Spring 2009 Seminar

Thoughts on “Now What?”

Sustainability and “Silver Bullets”

At a time when we are faced with mounting crises in our food systems due to the projected growth in human population coupled with the challenges posed by global climate change, it is not surprising to see some of the commercial claims being made through voice media and as full page adds in national print.  We are asked what to do next.  An all too common response is to fall back on technology developed far from the farm under high-input conditions.  We did this with the “Green Revolution” of the last 4-5 decades, with remarkable increases

in yields, but also with remarkable increases in soil degradation, dependency on inputs based on fossil fuels, and loss of farms and small farmers from rural regions of the world.  Hunger continues to haunt us, the agricultural gene pool continues to narrow or be subject to modifications that remove seeds further from the hands of the farmer, diet related diseases are on the rise, and food security and sovereignty constantly threatened.  Disguised by claims of helping farmers and protecting the environment, these technological “silver bullets”, or single solutions,  focus on increasing yields without taking into account the current imbalances and injustices that continue to plague our agricultural sector.  There is the feeling that there are no other alternatives, that we must use their technologies or fail to feed the world.

But without the fanfare of purchased advertising, an alternative approach to change in our food systems is taking place.  Grounded in agroecological thinking and local knowledge, food systems are emerging around the world that reflect the hope and possibility of sustainability in its fullest meaning.  People are once again taking charge of their food systems, building the social relationships needed to promote alternatives, and re-building the knowledge base needed by combining research and practice.  Food systems are being redesigned by farmers with increased diversity, the reintegration of plants and animals, new crop rotations and combinations, internal pest management processes, more efficient nutrient cycles, local adaptation and genetic processes, and an emphasis on local knowledge and meeting local needs.  Food systems are also being redesigned by consumers who support farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture, local food self-sufficiency, and alterative food networks.  Together, farmers and consumers are rebuilding the relationships that link ecological and social sustainability with viable livelihoods and healthy communities.

So watch out for those “silver bullets” and the advertising that promotes them.  Expand once again our definition of sustainability to go beyond yield and profit.  It is our goal that PICA be one of the places for this to happen.

Steve Gliessman

Announcements 4/2:

CAN has the opportunity to win $200,000
CONTEST ENDS THIS WEEK!!

We are a FINALIST for a $200,000 grant (over 5 years). Read below and ASK 5 FRIENDS TO VOTE.

Please take just 2 minutes to help win a grant that will fund acitivies to support biodiversity, community sustainability and direct markets access for communities in Mexico and Central America. With your vote TODAY, we can win.

Cast an online vote of SUPPORT and leave a comment if you like stating how you are part of CAN's network and/or why you support CAN and this project!  If you voted in the prelims, please vote again because we are now in the finals!

Here's how:

go to:  http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/8968/promoteidea.html
create a username/password and VOTE FOR US! (if you would like, leave a comment also)
Spread the word to 5 FRIENDS. You can also use the "E-mail this idea" on the right side of the voting webpage to pull up your e-mail contacts!

*If you have already voted for us in the prelims, then you still need to vote again because we're in the finals now.*

Other ways to help support us:
1. Forward this email to any other listservs you are a part of.
2. Contact 5 friends and ask them to vote today.
Remember: http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/8968/promoteidea.html

Thanks for supporting the network and building stronger community!

Community Agroecology Network Team

Meals Sign-Up Sheet

COURSE SYLLABUS

Program In Community and Agroecology (PICA) Seminar
ENVS 91F and 191F • Spring 2009 • Steve Gliessman, Instructor
Instructor Office Hours: Wednesdays 1:00-3:00, 435 Nat. Sci. 2
Email:  gliess@ucsc.edu  Phone: 459-4051

Other PICA staff involved in seminar:
Vivan (bee) Vadakan, PICA Program Manager: vvadakan@ucsc.edu
Molly Staats, PICA assistant: mstaats@ucsc.edu
Phone: 459-5818, Office: Building A-1.

PICA: The Program in Community and Agroecology (PICA, pronounced “PEEKA”), based in the Village in the Lower Quarry, provides opportunities for students from all UCSC colleges and majors to explore interests in sustainable food production and distribution, sustainable communities, and intersections between the two.

There are many opportunities to become involved within the PICA community. Examples include:
1. living in the Village and working in the Foundational Roots Garden to grow and harvest organic foods for the community
2. cooking and sharing in community meals
3. participating in organized Saturday morning work parties in the Village’s Foundational Roots Garden, the greenhouse, & other facilities
4. working in PICA’s dedicated plot in the nearby CASFS (Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems) Farm
5. engaging in a campus or community internship through the Environmental Studies Department or another campus unit

Bee can provide more information about how to get involved.

The PICA Seminar: The two-unit PICA Seminar, listed as ENVS 91F and ENVS 191F, is offered every quarter, meeting from 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursdays in room A-3 in the A Quad at the entrance of the Village, including a community meal (see below). The seminar provides a setting for academic study and discussion, as well as for get-your-hands-dirty garden learning experiences. Students taking the seminar are encouraged to become involved in other PICA-related activities throughout the quarter. (See above for suggestions.) The seminar is open to students from all majors and colleges.

