Natural History and Sustainability at Merritt College

Can you guess all the veggies in this recent harvest from the Environmental Center?

These are going to Merritt College administration, a bonus for all their support and hard work on behalf of our department! Enjoy 🥬🥒🧅

Photo credit: Professor Elizabeth Boegel

Our corn is blooming 🌽!

Urban Agroecology students planted a dozen different types of corn last spring, and now it's pollinating. Isn't it beautiful?!

Photo credit: Professor Elizabeth Boegel

Even though the semester is over, there are still plenty of reasons to come visit the Environmental Center. We still have the Gardening Club on Wednesdays from 1-3, a free seed library created by the Urban Agroecology class and also opportunities to water the garden daily as a volunteer (contact Elizabeth Boegel or send us a DM). 🌱✨

With heavy hearts we announce that this is the last semester for NHS founder Dr. Brad Balukjian and Program Director Ben Nelson. It's hard to encompass all that they have done to make our program one that changes lives, but the word heroes comes to mind.

Professor Elizabeth Boegel captures their spirit best...

"Everything there is to know about Brad and Ben can be summed up by their shared love of Star Wars.

Brad relishes the battle between good and evil, while Ben identifies with the journey of seeking. Brad sees what is wrong in the world and employs logic to fight it, while Ben trusts that the inherent good in all of us will ultimately change the status quo.

They both wholeheartedly believe in the Rebel Alliance, a common force determined to make the world a fairer, better place. They enfolded all of us into this Rebel Alliance, and that solidarity was at the heart of everything they did in the NHS program. The best way to honor them and their time at Merritt is to fight on, together."

With grateful hearts we wish you all the best Brad and Ben!

Congratulations to all our wonderful NHS students who earned their certificates🎓🎉! We hope you continue to be a part of our community and please know the EC garden is always open to you (just be sure to close the gate🦌). We are so proud of all that you have already accomplished and can't wait to see how you continue to flourish!🌱👏✨

Just another beautiful spring day at the Environmental Center 🌱✨

Cheers to a wonderful brewing workshop at Professor Elizabeth Boegel's home led by her partner Tom. We got to taste toasted barley (earthy and nutty) and dried hops (extremely bitter aftertaste), boil up a wort, pitch yeast and bottle the finished IPA. All that hard work was celebrated with an all grain brew Tom previously made! 🍻Utterly delicious and reminiscent of caramel!

It was a fitting end to the NHS workshop series. Thank you to all who presented, attended and supported this endeavor! We had 18 in all and are grateful for the community this series built✨

Thank you John Muir Association for honoring the work of our amazing professors! Every day is Earth Day in our classroom and garden ✨🌏🌱

The NHS program is delighted and honored to receive a John Muir Association Conservation Award! All students and friends are welcome to attend The Muir Birthday/Earth Day celebration and cheer on Professor Elizabeth Boegel as she accepts on our behalf. There will be music, stories, exhibits and even birthday cake!

Saturday April 20, 10 am to 4 pm (we will receive the award at 1:20 pm on the main stage)
John Muir National Historic Site
4202 Alhambra Avenue, Martinez, CA 94553

Hope to see you there!

Our grafted VIP apple tree from Novella Carpenter's workshop is thriving! 🍎👏 Now is the time to remove any buds coming off the rootstock. According to Novella, just wipe them off (or pull off if you let them mistakenly grow like we did). Only the scion buds should remain. It's also okay to remove the tape that held everything in place.

If you attended the workshop, please share a picture of your grafted tree below. We can't wait to see how they are doing!✨🍏

Thank you everyone who turned out for the first Garden Club meeting at the Environmental Center last Wednesday. Our native garden is looking great thanks to your efforts!

The next meeting will be this Wednesday April 10 from noon to 2 pm at the EC garden, with an optional stroll through Leona Canyon afterwards. The plan is to work on pulling the French Broom from around the outside of our fence to open up space for other species to grow. All are welcome to join! No experience necessary and we provide all tools. We look forward to seeing you then!

Professor Elizabeth Boegel gave a delightful talk on how to grow tomatoes today at Annie's Annuals!🍅 The audience may have been a little surprised that she doesn't do anything to control "pests" but NHS students understand that this is an important part of maintaining a healthy plant, soil and ultimately ecosystem. ✨🌱🌏

What is your favorite tomato variety to grow and eat?

Fun at the Environmental Center garden with Urban Agroecology student Laurel! It's really starting to feel like spring!✨

Photo credit: Professor Elizabeth Boegel

Curious what the EVMT 57 Park Operations class has been up to? Recently Professor Dave Zuckermann brought students to the historic Dry Creek Garden area at Garin/Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park to begin a deer-fencing project to protect plantings from some very hungry deer. Our classes are hands-on learning with knowledgeable EBRPD rangers!

