Ryan Rayborn

This week we hear from 2nd year student Ryan Rayborn, who tells us about The Darden Art Project or DART. In the headlines: “The Sustainability Forum,” “Darden Forms a New Alliance,” “Small Budget Films,” and “The Invisible Population [...]]]>

Ryan Rayborn

This week we hear from 2nd year student Ryan Rayborn, who tells us about The Darden Art Project or DART. In the headlines: “The Sustainability Forum,” “Darden Forms a New Alliance,” “Small Budget Films,” and “The Invisible Population in Technology.”

Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm appeared at New Dominion Bookshop on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, to read from his books, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven and Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal. Salatin, a well known figure in the local food movement, spoke at length on the politics of food safety [...]]]>

Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm appeared at New Dominion Bookshop on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, to read from his books, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven and Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal. Salatin, a well known figure in the local food movement, spoke at length on the politics of food safety regulations and the burden they place on family farms. He also took questions from the audience.

Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy logo.

Jack Marshall, President of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population and Brian Czech, President of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy joined Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to discuss the limits to growth, both population growth and economic growth.

Czech describes a [...]]]>  

Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy logo.

Jack Marshall, President of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population and Brian Czech, President of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy joined Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to discuss the limits to growth, both population growth and economic growth.

Czech describes a Steady State Economy as one that is stabilized and sustainable at an optimum size. He discusses recent national economic troubles as resulting from unsustainable growth. Marshall argues that stabilizing population growth is key to economic and environmental sustainability.

Czech believes that the decline in family farming, urban sprawl, and environmental decline are related to unsustainable growth and will threaten national security, including food and economic security. 

Marshall describes the importance of sustainability as meaning that “we should be making choices today that don’t limit the choices of our children and children’s children.”

We have assembled three speakers who together [...]]]> What is sustainable forestry and how does it affect our region environmentally and economically?  This lecture organized by the James River Green Building Council Charlottesville Division will answer that question and many others as part of a series of lectures dealing with the LEED Green Building Rating System.

We have assembled three speakers who together give a very balanced view of the issue.

The first speaker, Dr. John Munsell, is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and a Forest Management Extension Specialist.  In his presentation Dr. Munsell introduces sustainable forestry practices and analyzes one of the field’s major certification bodies, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Next is Dr. Brian Bond, an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Wood Science and Forest Products.  Dr. Bond describes the market for FSC certified products and presents some intriguing research into consumer demand.

Completing our lecture on sustainable forestry is Mr. Charlie Becker from the Virginia Department of Forestry.  Mr. Becker draws from over 20 years of experience to give an overview of forestry practices in Virginia.  He also discusses how forest certification programs such as FSC uniquely affect Virginia landowners.

These and other questions inspired a UVA class to conduct assessments of Charlottesville’s glocal (global + local) food system.

The class, consisting of both [...]]]> What are the true costs of buying food from around the globe? How much food can we grow close to home? Is it enough to support us and can we afford it?

These and other questions inspired a UVA class to conduct assessments of Charlottesville’s glocal (global + local) food system.

The class, consisting of both graduate and undergraduate students, is titled “Healthy Communities, Healthy Food Systems (Part III): Global-Local Connections” and is taught by Timothy Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, and Tanya Denckla Cobb, Senior Associate, Institute for Environmental Negotiation. Sponsored by UVa’s Center for Global Health, and designed for planning students, the class has drawn students from numerous disciplines.

The UVA class assessments are the next step in a longer-term community project to foster better links between local farms and community schools and organizations, food stores, restaurants and residents. Nine class teams have analyzed food-related entities in Charlottesville: farms, families, grocery stores, restaurants and community organizations. Each group examined local and global inputs, searched for potential local sources and identified methods to improve connectivity within local or global food systems. At this presentation, they look forward to sharing their findings.

(write up and timeline provided by Regine Kennedy)

Timeline

• 0:00 Podcast Introduction
• 0:46 Project Introduction by Professor Tim Beatley and Tanya Denckla Cobb
  Describing the local and global context of food systems and the scope of the course project presentations.
• 6:44 Project: Wild Oats Farm presented by Nick Feucht and Nicolette Leung
  Understanding the challenges of managing land organically, observing conservation practices, while raising natural meat products for niche markets.
• 16:37 Project: Roundabout Farm presented by Jenny Jackson and Elaine Quick
  Profiling a small, sustainably managed, independent farm’s primary inputs from a geographic and sourcing perspective.
• 21:10 Project: Feast! presented by Fania Gordon and Meg Johnstone
  Creating a Best Practices Guide based on the successful example of a gourmet food store that supports the local system.
• 27:48 Project: Blue Moon Diner presented by Esther Diehl and Sara Teaster
  Assessing the viability of using locally sourced foods at a local, moderately priced restaurant.
• 36:11 Project: Chipotle presented by Jonathan Coble, Alexandra Rosas and Clarice Newton Zusky
  Analyzing local food options for a national food chain and its impact on our community food system.
• 43:24 Project: University of Virginia Dining Services presented by Linda Bartusiak and Laura Sparks
  Looking at what we feed ourselves and how far we have come: Reviewing Newcomb Dining Hall food offerings.
• 49:56 Project: Jefferson Area Board for Aging presented by Megan Bucknum and Regine Kennedy
  Understanding the challenges of providing locally grown food to a specialized population.
• 58:35 Project: Blue Ridge Area Food Bank presented by Ben Chrisinger and Lauren Short
  Assessing the potential for including local food in a food bank’s distribution system.
• 1:08:10 Project: Harold Folley and the Folley Family presented by Jennifer Feigert and Thomas Roberts
  Working to understand factors that influence food-purchasing decisions for a family living in Charlottesville’s public housing projects.
• 1:14:25 Q & A / Community discussion
  2:00:35 End of program

In this “thinking outside the box” panel, three Charlottesville-area panelists share information and ideas about [...]]]> On October 19, 2007, the organization hosted a one-day conference called Crafting Intentional Communities: Cooperating Living Along Life’s Journey. The event was designed to explore new housing and living innovations for seniors to live, grow and age in community.

In this “thinking outside the box” panel, three Charlottesville-area panelists share information and ideas about concepts and environmental factors (buildings, neighborhoods, community design, etc) that offer new and innovative ways to give individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, etc additional options to address needs and hopes for aging in community.

Moderated by Gordon Walker of JABA, the panel consists of: Frank Stoner, Vice President of Business Development, Stonehaus; John Quale, U.Va. Assistant Professor of Architecture, ecoMOD Project Director; Chris Murray, My Home for Life (JABA).

This is the fifth in a series of podcasts. Check the JABA category for the rest of the events. Also check out the conference’s website to learn more about the participants.