Posts By Date

After the hottest summer in recorded history, protecting our communities from extreme heat has rocketed to the top of the to-do list for policy makers and the public alike. Heat is the leading cause of death from extreme weather in the United States, with research led by Duke University projecting that climate change could increase this to nearly 100,000 heat-related deaths per year by 2100. Learn more.

Article sourced from: TIME

For decades, urban farms and community gardens have helped meet demand for fresh and local produce. Urban farming creatively utilizes limited space, conserves land and transforms vacant lots or buildings into productive greenspaces. Farming in cities can be a rewarding way for communities to grow healthy food while receiving a wide range of other interrelated environmental, economic and social benefits.

SARE Outreach’s newest bulletin, Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Farm, outlines strategies that urban farmers use to tackle the unique opportunities and challenges associated with urban production, including:

  • Land access and security
  • Soil remediation, health and nutrient management
  • Water access and management
  • Season extension and controlled environments
  • Sustainable pest management
  • Aquaponics and hydroponics
  • Marketing in urban areas
  • Nonprofit versus for-profit organizational models

Profiles of SARE grant recipients illustrate how urban farmers, researchers, educators and consumers can work together to foster entrepreneurship, improve food security and contribute to local economies while increasing biodiversity and reducing the distance food travels from field to table.

Download or order your free print copy of Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Farm at www.sare.org/urban-agriculture or by calling (301) 779–1007. Best Practices for the Sustainable Urban Farm is available in quantity for free to educators for use in educational workshops, classes or tours.

Order, download or read online now.

This Native American Heritage Month, we’re thinking beyond challenges toward actionable solutions that leaders, advocates, and other changemakers can use to gather and maintain momentum in championing Indigenous communities’ resiliency.One tool that could help generate actionable solutions is an innovative pilot by Urban’s Racial Equity Analytics Lab. The pilot combines local-level data on climate hazards, food insecurity, agricultural production, and racial disparities to build a more comprehensive understanding of the intersecting challenges and opportunities—and their differences from county to county—for communities of color nationwide.

This year, researchers have applied the latest data to investigate resource flows into Indigenous communities and how these resources can be best used to support robust economic development. They’ve been partnering with Indigenous communities to figure out how to enable culturally informed access to food and water, health care, and opportunity.

What would it take to support Indigenous communities’ resiliency as partners in action? Explore how progress can go beyond a month in a year to lift communities nationwide.

Explore Urban's research on Native populations

Sourced from the Urban Institute

The USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) has launched a USDA Innovative Production webpage. Learn how USDA is growing innovation across the food supply chain.  

Urban producers, innovative producers, and other stakeholders are invited to virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on November 29 from 1-3 pm ET. Share this meeting announcement with your community members. Learn more and register.

There is an increase in interest in keeping backyard poultry. Backyard flocks provide the opportunity for people in rural an urban areas alike to produce tasty eggs and meat for personal and family food security. You might want egg layers. You might want to raise meat birds for a harvest in your freezer. You might even have a youth interested in raising chickens for their 4-H or FFA project, as these lower maintenance livestock can be kept in a fraction of the space for a fraction of the cost when compared to other species. This course is designed to provide knowledge and resources needed to get a backyard flock off to a great start.

Self-paced. $25. More information and course sign up.

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, successfully restored $8.5 million in funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production in the Senate-passed Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill. The Office assists urban, small-scale, and innovative producers with technical and financial assistance that supports community farms and gardens, and rooftop, indoor, and vertical farms and other innovative production. Together, this increases greenspaces in communities, access to fresh, local foods, and new pathways to jobs in agriculture. Read more.

Presentation proposals are now being accepted for the 2024 Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals (ANREP) Biennial National Conference, May 6-8, 2024 in Hershey, PA. 

This year's planning committee is very interested in broad perspectives on natural resources Extension-related topics. To that end, we are welcoming presentation proposals from Extension professionals in all of the JCEP member associations. 

The Biennial National Conference is ANREP's premier event, bringing together Extension professionals for three days of learning and camaraderie. It's a great opportunity to share your outstanding work with colleagues from around the nation and gain ideas from others to apply to your programs. Presentation abstracts are being solicited for a variety of natural resources topics (i.e., forestry, climate change, water resources, agriculture, etc.) and/or focus areas (i.e., program design & delivery, technology, evaluation, etc.). Abstracts highlighting programs or research activities that include diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice efforts are especially encouraged. 

Abstract guidelines and submission are available here.  Deadline to submit is October 31.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Fetter (jrf21@psu.edu), 2024 Conference Committee Chairperson.

The Congress for the New Urbanism’s 2024 Charter Awards are open for submissions through December 31, 2023. CNU's Charter Awards recognize outstanding achievements in architecture, landscape and urban design, and planning worldwide.

Applicants can submit a project on the CNU website at cnu.org/charter-awards. Project submissions are encouraged to reflect the Congress Focus for CNU 32, which will be Restorative Urbanism. This year's Focus aligns with the approach to city-building that our host city, Cincinnati, OH has embraced: restoring its existing neighborhoods and nodes and energy centers with more walkable mixed-use urban investment. However, any project that meets the general criteria established by the Charter will be considered. 

The Charter Awards recognize projects at three scales:

  • The Region: Metropolis, City, and Town
  • Neighborhood, District, and Corridor
  • Block, Street, and Building

Projects that encourage walkable mixed-use urbanism, embody a wide range of the Charter of the New Urbanism principles, and are currently built or being implemented are strongly encouraged to apply. Student projects are also encouraged to apply.

CNU has a limited number of need-based application scholarships available for the 2024 Charter Awards. If you are interested in submitting a project with scholarship support, please contact Lauren Mayer at lmayer@cnu.org

Submissions for the 2024 Charter Awards will be open until December 31, 2023. If you have any questions, please contact Lauren Mayer at lmayer@cnu.org.

The Urban Extension Specialist in the Department of Extension will address Ohio State University's RAISE themes of race, economic opportunity, and leadership. The successful candidate will foster a dynamic hub of innovation linking the priorities of urban communities with university assets. The position will advance Ohio State's efforts to coordinate and facilitate community-engaged research and relevant programming to address equity in the areas of food, health and wellness, environment, economic and workforce development, community leadership, and other concerns facing Ohio’s urban communities.

As part of Extension’s Community Development team, this new faculty member will foster interdisciplinary and community-engaged solutions to address Ohio’s urban influence and urban-rural connections. The urban Extension specialist will collaborate with other university colleagues, community and business leaders, elected officials, state and local development professionals, nonprofit and non-governmental organization leaders, and other influencers to ensure productive sharing of ideas and practices regarding equitable engagement for equitable opportunity across socioeconomic and geographic profiles.

This position reports to Ohio State Extension's Assistant Director of Community Development in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

• Position is a senior-level faculty, 12 month position, 60% Extension, 40% applied research and teaching.

• Position location: Columbus campus (negotiable)

• Education: PhD in urban studies, urban affairs, urban policy, community development, city and regional planning, or discipline applicable to the duties and responsibilities outlined.

• Salary will be competitive and commensurate with education and experience.

• Direct or indirect experience with university Extension preferred.

Applicants need to apply at https://hr.osu.edu/careers/

Internal applicants must apply through Workday.

Position Reference Number: R88951

Flier to share

Pages