FARMWEEK
Week April 26 - May 2
UW Farm Updates
Joel Salatin Visits the Farm
Joel Salatin, of Food, Inc and Omnivore's Dilemma fame, came to the UW this past Tuesday through PCC Farmland Trust. He visited the UW Farm for a couple of hours to hear what our student farmers are up to and share some knowledge.
Traca Savadogo, Joel's driver and the host of the lectures, had this to share after Joel's visit to the UW:
"We were driving back to the hotel and I asked him, 'What is it that lights your fire?' He said meeting the UW students was exactly what feeds his soul, talking with educated people who are choosing to be farmers. He was absolutely glowing about that event. I dropped him off so I wasn't there but wow, he loved it."
Earth Day Helps the Farm Spread its Message
April 22nd saw farmers pairing up with members of Hillel for an Earth Day work party, and people dressed as carrots out on the HUB Lawn!
Check out Hillel's website here
 
Not to mention....the UW Farm won a 2010 Husky Green Award!
Biochar: what we know, what we think we know, and what we do not know
The UW Farm has invited Dr. Hugh McLaughlin, the Director of Biocarbon Research at Alterna Biocarbon, to give a presentation on biochar this Wednesday.
Dr. McLaughlin’s presentation will focus on the science behind biochar's potential as a significant wedge strategy for carbon cycle management and as an important environmental services tool.
Biochar, as an addition to soil, is attributed with increased moisture retention, improved air permeability, elevated cation exchange capacity, increased buffering of soluble organic carbon, and synergistic interactions with soil microbial populations leading ultimately to increased crop yields. In addition to acting as a natural carbon sink by sequestering CO2 and storing it in the soil, initial studies suggest that the addition of biochar to idle and degraded lands could be an effective method for reversing desertification.
As a large scale climate mitigation strategy, issues surrounding the sustainability of biochar are both environmental and social; there is uncertainty around biochar's ability to sequester carbon, the albedo (or reflective) effect of laying charcoal near the soil surface, the management of pyrolysis to mitigate harmful emissions, appropriation of land from local communities, effect on rural job opportunities, impact on biodiversity, and potential production practices leading to soil degradation. These issues need immediate research and informed debate. Dr. McLaughlin is one of the leading voices in this very necessary process.
Dr. Hugh McLaughlin has worked in process development and environmental engineering for over three decades, with most of that experience in the role of consulting engineer to a wide variety of manufacturing operations. He is an expert in the area of activated carbon manufacture and its utilization in air and water treatment applications. He has several patents in the area of activated carbon use and regeneration. Dr. McLaughlin has led the efforts at Alterna Energy to enhance the Native Adsorption Capacity of Alterna Energy Biocarbons, whereby biocarbons can be utilized in applications traditionally requiring more expensive activated carbon products.
When: Wednesday, April 28
Time: 6 pm
Location: Physics and Astronomy Building, lecture room PAA 110
UW Farmer Featured on UWtv in Honor of Earth Day
UW farmer Michelle Harvey was recently interviewed on UWtv with a panel of students in honor of Earth Day. Hear what students have to say about corporate greenwashing, Coca-cola on campus, and student activism.
Part 1
Part 2
Off-Farm stuff
Local P-patch Hosting a Redesign Meeting and Invites UW Farmers The UW Farm's neighbor p-patch down the Burke Gilman Trail is hosting a redesign meeting and you are invited to join! Along the Burke Gilman Trail towards Ivar's Seafood House is a community garden. This is the University District P-Patch--located at 7th/8th & 40th. We received a $15,000 grant from the Seattle department of neighborhoods this year to hire a landscape firm and do community-inspired garden re-design! The University District community is invited to come together for 3 UD community gatherings where we will list our thoughts, ideas, and dreams to create a new certified landscape design/drawing for the UD p-patch. Once we get the design, we will go for additional grants to accomplish the physical construction (erosion containment walls, patios, shed, etc) We will be meeting from 6-8PM at the UFM (University Friends Meeting) on 9th/40th (near to the Peace garden and the Roosevelt/Eastlake Bridge). April 24 (Saturday) *passed*
May 22 (Saturday) June 25 (Friday) Come one come all! Please pass on this information to friends you think may be interested in joining the event! Hope to see you there! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Tracy Stober
Your Chance to Participate in the Proposed Student Food CooperativeA message from students who are proposing a student food cooperative on the University of Washington campus:
Do you want to have more control in what food choices are available to you on the UW campus or in the University District? Do you care about having an idea of where and how your food was grown or raised? Do you want to see alternative yet affordable food options that align with your values, be they environmental sustainability, farm worker and animal rights, or community development? UW students are following prominent universities (like Berkeley, Evergreen, adn UBC) in creating a student food cooperative whose purpose is to address food justice issues and achieve a level of sovereignty over their food system. If you are hungry for change, please take our SURVEY! We need your input. - Note: We recently expanded our survey questions and created a more formal UW Catalyst Survey. If you previously took a ''SurveyMonkey' survey for us, your comments will be taken into consideration but we would love to have your voices counted in our updated Catalyst survey tool. Sorry for the invonvenience.
