The faculty member in the Department of Environmental Studies traveled in January to Washington, D.C., for an event attended by representatives from organizations such as the Peace Corps, Catholic Relief Services and Heifer International.
Steve Moore, a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Studies, was invited to participate and provide content for a symposium for USAID and its affiliates and for several of their private volunteer organizations.
The symposium was the “Design for Resilience in Small Farming Systems: Symposium and Consultation on Agroecological Principles, Design and Practice” held Jan. 21-22, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
The group was limited to two representatives from organizations such as: USAID (including FFP, Food for the Future, Bureau of Food Security), TOPS, ACD/VOCA, ADRA International, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Global Communities, Heifer International, InterAction, International Relief and Development, Mercy Corps, Land O’Lakes Inc, OIC International, Peace Corps, Save the Children, the Hunger Project and several more.
The symposium was a significant representation of global providers of relief and development work, who collectively invest several billion dollars annually in projects.
A handful of experts who specialized in practical applications of agroecological principles and practice were assembled to provide both presentations and consultations at the symposium. They include the key note and moderator Stephen Gliessman (professor emeritus at UC Santa Barbara), permaculturalists Warren Brush and Ben Faulk, Brad Lancaster (water regenerative systems), Steve Moore (bioIntensive production), Dr. Daphne Miller and Dr. Rose Cohen, Thomas Cole and Dr. Adam Reinhart.
Following the individual presentations, groups were assembled to discuss the application of sustainable/agroecological practices within the work of the various organizations. Results were an increased understanding of agroecological/sutainable principles and practices, and their application and contributions to development work and planetary health at large.
Further discussions and content training at the organizational level were discussed and are in development.