Guelph - The 2009 CHTA conference, "Good for the Soil, Good for the Soul", highlights ways in which horticultural therapy (HT) and therapeutic horticulture (TH) nurture both the earth and ourselves. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about organic gardening techniques and to dig deeply into the connections with nature that make HT and TH programs so effective.
The CHTA is delighted to welcome Marjorie Harris as the keynote speaker on Saturday, September 19th. One of Canada's best known garden writers, Marjorie has written 15 gardening books, including The Healing Garden and Pocket Gardening. Her latest book is a reissue of Ecological Gardening: Your Path to a Healthy Garden.
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Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
University of Toronto helps to 'barcode' the world's plants
Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - 09:32 in Biology & Nature
An international team of scientists, including botanists from the University of Toronto, have identified a pair of genes which can be used to catalogue the world's plants using a technique known as DNA barcoding — a rapid and automated classification method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.
"Barcoding provides an efficient means by which we can discover the many undescribed species that exist on earth," says Spencer Barrett, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto and the head of the Canadian plant barcoding working group. "This discovery is important because understanding biodiversity is crucial to long-term human existence on the planet."
DNA barcoding has been widely used to identify animal species since its invention five years ago. But its use for plants was delayed because of the complex nature of plant genetics and disagreements over the appropriate DNA regions to use.
"We compared the performance of the seven leading candidate gene regions against three criteria: ease of obtaining DNA sequences; quality of the DNA sequences; and ability to tell species apart based on a sample of 550 species of land plants", says Barrett. "Based on this global analysis we recommended that matK and rbcL — two chloroplast genes — are adopted as the DNA barcode for land plants."
The primary application of the methodology will be the identification of the many species in the world's biodiversity hotspots where a shortage of specialists hinders conservation efforts. Other applications include identifying illegal trade in endangered species, identifying invasive organisms, poisonous species and fragmentary material in forensic investigations. The technique will work on minute amounts of tissue and can be used on fragments of plant material, small seedlings, and in some cases digested or processed samples.
The methodology will also be used immediately in global projects such as Tree-BOL which aims to build the DNA barcode database for all the species of trees of the world — many of which are of economic and conservation importance.
The report appears this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the group authorship of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) Plant Working Group.
Source: University of Toronto
An international team of scientists, including botanists from the University of Toronto, have identified a pair of genes which can be used to catalogue the world's plants using a technique known as DNA barcoding — a rapid and automated classification method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species.
"Barcoding provides an efficient means by which we can discover the many undescribed species that exist on earth," says Spencer Barrett, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto and the head of the Canadian plant barcoding working group. "This discovery is important because understanding biodiversity is crucial to long-term human existence on the planet."
DNA barcoding has been widely used to identify animal species since its invention five years ago. But its use for plants was delayed because of the complex nature of plant genetics and disagreements over the appropriate DNA regions to use.
"We compared the performance of the seven leading candidate gene regions against three criteria: ease of obtaining DNA sequences; quality of the DNA sequences; and ability to tell species apart based on a sample of 550 species of land plants", says Barrett. "Based on this global analysis we recommended that matK and rbcL — two chloroplast genes — are adopted as the DNA barcode for land plants."
The primary application of the methodology will be the identification of the many species in the world's biodiversity hotspots where a shortage of specialists hinders conservation efforts. Other applications include identifying illegal trade in endangered species, identifying invasive organisms, poisonous species and fragmentary material in forensic investigations. The technique will work on minute amounts of tissue and can be used on fragments of plant material, small seedlings, and in some cases digested or processed samples.
The methodology will also be used immediately in global projects such as Tree-BOL which aims to build the DNA barcode database for all the species of trees of the world — many of which are of economic and conservation importance.
The report appears this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the group authorship of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) Plant Working Group.
Source: University of Toronto
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Canada: Hothouse fruit, veg sales up, flowers down
Sales of greenhouse products in Canada declined 7.6 per cent from 2007 to $2.1 billion in 2008, as an increase in fruit and vegetable sales was more than offset by a drop in sales of flowers and plants, Statistics Canada reported Monday.
Total greenhouse area amounted to 20.8 million square metres, down from 20.9 million in 2007, the second consecutive annual decline. It was accompanied by lower production and sales, and by a drop in employment. The nursery sector also experienced a slight decrease in sales, the federal statistics agency said.Total operating expenses fell five per cent to $2 billion. Labour costs of $544 million accounted for 27.7 per cent of total expenses for greenhouse operators. The number of seasonal and permanent greenhouse workers declined by 8.6 per cent to 38,375.
Greenhouse operators reported total sales of flowers and plants amounting to $1.3 billion, down 13.6 per cent from 2007. Operators in Ontario, the largest producing province, reported a 20.7 per cent decline.
Sales of potted flowers and plants reached $647 million, representing nearly one half of all sales of flowers and plants. They were followed by sales of ornamental plants for transplanting, valued at $226 million, and sales of cut flowers at $126 million. Sales fell in all categories of flowers and plants.
