through the rest of September and most of October in the mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Great Lakes regions, and those soggy conditions likely will result in a subdued foliage display, according to a Penn State forest expert.

Climate change not main driver of amphibian decline

September 25, 2018

While a warming climate in recent decades may be a factor in the waning of some local populations of frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, it cannot explain the overall steep decline of amphibians, according to researchers.

Bringing the forest back after shale gas

September 18, 2018

Fracking has eaten up nearly 1,800 acres of state forest in Pennsylvania over the past decade — wiping out critical habitat for native species and creating corridors for invasive species to thrive. How do we best revive areas cleared for fracking?

Few hatchery brook trout genes present in Pa. watershed wild fish

September 18, 2018

Despite many decades of annual brook trout stocking in one northcentral Pennsylvania watershed, the wild brook trout populations show few genes from hatchery fish, according to researchers who genotyped about 2,000 brook trout in Loyalsock Creek watershed, a 500-square-mile drainage in Lycoming and Sullivan counties celebrated by anglers for its trout fishing.

NSF funds $3 million graduate training program focused on Food-Energy-Water

September 11, 2018

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $3 million grant to an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers to create a new graduate program that will train students to find solutions to real-world problems facing Food-Energy-Water (FEW) systems.

Soil could filter antibiotics from treated wastewater, protecting groundwater

September 10, 2018

Soil may be a natural filter that can act as a tertiary treatment for wastewater, preventing antibiotics from contaminating groundwater, according to researchers who conducted a study at Penn State's Living Filter.

Goddard Forum's inaugural Pa. One Health Symposium focuses on zoonotic diseases

September 7, 2018

The inaugural Pennsylvania One Health Symposium, which focused on zoonotic diseases — infectious diseases that are caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi spread between animals and people — was sponsored by the Maurice K. Goddard Chair in Forestry and Environmental Resource Conservation.

College of Agricultural Sciences names Harbaugh Faculty Scholars

August 27, 2018

Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has awarded funding to three individuals and two teams to support the development of innovative curricula under the college's Harbaugh Faculty Scholars program.

Going green: Student sustainability coordinator wants to end game-day waste

August 24, 2018

Jillian Barskey, an environmental resource management major in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, aspires to reduce game-day waste by serving as this year's student sustainability coordinator for Intercollegiate Athletics and Penn State's Sustainability Institute.

Surviving large carnivores have far-reaching impact

August 8, 2018

Anywhere large-bodied mammalian carnivore species are present, other, smaller carnivores are less likely to occur, according to an international team of researchers that conducted the first global assessment of carnivore interactions using camera trap data.

Penn State hydrologist Elizabeth Boyer honored by American Geophysical Union

August 6, 2018

Elizabeth W. Boyer, associate professor of water resources, has been honored with the 2018 Witherspoon Lecture Award by the American Geophysical Union. She will present the lecture at the organization's fall meeting, Dec. 10-14, in Washington, D.C.

Gardening for Butterflies

August 2, 2018

A Penn State Extension article about butterflies prepared by Margaret C. Brittingham, professor of wildlife resources, and Judith Mank, former graduate research assistant.

Spotted lanternfly headlines College Exhibits Building at Ag Progress Days

August 1, 2018

The looming threat posed by the invasive spotted lanternfly will take center stage in the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building and Theatre during Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 14-16. Displays and presentations in the building also will highlight programs related to pond management and bait-fish production, hemp research, animal health, and agricultural policy.

Gluttonous grubs: Insecticide efficacy in turfgrass is focus of study

July 31, 2018

Research underway at the Joseph Valentine Turfgrass Research Center on the University Park campus is focusing on the effectiveness of a neonicotinoid insecticide — imidacloprid — in controlling grub populations.

Internship, classes provide valuable experiences for ERM major

July 31, 2018

Carrie Zamonski, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, is spending her summer at the beach -- but she's not there just for a vacation. Zamonski, a senior majoring in environmental resource management and minoring in watershed and water resources and marine science, is an intern at the Bald Head Island Conservancy in North Carolina.

Foresters' use of management tool focus of Penn State study

July 25, 2018

Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences examined the use and user-friendliness of SILVAH-Oak — short for Silviculture of Allegheny Hardwoods — a decision-support tool developed by the U.S. Forest Service for making silvicultural decisions in mixed oak forests.

Meet the Invasive Insect that Is Changing an Entire Forest Bird Community

July 23, 2018

Throughout the eastern United States, forests of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, are under attack by a tiny invasive insect with an insatiable appetite for these giant trees. This attack is causing the decline of eastern hemlock and as a consequence, it is driving the disappearance of a variety of birds that are specialized to them, according to a recent study.

Study sheds new light on forests' response to atmospheric pollution

July 12, 2018

How forests respond to elevated nitrogen levels from atmospheric pollution is not always the same. While a forest is filtering nitrogen as expected, a higher percentage than previously seen is leaving the system again as the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, say researchers.

Students participate in inaugural Flight 93 Memorial Alternative Break

June 22, 2018

This spring, Penn State DuBois was the first university to participate in the inaugural Alternative Break Service Program at Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Although this is the first time the memorial has hosted an alternative break program, students in the Penn State DuBois Wildlife Technology program have participated in work at the site for five years, reclaiming areas that are former strip mines.

Gift from Skip Smith and sons to create Bird Garden in Arboretum

June 18, 2018

Charles H. “Skip” Smith, the Penn State alumnus and philanthropist whose giving has fueled the creation and supported the growth of The Arboretum at Penn State, has made a major new gift to enrich this University resource. Smith and his sons, David, Jeffry and John, have committed more than $1.8 million to launch construction of the Bird Garden in the Arboretum, which will be designed to attract birds year-round and educate the Arboretum’s many visitors.

Beth Boyer featured in The American Geophysical Union's (@theAGU) ecohydrology blog

June 18, 2018

Elizabeth Boyer is an Associate Professor of Water Resources in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State University.