For years, forest lovers have been watching a tiny insect called a woolly adelgid spread relentlessly through Rhode Island, killing nearly every eastern hemlock tree it finds. Citing the impracticality of spraying pesticides on every tree, there didn’t seem to be anything that could be done.

But now Laura Ingwell, a graduate student working with Prof. Evan Preisser at the University of Rhode Island, is working on a different tactic in response to the tiny, invasive insect.

Finding that some hemlocks somehow appear to have a resistance to the adelgids and survive, she wants to survey Rhode Island’s forests for those survivors so they can be identified and propagated. Adelgids kill most hemlocks by sucking fluid from the base of their needles.

Ingwell plans to spend a lot of time in Rhode Island’s forests looking for resistant trees. Realizing the magnitude of the task, she is also looking for volunteers to help.

She has published a brochure with pictures of eastern hemlocks and a list of the criteria she has set for eligible survivors. She is looking for trees that:

• Have deep green needles on full and thick branches.

• Are mature and stand at least 30 feet tall.

• Grow within a forest stand, not on a lawn or landscaped setting, and are surrounded by dead hemlocks.

• Are untreated by pesticides or horticultural oils.

• Have few or no adelgids at the needle base.

If you see a healthy looking eastern hemlock that meets the criteria above, or you want a copy of the brochure, contact Ingwell at (401) 874-4083 or at hemlock@etal.uri.edu.

Volunteers sought as water monitors

The University of Rhode Island Watershed Watch program is issuing its annual appeal for volunteers to help sample and monitor water quality in the state’s lakes, streams and bays.

Volunteers supply information for one of the most extensive databases of water quality in the country, according to Elizabeth Herron, the Watershed Watch program coordinator, and Linda Green, the program’s director.

Launched in 1988, the program recruits 350 volunteers each year who monitor 220 sites.

An introduction to the program and classroom training for new volunteers will be offered at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3, and repeated Saturday, April 5, at 9 a.m. at the Coastal Institute Building at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus.

Required field training will be offered on April 12 and repeated on April 26.

Volunteers of all ages, occupations and interests have taken part in the past. The monitoring season runs from May to mid-October. Volunteers must go out once a week and check for clarity and temperature in the water body they are assigned to. Every two weeks they monitor algae concentrations and dissolved oxygen. And on several occasions they collect samples for lab analysis at the university.

For more information or to register for training sessions, call Herron at (401) 874-4552 or go to uriww@etal.uri.edu.

Dump electronics for a good cause

The eighth annual Spirit Day and Environmental Fair, in North Kingstown, is sponsoring a collection of computers and other electronic equipment from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at North Kingstown High School.

For a fee of $1 per item, the group will accept computers, keyboards, monitors, car stereos, fax machines, wire and telephones.

The Spirit Day Committee includes representatives of the North Kingstown schools and Police Department, Working Together for Wellness, the West Bay Family YMCA, South County Hospital Healthcare System, the North Kingstown Water Department and the North Kingstown Groundwater Committee. Recycling services will be provided by Office Recycling Solutions. Sponsors include BankRI and Centreville Bank.

For questions about Spirit Day, call Harriet Powell at (401) 294-4737.

Rain barrels offered at discount

The Town of Warren is organizing a sale at discounted prices of barrels designed to capture runoff from the roofs of houses so the water can be used to water gardens.

The rain barrels, manufactured by The New England Rain Barrel Co., will be available for $68 — $21 less than the usual retail price.

Orders will be accepted until April 2. A general delivery will be scheduled for Saturday, April 5, from 9 to noon at the Kickemuit Middle School in Warren.

The barrels are made from 55-gallon recycled containers, fitted with two brass spigots and a top that keeps out children and pets. It also has a 5-foot hose and a shutoff valve.

To order a barrel, call (877) 977-3135 or go to www.nerainbarrel.com. Previous sales in Rhode Island have attracted hundreds of customers.

The Environmental Journal is a listing of brief news items about the actions of individuals, organizations and businesses that affect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the landscape that surrounds us. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact environment reporter Peter B. Lord at (401) 277-8036, or by e-mail at plord@projo.com or by writing him, care of the Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.