Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Free Public Presentation, Book Signing and Reception – 5:30-8:00 pm, Emerson Center for Arts and Culture – 111 South Grand Avenue, Bozeman
Climate Change, Resilience and the Future of Food
Author of Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate, Laura will offer a free public presentation, followed by a book signing and reception. Climate change is upon us and agriculture is inextricably involved. Fundamental to our identity as a species, crucial to the health and well-being of our communities, the way that we eat fuels the 21st century challenges that threaten our way of life. Agriculture is often blamed for contributing to climate change, but could it also contribute solutions? Can agriculture cool the planet, build community resilience, and feed the world? Author, educator, scientist and farmer Laura Lengnick explores answers to these question through the adaptation stories of some of America's best farmers and ranchers, including Montana's own Bob Quinn from Big Sandy. These producers, many the 2nd or 3rd generation on the same land, have managed sustainable businesses for 25 to more than 40 years. A masterful story-teller, Laura weaves practical lessons from the field with the latest climate science and resilience theory to share a message of hope in these troubling times.
Biography
Laura Lengnick has explored agriculture and food system sustainability and resilience through more than 30 years of work as a researcher, policy-maker, educator and farmer. Trained as a soil scientist, her work in soil quality and sustainable farming systems was nationally-recognized with a USDA Secretary's Honor award in 2002 and she contributed to the 3rd National Climate Assessment as a lead author of the 2013 USDA report Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture: Effects and Adaptation. Laura led the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC for more than a decade. She also served as the Director of Sustainability Education, led the development of an innovative Sustainable Dining Policy, and worked with students to create an energy descent action plan for the college. In 2014, Laura left the college to launch Cultivating Resilience LLC, a private firm offering ecosystem-based climate risk management services to business and government. Laura is on the advisory board of the Agriculture, Forestry and Climate Learning Network, a new web-based Cooperative Extension program created through a partnership between the Northeast and Southeast USDA Climate Hubs and she is contributing to climate adaptation planning for North Carolina Agriculture and Forestry as a member of the NC Adapt Work Team. She is an affiliated researcher with the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project's Local Food Research Center and holds an adjunct faculty position in the Horticulture Department at North Carolina State University. Laura's new book, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate was released in June 2015 by New Society Publishers.
You can learn more about Laura at www.cultivatingresilience.com
Please let me know if you have any questions. Hope to see you on April 5th and/or 6th in Bozeman!
Anna Diffenderfer, MS, RDN, LN
[MSU-horiz-cmyk]
Strong Hearts for Montana Project Manager, Extension Nutrition
www.strongheartsmontana.org
Program Coordinator and Faculty, Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems Program
www.sfbs.montana.edu
anna.diffenderfer
320 Reid Hall
Office: (406) 994-4074
Fax: (406) 994-7300
