Emergency readiness for extreme summer storms

In Virginia, summer can bring sudden, strong storms, as high humidity contributes to thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy rain. As Virginia enters peak storm season, it's important to be ready. You might be familiar with emergency preparedness, such as ensuring flashlights are fully charged in case of a power outage, storing a few days' worth of food and fresh water, or having plans to evacuate or seek shelter if the situation poses an immediate danger.

These are all critical components of emergency readiness, but there is one element some folks may not have considered: whether the trees on their property are storm-ready. Virginia State University's urban forestry specialist, Mr. Joel Koci, has tips to help homeowners protect trees and property from storm damage.

In late June, Virginia State University (VSU )'s College of Agriculture (COA) welcomed farmers to Randolph Farm for its Small Farmer-Focused Field Day, offering hands-on learning opportunities at the research and demonstration farm. The event gave growers the chance to see how crops and production systems perform under Virginia conditions and to speak with researchers and specialists who understand the current challenges facing Virginia growers and are working to solve them.

Almost 150 farmer participants visited research plots showcasing 27 blueberry cultivars grown in high tunnels, including the Northern Highbush, Southern Highbush, and Rabbiteye varieties, to compare plant performance and production potential and learn recommendations across Virginia's various USDA planting zones and soil conditions. In tours of other plots and high tunnels, visitors also learned practical organic tomato production techniques, including sustainable strategies for managing common foliar diseases that can negatively impact plant health and crop production.

Large swaths of Virginia are a part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Rivers, streams and creeks of all sizes eventually flow into this unique estuary. The Chesapeake Bay is a vital economic resource for the region, with seafood industries, recreation opportunities and tourism generating significant revenue and job opportunities for states within the watershed. It's also a space where people, plants, and animals live in an interconnected system; where positive actions beget positive impacts across the system, and likewise for harmful actions, like pollution, which eventually flows into the bay. A healthy bay ecosystem protects our air and water quality, local food sources, and protects communities from flooding and erosion. Not to mention, thousands of species of plants and animals call the Chesapeake Bay watershed their home, just as people do. By protecting and increasing water resilience in Virginia, we protect our own communities. At Virginia State University, Extension specialists like urban and community forestry associate Joel Koci teach people how to protect and enhance water resilience in Virginia, thereby protecting their own communities.

One natural way to protect water quality is to bolster or plant a riparian buffer. A riparian buffer is the area next to a body of water where native trees, shrubs and other plants grow. Riparian buffers can be an important feature in agricultural, range, suburban and urban settings. Regardless of where you might find one, a riparian buffer's job is the same. They stabilize eroding banks, provide shelter and habitat, and filter harmful substances from the water body adjacent to the buffer.

Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) at Virginia State University (VSU) is helping build healthier families and communities through nutrition education, food safety and youth wellness initiatives despite recent and real challenges facing Virginia families. Addison Caldwell is VSU’s Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program Extension associate in the family nutrition program. Serving with Extension for nearly three years, Caldwell combines her background in dietetics and nutrition with a passion for empowering young people to make healthier choices.

Caldwell is a proud Trojan who earned her Bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences with a concentration in dietetics. With personal experience witnessing nutrition-related chronic diseases, Caldwell felt driven to pursue further education and a career in the nutrition field. She took a position with VSU Extension while completing her master’s degree in nutrition, and quickly started bringing nutrition and healthy lifestyle education into local communities through Extension programming.