Central Okanagan Agro-ecological Knowledge Exchange
A one-day free conference/workshop held at UBCO for new farmers, researchers, and students to build community around agricultural science and local food production.
Goals:
- To introduce interested community members and new farmers to ideas and knowledge generated from agricultural and biological research that might help them better understand and manage the processes taking place on their farms.
- To introduce interested researchers to farming practices and problems found in local farming systems, encouraging more research/outreach in these areas.
- Provide a venue for community collaboration and idea sharing around agro-ecology, farming, and local food systems.
Topics:
- Soil water (Dave Scott)
- Soil carbon and nitrogen (Kirsten Hannam group)
- Mycorrhizal fungi (Bill Kokkoris/Hart group)
- Insect pests/entomology (Amanda Chamberlain, Brian Muselle)
- Post-harvest crop spoilage (Melissa Larrabe)
- Community farms/collaboration/opportunities (Casey Hamilton, Bob McCoubrey)
- Food systems (Nathan Pelletier and students)
- Unique low till/no-till market vegetable production (Jordan Marr)
Audience: Open to everyone, but the following may be most interested:
- Anyone farming or interested in farming
- Central Okanagan Community Farm Society members, volunteers, and incubator farmers
- Researchers interested in connecting with local food producers
- Students interested in local food production or farm ecosystems
- Young Agrarians club members
Sponsors: Okanagan institute for Biodiversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services (BRAES); Central Okanagan Community Farm Society (COCFS); Okanagan Fruit Tree project
Schedule: Sunday, April 8, 2018
9:00-9:15 Registration/welcome
9:15-10:15 Topic presentations
10:15-10:30 Coffee break
10:30-12:00 Station rotation round 1
12:00-1:00 Lunch and nature walk/networking
1:00-1:30 Sponsor presentations
1:30-3:00 Station rotation round 2
3:00-3:15 Closing or short keynote talk