Megan Lynch (she/her)

MSc in Hort & Ag, UC Davis. Frugiphile. Vegetative almond bud development. Ongoing interdisciplinary research on carob (Ceratonia siliqua). Disabled. Advocate for accessibility. she/her

Banner description: Carob botanical illustration by Pierre Joseph Redouté Profile photo description: Me looking over my bifocal glasses. #NoBot

Ologies Episode: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/carobology
Demandifesto: https://archive.org/details/disability-equity-and-justice-demands/mode/2up
Guide for my ASPB workshop: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hgAVLfEhV9dNbF1Z8j3djudb0xXlwjKY21R45NhfJL4/edit?usp=sharing
Masters Thesis: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/364965n4

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npub1fn55qh554rv250653jcvtut9g38g7sywd2nf8g9p0zx0n347tmyqls2e3g

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsye62qt6223k928a2gevx979j5gn50gz8x4f5n5zsh3r8ec6l9ajqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntk952eu

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

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npub1fn55qh554rv250653jcvtut9g38g7sywd2nf8g9p0zx0n347tmyqls2e3g

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Last Notes

2026-08-23 11:58:28 CEST

Meet the Iowa State Fair’s Winningest Canning Competitor – Fair 2026
Hobby he learned on the side from his day gig as a doctor. He took lots of classes. Some counties in the US have a Master Food Preserver course where you can learn canning, drying, pickling, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsK2V_7BD68 #FoodPreservation #Gardening #Iowa

2026-08-15 15:29:10 CEST

Just because I saw someone shouting out Tyndall as "even earlier" yet not shouting out Eunice Foote, I'm shouting out Eunice Foote.
"So for context, what you’re about to hear is a write-up of a presentation of Eunice’s work that was given at a meeting in 1856. And Eunice didn’t get to read the paper herself at that meeting. A man actually read it for her. It was 1856, so you know."
https://web.archive.org/web/20231110115346/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-woman-who-demonstrated-the-greenhouse-effect/
#Sexism #ClimateScience #ClimateChange

2026-08-14 21:03:25 CEST

"Botanical illustrations by women shape our knowledge of Australia's flora"
Stepping into Philippa Nikulinsky’s studio feels like a peek inside her mind.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/botanical-illustrations-by-women-shape-our-knowledge-of-australias-flora/ar-AA2a89T7 #Botany #BotanicalArt #Australia

2026-08-07 16:29:35 CEST

Not sure if this is what someone told DW or if DW invented it, but they defined phenotyping as "the science of measuring plants and their features". That is not how I understand phenotyping.
There is definitely a part of phenotyping that is about measurement. But I'm not sure all traits can be quantified. That is, can plant breeders, pathologists, etc always be sure that what they're measuring *is* the phenotype indicator they think they're measuring?
This approach to phenotyping lends

2026-08-07 11:12:19 CEST

Crown Heights street wins Brooklyn Botanical Gardens' "Greenest Block in Brooklyn" contest
Looks great except for some accessibility issues... when you create works like this, remember to keep the sidewalks clear for wheelchair accessibility and accessibility for those who are blind/low vision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af56p0oZQNo #NYC #Gardening #UrbanForest #BotanicalGarden #Accessibility

2026-08-07 10:22:53 CEST

Goats are the brush clearance stars on the Universal Studios Lot
Anderson makes the point that many miss when discussing using goats for brush maintenance - using power tools comes with risk of the tools themselves starting fires.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26TVfJ4HUZE #Gardening #Landscaping #Livestock #FirePrevention

2026-08-06 20:26:02 CEST

Funded PhD position studying the impacts of exposure to soil pesticide residues on soil dependent bees
"part of the Horizon Europe funded ProPollSoil project. As such, this PhD position will be part of the larger project and network of researchers. The PhD student is expected to work closely with Dr. Dara Stanley and colleagues at University College Dublin, Ireland as part of this project."
https://1in3mouthfuls.org/join-the-team/ #Canada #Europe #Entomology #Soil

2026-08-04 08:35:09 CEST

Understanding red needle cast in NZ forests (BDIS podcast series)
"Red needle cast is one of the most significant diseases affecting New Zealand's radiata pine forests. In this episode of Scigest, scientist and host Darryl Herron sits down with forest pathologist Emily McLay to discuss why the disease is such a challenge for forest growers and how our science helps forest growers better predict, prepare for and manage it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS30x6pdVL4 #NewZealand #Forestry #PlantPathology

2026-08-03 15:47:46 CEST

How Prairie Fires Restore Water to Soil & Why Prairies Need to Burn
"In this hour-long interview, Gerry Wilhelm, one of the 2 authors of the massive tome *Flora of the Chicago Region*, gives us insight into how fire is essential to prairie ecosystems - and many ecosystems around the globe."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDVcfSYcxc0
#Botany #Ecology #Illinois #NativePlants

2026-08-03 15:44:30 CEST

"Mowed Turfgrass Along the Interstate is Killing Us"
CW: There *will* be swearing.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DojdhQynGzg #Landscaping #CarCentrism #ClimateEmergency

2026-08-01 18:26:47 CEST

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I cannot see quail photos without thinking of an old cartoon where the quail is constantly blowing its forefeather up out of its face. You'd think I'd remember the name of the cartoon. Anyway, I love quails and wish I'd seen more in person.

