Potomac Snakehead Tournament: This Weekend

In previous posts, Invasivore > Vegetarian and Eating Invasives, we've discussed the many benefits of eating invasive species and are thrilled to see that the trend is catching on. A group of local outdoorsmen will be gathering for a large-scale (pun intended) snakehead fishing tournament this weekend.

Beginning at 5:00pm on Saturday June 2nd, teams of anglers and bow-fisherman are gathering for talks about the species then setting out to remove as many invasive snakehead fish from portions of the Potomac as possible within the 18.5 fishing hours of the Second Annual Potomac Snakehead Tournament. The teams will fish/hunt through the night and weigh in their fish at 1:00pm on Sunday where the team with the most snakehead meat, and individual with the largest single fish, will be awarded cash prizes.

For those of you who - like me - may not be entering the contest but are interested in the mission, you may want to plan your trip to the tournament location, Smallwood State Park, around the guest speakers and the "Invasive Species Tasting" prepared by Alewife Baltimore's Executive Chef Chad Wells who has pioneered the mission to get invasives on Baltimore menus. See you there!

June 2, 2012: 5:00 p.m. Pre-Tournament Conference

Speakers -  Joseph W. Love, Ph.D. Tidal Bass Manager, Maryland Department of Natural Resources & Joshua J. Newhard, Fisheries Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

June 3, 2012: 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Invasive Species Tasting and Flying Dog Beer Sampling - Snakehead Tasting (Prepared by Chad Wells, Executive Chef, Alewife, Baltimore, MD); Blue Catfish Tasting (Provided by ProFish prepared by the Whackfactor Outdoors Pro-Staff); Flying Dog Beer Sampling (Ben Savage, VP Marketing and Brand Development, Flying Dog Brewery, will share some amazing beers)
2:45 p.m. Closing Remarks From: Steve Vilnit, Fisheries Marketing Director, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Find the full schedule of events here. 

ReFRESHing News for Farmers Markets and Shoppers

This morning, Tim Carman for the The Washington Post reported great news from a new W.K. Kellogg Foundation Survey: Three quarters of Americans say they would support a national program that would double Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known as SNAP or Food Stamp) benefits at farmers markets. And that's not all!

• 70 percent of respondents said they have purchased fresh produce from a farmers market or stand in the past year 
• 68 percent of those surveyed say they eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables than they did five years ago
• 63 percent of respondents say they know a lot or a little about where their fresh fruits and vegetables come from.
• 89 percent say their source for fresh fruits and vegetables is within walking distance or is a short drive away.
• 45 percent say they acquired fresh fruits and/or vegetables from their own garden within the past year.
• 93 percent say they think it’s “very important” or “somewhat important” to “make sure all Americans have equal access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”
• 64 percent say it’s “very important” that produce be grown in an “environmentally friendly way.
• 64 percent say it’s “very important” or “somewhat important” that produce be organic.
• 83 percent of those surveyed strongly or partly agree that “Washington, D.C., should shift its support more toward smaller, local fruit and vegetable farmers and away from large farm businesses." 

Check out what is going on in Maryland with regards to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and USDA here and here.

Eco-Goats Back on the Road

In this photo, one of the Eco-Goats, Little Richard, is chowing down on problem vegetation in a Woodland Conservation Bank in Prince Georges County, just outside of Upper Marlboro. The weed pictured, Mile-A-Minute (Persicaria perfoliata, previously Polygonum perfoliatum) is also being eaten by tiny weevils (Rhinoncomimus latipes) because the folks at Straughan Environmental are seriously awesome. Talk about Integrated Pest Management!

Happy Mother's Day, Mother Earth!

Just a quick shout-out to the mother who makes it all possible: Mother Earth! The miracles of nature are the truest gifts. Every flower and fruit that blooms in the "native soil" at the Public Health Garden is an example of a miracle to those of us involved in cultivating and improving that piece of land. Check out the all the beauty that has bloomed there on our Flickr stream.

The Secret Life of Peas

Check it out! The common pea is capable of processing, remembering and sharing information with its neighbors. Michael Marder, for the New York Times Opinionater, reports:

"...a team of scientists from the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University in Israel published the results of its peer-reviewed research, revealing that a pea plant subjected to drought conditions communicated its stress to other such plants, with which it shared its soil. In other words, through the roots, it relayed to its neighbors the biochemical message about the onset of drought, prompting them to react as though they, too, were in a similar predicament."

Any scientists/geneticists out there know if these findings have anything to do with how or why Mendel was able to study and and demonstrate inheritance through peas? Were those peas co-evolving with us and telling each other that being relevant in modern scientific experiments would foster future generations of intelligent peas that could one day outsmart their human predators? Nah... probably not... but it certainly doesn't surprise me that they grow and work together. 

