Upon completion of my Ph.D. in the Energy and Resources Group, my goal is to establish an on-farm school for climate change education. The vision for such a school would be:
Teach high school and college aged students (ages 16-22) about climate change via hands-on farm work
Talk about climate change impacts on food production systems, while implementing climate-mitigating "best practices" such as: composting, cover cropping, diverse crop rotations, integrated crop-livestock systems, integrated pest management, and other regenerative farming methods to promote soil carbon sequestration and overall ecosystem health.
Model a food-energy-water nexus approach to sustainability by integrating and educating about on-farm renewable energy generation and storage to serve irrigation and food storage loads.
Operate as a fully-functioning production farm with self-supporting local markets i.e. farm stand, farmer's market, CSA, and/or direct sales to restaurants.
Host summer camps and school semester opportunities for youth education.
Provide beginning farmer training opportunities for young people interested in starting their own climate-resilient farming operation.
Partner with other local non-profits and education providers to maximize impact of climate education and mitigation activities
Partner with local colleges and universities to conduct research in active areas of inquiry related to climate mitigation and agriculture (i.e. quantifying GHG emissions reductions, carbon sequestration, water savings, biochar production and application, agroforestry establishment, crop yield under different management practices, etc).
Partner with city or municipal governments to integrate farm activities into local climate action plans.
Like the idea? Get in touch via the "Collaborators" page to suggest a location, partner, funding source, or similar model.