Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 37)

ound-the-clock access to useful, research-based information from the University of Florida is now just a few clicks away! Launched by the UF Extension Service in May 2006, the www.SolutionsForYourLife.com Web site offers a wide range of information from UF’s Institute larry arrington of Food and Agricultural Sciences, as well as partnering agencies and institutions. “Solutions For Your Life isn’t meant to replace direct contact with our extension offices in all 67 Florida counties, but it supplements what our offices can do,” said Larry Arrington, dean for extension. “Because the Web site is available 24/7, it lets users browse or research information on their own schedule. And it links our clientele with all three branches of IFAS — the Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Florida Agricultural Experiment Station and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.” With thousands of how-to publications, educational programs, technical reports and other materials, Solutions for Your Life helps UF extension faculty serve their clients more effectively. The Web site, which receives about 1,000 visits daily, is one of the largest and most sophisticated extension Web sites in the nation, Arrington said. The home page contains six permanent topics — agriculture, community development, environment, families and consumers, 4-H youth development, and lawn and garden. Each topic has its own Web page to help users find specific information. In the popular lawn and garden category, for example, two new online gardening tools were added recently to R the Solutions For Your Life site — a Florida gardening calendar and a guide to IFAS demonstration gardens around the state. The online calendar provides gardeners across the state with a monthly guide of what to plant and do in their gardens, all based on IFAS research and expertise. It was developed in response to common gardeningrelated questions that county extension agents receive. The calendar is available in three editions — North Florida, Central Florida and South Florida — and provides visitors with links to useful IFAS Web sites and related publications. “A lot of people don’t know what to do when,” said Sydney Park-Brown, an extension associate professor of environmental horticulture at the Plant City campus of UF’s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. “Each calendar is different and is customized for that particular area. Plus it also links them to more information on the topic or task.” The other new online gardening tool is a guide to the IFAS-affiliated demonstration gardens throughout the state. Floridians can visit these gardens to relax, to learn more about gardening and even to get their hands dirty during hands-on demonstrations. “I think anybody that’s interested in plants loves to go to gardens,” Brown said. “And the great thing about the demonstration gardens is that everything is usually labeled and they offer practical, Florida-friendly landscape tips.” Best of all, most of the IFAS extension gardens are open year-round and are free to the public. “It’s nice to know you’ve got these resources in your backyard,” Brown said. n For more information, contact: larry arrington sydney park-brown (352) 392-1761 lra@ufl.edu (813) 757-2286 spbrown@ufl.edu IMPACT | Spring 2008 37 http://www.SolutionsForYourLife.com http://www.SolutionsForYourLife.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents A Big Boost for Biofuels Top Priority Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture Eliminating the Evil Weevil Invasive Pest Defeating Resistant Roaches Biodiesel Boon User-Friendly Updates for FAWN Flat-Out Great for the Grill! Laser Labeling Cashing in on Caviar Saving Water with Soil-Moisture Sensors Spotlight IFAS Development News

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

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