So today was the ESPM Ice Cream Social. I was planning on making an announcement here sooner, but I totally blanked on it yesterday. Sorry about that. For today, the ESPM department was giving away free cones of Ben & Jerry's ice cream to anyone who stopped by outside of Mulford. Some of the professors were scooping cones for people; it was pretty cool get a cone from Keith Gilless, acting dean of CNR. I wasn't able to stay for too long (I had to go to class), but just getting the chance to enjoy the beautiful weather and talk with some friends was great. The Strawberry Kiwi sorbet was pretty good, too. This event reminds me of why the ESPM department is pretty cool (and CNR as a whole).

Yeah, CNR is a pretty chill place to be.

Posted by Joel Kim at 3:02 PM | Permalink

No, this entry isn't about paramedics or anything remotely as exciting. Just noting that, since I got into Berkeley, I've walked around a lot more than I ever did in LA. The very nature of the city lends itself to bipedal transport, I suppose. Everything is in convenient walking distance away (or at least is reachable by bus), so there is no immediate necessity for a car. Indeed, sometimes owning a motor vehicle in Berkeley is supremely trying, since there are the draconian parking laws and unintuitive road structures to manage. It seems that the city of Berkeley actually intentionally discourages driving; how else can you justify those large barricades in the middle of the road that divert traffic in only one direction?

Continue reading "Ambulatory Adventures!" »

Posted by Joel Kim at 11:58 PM | Permalink

So as some of you may know, I work as a Hydration Technician at the stadium. Basically, I give football players water, which also involves setting up the water coolers on the field before practice, then taking them out and cleaning them after practice.

This last Friday we had one of our 4 morning practices at 6:30 AM. I woke up at 4:45, washed up, and had some cereal before heading to the stadium. By the time I got there, it was already 5:45, and one of my coworkers was already setting things up. That morning, all 4 HydroTechs (myself included) showed up, as well as the 7 Sports Medicine Interns (SMIs).

Just as practice got underway, it started to drizzle. Pretty soon, it was pouring rain, just pouring! Standing around on the football field at 6:30 in the morning holding racks of water bottles in the pouring rain was not fun. I was lucky to have a waterproof jacket on, but everything still got soaked.

I was impressed by the football players, though. Despite the fact that they were out practicing in the early morning rain, they didn't complain or make a big fit. They just practiced through, and almost seemed to enjoy it. They had a very practical attitude about it; they had to practice, and so that's what they did, in spite of the rain.

After practice was over and everything cleaned up by 8:30, I went home, washed up, and got ready for the day.

Posted by Joel Kim at 3:12 PM | Permalink

The Berkeley campus is a "dynamic center of scholarship and of cultural and political activity," according to the Campus page of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism's website. I read pamphlets extolling Berkeley's virtues as an ever-changing, constantly shifting forum for ideas and activity. Berkeley has a very dynamic campus, and in more ways than one.

I'm referring, of course, to the construction projects all over campus.

With changes in the school's structure come changes in the physical campus. Increases in student enrollment lead to an increased need for student housing and dining facilities; in other words, more dorms and dining commons. The Bioengineering building (Stanley Hall) was just finished, and the new Chang-Lin Tien Center for East Asian Studies should be finishing up soon.
All these new buildings are integral to Berkeley's progress as a premier educational and research institute.

Continue reading "Dynamic" »

Posted by Joel Kim at 1:53 PM | Permalink

Today is such a warm, relaxed day. The sun is shining so bright on the green Berkeley campus. A soft breeze blows. Students are walking around in T-shirts and shorts. Yes, it is a perfect summer day...in February.

One of the many things about Berkeley that shock people who come from outside the Bay Area (or indeed, outside of California) is the weather. It is just so warm and so beautiful here. As my friend from Massachusetts put it "You guys don't have seasons out here! Everything is the same!" She said that caroling during Christmas was frustrating, especially during songs like "Winter Wonderland."

Continue reading "Warm Days..." »

Posted by Joel Kim at 1:36 PM | Permalink

I love my little bath sponge. I love it even more now that I know where it comes from.

I bought a new loofah sponge Saturday, since mine died a sorry death in French Polynesia months ago. As I pulled it out of its packaging, I noticed a seed. Then I stared at the placentation. I thought, "This is Curcubitaceae." And I wondered why I hadn't noticed that about my last sponge.

This image shows the placentation:

Always a curious sort, I put it on my list of things to look into. Did you know that you're scrubbing yourself with xylem? Here's a great step-by-step how to prepare your own loofah article written by Aaron Newton, who grows his own Luffa :http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=689 In this article, Aaron describes the simple process of "milking" the Luffa fruit, to remove the fleshy fruit and seeds, leaving just the fibrous xylem that makes the exfoliating sponge we all love.

Here's a Luffa gord dried out on the vine:

Many species in the genus Luffa, within the Curcubitaceae, are grown for use as sponges. This is the same family as cucumber, melon, and squash. Luffa cylindrica, Luffa acutangula and Luffa aegyptiaca are a few of the species that are grown for this purpose.

