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The mid-afternoon sun beats down on the dry earth as Elleman Mumba takes us to the cool shade of his musangu trees – tall 8-year-old trees that he has planted in wide rows in the middle of the crop fields where he grows maize and other annual crops for food and sale. Mr. Mumba is one of a growing number of farmers across Zambia and other southern African countries who are bucking conventional wisdom that planting trees in crop fields creates competition with the standing crop for sunlight, water, and nutrients. 

In 2012, ASI Director Tom Tomich co-authored an article with ASI Affiliated faculty members and UC Davis faculty about Agroecology from a global perspective in the Annual Reviews and Environment and Resources.

The California Nitrogen Assessment is just past its midway point. The project, which examines the state of knowledge, practice, and policy relating to nitrogen in California, began in June 2010. 

UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP, part of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis) is pleased to announce the release of the Request for Proposals for the 2010 Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Competitive Grants Program. 

Total available funding is $200,000 divided among four types of projects: planning grants, education & outreach grants, research grants, and graduate student research grants. UC SAREP will consider proposals in the following three Priority Areas:

ASI's Gail Feenstra will speak at a local food workshop in Lake County on Thursday, October 21.

Her presentation on “Farm-to-School from the Ground Up: What Works and How to Get There,” will identify elements, practices and policies that are working in urban and rural schools throughout the state, including procurement models and lessons from inside the kitchen, such as “Cooking from Scratch Boot Camps.”

While ASI was at the 2010 Food and Community Conference with over 600 people who work on creating a more sustainable food system, we managed to catch a few of them for brief video interviews about what they do and what was inspiring them. Check it out below:

Featured in the film, in order of appearance:

The UC Davis Children's Garden is collaborating with Life Lab, the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego and the California School Garden Network to host the California School Garden Training Program. 

The California Roundtable on Water and Food Supply released a set of proposed strategic actions to increase water security for California agriculture while maintaining or improving other beneficial uses.

How will we manage nitrogen in California agriculture over the next 20 years?

This afternoon and all day Thursday, 30 leaders in agriculture from around the state will gather in conjunction with staff from the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis to discuss this question in a scenarios exercise.

The workshop participants, who come from diverse backgrounds as scientists, farmers, dairymen, organic advocates and community activists, all represent groups and individuals who have a stake in how nitrogen is managed today and in the future.

Come see ASI director Tom Tomich speak on Weds., September 29, about "Linking Science with Action: Insights from Sustainability Science," as part of the UC Davis Graduate Group in Geography fall quarter speaker series.

Date: September 29, 2010
Time: 4:10 - 5:30 p.m.
Location: Wellman 00115
UC Davis Campus

This talk is part of the UC Davis Graduate Group in Geography's Fall Quarter speaker series titled "Geography of Sustainability: Science and Practice."