One Week at Waterman: Winter
One Week at Waterman: Winter
A 261-acre living laboratory for innovation and engagement, Waterman is an immersive experience in food, agriculture, and the environment
Students from a stream ecology class use a tape measure to map out a portion of the stream for a class exercise.
“Summer’s heat and winter’s cold... the seasons pass, the years will roll.” We’re deep in the thick of cold, gray days in Ohio. But life continues on Waterman Lab through classes, conferences, and collaboration. Extension professionals boost their knowledge. Operations staff prep for spring planting. Crews continue the steady pace of construction on the Multispecies Animal Learning Center, taking shape in pillars of steel and concrete walls. A warm day here, a frigid day there. Buds lie in wait for the big show. And Waterman will burst with green growth once more.
Lettuce entertain you. Dr. Yiyun Lin (pictured), students, faculty, and staff in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science plant a variety of lettuce and herb seedlings in preparation for the Leafy Crops Event, Feb 28, at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex on Waterman Lab. Since hydroponic crops grow quickly, eventgoers will see leafy greens in a variety of growth stages. The benefits of growing greens on a controlled environment include minimal use of resource like water and nutrient, an almost neverending flow of fresh produce to harvest, and reduced risk of contamination versus field grown lettuce.
Go with the flow. Braden Werner balances a gravelometer on his arm and uses a clinometer to measure the slope of the stream. Fourth year students in Professor Zach Steffensmeier’s Stream Ecology ENR 5280 class navigated the snowy woodlot at Waterman to study an ephemeral stream; based on rain and other factors, this stream is generally shallow or nonexistent in winter and easy to study. Students in the School of Environment and Natural Resources followed the curve of the stream and measured out 30-meter areas, similar in length to a large school bus. Each group mapped out the stream’s physical features like slope, floodplains, bends, pools, and substrates that support life. These factors help researchers understand habitat quality and what wildlife could be supported in the environment.
Can we do it? Yes we can! What does food preservation have to do with good design? Everything. Third and fourth year students from the Ohio State Department of Design practice their canning and drying skills under the direction of Jenny Lobb, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension educator at the Kunz-Brundige Franklin County Extension Building. The class theme this year is how to reduce food waste at home. Their professor, Dr. Maria Palazzi, hopes that by exposing industrial, visual, and interior design students to new experiences, they’ll apply their newfound knowledge and creativity to better posters, signage, or food preservation tools useful for a variety of audiences.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes. What a difference a few months make! In our first One Week at Waterman: Summer edition, drone images captured a blank canvas of dirt for the new Multispecies Animal Learning Center (MALC) and Dairy. Since then, crews poured over 500 truckloads of concrete for building foundations. Over 270 tons of structural steel form the shape of every building. And the roof is underrway on the MALC in this shot with animal barns up next. CK Construction uses precast walls and pre-engineered building (PEMB) structures to facilitate a speedy build. With large spans like you'll find in the arena, these structures are cost effective and easy to assemble on-site. The project is 50% complete. We’re counting down the months until this building is open and ready for amazing new teaching and outreach opportunities later this year! Check out this slideshow for more amazing photos.
Here’s to your health. Did you know that more than 12% of Ohio adults have been diagnosed with diabetes? Nutrition can help manage and prevent complications from the disease. The Ohio State University Extension's long running and successful Dining with Diabetes program educates adults on planning meals, portion control, label reading, and how to prepare healthy and tasty food. Shari Gallup, Extension educator from Licking County, shares research-based programming with other educators at the Kunz-Brundige Franklin County Extension Building during a train-the-trainer class at Waterman.
Photos by John Rice and Ken Chamberlain, CFAES Marketing and Communications.
Want to see more of One Week at Waterman? Go back to the changing leaves of our fall edition or the smell of fresh crops in our back-to-school summer edition.
