Chatham Water and the Landscape Program

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 09:41:07 -0400
From: Susan Graham
Subject: Water and the Landscape Program

Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension will present a program on water and landscape uses of water for landscapers and grounds managers beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday August 28. The program will be in the auditorium of the Agriculture Building at 45 South Street in Pittsboro, NC.

The program will include presentations by
* Ryan Boyles, Ph.D., State Climatologist and Director of the State Climate Office
* Bill Hunt, Ph.D., PE, Extension Specialist in Urban Stormwater Management, NC State University Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
* Grady Miller, Ph.D., Extension Specialist in Turfgrass, NC State University Department of Crop Science
* Garry Grabow, Ph.D., PE, Extension Specialist in Irrigation, NC State University Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Boyles has done extensive research in developing radar based measurement of localized summer rainfall events over small areas, leading to improved models on which to base irrigation. He will distinguish between meteorological drought, agricultural drought, and hydrological drought and provide some insights into how much we know and don’t know about weather patterns.

Hunt is known nationwide for his work in improving stormwater management both in terms of protecting water quality from undesirable contents of runoff as well as in use of runoff for growing plants. He will share some of his work in developing rain gardens and in installation and use of cisterns.

Miller is Professor of Turfgrass Science at NC State and has done research in irrigation distribution efficiency and its impacts on turfgrass in both home lawn and golf course environments. He will provide some insights on the wisdom of turfgrass selection for drought management as well as turf management for optimal results.

Grabow serves as technical advisor for the North Carolina Irrigation Society. He is author or co-author of many Extension publications for irrigation of a wide range of agricultural crops and delivery systems. He will share results of recent work evaluating use of weather station data, evapotranspiration (ET) monitors, and soil-based monitors for input data to determine when to use irrigation.

There is no charge for this program. To facilitate planning, interested participants are requested to pre-register by August 22 by calling 919.542.8202.

Susan S. Graham
Administrative Secretary
Chatham County Center
N.C. Cooperative Extension
919.542-8202
http://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu

[ad#336×280]