Source: www.grainews.ca
Total greenhouse area amounted to 20.8 million square metres, down from 20.9 million in 2007, the second consecutive annual decline. It was accompanied by lower production and sales, and by a drop in employment. The nursery sector also experienced a slight decrease in sales, the federal statistics agency said.Total operating expenses fell five per cent to $2 billion. Labour costs of $544 million accounted for 27.7 per cent of total expenses for greenhouse operators. The number of seasonal and permanent greenhouse workers declined by 8.6 per cent to 38,375.
Greenhouse operators reported total sales of flowers and plants amounting to $1.3 billion, down 13.6 per cent from 2007. Operators in Ontario, the largest producing province, reported a 20.7 per cent decline.
Sales of potted flowers and plants reached $647 million, representing nearly one half of all sales of flowers and plants. They were followed by sales of ornamental plants for transplanting, valued at $226 million, and sales of cut flowers at $126 million. Sales fell in all categories of flowers and plants.
Source: www.grainews.ca
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
New strawberry variety will extend local season and compete with imports
HALIFAX, N.S. — Strawberry lovers are getting a new type of egg-sized berry to sweeten their summers, a development 20 years in the making that might give Canadian growers a fresh advantage in an increasingly competitive market as well. Valley Sunset - named because it blooms late in the season - was developed in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley and will be available to growers next spring. Read more:
Monday, July 20, 2009
Canada: Hort growers' food safety audit fees to rise
The auditing body for the Canadian Horticultural Council's CanadaGAP on-farm food safety program plans to increase the fees it charges to growers.
QMI-SAI Global announced Wednesday it will increase its base audit rate to $525 from $420, starting Sept. 1. Its fee for audit report reviews in Quebec, where audits must be performed or supervised by a registered agronomist, will decrease to $70 from $175. Elsewhere, the report review fee will be included in the base rate.
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QMI-SAI Global announced Wednesday it will increase its base audit rate to $525 from $420, starting Sept. 1. Its fee for audit report reviews in Quebec, where audits must be performed or supervised by a registered agronomist, will decrease to $70 from $175. Elsewhere, the report review fee will be included in the base rate.
Read more:
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Prairie Fescue Replanting Project
"Prairie Fescue Replanting Project" - Cremona AB- aired on CBC TV May 11, 2009A company called Eastern Slopes Rangeland Seeds does a booming business raising rough fescue grass which is in high demand by oil companies trying to reclaim land after drilling and pipeline projects. Steve Tannas talks about their increase in business over the last few years raising fescue in their greenhouses. Dana Bush, of the Alberta Native Plant Council, applauds the project but raises concerns about competing grasses coming in on the tires of off-road vehicles and construction equipment, out-competing native plants. Tannas says that rough fescue is very good at storing carbon deep underground and is optimistic about the success of replanting projects.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Forestry's future seen to be trees, trees, trees
By Keith Gerein,
The Edmonton Journal
May 25, 2009
U of A school to reverse falling enrollments
U of A school to reverse falling enrollments
Ever since he was a small child, Kirk Hawthorn has loved the outdoors.
Kayaking, hiking, fishing and camping have been his passions for as long as he can remember.
Kayaking, hiking, fishing and camping have been his passions for as long as he can remember.
So when it came time to choose a university major, the Lac La Biche resident knew he wanted to study a science that could help safeguard his wilderness playground.
After a few years of searching, Hawthorn finally found his calling in forestry -- a field that indulges his academic talents while allowing him to work outside a typical laboratory.
It's a career he believes should have great appeal to today's environmentally conscious generation of students. Enrolment numbers tell a different story. Across the country, post-secondary institutions are struggling more than ever to attract young people into forestry programs.
At the start of this decade, the eight Canadian universities involved in forestry had a combined enrolment of 2,608 undergraduates. By 2007-08, the total had declined to 1,539 -- a drop of more than 40 per cent.
The University of Alberta has been no exception, with enrolment plunging from 541 to 352 over the same time period.
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Forestry sector welcomes $1-billion green energy aid package
‘Laying the groundwork for a greener, more secure future for the pulp and paper sector,’ says federal ministerBy Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun
Federal Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt made the announcement Wednesday of a $1-billion aid package to Canada’s pulp and paper industry.
Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters files
Photograph by: Chris Wattie, Reuters files
Ottawa announced a $1-billion green energy aid package today for Canadian pulp and paper producers to counter a $7-billion subsidy program in the United States.
“By making a smart investment today, we are laying the groundwork for a greener, more secure future for the pulp and paper sector and the people who work in it,” Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said in making the announcement in Ottawa.
The $1-billion program is set up to aid companies that invest in energy efficiency and environmental performance.
Called the green transition program, it will provide a grant of 16 cents a litre on black liquor used by the industry up to a maximum program total of $1 billion.
Black liquor is a liquid byproduct of the chemical pulping process used to generate renewable heat and power.
Black liquor is a liquid byproduct of the chemical pulping process used to generate renewable heat and power.
The program is roughly equivalent to the aid being supplied by Washington to U.S. pulp producers, who are receiving a 50-cent US-a-gallon rebate on black liquor.
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