2026-07-28 18:24:30 CEST

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RegisTREE of North America https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f2b89bb6ecfb4414af7bc99e4ba1e0d3 #FruitToot #Horticulture #GermplasmConservation

2026-07-28 09:43:27 CEST

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Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project
https://montezumaorchard.org/ #Colorado #FruitToot #Horticulture #GermplasmConservation

2026-07-28 09:42:36 CEST

Colorado's Gold Mountain Orchard preserves over a century of historic apple varieties
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrrezIefgrM #Colorado #FruitToot #Horticulture #GermplasmConservation

2026-07-25 14:05:06 CEST

Blairgowrie fruit farmers call for help
"A Perthshire farmer is opening his cherry orchards to the public, as he can't make a profit from selling the crop.
After more than 100 years growing soft fruit in Blairgowrie, the Thomson family is ending commercial production, saying rising labour costs and cheap imports have decimated the business."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CU5ko_rIHM
#FruitToot #Scotland #Horticulture

2026-07-22 13:45:38 CEST

Working on almond at UC Davis kept me so busy that I fell behind in my non-sponsored Ceratonia siliqua research. So I'm only now finding out that ambrosia beetle has emerged as an introduced pest in Italy and Spain.
This is a horrible shame because at least in many areas it grows, carob has faced remarkably low pest pressure compared to better-known crops.
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/10/3/82
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321915719_COEXISTENCE_OF_XYLOSANDRUS_CRASSIUSCULUS_MOTSCHULSKY_AND_X_COMPACTUS_EICHHOFF_COLEOPTERA_CURCULIONIDAE_SCOLYTINAE_IN_THE_NATIONAL_PARK_OF_CIRCEO_LAZIO_ITALY
https://www.foravila.net/foravilaverd/enguany-es-perdra-el-50-de-la-produccio-de-garrova/
#Entomology #PlantPathology #Carob #Biosafety

2026-07-20 12:19:44 CEST

I had a raised bed at my parents' and their home was picked to be on a drought-tolerant neighborhood garden tour. What they got the most questions on was my wine cork mulch.
I wanted to reduce the risk of getting polyphagous shothole borer from free mulch (trees could look like they'd died of drought when they'd actually died of a PSB infestation) and the local reuse places had some wine corks, which would not have that risk. #Gardening #Bloomscrolling
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/951/774/591/314/557/original/41babce4c64f9b7f.jpg

2026-07-17 22:28:30 CEST

Setting Fire to the Suburbs (for the sake of habitat)
It's Joey, so there *will* be swearing
Once a year controlled burn to reinvigorate native Illinois species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvjzE3Szi0g #Botany #Gardening #Chicago

2026-07-16 16:53:36 CEST

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For those in the US, these programs need your action now to keep speaking up for funding. They do a lot of good work not just with pro farmers, but with gardeners, school gardens, small cottage businesses, etc.
Agricultural extension in the US includes Master Gardener programs, Master Food Preserver programs (canning, drying, freezing and food prep & storage safety...more needed than ever), and Master Composter programs. It includes plant clinics to diagnose problems. https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/what-we-do/extension

2026-07-16 16:50:43 CEST

RE: https://zirk.us/@NanoBookReview/116927737056421350
Repeating this in a quote because many people miss answers in the replies.
If you live someplace that hasn't completely defunded and erased public horticultural science, you likely have websites that are part of agricultural extension and many of them also feature information for home gardeners. Evidence-based information.
Pick the one closest to your area to get the right info for your situation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_extension
If reading text doesn't work for you, Sunset books have big photos.
#note17gg…l02p

2026-07-16 06:51:51 CEST

One of the things I like about Joey's recent videos is that he's giving props to the botanists he's learned from (via their books).
CW: There *will* likely be swearing because it's Joey's thing.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/poyp6-UN7G8 #Chicaago #Botany #Science

2026-07-15 17:04:01 CEST

I don't think conference organizers should be holding things in the US, but I have to say that if they live up to what they're promising here, it's better than a lot of societies in plant science/botany are doing for accessibility (this isn't the whole thing for accessibility, but it's helpful for many).
https://www.iscb.org/ismb2026/home
#ismb2026 #Accessibility #Biology #Science
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/924/593/970/743/589/original/c5ffa2f3e8287c07.png

