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WUNC's Back Porch Music on the Lawn series is getting back to its roots. The series is moving back to the popular spot under the Lucky Strike tower in the heart of the American Tobacco Campus. There will be 8 free concerts on Thursday nights from May to September. The series is part of the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the American Tobacco Campus.

The shows start up at 6 p.m. and most feature two bands. Picnics and coolers are welcome but no glass, please. Food and beverages are available at American Tobacco restaurants that surround the American Tobacco Amphitheater.

Here's the schedule:

May 15 6 p.m. Southern Culture on the Skids The series starts out with a bang with the bards of downward mobility, Southern Culture on the Skids. May 29 6 p.m. Mandolin Orange These Chapel Hill up and comers bring the full band treatment for their first appearance on the Back Porch Stage. June 12 6 p.m. Balsam Range From Western North Carolina, Balsam Range are one of the hottest young bluegrass bands touring today. Their record "Papertown" was named IBMA Record of the Year in 2013.

Balsam Range plays live from the WUNC studio at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh on The State of Things from September 2013

June 26 6 p.m. The Lee Boys with Love Cannon The Lee Boys are a sacred steel, gospel, funk band that will get folks moving. They're paired with Love Cannon, a quirky bunch that re-invent 80s tunes with a bluegrass sound. July 31 6 p.m. Yarn This Grammy-nominated band has built a devoted following with their fresh original songs that are rooted in an Americana sound. August 14 6 p.m. Bombadil with Loamlands Rising indie bands from Durham, NC, team up for a great night on the lawn.

Take a look at this video we recently produced with UNC-TV. Bombadil as the inspiration for a puppet show.

August 28 6 p.m. Mipso with Victoria Lee This young trio came together as students at UNC-Chapel Hill and have since put out a series of critically acclaimed records. September 4 6 p.m. WUNC helps the American Tobacco Campus celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special surprise musical guest.

How To Get There And Directions - Google Maps

The American Tobacco Campus where the concerts take place is located at 318 Blackwell St Durham, NC. Here's a Google Map:

Link:
Back Porch Music Is Back On The Lawn: 8 Free Concerts In 2014 | WUNC

With a swing to warmer weather, the attention of the City's Property Maintenance staff is shifting from snow removal to nuisance vegetation. City ordinance requires that lawns be kept shorter than 8 inches in height and noxious weeds be controlled.

When the City receives a complaint about land being neglected, the City investigates the complaint with a site visit. If the complaint is valid, the property owner is sent a courtesy letter asking that the nuisance be corrected. Generally, property owners are given seven days to correct the problem. Only one courtesy letter is sent on a property per year.

The City then re-inspects the property on or after the due date. If the problem has not been corrected, a City Code Enforcement Officer issues a $100 citation for the violation. In addition, the City has contracted with lawn mowing and weed spraying services who correct the violation. The property owner is billed for the work, and if the bill is left unpaid, the cost is assessed against the property.

Residents are encouraged to report potential nuisance vegetation violations by calling 978-6900 during normal business hours, or leave a voice message after hours or on weekends. Potential violations also can be reported online at http://www.siouxfalls.org/weeds.

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Sioux Falls enforcing lawn care ordinances

Landscape architect Tom Comitta explains minor adjustments to 10yr Comp. Plan 4 Cville @wcdailylocal
Landscape architect Tom Comitta explains minor adjustments to 10yr Comp. Plan 4 Cville @wcdailylocal By: Kristina Scala - Reporter for the Daily Local News i...

By: Daily Local

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Landscape architect Tom Comitta explains minor adjustments to 10yr Comp. Plan 4 Cville @wcdailylocal - Video

Greg Baartz-Bowman loves living in Milwaukie, and he wants to keep spreading the love. Thats why he founded the Milwaukie Film Festival several years ago and the reason he wants to keep bringing fun, family-friendly activities to the city.

From 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 19, the Milwaukie Film Festival will present Yard to Table, showing attendees how to dig, plant and harvest during a series of afternoon workshops. That evening will bring Community Film Night to town, featuring a group of short films around the theme of yard to table. All the Saturday activities will take place in the Milwaukie Masonic Lodge, across the street from Milwaukie City Hall.

The fun continues from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Easter Sunday, April 20, with Tour de Coops, a tour of Milwaukie-area chicken coops.

This is the town I want to live in, and I want it to have culture and livability. I also want to help the community have an active Main Street. This is the type of event the city deserves, Baartz-Bowman said.

Although the entire days events are free, donations are always welcome, and they will help fund similar activities in the future, he said.

Grow a garden

The first workshop starting at 2 p.m. will feature Donna Smith and Robyn Streeter who own Your Backyard Farmer.

Someone who has not had a garden space or has a current one that is neglected, we will show them how to get one up and running so they can grow their own vegetables, Smith said.

