Living in Suburbia: The Urban and Suburban Ecosystem Webinar series

Brought to you by the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation Board

WATER: WHERE DOES IT COME FROM AND WHERE DOES IT GO?

Thursday, June 10, 2021
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
 
Speakers:
Marylynne Malone, Conservation Educator, Orange County Water Authority
Dr. Daniel Van Abs, Associate Professor, Rutgers University
 
Description:
Water resources are critical to everyone in Westchester County, supporting water supplies for roughly one million people, and supporting our aquatic and land ecosystems. Our speakers will discuss how actions by households, businesses, and governments can protect and sustain these water resources, including property management, effcient use of water, watershed protection, and sound water infrastructure for water supply, wastewater and stormwater. 

 

URBAN AND SUBURBAN LANDSCAPES: WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
 
Thursday, September 9, 2021
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
 
Speakers:
Dr. Matthew Aiello-Lammens, Assistant Professor, Pace University
Margery Daughtery, Senior Extension Associate, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section of Cornell University
Dan Gilrein, Extension Entomologist, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
 
Part 1: HEALTH OF OUR SUBURBAN FORESTS
Most Northeastern forests and woodlands are embedded in a dense matrix of human development, including urban centers, suburban developments, and the expanding reach of major infrastructure. Even forests in seemingly ‘less developed’ areas are impacted by their proximity to many of the largest urban / suburban areas of the country. Human development is associated with numerous negative impacts on forest systems, including increasing exposure to forest pests, predator management policies that lead to deer overabundance, and exacerbated climate change impacts. In this talk, we will discuss some of these stressors and highlight advances that have been made to alleviate their impacts.
 
Part 2: A PLANT’S PERSPECTIVE: COMMON DISEASES AND INSECTS
Trees and other plants serve important ecological functions – for us, and for the rest of nature. While most insects serve a helpful role in the environment, some invasive and other pests have a destructive side. Choices we make can reduce the ecological threat and keep our plants growing and healthy. We’ll review a few landscape pest problems and suggest some solutions. Diseases are stressors that can plague plants in urban or suburban neighborhoods. Margery will explain how environmental stresses alone can create abiotic diseases in plants. She’ll also describe how certain fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses may cause contagious diseases. Some common diseases on familiar ornamentals like oaks, beech, London plane, dogwood, roses and Kwanzan cherry will be highlighted.
 

For more info on the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation Board, click here.