2026-07-14 19:09:38 CEST

Forest Ecologist Answers Tree Questions | Tech Support | WIRED
Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLIZslgfIdQ #Trees #Forestry #Botany #PlantScience

2026-07-14 07:24:49 CEST

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Chicago River
As usual, with Joey there *will* be swearing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRRbspvheRc
#Chicago #Restoration #Botany

2026-07-13 06:38:38 CEST

Joey shows an Eriogonum in bloom in the San Bernardino Mountains that is "new to science". Someone ran across it years ago, then Joey ran across it, but no one has yet described and given it its full scientific name.
Joey came to botany through his interest in geology and it shows here.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pT1HFfw5CSg #Botany #Geology #California

2026-07-12 07:42:51 CEST

Return to Wolf Road Prairie
It's Joey, so there *will* be swearing.
Remnant prairie near Chicago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqdlNsG8nww #Chicago #Botany

2026-07-07 15:05:20 CEST

UC Master Gardener School Gardens Coordinator Alhambra, CA,
Job ID 86303
$23.37-31.08/hr • Full-Time • Alhambra, CA (Hybrid)
https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucanr/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM_FL.HRS_CG_SEARCH_FL.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST_FL&JobOpeningId=86303&PostingSeq=1&SiteId=17&languageCd=ENG&FOCUS=Applicant& #Agriculture #Horticulture #Education #Job #California

2026-07-06 21:48:02 CEST

The good ol' days when it was front page news that the city had created a City Forester position. And that it was going to allot resources to take care of the trees it planted, etc. etc.
From The Oceanside Blade, 12 August 1927.
Courtesy of a resource that needs your donations - the California Digital Newspaper Collection. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
#Archives #California #UrbanForest #Horticulture #Carob
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/874/737/941/034/291/original/688b81456f8a6547.png

2026-07-04 16:01:25 CEST

The Extinction of the Ft Worth Prairie
CW: swearing as usual
"Akash Munshi is doing all he can to save what's left and actively propagate these plants, ensuring that there are seedlings to plant for those who wish to savor a bit of this habitat. Akash is opening post-oak nursery in Paris, Texas in early 2027 and will be selling many of these plants"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD9fwlF2CX4 #Botany #Texas #Ecology

2026-07-01 14:48:19 CEST

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Not sure if they want to be listed, but [@vagina_museum](https://masto.ai/@vagina_museum ) @npub1yfp…as68

2026-06-30 17:21:06 CEST

In English, we call Prunus fruits that have pits "stone fruits".
I just found out they're "bone fruits" (fruta de hueso) in Spanish.
#FruitToot

2026-06-26 08:53:28 CEST

"Adjuncts sue #California community college system, eight local districts over unpaid work hours"
"...claiming their job requires that they work unpaid hours preparing lessons, grading and meeting with students, court records show.
They are demanding back pay, changes that will ensure they are paid for the work in the future, and for a judge to declare the suit a class action that could sweep in other part-time academics, commonly called adjuncts."
https://edsource.org/2022/adjuncts-sue-california-community-college-system-eight-local-districts-over-unpaid-work-hours/680287 #HigherEd

2026-06-25 15:32:05 CEST

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Oh, I remember the film (although I never saw it). I didn't didn't remember any Letterman connection and looking it up didn't illuminate anything for me.

2026-06-25 15:17:19 CEST

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I must have missed that, but I just found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgHDp9VZqs

2026-06-25 14:43:25 CEST

Pennsylvania fireflies stun viewers at Allegheny National Forest night displays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMVw2BKw-w #Insects #Pennsylvania

2026-06-25 08:51:39 CEST

Weather Whiplash Decimates Pennsylvania Fruit Crop
This is one of the challenges plant breeders and farmers face - for temperate tree fruit crops that go dormant for winter and emerge "when the coast is clear", what happens when the coast is not clear in Spring?
It's not unprecedented to have a crop emerge and get devastated by late frosts. What's new is how often it's happening and how dramatically...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTtWZnWgTME #FruitToot #PlantBreeding #ClimateChange

2026-06-24 16:33:13 CEST

🧵 I'm going to be candid in this request: I need a mentor.
I am a non-traditional student in science. No one in my family is a scientist, nor went to grad school for science. I'm doing it as an disabled older person who got her Bachelors in Art. So...there's still a lot of hidden curriculum for me.
The pandemic hit soon after I started grad school and much as I love my PI, I missed out on some of the structured mentoring I think I could benefit from. I applied for NSF GRFP and was turned down.