The two women will talk about the differences between growing produce in raised beds vs. in-ground beds.

Baartz-Bowman said that he met Smith on a bike ride for Bike Milwaukie, a group he co-founded with Matt Menely in the summer of 2011.

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Yard to Table event fun, family friendly

The City of Gig Harbor and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department are presenting a fun, free and informative Natural Yard Care workshop series at the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview St., from 6:30 to 8:30pm, beginning April 29th.

The workshops are free, but space is limited so reservations are recommended.

Instructors will teach how to design and maintain a beautiful landscape the natural way. There will be prizes and snacks offered.

Three workshops will address a variety of yard maintenance issues. Sign up for the entire series or whatever fits your schedule.

No Fear Garden Design with instructor Sue Goetz, April 29.

Goetz, the owner of Creative Gardener shares her passion for gardening and offers a creative approach to designing with easy, do-it-yourself projects. Gardening for Non-Stop Color and Interest with instructor Robin Haglund, May 6.

Award-winning landscape designer Haglund helps bring the Wow-factor to a yard 365 days a year. Intermingle trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses, perennials, annuals, and art to create stunning gardening effects.

Right Plant in the Right Place with Scott Vergara, May 13.

Woodland Gardens owner Vergara, with nearly 50 years of horticulture experience, will help you make better initial plant choices to beautify your yard.

Call Walt at 253-798-4708 to reserve your space today, or email wburdsall@tpchd.org.

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Natural Yard Care workshops offered by gardening experts

BRANDON Spring fever may be blamed for feverous efforts to clean as well as landscape the yard.

Gardening club leaders and master gardeners in Hillsborough County are helping people channel their spring giddiness in April and May with plant sales and programs.

They are encouraging individuals to plant butterfly-attracting plants on Earth Day, which is April 22, as well as plant trees on the last Friday of April during National Arbor Day.

Cheri Donohue, president of the Temple Terrace Garden Club, said her club has a work day planned for May 31 when it will plant trees in cooperation with the city of Temple Terrace.

Each year, the club plants a tree or trees in recognition of members who have passed away during the club year, Donohue said. We maintain Woodmont Park in Temple Terrace and have a memorial garden with many of those trees and plants there. Our park is filled with little signs reminding us of each of them.

She said the club also planted three golden trumpet trees, also known as Tabebuia, to honor those who died on 9/11. The trees stand vigil on the first hole of the Temple Terrace Golf Course.

When all three bloom at the same time it is breathtaking, she said. All along the golf course the yellow ones are just spectacular. People comment about them for about three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Brandon Garden Club will host a Naturescaping: Growing a garden from the ground up program with Kelly Liebzeit on April 16 at 7 p.m. at the Senior for Seniors Center, 311 Park Ave East.

On May 24 at 9 a.m., the Brandon club is having a plant sale at 2020 MacGregor Ave. in Brandon.

Nicole Pinson, an extension agent skilled in urban horticulture and master gardener coordinator with the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, helps novice gardeners figure out how to attract butterflies to their yards. Her office offers several master gardening plant clinics to help people celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day throughout the year.

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Hillsborough gardening clubs offer cure for spring fever

Chantilly, VA (PRWEB) April 15, 2014

With the calendar turned to April, homeowners across the country are focusing on getting their lawns ready for the warm summer months. In Northern Virginia, however, one problem that many have to deal with is packed clay that makes it tough for plant life to take root and thrive. To help fix that problem, Saunders Landscape Supply is pleased to provide customers with new organic soil that can help improve their yards.

Adding organic soil to a yard is a must for breaking up compacted clay and making sure everything from grass to annual flowers can grow healthily every spring and summer. Installation of new soil and one strong season of growth can relieve the compacted soil and give plants a boost that promotes growth both right away, and in the future.

Saunders Landscape Supply delivers soil directly to customers' homes and has a low delivery requirement of just five cubic yards, which is easy to spread out. Their organic topsoil is made out of 50% leaf compost and 50% topsoil, which makes it a healthy, natural way to grow produce, vegetables, greenery, and everything in between.

The soil that Saunders delivers includes no chemical additivesin addition to providing all the nutrients that plant life will need to grow, it is environmentally friendly. When the rains come or homeowners need to water their gardens, they won't have to worry about chemicals working their way into water sources and contributing to high pollution levels.

Saunders Landscape Supply has served residents of Virginia and Maryland since it was founded in 1994, and provides the materials that homeowners need for any lawn renovation or maintenance plan. The business is located at 14016 Sullyfield Circle in Chantilly, VA. For more information, call 703-764-4831, email marketing (at) saundersls (dot) com or visit saundersls.com.

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With Summer Landscaping on the Horizon, Saunders Landscape Supply is Happy to Offer Organic Soil

By KEITH HEUMILLER

Staff Writer

HAZLET Members of the township swim and tennis club could be swinging, climbing and lounging in the shade this summer, thanks to a newly unveiled capital improvement plan.

