This semester's Sustainability Brownbaggers at Western Illinois University will begin by focusing on food-related issued.
Timothy Collins, Assistant Director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at WIU, helped organize the series. He said the first brownbagger is titled “Local Food Possibilities and Issues.”
“We want to give attendees different perspectives on food,” Collins said. “Smaller scale agriculture that has support from the community, people growing it themselves - as in the case of the community garden, and in the case of Suzan (Nash) some facts and figures about the needs that she sees at the Western Illinois Regional Council and their Community Action Agency.”
Collins said the series will “ramp up” to WIU's annual Environmental Summit, which will be held Wednesday, April 4.
The Sustainability Brownbaggers take place on the third floor of Mapass Library. The hour-long discussions begin at 12:30pm.
The schedule is:
Tuesday, February 7: "Local Food Possibilities and Issues"
Presented by: John Curtis, Barefoot Gardens; Suzan Nash, Western Illinois Regional Council; and Rob Porter, assistant professor, WIU Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration Deptartment.
Tuesday, February 14: "How Are We Going to Feed, Clothe and House 7 Billion People?"
Presented by: Marietta Loehrlein, professor, WIU School of Agriculture; Mark Bernards, assistant professor, WIU School of Agriculture; and John Timmons, assistant professor, WIU Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising and Hospitality Department.
Tuesday, February 21: "Food Handling and Processing"
Presented by: Carol Longley, assistant professor, WIU Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising and Hospitality Department; and Joel Gruver, assistant professor, WIU School of Agriculture.
Tuesday, February 28: "Insect Pollination"
Presented by: Dan Yoder, professor, WIU recreation, park and tourism administration dept.; and Ken McCravy, associate professor, WIU Biological Sciences Department.
Tuesday, March 6: "Building Sustainable Curriculum"
Presented by: Linda Zellmer, University Libraries; Terry Rathje, assistant professor, WIU Art Department; and Lauren Sciascia, graduate assistant, WIU-QC admissions.
Tuesday, March 20: "Community Alternative Energy Strategies"
Presented by: Fred Iutzi and Jolene Willis, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs.
Tuesday, March 27: "Seven Environmental Solutions We Should Consider"
Presented by: Eric Ribbens, professor, Biological Sciences Department; and Environmental Studies 401 students.
The series is presented in cooperation with Western Illinois University Libraries, WIU Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research (CITR), WIU Centennial Honors College and WIU Employee Wellness.