2026-06-24 16:11:42 CEST

RE: https://eupolicy.social/@hpod16/116805303611256062
Short story time inspired by this:
I used to ride my cargo quadricycle out to the orchards west of UC Davis campus for exercise (and also to check on almonds I was observing). Nearby was a field of black poplar planted in tight rows. I usually saw them, but didn't get to ride by them because the gate was locked.
Davis gets VERY hot in summer.
I was roasting on the ride when I saw the gate was open so I rode that route, which took me past the poplars. It was as if I were standing next to AC.
#note10j4…zm9p

2026-06-23 21:28:59 CEST

Live in Mission, Texas? The City is apparently once more treating native plant front yards as "weeds" and Joey Santore from "Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't" is urging folks from Mission to make sure they write in to the City Council about it.
https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkx0RnqOcoZWukdc3Qx4WQZxmPwBZUN-fNT #NativePlants #Texas #ClimateChange #Sustainability #Gardening

2026-06-12 12:01:30 CEST

More funded postdoctoral appointments in my cluster of areas than funded PhDs. Of course, you can't get postdocs without funding doctoral study first... #AcademicChatter #Botany #Pomology

2026-06-10 11:35:01 CEST

Wildlife thrives after Castleton dam removal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aMq84HHwAE #Vermont #Ecology #GoodNews

2026-06-07 10:56:03 CEST

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If you like Martinelli's (non-alcoholic) cider, I suggest you contact them and remind them that you like what 'Newtown Pippin' contributes to their apple cider blended flavor and you'd like them to keep supporting Watsonville growers of this cultivar.
If you live around that part of California, you can also support these growers by buying apples at their farm shops and support hard cider and other companies that use their crops. Let's keep 'Newtown Pippin'!
https://www.martinellis.com/contact/
#FruitToot

2026-06-07 10:53:39 CEST

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'Newtown Pippin' is sweet enough for fresh eating, but has a tart kick for those of us who like our sweet on the tart side. It also has a white wine-like complexity to its flavor which is why it's a major component of Martinelli's famous taste.
It is also a good component of hard apple ciders, which is why the farmer being interviewed is trying to shift to selling his crop to the various craft cider makers around. #FruitToot

2026-06-07 10:47:27 CEST

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'Newtown Pippin' is a US variety of apple that originated as a chance seedling in NY in the 18th century. The fact that there are fewer and fewer acres of it in the US (in the places where it can be grown well) is a real tragedy.
If Martinelli's stops buying as much, there's a lot of pressure to convert the orchards to another crop, like wine grapes. Market pressures did that to 'Gravenstein' apples in Sonoma and Napa counties. We lose agrobiodiversity when that happens. #FruitToot

2026-06-07 10:44:15 CEST

Martinelli's cancels contracts with Watsonville apple growers, raising concerns
The report doesn't mention it, but Martinelli's taste doesn't come from just any ol' apples. A major component of its tastes comes from my favorite apple variety - 'Newtown Pippin'. That is the variety those Watsonville growers are growing. Those used to be *the* green apple in stores when I was a kid, but it has been supplanted by the inferior (in my opinion) 'Granny Smith'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGGtDqBGe-o #FruitToot

2026-06-04 12:14:55 CEST

Attorney General Bonta Sends Letter to Federal Judicial Center Strongly Opposing Removal of Climate Science from Judicial Manual
#California AG Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general, the Cities of New York and Chicago, and Harris County, Texas in a letter to the Federal Judicial Center strongly opposing its decision to strike the chapter titled, “Reference Guide on Climate Science,” from the Fourth Edition of its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence.
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sends-letter-federal-judicial-center-strongly-opposing

2026-06-04 08:58:13 CEST

A Pyro-Tourrettes Journey to the Carolina Sandhills & Venus Flytrap Savannas
It's Tony, so there *will* be swearing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66tE6s4YSNE #Botany

2026-06-03 18:26:01 CEST

Notice a lot of specks on the floor. Then decided to sweep them up and use a loupe to take a look. Not that I know my insects!
Looks like mosquitos, but I'm not sure whether these are young or full size.
#Albania #Insect
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/687/098/645/427/774/original/859f2483d3312c12.jpeg

2026-06-03 09:14:33 CEST

"Host Dion Mundy speaks to berry breeder Pauline Kerbiriou about her role, the importance of plant breeding, and the characteristics that breeders look for in a new variety. We also talk to Pauline about her journey so far as a scientist, and share some useful tips for young scientists in their careers."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnN8HihYxO4 #PlantBreeding #PlantScience #NZ

2026-05-30 15:58:04 CEST

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Because apples don't grow true to seed, most times someone runs across or breeds an apple that has superior qualities, they clone it. That could be something as smalltime as cutting off twigs during dormant season to share with friends to something as bigtime as mass vegetative reproduction via budding or plant tissue culture.
This is not to say you cannot run across local heritage varieties in a market you'd never see in the US. Of course you can. Just as there are heritage varieties in the US

2026-05-30 15:55:29 CEST

Watching travel vloggers, they'll often extol the "higher quality produce" where they are, but do so using misinfo. For instance, they'll say something like "in the US, the apples are cloned...it's not like that here".
This is not true.
Very very few countries sell seedling apples in their marketplaces - that is...every single apple tree being unique seedling heritage.
Apples don't grow "true to seed". So when you buy a 'Fuji' apple, you are buying a fruit of a clone of the original tree.

