I love homemade stuff. Today that is called DIY – do it yourself. Well, DIY has been a way of life for generations. So it was that this Cajun joined forces with a River Rat to come up with a way to sample water from the bottom of the Pascagoula River. It costs us nothing but time, if you don’t count the multiple cups of coffee along the way. And that sampler did the job!

Bird watching is a year-round activity for many. Aside from resident species that stay put throughout the year, many seasonal species visit our backyards and neighborhoods, including the winter months. For those of us in the deep south, spotting an American Robin is a sign that winter is here. For our more northerly friends, Robins signals the arrival of spring. But the winter months are a time when birds have stopped moving, with lots of species to see and hear. Here are a few species and groups to look out for.

Mississippi State University will lead its new Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish through a five-year award, with an initial obligation of $8 million for the first year, from the U.S. Department of State to advance research and innovation that strengthen global aquatic food systems and create benefits for U.S. agriculture, industry, and food security.

We see pollinators at flowers, and marvel as they collect nectar and pollen. Besides bees and wasps, we may not know what many are and only see them when they visit blossoms. But where do they come from and where do they go? Visiting flowers is only one part of their lives. Oh, and what is a pollinator in the first place? These are the unseen aspects and questions about the multitude of pollinators that fill our world. This is the story of why we owe them our lives.