URI Cooperative Extension

08/28/2026

Campus pest control is hard at work!

Bobcats are important for regulating squirrel and rodent populations, which can grow out of control without carnivores on the landscape. This is one of the many ways bobcats, like other small predators, help support ecosystem health.

This bobcat was spotted walking by the Beaupre Center earlier this week by Angela Tuoni ’16, a former URI Energy Fellow and current director of climate and government relations at The Nature Conservancy. She submitted the sighting to the Rhode Island Bobcat Project, led by URI researchers.

The project combines GPS technology and community science to better understand Rhode Island’s growing bobcat population. So far, Rhode Islanders have submitted more than 1,800 bobcat sightings.

Have you seen a bobcat? Report your sighting: uri.edu/bobcatsurvey
Learn more about the Rhode Island Bobcat Project: connectivityandconservation.com/bobcat-project

08/28/2026

Halloween isn’t just for candy, it’s the perfect time to plant garlic! 🧄 URI Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners share how to get your cloves in the ground now for a delicious June harvest! 👉 https://wherethefoodcomesfrom.com/plant-garlic-by-halloween-for-a-june-harvest-uri-experts-share-fall-gardening-tips/


University of Rhode Island

Wondering when to plant garlic? URI experts say get it in the ground by Halloween for a flavorful June harvest and easy garden success!

08/28/2026

A soil test tells you your pH, texture, and exactly what's missing (or not), so you can skip the trial-and-error and get straight to growing. We've got the science. You've got the soil. URI Soil Testing is FREE for all Rhode Islanders.
Testing sites across RI, learn more: https://web.uri.edu/coopext/services/gist/

08/27/2026

Paid Fellowships Alert! 🚨

URI undergraduate and graduate students: apply by October 16, 2026, for one of our year-long Cooperative Extension Fellowships:

- Agriculture and Food System Fellows
- Energy Fellows
- Environmental Management Fellows

What’s in it for you?
- 500 paid hours on a real-world sustainability project
- Professional mentorship
- 3 academic credits (ITR 301 – Field Experience I)
- Summer industry trainings to strengthen field knowledge: microlectures, site visits, service learning
- Networking with leaders and experts across RI

All majors welcome -- just bring your passion for sustainability and a strong desire to develop professional experience!

📍We are now accepting expressions of interest from mentors until September 18, 2026, and applications from URI students in Handshake (job #11294023) until October 16, 2026. Learn more and apply by visiting : uri.edu/coopext/get-involved/

08/26/2026

Thank you for an amazing visit! Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources

08/26/2026

While gardeners across the region are closing up shop and putting away their gardening tools, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners say fall is a great time of year to get some garlic (and other vegetables!) into the ground for next year.
Elizabeth Leibovitz, who oversees the Heber Youngken Medicinal Garden for the University’s pharmacy program says that ‘neck garlic’ is typically grown in New England and many of its varieties are easy to grow. URI pharmacy students study garlic as a supplement in their program.
“Buy hard-neck garlic, the largest cloves you can find, from a farmers market,” she says. “Let the farmer know you are planning to plant it and they can help you find nice large healthy cloves. Orienting the clove with the pointy tip up (the future sprout) is essential, then mulch deeply. Garlic can be planted anytime the ground isn’t frozen!”

https://www.uri.edu/news/2025/10/spooky-suggestion-get-your-garlic-in-the-ground-for-halloween/

08/25/2026

Happy Veterans Day! are committed to empowering veterans through education, training, and support. The Boots to Bushels program at the University of Rhode Island connects military veterans with opportunities in agriculture.

Run through URI Cooperative Extension, it provides practice in the many skills needed to be successful in farming. “It’s a program that makes sense, both for veterans to continue to serve their country through land stewardship and through providing food to their communities," says Tricia Lourenco Boucher, pictured, program director and veteran. "I’m excited about the potential of Boots to Bushels to have a lasting impact on veterans, beginning farmers, and our food system.”

08/25/2026

What does a plant pathologist do at a national conference? For URI Cooperative Extension’s Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, this year’s Plant Health 2026 conference in Providence involved a little bit of everything!

Keiddy helped organize field tours exploring plant disease management and nursery biosecurity, connected Rhode Island growers with researchers for a first-of-its-kind grower panel, helped provide samples for a student Plant Diagnostic Bowl, and more.

The American Phytopathological Society conference brought plant health experts from across the country to Rhode Island to share research, learn from growers and industry, and explore how we can better protect the plants that support our farms, landscapes, and food systems.

For Cooperative Extension, that work is all about connecting research and expertise with the people who can put it to work — from farmers and nursery growers to the next generation of plant health professionals.

Here’s a look at some of the work Keiddy was involved in!

08/19/2026

Meet some of our 2026 Extension Fellows! 🌱

Through our URI Extension Fellows Programs, undergraduate and graduate students gain hands-on experience in critical issues including energy, agriculture and food systems, and environmental management through work on projects that make a difference across Rhode Island.

08/18/2026

On August 11th, 2026: 2025 Agriculture and Food System Fellow David LeClair presented the new climate change exhibit for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol as part of the Environmental Education practicum course.

David says, "This is a great experience for anyone interested in working with environmental organizations in the community. It's a hands-on opportunity to share your passion for nature through teaching. My goal with this exhibit was to approach climate change through a lens of empathy, hope, and actionable steps, and make difficult scientific topics accessible for the nature center's visitors of all ages. I combined my love of traditional illustration, storytelling, and Rhode Island's unique ecology and native species to bring this exhibit to life. I learned a lot through my Ag & Food Systems fellowship at CoopExt about how to make scientific information digestible and engaging. Those skills helped me tremendously during this project."

Way to go, David! 🌱☀️