In July, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the migratory monarch butterfly as endangered and declared it “at risk of extinction” in the United States and Canada. The U.S. monarch population has declined between 22 and 72 percent…
The envelope, please. And the winner of the Favorite Vegetable of the 2022 Albemarle County Fairgoers is … carrots! Followed by broccoli and tomatoes, with only three votes separating the top and third-place winners. The least favorite vegetable: okra. The…
There’s no denying the usefulness of English ivy (Hedera helix) as ground cover: it’s evergreen, grows quickly, and tolerates shade, drought, and a variety of soil types. These characteristics, of course, also make it easy for English ivy to spread…
Do you like watermelon, avocados, nuts, apples, peaches, blueberries, or chocolate? None of those foods would exist without pollinators. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 150 of our U.S. food crops depend on pollinators, including almost all…
It’s hard to imagine that, in 1900, white-tailed deer were nearly extinct in Virginia. The state’s largest herbivore has made a dramatic comeback over the past century, but its recovery has taken its toll on our forests, agriculture, health, safety…
This is International Compost Awareness Week, an ideal time to consider this great way to recycle organic material like food and yard waste. Composting uses natural decomposition to create a valuable soil additive while keeping the waste out of landfills,…
The natural beauty of Albemarle County is especially breathtaking in the spring. We enjoy the parade of subtle changes that start with the pastel purple of blooming redbuds against the gray backdrop of the hardwood forest. Then on those warm,…
We all know the relief we feel when we walk from, say, a hot parking lot into a leafy landscape. Two things are happening: the trees are obviously sheltering us from the heat of the sun, but more subtly, they…
This year’s World Wetlands Day, celebrated on February 2, highlights the significance of taking action to “ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for human and the planetary health.” Almost 90% of the world’s wetlands have been damaged over…
With winter in full swing, Virginians are thinking about choosing a deicer to purchase for that next winter storm to make icy sidewalks and driveway surfaces less hazardous. You may not have considered the environmental impacts of products containing “salt,”…