Projects and Programs on the CANR Campus Grounds

About CANR

Graduate students in the experimental rice paddy.

The Rice Investigation, Communication, and Education (RICE) Facility, where research, education, and outreach activities are conducted.

Greg Shriver and a student gently examine a bird.

Greg Shriver, department chair and professor, uses Ecology Woods as part of his hands-on curriculum for his spring Ornithology course.

The Newark Farm is nearly three acres, including four high tunnels that help extend the growing season.

Our campus includes more than 85 tilled crop acres on the Newark Farm. In addition to growing forage for our livestock, experimental plots facilitate research on critical issues facing crop production in Delaware and worldwide.

Thirty paddies enhance the University of Delaware's Rice Investigation, Communication, and Education (RICE) Facility, an outdoor research and education laboratory on the farm. The paddies are part of a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award and two U.S. Department of Agriculture NIFA awards received by Angelia Seyfferth, a former associate professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. It was the first such award given to a College of Agriculture and Natural Resources professor. This laboratory allows for research that more closely resembles field conditions, allowing researchers to look at plants outdoors rather than solely in an indoor laboratory setting.

Six wetlands were created with native plantings to protect our watershed and create habitat. These features are valuable for on-site research and teaching related to water quality, soils, ecology, and horticulture.

The UD Apiary is home to 22 hives with millions of honey bees providing pollination services to the surrounding fields and gardens. The resident honeybees are an active part of the teaching, research and outreach programs and also provide the highly sought-after 'Dare to Bee' honey.

Two woodlands — located on Webb Farm and in Roland Roth Ecology Woods — focus on the effects of habitat fragmentation on wildlife and ecosystem services provided by small, urban forests.

UD Fresh to You gardens are student-managed using organic practices. The space includes four season-extending high tunnels. Produce from the garden is sold to local restaurants, our own campus restaurant and at two farm stands in Newark, Delaware. More importantly, UD Fresh to You gives back to the community by donating to food insecurity projects on and around campus. More recently, UD Fresh to You has partnered with the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Hospital to provide farm-fresh produce to those in need. At least 100 pounds of produce are donated weekly to cancer patients, their families and Christiana Care visitors.