The Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays Series meets Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. in 1123 Jull Hall. All are welcome!
Image Credit: Meredith Epstein
The Institute of Applied Agriculture's Sustainable Tuesdays Program hopes to cater to all those interested in agricultural sustainability by opening the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays series to all UMD students and faculty. The series is already underway, meeting Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. in room 1123, Jull Hall.
The Sustainable Tuesdays Program and the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays series are the result of a joint effort between the IAA, the Office of Sustainability, and the School of Architecture. Both became a part of the university last year, but through the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays series, the organizations hope to expand horizons for all students that want to learn more about sustainability's role in the food they eat .
The series stemmed from the IAA’s INAG248 Topics in Sustainable Agriculture course, but with the help of Meredith B. Epstein, a sustainable agriculture lecturer in IAA, Epstein and her colleagues hope to educate all UMD students interested in this topic.
After all, according to Epstein, “Food is both a diverse and unifying topic...[and] our target audience is anyone on campus who is interested in topics related to food, agriculture, and sustainability - whether they are aspiring farmers, curious consumers, researchers, top chefs - you name it!”
Epstein has helped launch this series by recruiting guest speakers, saying, “Typically, we welcome a guest speaker from an agricultural industry or related field, listen to an interactive presentation, and engage in discussion."
The series has already hosted speakers from a variety of sources such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Maryland Grazers Network, Beginning Farmer Success, Beginner Farmer Training Program, and Clagett Farm.
“We have many exciting speakers coming up,” Epstein says, “ranging from humane farm animal care, to food systems mapping, to edible weeds, to threats to bees.”
The list of upcoming speakers can be found here: /sites/default/files/_images/uploaded/Sustainable Ag Tuesdays Lineup 2014.jpg
Epstein also notes that the audience is typically made up of ten students, faculty, and staff that are either agriculture majors, researchers, or are simply interested in food issues.
“The ultimate goal here is to provide high quality speakers and excellent discussion on hot topics in the realm of agriculture,” Epstein explains. “This is first and foremost a class for my students, but inviting a larger audience brings in so many valuable perspectives that contribute to our discussion.”
Therefore, Epstein and her colleagues have high hopes for the future of the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays series.
“Sustainable agriculture is all about community,” Epstein asserts. “I see Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays becoming a highly anticipated annual event series, drawing an audience and providing a space for tough questions to be asked.”
If you would like to learn more about the Sustainable Agriculture Tuesdays, you can visit the Sustainable Tuesdays website at http://sustainability.umd.edu/content/curriculum/sustainabletuesdays.php. Also, if you have suggestions for speakers and topics, you can email Meredith Epstein at mbepste@umd.edu.
