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‘Soil Your Undies’: Keepers of Mono Pollinator Garden bury underwear to learn more about soil health

October 9, 2020 [email protected]_84 bury, garden, Health, Keepers, Learn, Mono, pollinator, Soil, underwear, Undies

Volunteers at Mono’s pollinator garden gave new meaning to the term “soiling your undies” this year.

Of course, they didn’t do so in the traditional sense.

Earlier this year, the volunteers at Mono Pollinator Garden decided to celebrate the opening of their gardening season with a “Soil Your Undies” test that has become quite popular in North America.

“It was kind of funny, but it was also educational,” said Jutta Holdenreid, head of the garden maintenance group. “We had done it in the past and just wanted to repeat it.”

The test, with its tongue-in-cheek name, is built on sound biological and scientific principles and involves “planting” cotton underwear in various parts of the garden. The biological breakdown caused by microbes in the soil is expected to cause some degeneration to the cotton fabric.

Those soil microbe levels determine how much the underwear would break down and disappear, which helps to demonstrate soil health.

“We wanted to learn a bit more about how we could enrich the soil that’s there,” said Trish Keachie, a volunteer member of the maintenance group.

“This was an experiment that could give us a clearer idea of where we needed to put more effort into providing nutrients for the soil.”

When the planting and maintenance season began, the underwear were planted in four different areas of the garden in order to gauge different levels of organic material and fertility.

In mid-July, volunteers dug up the undies and evaluated their appearance.

“The (tests) showed the condition of the soil in different areas, and whether it was good soil or bad soil,” said Holdenreid. “We now know where things need to be improved.”

Microbe activity was recorded in three of the test areas, with only one area failing the test.

This means that there is a very low level of organic material and poor soil health. The volunteers noted that there was a correlation between the low test score and poor plant growth in that area.

“In that area, we’ll compost more heavily and then try this test again in another year or so to see whether it’s made any difference,” said Keachie.

The garden is already planted, but this knowledge will help the team to be able to know why certain areas aren’t thriving and how to improve growth.

Although volunteers don’t think this experiment will alter mainstream agricultural soil testing, they found it was a fun way to evaluate their own soil.

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“In part, we’re just trying to draw attention to the garden by doing something fun and interesting that might let people know the garden is here and cause them to come and take a look,” said Keachie.

Mono Pollinator Garden is located on Hockley Road, one kilometre east of Highway 10, and is open to visitors.

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interior

Learn How Interior Designer Kristin Corley Revamped Her Career With an Executive MBA.

October 6, 2020 [email protected]_84 career, Corley, Designer, executive, interior, Kristin, Learn, MBA, Revamped

Nathan Watson – October 6, 2020October 6, 2020

Kristin Corley, Auburn Executive MBA, Class of 2008. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now

For working professionals wanting to boost their careers, an executive MBA allows you to learn valuable business skills without interrupting your career or personal life. Just ask Kristin Corley, a local professional who transformed her interior design career with the skills and knowledge earned through the Auburn Executive MBA program.

What is an Executive MBA?

Photo via Auburn Harbert School of Business on Facebook

A Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is designed to help graduates better understand the ways a business functions. An MBA is an incredibly versatile degree that gives you the knowledge and confidence to make information based, budget-related decisions regardless of job title or business model.

But for many working professionals, an MBA—with its two-year, full-time class schedule—simply isn’t feasible. That’s where an Executive MBA shines.

Tailored to professionals with eight or more years of progressive experience, the Auburn Executive MBA program utilizes the significant knowledge and experience of students to ground business principles and theory with examples of real-world application. The program blends intensive residencies with distance courses for the best of both worlds—classroom instruction that provides interaction with faculty and peers and online learning that offers the flexibility to balance career, family and rigorous education. This delivery model binds students into a tight-knit cohort that later becomes a professional network offering benefits long after graduation.

Kristin Corley, 2008 Auburn EMBA graduate

Kristin outside her office at BL Harbert International. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now

To learn more about Auburn’s EMBA program, we spoke with alumnus Kristin Corley, Class of 2008. Prior to pursuing an EMBA, Kristin graduated from Auburn with a degree in interior design. After working several years in a local firm, Kristin realized that expanding her understanding of business strategy and finance would be helpful in her career. So she began looking for a program that could help fill that gap in her skill set.

For Kristin, the Auburn EMBA program checked all the boxes. At the time, she was balancing her work schedule and taking care of her four-year-old, so a traditional program was out of the question.

How did the Auburn EMBA fit in with your work schedule?

Kristin: “Auburn’s EMBA program is perfectly tailored for people in my situation—working professionals that don’t have the time capacity for standard classes. That flexibility allowed me to work on class projects on Saturday mornings, rather than trying to find time to be in a classroom each day. And since the program is online, it didn’t require students to be in the area. In fact, I believe only three people in my class actually lived in Alabama.”

Kristin Corley in her office at BL Harbert International. Photo via Nathan Watson for Bham Now

For Kristin, one of her most valuable takeaways was the improvement of her communication skills. The Auburn EMBA taught Kristin how to

kitchen

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

September 17, 2020 [email protected]_84 1950s, cooks, kitchen, Learn, leftovers, lettuce, Todays, wraps

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Cucumber and Radish Finger Sandwiches

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Chicken Amandine Casserole

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

Chicken Amandine Casserole

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from leftovers to lettuce wraps

6/6 SLIDES

On ExpressNews.com: replace this text with your teaser head and add hyperlink

Poodle skirts and leather jackets. Rock ’n’ roll. Midcentury furniture. There’s a lot to love about the 1950s.

For all that nostalgia, the food of the period is rarely on the list of things we appreciate today. Aspics and Jell-O salads, gallons of mayonnaise in everything. There are plenty of reasons that chapter in America’s culinary history is easy to forget.

But home cooks in the 1950s knew a few things that still resonate today, especially considering the scarcity and uncertainty we’re all facing with the coronavirus pandemic. This week we’re celebrating some of that wisdom.

Despite its bad rap, much of the food of the ’50s was lighter in calories and easier on the wallet while remaining flavorful and entertaining. And those lessons can do our bodies and budgets a lot of good today.

Wrap it up

In our low-carb, gluten-free modern life, there’s a lot to love about the lettuce wrap. It’s a light and refreshing way to get all the protein and vegetables our bodies need while keeping the calorie count down. And home cooks in the ’50s knew that as well.

Lettuce leaves, be they romaine, butter or iceberg, are the perfect vehicle for carrying a simple tuna, chicken or other salad in a light mayonnaise dressing. Instead of piling your next batch of tuna salad — try our version loaded with avocado and spicy ranch dressing for a flavorful change — onto a couple slices of bread, reach for a head of lettuce instead.

Stick a pick in it

One thing you could find at any midcentury gathering was food served on toothpicks. Whether it was Swedish meatballs or veggies, our predecessors were often eating those one bite at a time. And that meant giving our bodies time to process each nibble before moving on to the next.

This is a fun and easy thing to translate into today’s kitchen. Instead of a charcuterie board loaded with meats and cheese, try composing those elements into individual bites skewered on a toothpick. Or if you’re making lunch for yourself, cut that sandwich or tortilla wrap into bites and stab each with a toothpick. You’ll probably find yourself eating slower and more mindfully.

On ExpressNews.com: How to make enchiladas and enchilada sauces at home

We’ve put this approach into practice

kitchen

What today’s cooks can learn from the 1950s kitchen, from lettuce wraps to leftovers

September 16, 2020 [email protected]_84 1950s, cooks, kitchen, Learn, leftovers, lettuce, Todays, wraps