Spring 2009 Seminar Overview: The seminar this quarter will focus on how to plan and implement a garden that can produce food for a community.  In the process, students will learn essential skills necessary to design and manage a sustainable garden system.  This course is designed to provide undergraduate students at UCSC the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on experience with sustainable, ecologically sound horticultural and agricultural practices.  Using the PICA Foundational Roots garden in The Village as a living laboratory, garden-based instruction will give students training in the design and management of a sustainable garden ecosystem.  Throughout the experience, emphasis will be placed on the Garden as a "whole-system", or agroecosystem, and the knowledge that all of the parts are interconnected.  
    
The aspects of the garden that we will work with during the Spring quarter are somewhat dictated by what can or needs to be done in the garden from week to week.  But our overall goal is to establish the foundations for a summer garden that will be able to provide a large proportion of the food for people taking part in summer activities in the A-Quad.     We will focus on soil preparation, composting, planting, cultivation, weed and pest management, and garden growth and development appropriate to this time of year.   We want to test John Jeavons’ challenge that “we can grow more vegetables imaginable in less land that you ever thought possible.” (See http://www.johnjeavons.info/)

In conjunction with our hands-on garden learning, seminar presentations will provide the basis for discussion of relevant concepts, concerns, questions, issues, and visions.   

Seminar Credit and Enrollment: The PICA seminar carries two units of academic credit. If you have previous extensive involvement with PICA, have taken the seminar before, and/or plan to take on a leadership role in the PICA community this quarter, you will probably want to enroll for upper-division credit by signing up for ENVS 191F.  If you are new to PICA and/or the seminar, enroll for lower-division credit by signing up for ENVS 91F.   

Seminar Grading: We urge you to take the seminar P/NP rather than for a letter grade. Experience suggests that letter grades do little to enhance, and in fact sometimes detract from, the quality and enjoyment of learning in a community-based setting like this one. If you do opt for a letter grade, be aware that to earn an A, you must attend faithfully, participate constructively in discussions, and turn in a complete, substantive, high-quality journal and reflection paper by the end of the quarter.

Required Seminar Work: To receive credit for the course, you must attend at least eight seminar meetings, participate constructively in activities and discussions, and turn in a course journal (typed or legibly handwritten) containing substantive weekly entries developing your thinking and knowledge about each weeks’ activities and/or discussions. In addition each person will submit a 1-2 page write-up about their food item from the community meal to be turned in on the day of the meal (see below for details). You also need to submit a 750-to-1000-word typed reflection paper highlighting the most significant things you learned and evaluating your participation in the course.  Final work is due to Steve in person at our last class meeting, or in my office at PICA no later than Friday noon on the last day of classes.  I will not accept late work except in cases of documented emergency.

Journal Entries: Use your journal to keep a running record of what you’re learning, asking, and thinking in conjunction with the garden activities, meals, and discussions. Each entry should include a header with the date you’re writing on and the primary activities or concepts you’re discussing.

Feel free to take your journal entries in additional directions as you see fit. There’s no set requirement about how much you write in your journal each week, but you should spend at least a half hour writing in response to each seminar meeting. On at least some occasions, I would expect you to devote twice that much time or more.

Thursday Discussion and Community Dinner Themes: Every Thursday following the field and garden activities, a group of students is asked to lead a seminar discussion on a theme that is connected to the meal that they will prepare for the rest of the group. This is an opportunity for the cooks to share a story about the food they have made. We are asking each group to pick a theme that has a geographic focus, and within that location, a connection to the food preferences, histories, challenges, and sustainability issues that are of importance to that place.  For example, a visitor to PICA from India will share her experiences with seed saving, food sovereignty, local empowerment, and sustainability.  We would like several students who are interested or have experience with Indian food and food issues to join her in presenting the seminar, as well as cooking the meal.   Each group may have a person or two who wants to share a personal food experience.   Other groups may select something that is not necessarily from personal experience, but of mutual interest.  For example, can a meal be prepared entirely from ingredients obtained within a distance of 100 miles from campus?

Cook groups will sign up for a date early in the quarter and plan their seminar and meal as a group. Ideally the food is prepared ahead of time and brought to the class before the seminar, but there is a place for warming and final cooking at A-2.  Food preparation, such as mixing, chopping, slicing, and preferably cooking, should be done before coming to class. We will also assign clean-up crews for each meal.  Whenever possible, we will try to have a dish at each week’s meal come directly from the A-Quad or PICA gardens.

We ask that each cook group purchase the ingredients for their meal (or harvest fruit/veggies they have grown!), and then use that food as their contribution to the community.  We will not collect a weekly fee.  Over the quarter each group should be able to recover its investment in its own meal by partaking in the others.

** Each person in the cook group must submit a 1-2 page write-up about their dish ON THE DAY OF YOUR MEAL. Please tell the “story” of your dish: where the ingredients came from, how was the food prepared (a recipe!), why it is meaningful to you. What did you learn in researching the food and culture of this particular region? What connections to sustainability did you find? What challenges to sustainability and community does this region face? The seminar is an opportunity to delve deeply into the issues of sustainability, the soil, and shared food.  Enjoy!

Optional Supplementary Internships: We encourage you to consider enrolling in a related two-unit internship that will provide hands-on experience with an organization or project relevant to your interests. Examples of possible internship sites include local organic farms, school gardens, and community based organization working in sustainability. Information about specific internship opportunities and how to sign up will be available at the second seminar meeting. If you’d like to get started earlier, please talk with Molly or bee.