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Meet the ACEER >> Denise Polk

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Professional Affiliation:
West Chester University

Denise Polk

Professor Communication and Media

ACEER Member since:  2021

Professional Affiliation: West Chester University

"Having a long-standing belief in sustainable living, Denise’s home has a photovoltaic solar array for electricity, solar hot water system, a compost bin, and multiple rain barrels. In addition to gardening, she takes great pleasure in tending her honey bees, cooking, preserving food, fermentation, making natural soap, lip balm, body lotion and candles, and repurposing discarded items. In 2017, she gave a Tedx talk about her two federally funded grants about a restaurant composting project in her hometown."

Biography:

Denise is a devoted organic gardener who challenges herself to live as sustainably as possible in her home in southeastern Pennsylvania. She is a professor in the Department of Communication and Media at West Chester University with a Ph.D. from Kent State University. Her teaching and research areas consist of sustainability, close interpersonal relationships, integrating work and family, and conflict resolution.

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Denise's Posts

September 15, 2023
Stingless Bees in Hive in Peruvian Amazon Rainforest
In the Garden of Deeden: The Honey Harvest
According to the US Department of Agriculture honey bees alone pollinate 80% of all flowering plants. Their pollination of over 130...
April 28, 2023
In the Garden of Deeden: Foraging
Families in Amazonia certainly rely on their home gardens for much of their food, and take surplus to markets in Iquitos...
March 1, 2023
In the Garden of Deeden: Growing Up
Anyone walking in the Amazon Rainforest knows that the forest is tall, very tall. From the herbaceous layer of plants on...
December 31, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Microhabitats
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biologically diverse places on the entire planet.  Why is that? In large part...
November 19, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Homemade Medicinal Preparations
In any visit to a market in an Amazonian town, one will find the local “pharmacy” section.  A robust zone dedicated...
October 14, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Seed Saving
Let’s make this year the year to start saving your garden’s bounty by harvesting seeds.
August 24, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Bugs — Are You My Friend or Foe? (Part 2: The Friends)
Last month I discussed “bad” bugs, which can be really bad news for home gardeners. Luckily, many species of insects are...
August 1, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Bugs — Are You My Friend or Foe? (Part 1: The Foes)
Well, the answer of insects in the garden as friend or foe is – both. There are millions of insect species...
June 1, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Mulching
Anyone who has walked a trail in the Amazon is aware of a very subtle, steady, quiet descent of dead leaves...
May 2, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Natural Fertilizers
The soils in Amazonia are so notoriously poor in nutrients, that plants have evolved diverse ways of capturing nutrients from dead...
April 3, 2022
Corn, beans, and squash growing together
In the Garden of Deeden: Companion planting
The indigenous people of the America, North and South, knew well the benefits of what’s referred to as companion planting. This...
February 8, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Seed starting
The seasonal loss of leaves by deciduous trees and their subsequent dormancy during the winter in northern latitudes is not a...
January 9, 2022
In the Garden of Deeden: Permaculture
Although we are now into January, it is not too soon to be thinking of the coming year’s growing season, and...
December 8, 2021
Dragon's Blood Tree
In the Garden of Deeden: The Kitchen “Cosmetic” Factory – lip balm
In Amazonia, native people have relied on the healing properties of medicinal plants for millenia.
November 1, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Ginger Beer
A visit to any market in Amazonia reveals a rich array of locally grown fruits and vegetables including a variety of...
October 4, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Composting
The Amazon rainforest is masterful at recycling plant nutrients.  It has to be. Soils in Amazonia are notoriously poor in nutrients...
September 6, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Honey Bees Part 1
In 2008, I was in a waiting room and picked up a magazine. In it was an article about colony collapse...
August 2, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Rain Harvesting with Rain Barrels
The Amazon rainforest is masterful at capturing and dispersing rainfall: bromeliads, pitcher shaped plants, drip tips. But what to do in...
July 5, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Worms Eat My Garbage
The average American generates about a pound of food waste/day. Have you ever heard of vermicomposting, also known as worm composting?...
June 9, 2021
In the Garden of Deeden: Breaking Ground
May 17th was the 16th anniversary of me moving into the home that my friends dubbed “Deeden.” My dear friend has...