What Are Neonicotinoids? And How To Safely Garden

Since I took a couple horticulture classes a few years ago, gardening has become a type of therapy for me and a great money saving tool. As food prices sky rocket and climate change, pollution and food safety issues have arisen we have all started questioning where our food comes from. Those of us who have a natural inclination for the hobby have realized we have the power in our very hands to take control of our food source. I have many friends and family with their own vegetable gardens, farms, and some with their own bees!

You might think that bees are a silly/scary thing to farm for the obvious reasons but they are, of course, essential to the production of our food. You might also be familiar with what has been coined Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) which has severely reduced colonies of feral and farmed bees crucial to the pollination of crops. This disorder has been documented numerous times throughout history and have been attributed to various causes such as adverse weather or viruses but in 2006-2007, the decline of colonies was plummeting more dramatically than ever seen before. At first CCD was blamed on GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) namely the "terminator seed" but nothing conclusive was found. The newest bad guy in this story is a common and highly effective insecticide ingredient called a neonicotinoid which functions on insects much like nicotine does on humans. It's largely been seen to negatively affect bees ability to forage for nectar, remember the location of flowers or their home hive. In lab tests the correlation was deafening and extreme but reports from farms in Australia and Canada (to name a few), which are regular users of neonics, have not been affected so dramatically. So while the cause of this mystery disease initially seemed clear, the jury is still out to find experimental proof that more closely resembles the real world situation. 

While this is satisfy enough for some, for others of you, this might still be unsettling. What is the cause of CCD? While neonics might not be the single cause of CCD does that mean they aren't completely harmless? At this point, I leave the decision to you! For those of you still wary, you might be more at ease moving towards a more organic type of gardening which means avoiding synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.This is easier said than done but here are 3 things to start with on your mission to organic guru:

1.   Pesticides - The object of organic gardening is to simulate nature so try incorporating more natural mechanisms for pest control. Examples include: using natural predators such as ladybugs for aphids and whiteflies, use a small vaccuum to remove both adults and larvae of the pest, or use an insecticidal soap which is non toxic and leaves no residue. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to safe and effective pest control, check out this link for more help and apply which ever tools best fit your type of garden. The best pest control comes from understanding what insects are pests and which are beneficial and their life cycle. There are only about 15 pests you really need to look out for so with some study and practice it should become easier. If insecticides are still an option for you but you'd like to avoid neonicotinoids then look for these ingredients on bottles before purchase.

• Acetamiprid
• Clothianidin
• Dinotefuran
• Imidacloprid
• Nitenpyram
• Thiocloprid
• Thiamethoxam

2.  Fertilizers - There are numerous organic fertilizers such as bone meal, kelp meal and agricultural lime. The type to use is all based on your unique soil composition but there are many mixes that will give you a well rounded diet for your plants. If you'd like to get very scientific with your gardening you can order soil tests and figure out what combination you need to maximize your garden output. There is also of course composting of various sorts which can be explored depending on how serious you want to get and how much space in your yard you have. 

3.  Seeds - When you see organic seeds it means they have not been genetically modified in anyway and come from organically produced plants and have no residue from synthetic chemicals. They are just as robust and productive as non-organic seeds but can come at a higher cost. Shop around and find the right price for your budget. The great thing about seeds is they have a pretty long shelf life so buy in bulk if you need to and store them properly to get the most bang out of your buck. 

So there it is! Hopefully I've provided some answers (or great links to start looking for the answers you want) about neonics and an easy start to organic gardening. It can be pricey and a bit more time consuming but it might be worth your piece of mind, at the least. 

Happy Gardening!

Until Next Time...Get Involved by Getting Informed :)

How to Be a Citizen Scientist

Sorry again that I've disappeared again! ...In our age of convenient, free information it has become easy for more people to claim to be experts in a field when in reality they aren't. I strive to create change through my work and my blog but with real legitimacy which has been gained through my intense training and education. I'm not sure if it is the world we've grown up in that forces this idea that a degree = expertise or if it an illusion reinforced to fund large institutions and corporations. Be that as it may, my struggles to complete my own traditional education contributes to my growing anxietyurgency to do more for wildlife conservation and education. I've rewritten this many times as I have deeply pondered what it means to my own life and now feel confident I can speak on this subject because I believe in it. So here we go!!

