Contents of this page: Hummingbird Day at Arboretum March 16 Learn how to control gophers at March 16 workshop University Club lunch March 14 Child Care Services raising money for play yards with quilt raffle Women at Work Retreat accepting applications Support breast cancer research when you file your taxes California high school students invited to apply to COSMOS summer program Staff invited to apply to Career Focus Program Construction update	March 11, 2002 More Campus News Hummingbird Day at the Arboretum March 16 Allen's hummingbird Photo: Dan True The Arboretum will hold a Hummingbird Day for children and bird lovers of all ages on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Events are planned throughout the day, leading off with a program by Santa Cruz bird expert David Suddjian at 10 a.m. in the Horticulture Building. Steve McCabe will give a tour of hummingbird plants at noon, and Tonya Haff, curator of the UCSC Natural History Museum, will conduct a program at 1 p.m. Plants that attract hummingbirds will also be for sale. Back to top Learn how to control gophers at March 16 workshop; concurrent workshop for kids, too Adult pocket gopher, Thomomys sp. Photo: Jack Kelly Clark UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project If those telltale mounds of freshly upturned earth in your garden make you hiss like an agitated house cat, you'll want to learn the best ways to keep your garden gopher-free during a workshop on Saturday, March 16, at the Farm. Note: An incorrect date appeared in the March 1 paper Currents. Last year was a banner year for gophers, and this year is shaping up to be "pretty severe," according to workshop leader Thomas Wittman, who will share his tips on controlling and excluding gophers from 10 a.m. to noon at the Louise Cain Gatehouse. Wittman's talk will focus on nonpoison strategies of gopher control, including traps and exclusion. Cost is $10; $5 for members of the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden. Fees are payable at the workshop. For more information, call (831) 459-3240. Concurrent with the gopher talk will be a workshop for children, "Predators on Our Farm." Sponsored by the Life Lab Science Program based at UCSC, this workshop for children ages 7-11 will explore bats, owls, and other predators that help control pests in the garden. Highlights include educational activities, a farm tour, and videos. The children's workshop will take place on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Life Lab Garden Classroom at the UCSC Farm. Cost is $5 per child. Preregistration is required; for more information or to register, call (831) 459-2001. Back to top University Club lunch March 14 Join campus faculty and staff for a spring luncheon at University House on March 14, with sittings at 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. The lunch is part of an ongoing University Club series of themed lunches aimed at bringing together friends and colleagues from around campus. The menu includes salad of baby greens with red onions, mushrooms, and candied pecans; spring pasta salad with fresh asparagus, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese; chicken Wellington Florentine or roasted vegetables Wellington, honey-glazed carrots, and New York cheesecake with fresh fruit for dessert; coffee and iced tea are also included. The cost is $11 per person, cash, check, or recharge. Reservations are required; call (831) 459-5271 by 5 p.m. March 12. Back to top Child Care Services raising money for play equipment with quilt raffle Detail of quilt by Pele Fleming to be raffled this spring by Child Care Services Child Care Services is selling tickets for a drawing for a beautiful hand-appliqued quilt. The quilt was created by Pele Fleming, who works in Housing, Dining, and Child Care Services. Proceeds from this fundraiser will improve play yards at all four campus child care programs: the School Age Center, Infant Toddler Center, the Children's Center, and Granary Child Development Center. The multicolored flowers on the quilt, a section of which is pictured right, incorporate pencil drawings of faces by children at the Children's Center, Granary Child Development Center, and School Age Center. Child Care Services hopes to raise at least $3,000 by selling raffle tickets. If you are interested in selling tickets or would like to buy some for yourself, call (831) 459-2967 or e-mail childcareservices@cats.ucsc.edu. Tickets are $5 each or 5 tickets for $20. Tickets are also available downtown at the Treehouse, 121 Walnut Avenue. Several local businesses have donated gift certificates that will be given away as additional prizes. The benefit drawing will take place at 1 p.m. on May 14 at a Quilt Benefit Picnic next to the Children's Center. Back to top Women at Work Retreat accepting applications This year's Women at Work Retreat will take place on Thursday and Friday, May 16 and 17, at the St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista. The retreat focuses on career development issues, job-related skills, and networking among campus staff. The retreat begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday, and participants return to Santa Cruz by 5 p.m. Friday. All nonprobationary full-time and part-time career staff up to and including the level of PSS Grade I, as well as casual employees with two years cumulative experience, are invited to apply. The cost is $95, which includes meals and overnight accommodation. Campus supervisors have been asked to release time and funding for those interested in attending. Applications are available on the web and are due March 15. For more information, call Connie Croker at (831) 459-2713. Back to top Support breast cancer research when you file your taxes If you haven't filed your taxes yet, here's an easy way to support the search for a cure for breast cancer. Line 56 on the 2001 California Income Tax Return Form 540 provides an opportunity to make a donation from your tax refund--or add to your tax bill a contribution--to the Breast Cancer Research Fund. The California Breast Cancer Research Program, which is administered by the University of California, spearheads research efforts into the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer to strike women in California. In 2002, it is estimated that more than 20,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in California alone, and more than 4,200 women in the state will die of the disease. For more information about the research your contributions will help to support, go to the California Breast Cancer Research Fund web site. Back to top California high school students invited to apply to COSMOS summer program California math and science students should know that the deadline to apply to COSMOS (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science) at UCSC is March 15. This popular and selective summer program is open to students completing grades 8-12 by summer 2002. COSMOS is an academic four-week residential program for talented students who are interested in math and sciences. Cutting-edge research, hands-on science labs, field trips, and engaging discovery lectures are all part of the exciting curriculum of COSMOS. Courses cover areas of science including astronomy, neuroscience, marine biology, game theory, volcanology, and more. COSMOS students have the rare opportunity to work directly with the university's top educators, scientists, and researchers. A large number of needs-based scholarships are available, and all students should apply regardless of their ability to pay tuition. For more information and an application, go to the COSMOS web site or call UC Santa Cruz COSMOS at (831) 460-3077. COSMOS programs are also offered at the UC Davis and Irvine campuses. Back to top Staff invited to apply to Career Focus Program Whether you are looking for career direction, planning a job or career change, or just want to learn career development skills you can apply in the future, the Career Focus Program is for you. Cosponsored by Training & Development and Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action, the program uses career development exercises and activities to assist participants in developing long-term career strategies and planning skills. The Career Focus Program takes place in six sessions on April 4, 11, 18, and 25, and May 2 and 9. Each session is from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no fee, but an application is required. The application is available on the web. Applications must be received by Training and Development no later than Friday, March 15. For more information about the Career Focus Program, visit the web site or contact workshop@cats.ucsc.edu. Back to top Construction update Currents provides regular updates on construction projects that have an impact on campus transportation and parking. Construction update story For more information, visit the Transportation and Parking Services web site and the Physical Planning and Construction web site. Back to top Return to Front Page