Mushrooms As Recyclers

 

I saw a headline that read "Mushrooms Can Break Down 90% of Diaper Materials Within 2 Months" and followed it to a post on Treehugger.

It was already known that mushrooms can be great at breaking down pollutants. WE also know that disposable diapers are slow-degrading poop-containers that are filling up landfills.

What about a kind of mushroom that feasts on diapers? Researchers at the Metropolitan University in Mexico City seem to have followed this divergent thinking and found some.

In an article published in the journal Waste Management, Alethia Vázquez-Morillas describes her research in cultivating the right type of mushroom. She discovered that certain species can break down 90% of the material they are made of within two months. Within four, they are degraded completely.

What is more, she says, despite the unsavory diet of the fungi in question, Pleurotus ostreatus (better known as oyster mushrooms) are still safe to eat. (To prove the point she has eaten them. I think I would be more hesitant.)

Oyster mushrooms are good at this job because they feed on cellulose, the main material used in disposable diapers. In the wild, the Oyster mushrooms grow on dead trees, so they have the enzymes to break down cellulose.


Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

Changes Ahead For NJ State Parks

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/bass.htmlVisitors to NJ might find themselves paying more to take advantage to our state parks in the future, but they might find expanded services or facilities too.

Bob Martin, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, told lawmakers recently that the DEP didn’t plan to cut services or staff when the new fiscal year starts July 1. However, state parks probably cannot rely only on tax dollars and will need to consider new ways of making parks self-sustaining financially.

For example, Bass River State Forest is a 27,635-acre tract outside of New Gretna where the state charges up to $10 per vehicle on the weekend from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. It offers canoeing, fishing and swimming in Lake Absegami, as well as camping and hiking.

To compete with other East Coast state parks, NJ parks might offer additional amenities such as concrete pads, utility hook-ups, and pull-through sites that appeal to trailer campers, general stores,and the ability to book reservations online which is helpful for both in and out-of-state vacationers. Though these would require an initial capital outlay, it would also justify higher fees. The state could also do better online marketing of its natural areas.


more at AtlanticCity.com

International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) May 22

Reblogged from bodhipot.tumblr.com

The theme for this year’s IDB (stood for the title above) is Forest Biodiversity because 2011 is the International Year of the Forests.

The United Nations proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.


Forest Heroes Award and Programme, in collaboration of the United Nations Forum on Forest with the secretariat of Convention on Biological Biodiversity and other UN Agencies, Member States and mayor groups. This is to award and honor individuals dedicated in the promotion of sustainable forest management.

TEMATEA tool on international commitments related to forest biodiversity, The secretariat of the CDB launches a new forest module on international commitments related to forest biodiversity. The module aims to support a better and more coherent national implementation of forest-related international instruments.

International Economic Forum of the Americas, Conference of Montreal, 6-9 June 2011 a 2-day workshop on investments to forest ecosystem services, including the role of biodiversity for mitigating investment risks brought by the CDB in cooperation with the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

“Biodiversity, Carbon, Water, and More: Investing in Forest Ecosystem Services,” a topic at the 17th International Economic Forum of the Americas, Conference of Montreal will hold a panel discussion in the same context.

Fire breaks in N.J. Pinelands

via http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us

NJ.com : Fire breaks are set up in N.J. Pinelands to help battle blazes

"As a result of a forest fire in 2007 that rampaged across southern Ocean County and sent thousands fleeing from their homes, strategic fire breaks are being created in the Pinelands forest, and local communities have stepped up their own emergency planning for a population living amid one of the most easily combustible terrains in the country."

Planting Time

It has been a rainy week here in NJ, but it's still time get out the garden tools, turn that soil and set out those plants that you started indoors or bought at the garden center.


The last frost date is now past in most parts of NJ.

City	Spring Last Frost	Fall First Frost
Atlantic City	5/15	9/28
Hammonton	4/25	10/3
Jersey City	4/18	10/19
Millville	4/29	10/10
Newark	4/15	10/26
Newton	5/24	9/19
Shiloh	4/29	10/12
Trenton	4/15	10/23

Source: "Climatography of the U.S. No. 20, Supplement No. 1",  1988, 
National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

So, get outside this weekend, get planting and maybe even let Mother Earth News get you started on some summer garden projects.

OLD-FASHIONED COMPANION PLANTING
Planting an asparagus and strawberry garden bed to last a lifetime.



Easy DIY Garden Shed Plans
Almost all of us need a little place to store outdoor stuff, and building a shed is one of the best ways to create additional storage space. Our garden shed plans are simple and require only basic carpentry skills. These plans will help you build a basic shed, but don't stop there! To customize your shed, you could create a combination toolshed and greenhouse, put a martin house on top, or use part of the shed for a chicken coop or rabbit hutch.

• Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
• The Complete Guide to Companion Planting: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Garden Successful
• The A - Z of Companion Planting

Irises in Essex County

Essex County's Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is a living museum that displays a rich variety of irises that bloom from mid-May to early June.Their activities and plant sale begins today. It was a Mother's Day tradition of mine for many years to take my mom there to wak through the blooms.

In 1927, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens were established in the name of Frank Presby—a local resident known for his stewardship of the American Iris Society. These gardens were tended by curator Barbara Walther for more than five decades and are now maintained by a volunteer society, the Essex County Presby Memorial Citizens Committee.

Peak bloom season occurs from May 15 through June 6.

Seeing the non-profit organization that maintained the gardens struggling to survive, and in danger of having to sell the Walther House, the County of Essex formed an extraordinary partnership in 2009 with the Citizens Committee's Board of Trustees and the Township of Montclair. With $1.1 million in grants from the NJ Green Acres Program and the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund, Essex County purchased more than seven acres of land that make up the House and Garden complex; the adjacent 3 acres of Township land will be sold to the County for $1.

Friday, May 20	"The Sound of Music" Screening	8pm
Sunday, May 22	Brunch on the Hill	1-3pm
Saturday, May 28	Annual  Family Garden Party	10am to 3pm
Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16	Iris Rhizome Days / Bloom Room Open	10am to 4pm
Friday, August 19 & Saturday, August 20	Iris Rhizome Days / Bloom Room Open	10am to 4pm

The County now maintains the House and grounds, and the Citizens Committee, maintaining ownership of the iris bulbs, continues to preserve the Gardens and records, build an endowment and expand their educational programming.

The property, consisting of the Walther House and Iris Gardens, is designated as a historic site by the National and State Registers of Historic Places and attracts thousands of people from around the world each year. The gardens contain approximately 8,000 irises in 3,200 varieties and produce nearly 75,000 flowers at peak season.

http://essexnjblooms.org/Irises.aspx



DIRECTIONS: The Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is located at 474 Upper Mountain Avenue in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Street parking is available on Upper Mountain Avenue (garden side) and Highland Avenue. Handicap parking is available on the Walther House driveway. Entrance to the gardens is free and open to the public from dawn to dusk daily all year round.

• Citizens Committee of the Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens
• Irises: A Gardener's Encyclopedia
• Irises
• Irises: Vincent Van Gogh in the Garden

Family Bike Ride & Hike May 14

Enjoy an easy walk or ride at your own pace at the 7th Annual Family Bike & Hike through the Hilltop Reservation - the newest park in Essex County.

Bring the whole family and join the Hilltop Conservancy on Saturday, May 14, from 10:00 am to noon for this easy, fun, self-paced tour.

The marked route is approximately 1.5 miles long on traffic-free pavement and gravel roadways, so even your youngest children will find this an easy and fun morning out for a leisurely ride and exploration.

Don’t bring money. The ride, beautiful scenery and memories are free. Do bring helmets, a camera and perhaps some drinks and snacks for your children.

Bikes with training wheels are very welcome. Start riding any time after 9:45 am.

Park in the lot behind the sports field on Mountain Avenue in North Caldwell (the Courter Lane entrance to the Hilltop Reservation).


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Jersey City Peregrine Falcon Webcam - Hatching Near

Male peregrine guarding the nest. Note banding.

The Jersey City Peregrine Webcam streams live video from a nestbox atop 101 Hudson Street between April and July each year. Follow the season on screen during that period. Clicking on the still image will open a new window containing the live video feed when active.

They are projecting hatching to occur around May 5-6, so this is a great time to tune in.

Viewers get a glimpse of the four eggs only when the adults get up to exchange duties or to stretch, but these peregrines are the essence of diligence during the 32-33 days of required incubation, very focused on their duties.

The ENSP staff and volunteers are monitoring peregrine nesting at about 20 other sites around the state. The recent rain and wind storms may have caused problems at some sites that are more vulnerable to easterly winds. In many cases all we can do is document the outcome of those nests. (See the annual reports at www.njfishandwildlife.com/ensp/ for details.)

The Jersey City peregrines have been very successful over the years. During a nest check visit in March, it was determined that adults are the same birds that have nested here since at least 2005 (the female) and 2006 (the male). The female has not been identified except that she wears a silver federal band and no color band. The male was banded in 2003 at Riverside Church in NY, making him 8 years old this year. Both are fiercely defensive of their nest and have been good parents over the years.

Keep watching this great natural show!


NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife - Peregrine Falcon Webcam