The other day, the boyfriend and I were finishing up an early dinner and as we're getting in the car he proclaims with exasperation: "I wish I was a scientist..." I found this to be straight adorable but also intriguing because Trevor is a vastly curious person who enjoys learning/questioning how things work whether its plants, cars or the weather and that curiosity is something most of us can identify with. We sit with our coffee at a cafe, at the beach, in our cars heading to work or school or vacations looking out into the world idly wondering: why? And the first step in the scientific theory is asking "why"

So I asked myself "What is a scientist?" Apparently to be a "scientist" you have to be an expert in a particular field which requires years of study and schooling and experience. Scientists are thoroughly trained in the use of the scientific theory as a method of standardizing their research and are trained to think and communicate in a highly efficient and concise manner and to continue questioning everything but to eliminate bias when finding answers. Maybe you love your job or you don't have the time or money to go back to school. But does a degree or two a scientist make?

Enter Benjamin Franklin.
He's known for interesting quotes such as, "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing" or "Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five" Good ol' Ben is also popular for his many inventions like the lightning rod, bifocals and flexible urinary catheters (woohoo!) and greatly contributed to scientific progress regarding electricity but he had no formal education past the age of 10 ...I've done a very poor job of conveying how important Ben Franklin was to the progress of our country and science but I'll leave it to you to research him more...While Ben was later granted an Honorary Doctor of Laws at the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford, he is what we'd term today as a citizen scientist. Using B. Frank as an example of bottomless curiosity and the courage to take that curiosity to the next level, we can all make contributions to our communities and the world by becoming citizen scientists too.

Why do we need citizen scientists??

As you begin looking for a project to join, you'll notice that most, if not all, are related to some field of natural science and this is because they are easy to observe and that's where citizen scientists are needed. Standard research programs require large amounts of funds for staff and resources and time spent preparing, conducting and analysis of the results and with few people able or interested in contributing it can be near impossible to get any concrete results. So if you're able to employ hundreds or thousands of data collectors for free you have a higher chance of success! The more data available, the more precise researchers can be with their results.

What projects can a citizen scientist take part in?

Most projects that are easiest to get involved with take little to no equipment. They range from counting birds in your backyard over a few days to observing stars. What is great about taking part is these activities are usually things we're doing anyways, all you have to do is upload your data to a particular website. I'll end this article with numerous links to research you can take part in. For the most part you can expect to find projects that involve various aspects of biology, astronomy, botany and other natural sciences. 

Right now I'm taking part in a local San Diego project through San Diego Audubon Society called Ternwatching. It is a seasonal program observing predatory action at a few nesting sites for the highly endangered California Least Tern. For a couple hours a week volunteers will watch a particular site and record any predators that pass over or into the nesting site and write down information such as: predator species and action and how the tern colony reacts to their presence. This information is currently used to help employees of the USDA relocate predators to help the terns be more successful with their breeding attempts. For an avid bird lover, this is a great way to spend a couple hours of my day. I mean who doesn't want to see fuzzy tern chicks running around all day...

d'aaaaawwww :) 

and fun interactions between animals like this adult Least Tern harassing this Western Gull

What do citizen scientists get out of being involved?

While you won't get international credit for your contributions (unless you take it to a Ben Franklin level) there are numerous benefits from taking part in a citizen scientist project including:

• Access to resources and training in subjects you are interested in and not available otherwise
• Networking opportunities with experts and other enthusiasts
• A sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and community from being a part of something bigger than yourself - see this article about citizen scientists mapping bird movement.
• It's fun!! and a chance to learn and do something new and exciting - many projects are now implementing innovative and fun interactive apps to help with collection - check out YardMap

So how do I get started?

An excellent resource is Zooniverse - they have created an awesome platform to find projects in every discipline and easily begin analyzing cancer data, characterize bat calls, or find black holes. Most of these require a quick sign up and you can get started right away! 

For my lovers of the birds and the bees check out this site for links to a number of projects involving migration patterns and identification of infection in bees.

SciStarter is another easy to use search engine for finding local projects

Scientific American put together a great list of available citizen science programs - here

Also check with your local nature centers, observatories, sanctuaries, and museums - Many opportunities I found doing simple internet searches about citizen science and volunteering locally. Make sure you have the time to commit to collect data and pick a project that fits your schedule so you can be a dependable participant. Most of all have fun with it!! We may not be traditional scientist but that doesn't mean we can't drastically contribute to the progress of our understanding of the world around us.

Do you have experience with citizen science projects? 

How will you get involved with your community this summer?

Good night all! 

More fun to come :)