2026-05-26 15:08:30 CEST

Count the dead bugs on your windshield and contribute to science • FRANCE 24 English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnGYkPEQozo #Entomology #CommunityScience #France

2026-05-14 09:51:16 CEST

RE: https://botany.social/@botanyone/116563260952115102
This is unusual in that it seems to want to use people's love of sports to increase tree canopy cover.
If you're familiar with the Forth Valley, like sports, like trees, and are good with people, this might be a good position.
#note1a7q…pshu

2026-05-11 20:14:30 CEST

Postdoc (m/f/d) in Silviculture and Forest Ecology
4 days left to apply!
1.5 year posting. University of Freiburg
https://uni-freiburg.de/en/job/00004965/ #Forestry #PlantScience #Botany

2026-05-09 22:28:14 CEST

Plant Breeding Graduate Student Lightning Talks
Combatting potato cyst nematodes
Spring frost damage in grape budbreak
Mapping the genetic basis of fireblight resistance in apple.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU7p7w03oqs #PlantBreeding #Botany #Horticulture #Agriculture

2026-05-09 12:35:31 CEST

I didn't get enough of a heads up to post about this while the call for papers was open.
"The conference will bring together scholars, artists and researchers from across disciplines to discuss the relationship between plants and human society, with a focus on culture, ecology and sustainability. Key themes include plant intelligence, biodiversity, climate change, food security and plant-based cultural heritage."
https://www.globalplanthumanities.com/2026cfp #PlantHumanities

2026-05-08 19:31:10 CEST

On Friday is probably not the best time to look for answers, but here goes:
In its ideal form, I really like the land grant university - USDA-ARS partnership and the state and county extension agent system. But I don't want to assume this is the only or best way to disseminate research and other horticulture, agriculture, and public health information.
What other systems do folks have familiarity with that they think work well for getting publicly-funded hort/ag/food science info to the public

2026-05-08 15:50:50 CEST

I wasn't taught much in the way of keying plants in graduate school. There's a lot of emphasis on molecular biology & genetics and not so much on old school botany. But I still want to learn the skill.
I'm taking a look at plants growing around me in Albania and comparing them to what I know from California (where we have a lot of introduced Mediterranean plant species).
In California, I am used to seeing Malva neglecta, but here I see Malva sylvestris (I think that's which species it is).
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/539/252/060/277/154/original/bbb3e45db567d1ac.jpeg

2026-05-08 14:08:39 CEST

As I see my alma mater department graduate group continue to choose bars as venues for their socials, it reminds me of how little support my peers gave for my anti-ableist efforts.
Because planning to hold a mixer in a café with a variety of menu options is such a small thing to ask for inclusivity. It is such a LOW bar. Yet they refuse to do it.
There are people who for addiction or religious reasons cannot be in a bar. Yet so many will not choose anything more inclusive. #AcademicChatter

2026-05-08 11:37:32 CEST

@npub1l6s…aq8f Thank you for relaying these job postings here. Agristok and others try to monetize what should be freely available public listings and it swamps the search results on web search engines.
Thanks for making these more findable with direct links to institutional websites.

2026-05-06 08:58:52 CEST

This Iowa Nonprofit is the Largest Nongovernmental Seed Bank in the Country | Iowa Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBQ5R9NVHHg #GeneBanks #Gardening

2026-05-03 13:34:29 CEST

I can't get iNaturalist Classic to work well for me on the phone. Can someone with better access than me look up whether there are Ceratonia siliqua sightings in the neighborhood of the central train station in Bari?

2026-04-30 09:50:38 CEST

Postdoc position: Contribution to a large European network to identify the gaps and needs in Plant Breeding Research
https://eng-gafl.paca.hub.inrae.fr/news/postdoc-position #PlantBreeding #France #AcademicJobs

2026-04-22 22:32:11 CEST

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I hope to visit the garden at least one more time while I'm here. I will write up and post photos of other things and update here if I get to do that. #Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:30:51 CEST

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Gardens are good for our mental health. And as cities get noisier and noisier, aural peace becomes more of a luxury reserved for the wealthy. Which is why the relative calm of a large green space like a botanical garden should be within reach of people. Particularly people with PTSD, people with sensory issues, etc. It is restorative to be in a garden.
I donated to the donation box. But I appreciate that I was able to enter for free because it means others can.
#Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:28:25 CEST