Here's a flower with a bumble bee:

Click on "Continue Reading" to see references for further reading, and my sources for all of the photographs of this entry.

Continue reading "Loofah Explained!" »

Posted by Christina at 7:42 AM | Permalink

Part of the governor's massive state-wide budget cuts includes a significant reduction in aid for our California state parks, forcing the closure of nearly 20% of our parks.

Here's a map with the affected parks:

Here's the official stance of the state parks on this issue:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/712/files/budget%20fact%20sheet%20w-graphics%20-%2001-14-08.pdf

*Most* of these parks will be closed to public, and placed in a "caretaker status," which requires fewer full-time employees. Many will be closed with no care. The parks they have chosen have the least amount of traffic, generate the least revenue, and are dependent on volunteers. Previous budget cuts have made it impossible to do trail maintenance anyway, so why not shut them down (ACK!!!! If I had known, I would gladly have chipped in extra for admission!)

It is horrible, but it's good to read that the parks tried their best to find the parks that will make the least impact. I'm super sad, though, because Topanga State Park was a favorite for Tom and I to go backpacking. It's on the cutting block, along with several others that I've visited and loved, like San Simeon State Park, Benecia, Railtown, Sutter's Fort, Bolsa Chica, and Tomales Bay. Tomales Bay was one I visited recently with a class. There was some interesting geology there and unbelievably beautiful wetlands.

Here's a website where you can write a letter to the governor about your sentiments on the issue:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/preservation/state-parks?id4=TAFsent

Continue reading "California is Closing 48 State Parks" »

Posted by Christina at 8:22 PM | Permalink

On Christmas day, my brother and I were alone in the house. My mother was still at work at the hospital, and my father had gone to the meditation center for his afternoon session. Dale was working on AP Bio homework, and I was just lounging around the house, looking for something to do.

Bored and a little edgy from spending so much time indoors, I decided to go for a walk. After a moment's thought, I took my brother with me. No sense in keeping him locked up indoors, you see, and I figured he would enjoy some fresh air.

We bundled up as best we could and soldiered into the night air. The Santa Ana winds were blowing something fierce, and the shrieking winds brought a strange eeriness to our friendly evening street. We headed for the park, my brother on rollerblades, myself on foot.

After a brief excursion onto the tennis courts, where we played tag and whacked each other with sticks, we arrived at our destination. The playground. A modest ensemble of plastic, metal, and sand, it had served us well in our youth in amusement and sport. Seeing it now, after such long years at college, brought some comfort. There was no one else around; no one else was foolish enough to come out at this time of night to a playground beset by such winds.

Continue reading "Sand, Steel, and Swings: Christmas at the park with my brother" »

Posted by Joel Kim at 12:35 PM | Permalink

Are you considering declaring an ESPM major? ESPM stands for Environmental Science Policy and Management, and the department offers four majors: Conservation and Resource Studies (CRS), Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR), Molecular Environmental Biology (MEB), and Society and Environment (SE). Before you declare you need to attend a workshop before or after Tele-bears (I recommend before)...

Continue reading "Declaring an ESPM major?" »

Posted by Tay Feder at 12:00 PM | Permalink

So this past weekend I went on a field trip (one of the cool things of forestry classes are the field trips). I went with my ESPM 134 class: Fire, Insects, and Disease. We started off at 8am, and drove 4 hours, stopping on the way. Our destination was Blodgett Forest, a research forest owned by the UC in the Sierra Nevada. Our purpose was to see firsthand interactions of fire, insects, and diseases in the forest.

We were really able to see these agents at work in the forest, so the trip was pretty educational. What I really enjoyed was being able to talk with my fellow students and professors in a more intimate setting. In the classroom, we don't get much opportunities to chat; on the trip we were able to just sit around and hang out. Plus we got to stay over in cabins, which was pretty fun.

Posted by Joel Kim at 10:11 PM | Permalink

Hello, everyone! My name is Joel, and I am a Forestry and Natural Resources major (well, intended major, but I'm pretty much there). When I tell people that I am a forestry major, I invariably get asked several questions, like "What's that?" or "Are you going to be a forest ranger?" or "What are you going to do with that?" I guess people don't consider Forestry to be a major that provides many career opportunities, unlike, say, Art History or Theater.

So what is Forestry and Natural Resources? They actually used to be two different majors, but were lumped together into one. Forestry is the science and art of cultivating, maintaining, and developing forests (see, art people that I potentially offended? Foresters are artists too.) The major provides concentrations in either the natural sciences or in the human dimensions of natural resources.

Why did I choose FNR? I always loved nature (although as an LA boy, I never really got exposed to much to it), and understanding how natural systems work is fascinating to me. Recently, I've become more interested in the role of human beings in the natural world, and how we make use of the natural resources that surround us. So, no, I don't know what I'm going to do with forestry, but I'm not worried about that now.

Alright, I hope that answered some questions about forestry. Yes, I am a tree hugger, because hugging a tree is the easiest way to measure its DBH (that's diameter for you non-forester types). Plus, you know, I like trees. They're nice.

About me: I like puns, as you can see by the title of this entry.

Posted by Joel Kim at 4:15 PM | Permalink