A pest is defined as a nuisance and nothing can be more annoying in a garden than a slug or snail that kills plants by excessively eating its leaves, stems, flowers…you name it! But what if instead of reaching for the pesticide we look at these mollusks in a different light as decomposers that are a necessary part of the ecosystem? Not only do they clean up decaying leaves but are also food for birds, snakes, and toads.

As the Social Issues in Agriculture class recently learned, over 3.5 million tons of pesticides are used in farming each year. Those ingredients seep into our soil, water, and food causing harm to all living things including us. Let’s not further contribute to the problem! 

We have heard that cucumber slices placed in aluminum foil give off a scent that naturally deters slugs/snails. Have you tried this and did it work? Comment below with your best tips!

Thank you Debbie Harris and for a delightful workshop all about strawberries! We learned about the history, varieties, how to prune runners and properly fertilize plants followed by a hands-on demo of canning strawberry jam! Yum!

Happy first day of spring!

Photo credit: Our state flower, the California golden poppy (Eschscholzia californica) by Professor Elizabeth Boegel

Thank you everyone who stopped by the Sustainability Club's table and learned how to sort waste. We had some wonderful conversations and are so happy to be a part of a community that cares about Merritt and the world at large. Together we are making a difference ♻️🌎 A big thank you to President Alejandro and Vice President Sabine for all your hard work initiating the Sustainable Merritt campaign!

Are you ready to go green, Merritt?🌱 Today the Sustainablity Club starts our campaign to recycle all waste in campus beginning with leftover food. 🍕🍏 Come say hi to our Ambassadors near the cafeteria between 9-1 am who will explain what goes in the green compost bins.

Want to become a paid Ambassador and receive a $50 gift certificate for two hours of community service (which looks terrific on your resume)? We are happy to sign you up in person or contact: [email protected]

Novella Carpenter is a natural teacher who makes everything easy to understand and fun! Thank you Urban Farm Oasis for collaborating with the NHS program and hosting such a wonderful workshop. Attendees not only learned to graft apple trees but also how to prune (don't remove more than 1/3 of the branches). Everyone was thrilled to go home with their own tree! ✨

Thank you to everyone who came out this weekend to help w**d and protect the native plants in Leona Canyon. We were thrilled to have such a great turnout and to partner once again with East Bay Regional Parks . We appreciate all of your hard work!

Just a typical day at the Environmental Center with Urban Agroecology student Claire as students clear out the old beds and plant a new garden for spring!🌱🌻✨

Thank you to everyone who came by the Sustainability Club's table during Club Rush and played our fun game of "guess the herb"! Fennel was the one that stumped people the most (it smells like licorice). We were thrilled to sign up both students and staff.

If you are interested in gardening, hiking or helping with making Merritt's campus more sustainable through recycling its waste we hope you will join us as well! Sign up at [email protected].

Professor Eddie Dunbar's Pest Management class found a Sharp-tailed Snake (Contia tenuis) at the Environmental Center this weekend! These common snakes are nonvenomous and like to hide under rocks and logs.

What is the best Valentine's Day gift?

Professor Elizabeth Boegel's ENVMT 35 Intro to Urban Agroecology created this manifesto which perfectly sums up our program! We are a community that bonds over food, laughter, deep conversations, tea and getting our hands deep into the healing soil of our EC garden. Everyone is welcome at the table 🍽️✨🌿⚖️

A group of students and friends, led by NHS student Peter Lindsay, recently took advantage of the rainy weather and went on a mushroom identification walk. We learned how to identify Edible mushrooms such as Candy Cap (which smells like maple syrup when dried) and Turkey Tail. ✨

Some options for legal foraging in the Bay Area include Point Reyes National Seashore, Salt Point State Park, Jackson Demonstration Forest and any National Forest.

How many varieties can you I.D?🍄

Did you know that Merritt College currently doesn't separate its waste and that everything goes directly to the landfill (despite having bins for glass and paper)?!

The good news✨ is that through a lot of hard work, the Sustainability Club in conjunction with the Dean of Allied Health and Public Safety, Marie Amboy and Waste Management will soon be launching phase one of the Sustainable Merritt Campaign, composting food scraps. Be on the lookout for green bins around campus!♻️🍅🍌🥬

President Alejandro Gomez, Treasurer Kristy O'Brien and club member Sabine Westerweck, along with Cameron Martin from Waste Management were honored to present at the recent Flex Day to the faculty and administration and invite them to participate in this important campaign. Together we all can make a difference! 🤝