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was that families get discounts, but childfree disabled people do not. You don't have to jump through hoops to prove you're a family, but in most places you have to jump through many many hoops to prove you're disabled. And in the case of The Huntington, there was no disabled discount at all because they would have had to "see your papers" and that costs money to administer. Which is another reason the rationing & policing approach should be abandoned as much as possible.
#Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:26:19 CEST

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But it was a very pleasant green space with a nice sampling of plants from several continents...some of them in greenhouses of various humidities and temperatures so they could survive here near the Black Forest.
One other way they were accessible was that although I arrived prepared to pay an entry fee, I saw no booth to do so. One thing that always bugged me about The Huntington, which has a stiff admission fee,
#Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:23:42 CEST

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It was a beautiful and relatively warm day today. Many people were enjoying the botanical garden as one would a park - which again is why accessibility is key. This shouldn't be an oasis only fully available to abled people.
Some of the paths seemed wheelchair accessible to me, but as I'm not a wheelchair user, I'm not the final word on that.
I didn't get a chance to visit the WC, so I don't know how good those were.
#Botany #Accessibility
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/450/276/875/193/459/original/ed439039b50c059a.jpeg

2026-04-22 22:20:22 CEST

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My visit today was more hurried than I like to take things in. So I could be missing things. But I didn't see things meant to help blind folks nor Deaf folks, nor neurodiverse folks. Perhaps they're available but are things they mean you to call ahead about (which is an ableist thing on its own, but better to have it even available to be reserved than not available at all).
The website's accessibility link seems a bit more digital compliance-oriented. https://www.botanischer-garten.uni-freiburg.de/accessibility-info #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:16:27 CEST

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different in some important ways.
So credits for part of the concept but demerits for the execution as far as accessibility.
Most signs were only in German. Monolingual signs can be an issue at US botanical gardens as well. The safety and rules signs, though, should be in major languages of several continents, though.
What accessibility there was seemed to mostly conceive of wheelchair users, but accessibility of botanical gardens should be considered more broadly.
#Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:13:26 CEST

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that most certainly would not be wheelchair or mobility scooter or walker-accessible.
So while walking people through the tree of plant life is a really neat idea to make this tangible to people, it is only tangible to *some* because of the inaccessibility of how it was designed.
Having a selection of plants of a shared family but different genuses in one bed makes one think through how botanists decided these plants were closely related despite being really
#Botany #Accessibility

2026-04-22 22:09:17 CEST

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quality, it does not have Braille nor alternate ways to classify than color, like shape. It's a missed opportunity when you're already partway there by creating a tactile map of sorts.
For folks without disabilities that affect their mobility, cobbles seem a lovely quaint way to pave something. But they really do create a tripping hazard for those of us with mobility disabilities. As I said, this was mostly narrow paths (like a tree, they were wider towards the trunk and thinner at the edges)

2026-04-22 22:06:31 CEST

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The garden has a legend at the top, as shown in the previous photo. But one of the disadvantages of creating beds around things that taxonomists still argue about is that you either have to move the beds as things get reclassified, or you have to change your legend. To the left, out of frame, is an additional cylinder plaque using the existing color codes to show which things were moved (as of 2014...who knows where it's at now).
While the display map has a 3D
#Botany #Accessibility
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/450/131/478/511/327/original/689561d05a6944f6.jpeg

2026-04-22 21:58:18 CEST

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greenhouses (which close early) and part of the Plant Systematics garden before my coach turned into a pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo).
They had a very interesting idea for their Plant Systematics garden, but it was implemented inaccessibly, sadly. It's on the slopes of a bowl and is made of cobbles. It's not wheelchair accessible and even for me with my cane, I was worried I would fall. As I'm still dealing with injuries from a fall last Dec, that's not a minor threat for me.
#Botany #Accessibility
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/450/117/136/335/391/original/23d76dd83279278e.jpeg

2026-04-22 21:52:13 CEST

🧵 Today I got to indulge an intersection of my interests in botany and accessibility - visiting the Botanical Garden of the Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg. I've been critiqueing botanical gardens on accessibility since volunteering at The Huntington Botanical Gardens.
Gardens are mental health oases for people, which means they should be accessible to disabled people too, but they often are not.
I was low on spoons today so I only visited the
#Botany #Accessibility
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/450/092/657/002/476/original/f8df5045bfe934ea.jpeg

2026-04-22 20:29:07 CEST

Plant Systematics: An Aggressive and Abusive Approach
CW: cursewords and Chicago accent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irn9oNZSuj0 #Botany #CrimepaysButBotanyDoesnt

