Stockbridge News

Joseph (Joe) C. Mawson, 89, passed away peacefully at home, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.  Employed by the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management from 1958 till retirement in 1996, Mawson's area of expertise was Forest statistics, inventory, management, computer application and growth analysis. He consulted with MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation on the management and growth analysis of MA forests and the USDA Forest Service.  Mawson was a founding member of the Massachusetts Association of Professional Foresters.

Sustainable EweMass is a remarkable collaboration between the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and Hadley Farm, testing the transfer of some University’s lawn-mowing duties to the Stockbridge Sheep flock. The first test run of the program occurred on April 26 and 27, on the patch of grass between the Isenberg School of Management and the Fine Arts Center.  Inspired by a program called Sheepmowers, Britt Crow-Miller and her 26 students spent the spring semester brainstorming how to engage the campus community in a discussion on alternative methods of managing UMass lands to better support the University’s mission.  “Do big, mono-cultured green lawns, maintained by fossil-fuel burning machines and petrochemical fertilizers, accurately reflect our values and aspirations as a campus community?”  

Stockbridge Professor Emeritus Dr. Lyle Craker passed away on May 15 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.  Craker led the medicinal plant program at UMass, and his research into medicinal plants spanned several decades.  He was an early proponent of scientific research into the medicinal properties of the cannabis plant, especially its anti-emetic and hunger-stimulating effects for pediatric cancer patients suffering the side effects of chemotherapy.

The American Phytopathological Society (APS) has awarded the title of APS Fellow to Dr. Robert Wick, Emeritus Professor at Stockbridge School of Agriculture. The title of Fellow is one of the highest honors bestowed upon select members by the organization. Wick is perhaps most well known for his widely-referenced "A Compendium of Flowering Potted Plant Diseases," and for his 35-year development of expertise in nematodes that attack turfgrasses. Wade Elmer of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station nominated Wick, saying "Dr. Wick has consistently and effectively contributed to the scientific community in the areas of research, teaching, and extension outreach," especially in the areas of plant pathology and nematology, and he is today recognized as a world-renowned expert in plant disease diagnostics.   

Stockbridge School of Agriculture announces the arrival of Curtson Martin who has been hired to a new Business Manager position. Martin was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and has stayed local to New England throughout his career.  Yet this is his first time on the University of Massachusetts flagship campus here in Amherst. As Business Manger, Martin will manage the various grant and expenditure accounts assigned to Stockbridge faculty. 

In a special graduation ceremony, honoring the roots of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy noted that "100 percent" of Stockbridge associate degree graduates are employed before they put on their ceremonial caps and gowns.  Since its first class of 1871, Stockbridge graduates have been in high demand due to the value of their hands-on education and field experience.  This year, 19 students completed a two-year degree, in one of our 5 programs, all of which include an internship experience so that students graduate with both field experience on their resumes and a relationship with at least one employer.  Many of the employers are also Stockbridge alumni, and they actively seek to hire our students at or before their graduations.

A beautifully sunny weekend in May was both setting and scenery for the UMass Amherst graduation ceremonies.  The Stockbridge School of Agriculture bestowed bachelor degrees upon 59 newly minted Stockbridge scholars, as well as 23 associate degrees awarded by Chancellor Subbaswamy in a special ceremony steeped in the history of our School. "As a Stockie graduate, you now join the ranks of our highly successful alumni, found all around the world," said Stockbridge Director and Professor Baoshan Xing. "And the world needs you," Xing continued. "The challenges posed by climate change will require everyone’s efforts, but you are in a special position to contribute your own knowledge, training, and skills to the survival of the planet, and all of its people."

Hydroponic farming is a sustainable way to grow plants without soil, using, instead, nutrient-rich water, greenhouse temperatures and grow lights.  The UMass Hydrofarm started in 2017 and currently is a student-run practicum, with 16 student-farmers, supported by the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. They grow tomatoes, peppers and lots of veggies—in fact, they have supplied Franklin Commons with an average of 30 pounds of greens per week totaling 430 pounds for the academic year.  One sign of this strength is a new arrival to the Hydrofarm—strawberries. Nourse Farms in Hadley recently donated 25 plants to the Hydrofarm, which are growing in vertical aeroponic towers that the hydrofarmers have built.

Faculty from the Stockbridge associate degree program in Arboriculture and Community Forest Management will host an intensive, hands-on, week-long course for high school students interested in the roles of trees, and tree professionals, in helping to mitigate the climate crisis.  Students will practice mapping, planting, and climbing trees.  This pre-college program at the UMass Amherst Mt. Ida campus (near Boston) is ideal for high school students on the path to a Stockbridge degree in arboriculture, horticulture, landscaping, or plant and soil sciences.  The course takes place July 24-30, and spaces are filling up fast.  Click the image for registration details.

Citing the joy of companionship and camaraderie of all the people she works with, Barbara Miller retired on March 31, 2022.  Known to many as first pilot of the Stockbridge star ship, her 24 years of University service also trace the history of our School's renaissance.  Barbara says that she has 3 plans for retirement...

A team of 11 UMass students traveled to North Carolina State University to compete in the 2022 National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC).  Our team of 11 students placed in the top third of 43 competing college and university teams, and 7 of our 11 students were recognized as top scorers in their events, winning first place in the Computer-Aided Landscape Design, Hardscape Installation, and Tractor Loader Backhoe Operation events.  Our students won second place in Arboricultural Techniques, and Landscape Maintenance Operations.  Stockbridge alumni funded our students' travel costs.

Stockbridge professor Jaimie Piñero and Extension Educator Elizabeth Garofalo were awarded a USDA/NIFS grant of over $700,000 to fund experiential learning and research into sustainable food production systems.  The grant will create focused agricultural research opportunities for 8 student interns, and will seek to reach UMass students, and local high school students from historically under-represented groups.  The combination of research and hands-on learning are the hallmarks of a Stockbridge education, and this grant will help us to achieve our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.