The upgrades, which include a 66-foot zip line, two rock walls, outdoor table games, nine new shade tents, and a number of landscape and facilities improvements, will be phased in beginning this year.

The project may be the largest of its kind in the history of the club, according to Township Administrator Dennis Pino.

We are thinking completely outside the box about ways that we can enhance the experience there, to maybe attract new residents who may not have come before and also to benefit our members as well, he said.

As of April 11, the township was soliciting bids for the two rock walls, expected to cost about $38,000 total and stand about 9 feet above the clubs diving tank.

While the actual operation of the rock walls will be up to the club director, Pino said township officials have ensured they will be safe and secure for the clubs youngsters.

Theyll be wet and probably slipping and having a great time, he said.

The township has already ordered the zip line, which is to be installed near the pool at a cost of about $19,000. Pino said riders will sit in a pedestal-style seat and swing from one platform to another over a protective layer of rubber mulch.

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Pool upgrades include rock wall, zip line

1 hour ago by Rob Jordan Researchers at Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment are examining conservation plans for wild tigers that would promote gene flow among populations. Credit: Prasenjeet Yadav

(Phys.org) New research by Stanford scholars shows that increasing genetic diversity among the 3,000 or so tigers left on the planet is the key to their survival as a species.

Iconic symbols of power and beauty, wild tigers may roam only in stories someday soon. Their historical range has been reduced by more than 90 percent. But conservation plans that focus only on increasing numbers and preserving distinct subspecies ignore genetic diversity, according to the study. In fact, under that approach, the tiger could vanish entirely.

"Numbers don't tell the entire story," said study co-author Elizabeth Hadly, the Paul S. and Billie Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology at Stanford and senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. She is a co-author of the study, which was published April 17 in the Journal of Heredity.

That research shows that the more gene flow there is among tiger populations, the more genetic diversity is maintained and the higher the chances of species survival become. In fact, it might be possible to maintain tiger populations that preserve about 90 percent of genetic diversity.

Rachael Bay, a graduate student in biology at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station and the lead author of the study, said, "Genetic diversity is the basis for adaptation."

Loss of diversity

The research focused on the Indian subcontinent, home to about 65 percent of the world's wild tigers. The scientists found that as populations become more fragmented and the pools of each tiger subspecies shrink, so does genetic diversity. This loss of diversity can lead to lower reproduction rates, faster spread of disease and more cardiac defects, among other problems.

The researchers used a novel framework, based on a method previously employed to analyze ancient DNA samples, to predict what population size would be necessary to maintain current genetic diversity of tigers into the future. The authors believe this new approach could help in managing populations of other threatened species.

The results showed that for tiger populations to maintain their current genetic diversity 150 years from now, the tiger population would have to expand to about 98,000 individuals if gene flow across species were delayed 25 years. By comparison, the population would need to grow to about 60,000 if gene flow were achieved immediately.

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Diverse gene pool critical for tigers' survival

AP Images

David Lyle, left, and David Hill

National Geographic Channels U.S. will undergo a complete management makeover that includes a new CEO and the installation of 21st Century Fox senior executive vp David Hill as board chairman.

David Lyle is stepping down as CEO of Nat Geo, a joint venture of Fox Cable Networks and National Geographic. Courteney Monroe, who has served as chief marketing officer for National Geographic Channels domestic networks since joining the company in January 2012, has been promoted to CEO effective May 1.

The moves come one day after Howard Owens said he would step down in June as president after three years on the job.

Courteney is a truly remarkable executive, with a proven track record of energizing programming brands both here at National Geographic Channels and during her time at HBO, said Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society, and Peter Rice, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group, in a joint statement. She is also a proven leader, who has a clear vision of the television landscape, and we are very lucky to have her overseeing our domestic channels.

Before joining National Geographic Channels, she was executive vp consumer marketing and digital platforms at HBO. In her new role, she will report to the board of directors of the National Geographic Channels.

During my tenure as CMO at the National Geographic Channels, I have seen the power of this brand, and am excited by the opportunity to grow these networks, both creatively and commercially, for our partners and our advertisers, Monroe said. Being part of the team that laid such a strong foundation over the past few years has given me invaluable insight into what it is going to take to get us to the next level.

Hill, who currently serves as a member of the National Geographic Channels board of directors, will add the title of chairman, providing counsel to the executive and programming leadership team. Hill will remain a member of the board and also continue to play a leadership role in the production of American Idol.

Hill originally joined Fox Broadcasting in 1993 as the first president of Fox Sports and has since he has served as chairman and CEO of the Fox Broadcasting Company, president of DirecTVs entertainment division and chairman and COO/executive producer of the National Geographic Channel, all while maintaining his duties at Fox Sports, where he was named Chairman and CEO.

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National Geographic Channel Overhauls Management