UC Communicators Win International Awards

Joel Fuerte, 6, of Woodland watches as Roxanne Bell, 7, of Davis reacts to Peaches, a rose-haired tarantula, "tickling" her at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. This photo won the gold award in a competition sponsored by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

DAVIS, CA - Five University of California communicators primarily based at UC Davis won a total of seven awards in a competition sponsored by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences.

Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a gold or first-place award for her photograph, "It Tickles," of two youths getting acquainted with a rose-haired tarantula last April at the “Take Your Daughters (And Sons) to Work Day” at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. It was published in Garvey's blog, Bug Squad, on the UC Agricultural and Natural Resources website; on the Entomological Foundation's website, and in the Bohart Museum newsletter, among other sites.

The image shows Joel Fuerte, 6, of Woodland, and Roxanne Bell, 7, of Davis, reacting to a rose-haired tarantula named Peaches. The UC Davis event drew Roxanne's mother, Jenna Bell, who works at the Mondavi Center, and Joel's mother, Gabby Sanchez Fuerte of the School of Education.

Garvey also won a silver or second-place award for her feature story on entomology Jeff Smith, who curates the butterfly and moth collection at the Bohart; a silver or second-place award for her photo series, “Miracle of Life,” depicting a monarch butterfly egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult, and a bronze or third-place award for a feature photo of two praying mantids mating, also published in Bug Squad.

Diane Nelson, senior writer with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a gold award or first place for her news release on groundwater banking, “Farmland May Provide Key to Replenishing Groundwater.”

“California's aquifers are shrinking as more growers pump groundwater to keep crops alive,” she began. “But that fertile farmland may also provide the means for replenishing groundwater to benefit everyone in the drought-stricken state.” Nelson scored a perfect 100 from the judges.

Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for Western Integrated Pest Management Center, won a silver or second-place award in the newsletter category, for the monthly Western IPM Center's electronic newsletter, “The Western Front.” The Western IPM Center is a USDA-funded regional program housed within the UC ANR Statewide IPM Program.

The "Pest Wheel Set," by UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program scientist/communicator Cheryl Wilen, area IPM advisor and IPM advisor extension coordinator, and community educator Scott Parker, UC Cooperative Extension, San Diego office won a bronze or third-place award. The set includes two interactive wheels, in English on one side and Spanish on the other. One wheel features common garden insects, diseases and snails and slugs, and the other, common garden weeds.

“The Pest Wheel helps the user identify and manage 12 common pests, including ants, snails, powdery mildew, and scale insects,” according to Pests in the Urban Landscape blog on the UC ANR web site “The Weed Wheel covers 12 common garden and landscape weeds, including crabgrass and yellow nutsedge.” (The Pest and Weed Identifier Wheels can be purchased for $4 each; this includes tax, shipping and handling. For more information or to place an order, please contact Scott Parker at saparker@ucanr.edu or 858-822-6932.)

The UC communicators received the awards at the ACE conference held June 13-16 in Memphis, Tenn. ACE, an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists, offers professional development and networking for individuals who extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.