Voice your support by signing our PETITION!Thank you! - The UW Student Food Cooperative For more information, visit: http://students.washington.edu/foodcoop/ subscribe to the co-op's email list:
https://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/uwfoodcoop
Update on Spring into Bed
is a grassroots effort to improve our urban food resilience, capacity, and equity. In Seattle on May 8th there will be hundreds of individuals building gardens on their own and in groups that day, as well a minimum of 7 Food-Justice Gardens* that will help a low-income family get growing. If you want to Captain a set of beds, please contact Stephanie. Thanks for helping feed your families, community, and region,-- Michael Seliga, Cascadian Edible Landscapes 206-708-9298 www.eatyouryard.com
Gauging Interest for a Real Food Challenge Summer Training
The organizers for the Northwest Real Food Challenge are in the process of trying to gauge interest and generate ideas for a summer training. The summer training has yet to take much form, though they have played around with the idea of having it in Oregon (near Portland) with the help of a local farmers union. The training would offer an awesome opportunity to get firsthand experience with labor issues and organizing as well as leadership development and any topics of interest to our participants. They would love to hear from you: 1. Are you or anyone you know interested in such a position with RFC? 2. Would you or anyone you know be interested in attending such an event? 3. What about being involved in organizing the event (either hard core stylee or laid back)?
Please respond to: See what young people are doing for a real food economy in the Northwest: realfoodnorthwest.wordpress.com
Organic, Local Farms get a Boost From USDA
A stunning transformation seems to be taking place in the USDA. Could this be a change for the better? Article hereComment about this article on our university food social network site hereSummer Study Tour of Sustainable Agriculture and Slow Food in Switzerland and ItalyAugust 2010: Announcing a study tour that focuses for a week on biodynamic agriculture with Nikolai Fuchs and colleagues at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, and for a week studying Slow Food at the University of Gastronomic Sciences and the University of Florence in Italy. Henning Sehmsdorf (of S&S Homestead Farm) is co-teaching the course with Professor Gigi Berardi (of Western Washington University, Huxley College of the Environment). The study includes a three day intensive prior to the tour on S&S Homestead Farm on Lopez Island, including Goethean art and science with guest lecturers Janet and Barry Lia, and a closing seminar on Inspiration Farm in Whatcom County. See: http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/eesp/summer/swissitaly/index.shtml and contact Prof. Berardi for details ( gigi.berardi@wwu.edu). Feb 1 is the first deadline. Space is limited. New Farm Blog Features Local African Refugees
Urban agriculture and farming is often used as a way to create community, autonomy, and identity among people, especially immigrant communities that have been displaced from their homeland. UW student Lydia Caudill, a senior in Community, Environment, and Planning, has been working with Burundi and Somali Bantu refugees on a newly-aquired 10 acre farmsite in Auburn.
The idea of the program is not just to farm, but also provide leadership opportunities. By using farming, communities gain the opportunity to work together, as well as receive a financial return on food that can help support their families.
While the farmers are excited to get started, the land has been unused for a while. Caudill, hoping to continue with the project, says that in the future she hopes to organize volunteers who want to visit the farm as a way to get the farm "in the best shape it can be and [show] the farmers that they are supported by the larger community."
One tool being used to connect this refugee community with the local population is a blog. If you are interested in helping with the project or just want to learn more, the link is below.
In the wise words of Masanobu Fukuoka, "Natural farming is not just for growing crops, it is for the cultivation and perfection of human beings." We can all support projects like this.
See blog here
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