Read Marder's full article "If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them?" examining the ethics of eating such intelligent life forms here. 

Maryland Day: Saturday April 28th

Visit the Public Health Garden on Maryland Day 2012 to check out all the amazing progress we've made in a single year (and all the other exciting, free, educational, agricultural, conservationist, delicious, etc - things happening on campus). We hope you will still be able to stop by and celebrate the success of this project with us!

The university has a great Plan Your Day feature on the Maryland Day website that you can visit in order to narrow down which activities you don't want to miss and print out your own itinerary. The Public Health Garden is listed under the football icon "Sports and Rec Row."

Parking is free anywhere on campus all day and events run from 10:00am - 4:00pm. And remember, the earlier you come, the better chance you have at snagging one of our plant giveaways :-)

Countdown to the weekend...

Itching to start the weekend on this B-E-A-UTIFUL Friday afternoon but stuck at your desk? Good news! There are lots of colorful new pictures of goats, gardens and greenhouse happenings up on the flickr stream. Check them out and get excited about spring plantings this weekend!

Happy Earth Day!

Hope everyone is having a beautiful Earth Week and has something enviro-friendly planned for the weekend to celebrate Earth Day. In case not, here are some local happenings:

The Science Center's Earth Day celebration on Saturday: There will be container-garden making with Baltimore Contained, herb cooking with Carrie Murray Nature Center, experiments with the American Chemical Society and plenty more eco-awesomeness with local green groups.More info can be found on the Science Center's site here: http://mdsci.org/events-calendar/events/EarthDay.html

Severna Park Earth Day on Saturday: http://severnapark.patch.com/articles/9th-annual-earth-day-expo-at-spms#pdf-9379365 Where the Eco-Goats will be!

Localize It: Baltimore Free Farm Block Party on Sunday: The second annual block party celebrating the value of local artists, musicians, food and social movements at its flagship project, the Ash Street Garden in Hampden. The event will include local craft and food vendors, street performers, live music and family activities. The block party's special attraction is ChiliBrew V, a home-brew competition and chili cook-off organized by BaltiBrew. More info can be found on their website http://www.baltimorefreefarm.org/2012/03/11/localize-it-ii/

If you aren't local, check out the Earth Day Network for information about events near you!

Midday on the Bay: Natives, Invasives and Overall Health

In case you missed it, here is the link (Thursday April 19th) to hear my fave Chef Chad Wells talk about the invasive snakehead fish on Midday on the Bay. "If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!"

Rona Kobell, from the Bay Journal, was on the show as well and shared some great news: There are 66% more blue crabs (764 million) in the bay since last year and the best year since 1993 which reveals that the restrictions made in 2008 were successful! As far as the report card grade, well... we can't control major weather events. Sigh.

Lots of very interesting conversation about bay health and how policies and threshold limits have helped maintain and improve that health. Some big things coming up surrounding menhaden protection too.

If you are interested in helping to maintain health by invasive snakehead eradication, support Chef Chad at Alewife Baltimore and consider getting a team together for the Potomac Snakehead Tournament this June.

Do you think Omega Protein the Monsanto of the waterways?

Chesapeake Bay Week on MPT

Did you know that the Chesapeake Bay estuary, the largest in the United States, was created by a meteor impact? Can you identify which aquatic life is native, invasive, protected and depleted? Want to know how you and your community contribute to the well-being of the Bay? Lucky for you, this week is Chesapeake Bay Week on Maryland Public Television! Programming throughout April 15-22 2012 will be highlighting some hot topics around the watershed  including several brand new programs:

• Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Bay - Exploration of how the harvesting of Menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay is affecting its water quality (Monday April 16th 10:00pm, Tuesday April 17th 2:00am)
• The Maryland Harvest: A Guide to Seasonal Eating - The food-to-table movement in Maryland and its impact on Maryland restaurants, chefs, farmers and consumers (Tuesday April 19th 9:00pm, Wednesday April 18th 2:00am)
• Restoring the Bay: New Solutions for Old Problems - Riverkeeper Fred Kelley faces challenges to help clean up the Severn River (Tuesday April 19th 10:30pm, Wednesday April 18th 3:30am)

These are just a few of the new and returning programs so be sure and check the website for the full programming lineup and set those DVRs! The week wraps up with a live music broadcast in affiliation with all the amazing folks at WTMD 89.7 too. More info on the Concert for the Chesapeake Bay here. Want more facts? Visit: Chesapeake Bay Journal..