The Sustainability staff at the UW Bothell, Tacoma and Seattle campuses are jointly hosting a Winter speaker series around Climate Change and Food Systems. The series will include virtual events, as well as an in-person event on each of the three campuses. Events will be weekly from January 18 to February 22.
Please register to receive the Zoom link for any of the virtual events, as well as to indicate interest in the in-person events.
Events in the series will be:
January 18 at UW Bothell, 2 p.m. in CC3-103
UW Bothell faculty members Adam Romero and Eric Salathé will discuss their work looking at the impact of climate change. Romero, the author of "Economic Poisoning Industrial Waste and the Chemicalization of American Agriculture," will discuss what the confluence of climate, technological, and financial change means for the future of US agriculture and farmers. Salathé's research on regional climate change focuses on the impacts to resources that sustain agriculture and food security.
January 25, virtual on Zoom
Merri Metcalfe of the WSU BreadLab on "Climate Changed Wheat." The WSU BreadLab is working to put nutrition and sustainability at the center of our conversation about food, by developing agronomically sensible and economically viable grain crops, creating diverse and decentralized food systems, and engaging a global community of people in a conversation about what they eat and how it’s produced.
February 1, virtual on Zoom
Carrie Brausieck is a natural resource planner and agroforestry professional with the Snohomish Conservation District. Her talk will focus on the integration of trees in agriculture and the potential for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
February 8 at UW Tacoma, 11 a.m. in Mattress Factory 214
UW Tacoma faculty Bonnie Becker and Julie Masura discuss the effect of climate change on seafood. Becker's research focuses on restoration of commercially and ecologically important shellfish in Puget Sound. Masura researches harmful algal blooms that occur when environmental conditions are ‘just right.’ She will show how climate change has increased the likelihood of these toxic organisms to bloom more often and for longer periods.
February 15, virtual on Zoom
Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center farm manager Anthony Reyes will talk about the work Oxbow is doing. Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center is a nonprofit organization Carnation that researches and practices sustainable farming methods, grows food and native plants, and educates people of all ages about agriculture and the environment.
February 22 at UW Seattle, 4 p.m. in Thompson 125
UW faculty members Eli Wheat and Caroline Strömberg will talk about regenerative food forests and how grasslands have shaped the world. Wheat is passionate about regenerative food production systems and teaches many courses at UW in food production and sustainability as well as owning and operating his own 20-acre organic farm on Whidbey Island. Strömberg's research focuses on the evolutionary history of grasslands. In a joint project with the Burke Museum, Strömberg aims to gain a better understanding of grasslands, which cover 40% of Earth’s land surface and have provided food for humans for millennia.