2026-04-18 23:18:19 CEST

Longshot here, but if you were in #Albania and wanted to find used equipment like a dissection microscope and some very simple lab equipment like glass Petri dishes, forceps, and scalpels, where would you shop for them? #Botany

2026-04-14 17:56:24 CEST

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Sadly, apple-growing (and a lot of other fruit-growing) has been homogenized. Even if it's grown locally to you, it is likely a fruit bred elsewhere. This isn't always a bad thing, but it is bad when good local varieties become almost impossible to find.
So you can find 'Gala', 'Fuji', 'Cripps Pink' aka "Pink Lady™" apples and 'Conference' pears at most greengrocers I've been to in my EU trip so far, but it's harder to find local cultivars.
Here they have a couple less common ones.
#FruitToot
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/403/824/912/753/742/original/1c6360b82cfbaea6.jpeg

2026-04-14 17:32:06 CEST

This is the best place to buy fruit I've found so far in Bilbao. Note: I have not had a lot of ability to explore and I missed the Saturday open market.
This place had more less-usual apple varieties than other places I checked, including inside Erriberako Merkatua/Mercado La Ribera.
This is in contrast to València, where the best fruit sellers I encountered were in the Mercat Central. They carried more different fruits than the average greengrocer, including loquats and Alpine strawberries.
https://ecoevo-social.s3.de.io.cloud.ovh.net/media_attachments/files/116/403/738/373/843/559/original/9f8ddbfba309a82c.jpeg

2026-04-14 16:33:18 CEST

I was born too late for there to be wooden punnets or trays for strawberries, I think, but there were still wooden crates for many fruits & vegetables when I was born.
I have a soft spot for them. While deforestation is not cool, sustainable harvesting and reuse seems a LOT better than plastic punnets and trays to me.
#FruitToot #Spain
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/403/536/985/836/985/original/b128000a0029887f.jpeg

2026-04-13 09:47:36 CEST

Spank Me With Pandanus: Philippines Botany Episode 1
CW: Joey swears. Every episode.
Good episode for seeing two self-taught botanists trying to key out species. You almost have to be self-taught these days because of how many universities got rid of their botany majors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F751iizg49o #Botany #Philippines

2026-04-10 13:13:16 CEST

Are there folks from the US who've done PhDs in Europe and then gone on to find a path to EU citizenship (within the last 10 years) who'd be willing to grant me an informational interview?
I have a lot of tough decisions ahead of me and would rather go into things as informed as I can manage.

2026-04-09 20:59:28 CEST

American science is at risk not because of budget cuts, but because of executive interference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiE93b-jT-E #USpol #Science

2026-04-07 16:01:11 CEST

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The trunk is hollow, as are several large branches. Look how something girdled this branch (girdle = chewed, cut, or tore off a semi-circle or entire circle of bark & phloem, which cuts off nutrition flow in the plant), yet the remaining bark seemed to grow right back over it.
Carob is tough, man. Carob wants to live.
#Bilbao #Spain #Espana #Carob #Algarrobo
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/363/757/652/173/765/original/8d3177d593dc6820.jpeg

2026-04-07 15:44:44 CEST

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Here you can see the young pods developing.
Carob flowers at about the same time the pods are ripe. Pods are on the tree ripening about one year, more or less.
The pods this tree gives, from what I could see on the ground, are not likely standout for eating traits, but the fact that this tree has survived this rainy environment makes it worth propagating for that trait. #Bilbao #Spain #Espana #Carob #Algarrobo
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/363/705/471/237/448/original/fc87d7e7b8e62b1c.jpeg

2026-04-07 15:38:51 CEST

Made time today to walk up & down hills & stairs to get to this old carob tree growing in a roundabout near the Basilica Begoña. This has to be at least a couple hundred years old.
It's very rainy in Bilbao so it is not the ideal environment for Ceratonia siliqua, yet this one survives, albeit hollow and with many fungi on it. And it's either female or hermaphrodite because it is bearing young pods. #Bilbao #Spain #Espana #Carob #Algarrobo
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/363/670/353/856/578/original/a9ee2a6f56cd20a6.jpeg

2026-04-06 22:05:25 CEST

RE: https://union.place/@ufwupdates/116359537193054917
This is unquestionably skilled labor.
#Horticulture
#note1hln…lu8f

2026-04-02 23:55:41 CEST

RE: https://ecoevo.social/@UPressSalesBot/116335365624166939
This can be applied to @npub16z4…k4lz 's "The Scientist's Guide to Writing" although the 3rd Ed is due out later this year, I think.
Unfortunately, an app is required for the epub or PDF.
#note1w90…pz38

2026-04-02 10:36:36 CEST

New bee species discovered in Washington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dswEnJzW9c #Entomology #Washington

