News
News from Boulder, Colorado and Boulder Channel 1 News editors To advertise please call 303-447-8531
A plague of ash borers? Not yet.
Nov 7th
In late September, the emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive pest of ash trees was identified within the city limits of Boulder. Since that time, staff from the City of Boulder Forestry Division and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) have worked cooperatively to complete a visual assessment of all public and private ash trees within a half mile of the initial infestation.
Staff visually assessed hundreds of ash trees from the ground, looking for symptoms of infestation, which include large branch dieback in the tree crown, woodpecker damage and excessive sprouting. Fortunately, no obviously symptomatic ash trees were discovered outside of the initial cluster of infested trees, however; EAB is very difficult to detect in early stages. To determine the full extent of infestation, a delimitation survey begins this week. The survey is being conducted by staff from city forestry, CDA, Colorado State University Extension, and forestry staff from other Front Range cities who have graciously offered to assist. It is anticipated to take up to six weeks to complete.
For the delimitation survey, the city has been divided into plots or grids of one-square mile each. Crews will remove two small branches from each of 10 ash trees near the center of each plot. The branch samples will be peeled and examined closely for the presence of emerald ash borer life stages. The branch sampling protocols were developed by the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). The CFS found by performing random branch sampling on asymptomatic trees with this technique, they were able to detect EAB several miles away from the original location before trees become symptomatic. The goal is to determine the full extent of infestation within the city limits. The results of the survey will also help guide the future city of Boulder EAB Response Plan to manage the infestation within the city and potentially slow the spread to nearby communities.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, the city of Boulder is hosting an EAB “tree dissection” for forestry staff from other Front Range cities and Wyoming. Staff from CSU Extension, Colorado Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA APHIS PPQ) will be on hand to teach other forestry professionals what EAB looks like and to demonstrate branch peeling techniques to find EAB larvae. More dissections are planned to educate tree care companies.
There are approximately 38,000 city park and public street rights-of-way trees under the jurisdiction of the Boulder Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry Division; approximately 6,000 are ash trees (15 percent of the public tree population).
For more information, please contact the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s Forestry Division at 303-413-7245.
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CU panel: More help for kids w/mental disorders
Nov 7th
resources for families struggling
with behavioral concerns
Families seeking information about childhood psychiatric and developmental disorders are invited to a community open house with experts from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Colorado School of Medicine on Wednesday, Nov. 13, on the CU-Boulder campus.
Experts will address emerging research on early onset bipolar disorder, prevention of schizophrenia, postpartum depression, attention and behavior disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. Each researcher also will describe their community services.
The event, “CU Community Open House: Behavioral Health Resources for Families,” is free and open to the public from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Wolf Law Building, room 207.
A panel of five researchers from the CU-Boulder Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the CU School of Medicine will explain recent advances in their fields and local research conducted in their CU lab or clinic, as well as resources they offer to families.
The panel will include:
- Nomita Chhabildas, director of the Attention, Behavior and Learning Clinic at CU-Boulder [http://psych.colorado.edu/~clinical/raimy/child]
- Sona Dimidjian, director of the Center for Research, Evidence-based Services and Treatment (CREST) at CU-Boulder [http://psych-srv3.colorado.edu/~crest]
- Susan Hepburn, associate professor of psychiatry and director of research at JFK Partners at the CU School of Medicine [http://www.jfkpartners.org]
- Vijay Mittal, director of the Adolescent Development and Preventive Treatment Research Program (ADAPT) at CU-Boulder [http://www.adaptprogram.com]
- Dawn Taylor, lead psychologist and project coordinator for the Colorado Family Project based at CU-Boulder [http://www.coloradobipolar.com]
Christopher Schneck, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the CU School of Medicine and principal investigator for the Colorado Family Project, will address the pros and cons of receiving services in a research setting.
“Many people don’t realize that free or low-cost evidence-based services are available through a variety of groups at the University of Colorado,” Taylor said. “We invite the public to join us for an evening with local experts and to learn more about the fascinating research taking place in our community and how these programs may benefit local families.”
The brief presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session and opportunities for attendees to speak individually with the presenters.
The Wolf Law Building is located at 2450 Kittredge Loop Road near the intersection of Baseline Road and Broadway. Parking in lots 402 and 470 is free after 5 p.m. For questions call 303-492-1668.
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CU: more computers for more kids
Nov 7th
Computers To Youth program
The University of Colorado Boulder Environmental Center is expanding its Computers To Youth program to include more students and more interactive activities.
Computers To Youth provides high school students from underrepresented communities with upgraded used computers and hands-on training from CU-Boulder student mentors. Its purpose is to benefit underserved youth in Colorado and protect the environment. The computer systems received by the high school students through the program are designed to enable academic achievement that will encourage students to attend college.
“Not only do the high school students but also the college student mentors see this as an inspiring learning experience,” said CU-Boulder engineering student and Computers To Youth mentor Rebecca Miller. “The fact that CU-Boulder put together this program that saves resources, prevents waste and enables future scientists and engineers is completely brilliant.”
The next Computers To Youth event will be held Saturday, Nov. 9. Fourteen high school students from the Family Learning Center in Boulder, guided by CU-Boulder student mentors, will go through surplus computer components, bundle parts, load the latest software and take their newly built computer systems with them. The day also will include a new competition in which teams will race to disassemble and reassemble a demonstration computer.
“As technology increasingly becomes a part of daily life, those without computer access risk falling behind,” said Jack DeBell, the CU Environmental Center’s recycling program development director. “This consequence, known as the digital divide, tends to affect economically disadvantaged populations, especially youth. With such a great amount of computer equipment being discarded by a technologically advanced campus, it only makes sense that some of this equipment be “upcycled” to bridge the digital divide.”
The CU-Boulder student mentors are part of the statewide MESA (Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement) program. CU-Boulder’s MESA Center is headquartered in the Department of Pre-College Outreach Services in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE).
MESA Colorado also refers high school students to the Computers To Youth program.
With two additional Computers To Youth events slated for the spring semester, about 55 youth will be served by the program this academic year. The Denver Area Telecommunications Educational Telecommunication Consortium (DAETC) has enabled the increase in the number of participants, up from 48 last year, according to DeBell.
The CU Environmental Center has held numerous computer-build events since it began restoring and redistributing computers in 2001. In 2005, it received the Dell Higher Education Leadership Award to fund the collection of unused personal computers from the campus community and divert the equipment from landfills.
Also part of the Computers To Youth program is CU’s Property Services department. Other contributors have included the Community Computer Connection and Microsoft Corp.
“Hopefully this project will create additional collaboration with community groups and corporate sponsors in Colorado,” said St. Vrain School District teacher Karen Hunter, whose high school participated in Computers To Youth last year. “The students’ new-found confidence as a result of the amazing folks at CU-Boulder tells it all.”
For more information about Computers To Youth visit http://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/other-programs/computers-youth.
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