Common Ground Radio 4/8/21: Organic Gardening Basics

Producer/Host: C.J. Walke, MOFGA

Organic Food and Farming in Maine: Organic Gardening Basics

-Soil management and fertility
-Site selection and plant selection
-Cover crops and green manures

Guests:
Caragh Fitzgerald, Associate Extension Professor in Agriculture, Maine Cooperative Extension
Caleb Goossen, Organic Crops and Conservation Specialist, MOFGA

About the host:
C.J. Walke, host of Common Ground Radio, has been involved in Maine agriculture for over 20 years and has worked in numerous capacities for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) starting in 2006. Since 2012, C.J. has worked as farm manager for College of the Atlantic’s Peggy Rockefeller Farms in Bar Harbor, Maine, where he works with students to grow organic fruits, vegetables and livestock products. He holds degrees in park management/environment education and library science. Common Ground Radio debuted in June of 2010 and C.J. has been the show’s host since 2014.

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Healthy Options 4/7/21: Brown Tail Moth presence in Maine this year

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Brown Tail Moth presence in Maine this year, and how to try to prevent the spread of this hazardous and destructive invasive species, whose caterpillars give off tiny toxic hairs that can cause great harm to human health.

Key Discussion Points:

1 What are the health ramifications of exposure to Brown Tail Moth caterpillar hairs?
2 How can we prevent exposure to their toxic hairs?
3 What measures can you take between December and early April to mitigate webs in trees?
4 What is the best way to dispose of the webs after you clip them?
5 What protective clothing should you wear when dealing with the webs, moths or caterpillars of Brown Tail Moth?
6 Is it OK to eat food from a garden that is exposed to hairs of the Brown Tail Moth caterpillars?
7 Will eradicating the moths- which is the actual adult stage of the Brown Tail Moth- be enough to affect their numbers?
8 Why should you not use bug zappers or other kinds of light traps to deal with Brown Tail Moths when they are in their adult stage, or any time?
9 Why is it best to turn the lights off at night, until morning (especially from 9 pm to midnight), from late June through August/September?

Guest:
Tom Schmeelk, forest entomologist with the Maine Forest Service, who is charged with managing the state’s response to the Brown Tail Moth problem.

Websites of Interest:
Maine Forest Service- Brown Tail Moth info:

Maine Forest Service website- Brown Tail Moth FAQs:

Brown Tail Moth Frequently Asked Questions, PDF
Brown Tail Moth presentation- Tom Schmeelk, Belfast Library 3/25/21:

2021 Brown Tail Moth Winter Web Survey map

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

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Maine Currents 4/6/21: Dennis Chinoy on The Deep Roots and Bitter Fruits of White Supremacy

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

We continue our series on racism and hate groups with a recent presentation sponsored by the Maine Multicultural Center. From their website: “The Maine Multicultural Center is a community-driven group representing Bangor-area business, cultural, and educational organizations. We promote community enrichment and economic growth by attracting, retaining, supporting, and integrating people of diverse cultures and backgrounds into greater Bangor.
Since Fall 2016, we have provided welcoming services for New Mainers, while celebrating and promoting the racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity that already exists in the region. The Maine Multicultural Center offers presentations, conversations, community and teacher workshops, a database of resources, and opportunities for those in and around Bangor to meet neighbors and new friends, whether they are recent immigrants or longtime residents.”

Presenter Dennis Chinoy is a cofounder of PICA (Power in Community Alliances), a group that focuses on economic and social justice. Among other things, PICA has been a driver behind the Bangor sister city relationship with Carasque, El Salvador, MOFGA’s partnership with farmers in El Salvador, and WERU’s sister station relationship with Radio Sumpul, a community radio station in that county – and Dennis Chinoy has played a role in all of those endeavors. His presentation last month, sponsored by the multicultural center, was titled “The Deep Roots and Bitter Fruits of White Supremacy”. It has been edited to fit in this time slot.

View the entire, unedited presentation here

About the host:

Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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