2026-03-28 16:41:48 CET

Red squirrels rise again as Aberdeen begins to eliminate greys
"Alien greys"...one has to be careful when discussing introduced species, IMO, because xenophobes love to apply this rhetoric to humans based on race, color, ethnicity, and creed...
Eastern Grey Squirrels, native to the Eastern US and Canada, were introduced to the Western US and to the UK, where they are outcompeting endemic squirrel species in rapidly urbanizing environments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwnuz56T_jY #Scotland

2026-03-28 16:19:58 CET

Worcester 7th grader earns national recognition for solar panel invention
I wish they'd covered his design in more detail. He's come up with a way to get the solar panel to move, tracking the sun for better efficiency. Of course there are already many systems that do this. His improvement was using water flow and gravity to do it without motors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eK79UpoXro #STEM #SolarPunk

2026-03-27 21:02:01 CET

Last day of the conference and of the carob workshop. We were led out of the auditorium and to a theatrical space outside by a duo of Valencian musicians, one playing a double reed instrument made of carob wood.
The best thing about this conference/workshop is it was largely about carob, but the second best thing is that it was interdisciplinary in many ways.
#Carob #Valencia #Spain #STEAM
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/302/904/409/515/341/original/b9094851eb5a7cb8.jpeg

2026-03-26 22:30:46 CET

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I gotta get in bed since tomorrow the conference venue changes again and I have an hour commute to get to it.
This is the prize-winning carob tree. The guide says it's at least 350 years old but could be as old as 500.
Carob is a tough as hell tree. Beautiful and underappreciated. #Carob #Horticulture #Spain #ThickTrunkThursday
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/595/614/489/271/original/64e1f070635478c5.jpeg

2026-03-26 22:18:37 CET

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When we got off our buses, the first thing I noticed was the carob espalier although I suppose it's more like carob pleaching. That's a first for me!
I've seen carob clipped to grow like a box hedge or topiary. I've seen carob bonsai. But I've never seen a pleached line of carobs.
It was in such a weird place, too! Normally you'd do this to grow fruit in a small space or to provide a living fence or cover an unsightly wall.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/538/638/141/463/original/6662bd7df51984ad.jpeg

2026-03-26 22:11:59 CET

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One of the things about the farm area we were in that differs a lot from CA farm areas I've been in is that the farm plots are much smaller and the crops grown more diverse. So in a small area we saw carob, almond, olives, and various citrus. And the "weeds" along the roads were volunteers of these species.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/520/615/155/882/original/9712f9991f5bf93b.jpeg

2026-03-26 22:01:00 CET

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Outside the factory were two crates of grafted carob saplings. This one is labeled 'Duraio', which is one of the cultivars grown locally in València and is traditional to this area.
I'm guessing these are one year old saplings, maybe two. Carob is a slow grower and that's partly why it's so drought resistant.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/476/574/305/507/original/ed5360391c6ab91c.jpeg

2026-03-26 21:55:19 CET

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Because of missing the earset for live translation, I didn't get details of certain things...including what gets separated where.
It appeared to me that some rougher stuff falls onto the floor in piles to be sold as cow, pig, goat or horse feed (depending on coarseness). I didn't spot where the seeds went, but it's common for seeds to be sent to a specialty locust bean gum processor. This seems like a fairly fine product with good color, so I'm guessing this goes on to become carob powder.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/452/824/613/483/original/b670f1940195fce3.jpeg

2026-03-26 21:45:39 CET

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Carob harvest time starts in August and can go into December. Not only do the various cultivars get ripe at slightly different times, but once the harvest is in the warehouse, it can take a while to process. So this pile we're seeing in late March, large as it is, is just a fraction of what it can get to and you can see the marks on the walls from previous piles.
They have to control humidity in the warehouse so the sugars in the pods don't ferment.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/410/471/181/985/original/f76af25bd8215495.jpeg

2026-03-26 21:32:02 CET

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One of the longer pods in a pile in front of me. I missed the handout of the audio tour earsets so I didn't get a lot of what was said. I understood about 1/3 of the Spanish tour. I got the impression that the factory has its own carob sources, but that some local farmers also bring their product to sell them and so the cultivars used can vary.
You could see marks on the side of the warehouse from how high the piles can get during a bumper harvest.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/358/901/930/599/original/e3b9afa2b01e8527.jpeg

2026-03-26 21:17:54 CET

Conference field trip to a carob factory then to a 12-year old test orchard of carob, then to a ~350 year old carob that won a Best Carob Tree in Spain contest in 2025.
After we took the tour, the machinery was turned back on and this is video from that. After the pods have been kibbled, the seeds are separated out and the flesh is processed into various levels of product - even livestock feed can vary with pigs and goats able to handle coarser carob than what goes to racehorses.
https://ecoevo.social/system/media_attachments/files/116/297/301/962/750/883/original/93aa64fcf7504045.mp4