Josh is this year’s recipient of the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association Scholarship.  MeLNA is a non-profit organization for the Maine green industries and plant lovers. Our Environmental Horticulture program works closely with MeLNA (www.MeLNA.org) and very much appreciates their support. Each year, MeLNA awards a scholarship to an Environmental Horticulture student at the University of Maine. The recipient has to be a Maine residence and plan to work in Maine after graduation. The faculty and staff in the Environmental Horticulture program select the recipient based on the student’s academic merit and financial needs.

Aaron Englander, a new M.S. student working with Ellen Mallory on the Local Bread Wheat Project (http://sites.google.com/site/localbreadwheatproject/), was awarded $9,767 for his project “Farm-grown microbial soil inoculants: Effects on bread wheat yield and quality.”  The aim of his project is to evaluate the efficacy of two farm-produced microbial inoculants and one commercially-available inoculant on organic bread wheat yield and quality.  This project will help farmers evaluate whether to use microbial inoculants and whether inoculants can be produced effectively on their farms.

At the PSE Department Awards Reception on April 20th, 2011, awards were presented to undergraduates in the Landscape Horticulture and Sustainable Agriculture programs, as well as to several graduate students advised by faculty in Plant, Soil, and Environmental Sciences.  Marcelo Rugini received the Cecil Brown Scholarship and Kevin Leavitt received the Sustainable Agriculture Award.  The Landscape Horticulture program awards scholarship money from numerous donors, and several students received awards from more than one fund.  Awards were made from the Bangor Garden Club, the Robert and Catherine Barrett Fund, Arthur Clayton Scholarship, the Eastern Maine Orchid Society, the Landscape Horticulture Scholarship Fund, and the New England Farm and Garden Association/Margaret McKee Gerrity Scholarship.  The following students received awards: Parris Avery,  Zach Campbell, Katey Coulling, Josh Drew, TJ Hill, Sean Ruel, Martha Thomas, Joel Whitney, and Sara York.  Hannah Yovino received the New England Farm and Garden/Margaret McKee Gerrity Scholarship and TJ Hill received the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association Scholarship.  Graduate student Jay Raymond, working with Dr. Ivan Fernandez, received the Miroslaw Czapowskyj Scholarship, as well as the Samuel Boucher Horticultural Education Fund, Janet Engle Cormier Soil Science Scholarship, and the New England Farm and Garden Association/Louise Cies Fellowship.  Graduate student Fang Geng, working with Dr. Renae Moran, received the Robert and Catherine Barrett Fund.  We were happy that several parents, other family members, and donors were able to attend the departmental reception and College banquet.  Congratulations to all our excellent students!

The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days are annual, three day meetings of horticulture students from around the country.  At this event, students compete in skill-based events directly related to Green Industry Careers including landscape installation, plant identification, paver and patio installation, bidding and estimating, and landscape design.  They also attend a Career Fair where students meet prospective employers from around the country and find out about potential employment opportunities.  PLANET is held in a different location in the country each year which provides students with the opportunity to see new plants and horticultural techniques.  They also network with students from over sixty colleges and universities at this event.  Our student teams have enjoyed and benefited from these trips.

Ben Costanzi, M.S. student studying Weed Ecology and Management in the Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences, was one of 13 graduate students to receive a Northeast Region SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) grant.  His NESARE project, “Improving Weed Control on the Small Farm: Evaluation of Scale-Appropriate Cultivation Tools,” was awarded $8,700 to conduct studies of hand tools, with a specific focus on (1) efficacy and working rates, and (2) farmers’ qualitative assessment of ergonomics and ease of use.  There were 51 proposals to this new NESARE program.  Ben started his program in May 2010 and has initiated field and lab experiments focused on hand tools for weed control on small-scale farms.  For more information contact Ben (Benjamin_Costanzi@umit.maine.edu), or Eric Gallandt (gallandt@maine.edu), or visit umaine.edu/weedecology.

Ben Costanzi, UMaine M.S. student is working on improved weed control for small-scale growers.