Community Agriculture: Concepts, Models, and Impacts

Community agriculture initiatives are often run by organizations (1) relying on volunteer structures; (2) growing produce sustainably; and (3) aiming to improve health and access to food in their communities. To clarify “growing produce sustainably,” the Utah Conservation Corps Urban Community Farm (UCC UCF) (a volunteer and AmeriCorps-driven community agriculture model based in Logan, Utah) engages in regenerative agriculture practices, which are reviewed in this fact sheet. Community agriculture benefits and challenges are explored

Life Paths to Leading Systems-Level Change: Higher Education’s Pitfalls and Potential

Global protests calling for accelerated climate change action, social justice, and racial equity have been shifting long- standing conversations and policies from local to national scales. Yet many activists can become psychologically drained by the frustration and loss of hope in fighting against structural oppression. This study was comprised of semi-structured qualitative interviews spanning across the United States with 25 leaders and practitioners in permaculture design, a solutions-based ecological design framework to enact positive, systems-level environmental and social change. The objective was to better understand their life paths toward such work. The research showed that higher education is not adequately preparing individuals for engaging in systems-level change, and it is also not accessible to many looking to pursue this work. Given these institutional inadequacies, transdisciplinary programs and practical applications of systems-level frameworks remain underdeveloped and underutilized. There is a need for inclusive, hands-on, solutions-based frameworks that can confront the growing and complex contemporary concerns and can be integrated throughout academic programs and institutional structures. Higher education must serve a more central role in promoting transformative change to help current and future generations move away from degenerative patterns of environmental and social destruction and toward a more socially just and environmentally regenerated planet

Exploring Indigenous Climate Change Perceptions Through Tribal Talking Circles in the Colorado Plateau

Marginalized communities, including Indigenous populations, experience climate change at a more extreme rate given where they live, despite their knowledge of and connection to the land. Due to this interconnection, there have been many negative impacts on cultural identities in correlation with climate change. For example, Indigenous communities that continue growing food, hunting and foraging on traditional lands now face increasingly limited resources due to changes in the land itself. To better understand Tribal experiences with our changing climate, this qualitative research study involved talking circles with Tribal members in the Colorado Plateau region of the United States. Specifically, our diverse research team aimed to identify and highlight Tribal perceptions of climate change, community, and education within the Colorado Plateau. This region, also known as the Four Corners, includes parts of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The land is home to many Tribes with regional ancestral ties, including, but not limited to, Hopi, Navajo (Diné), Havasupai, Hualapai, White Mountain Apache, Ute Mountain, Southern Ute, and Kaibab. We hosted four Tribal talking circles in this region to better understand Indigenous perspectives of climate change, local solutions, and lessons learned from collaborating with Indigenous communities. We partnered with the Nature Conservancy’s Native American Tribes Upholding Restoration and Education (NATURE) program based out of Bears Ears National Monument to conduct this research. Results were used to guide curriculum development for the NATURE program and can provide invaluable insight for those wishing to collaborate with Tribal members on climate resilience

(Re-)Defining Permaculture: Perspectives of Permaculture Teachers and Practitioners Across the United States

The solutions-based design framework of permaculture exhibits transformative potential, working to holistically integrate natural and human systems toward a more just society. The term can be defined and applied in a breadth of ways, contributing to both strengths and weaknesses for its capacity toward change. To explore the tension of breadth as strength and weakness, we interviewed 25 prominent permaculture teachers and practitioners across the United States (US) regarding how they define permaculture as a concept and perceive the term’s utility. We find that permaculture casts a wide net that participants grapple with in their own work. They engaged in a negotiation process of how they associate or disassociate themselves with the term, recognizing that it can be both unifying and polarizing. Further, there was noted concern of permaculture’s failure to cite and acknowledge its rootedness in Indigenous knowledge, as well as distinguish itself from Indigenous alternatives. We contextualize these findings within the resounding call for a decolonization of modern ways of living and the science of sustainability, of which permaculture can be critically part of. We conclude with recommended best practices for how to continuously (re-)define permaculture in an embodied and dynamic way to work toward these goals

Developing and Implementing a 100% Renewable Electricity Resolution: A Research-Based Framework

While it may seem that the efforts of local governments have only a marginal impact on the global issue of climate change, local action can spread to generate large-scale change. Local action can inspire other communities to adopt policies, creating the potential to expand and form regional action on climate change. Furthermore, local policies can influence state and federal policies. This guide will walk you through a five-step framework that was developed from the results of a qualitative research study that explored how three Utah cities, Salt Lake City, Park City, and Moab, successfully adopted 100% renewable electricity resolutions

Building Engagement in Facebook: A Case Study with Utah State University Extension Sustainability

In order to stay relevant in an online world, Extension must properly use social networking platforms to effectively reach diverse audiences regarding agricultural and natural resource issues. However, few studies have focused on how Extension uses Facebook to effectively accomplish its goal. This study’s purpose was to explore how Utah State University Extension Sustainability uses Facebook to engage followers. The researchers conducted a quantitative content analysis of 504 messages posted to the USU Extension Sustainability Facebook page. Graphics and links were the most common post characteristics used by the organization. Text-only posts and posts containing videos were utilized the least. Food was the most common area of sustainability discussed on the page. Posts containing videos, shared content, or that tagged other Facebook pages in messages experienced statistically significantly higher user engagement than posts without those characteristics. Posts containing hashtags experienced statistically significantly lower engagement. Neutral sentiment appeared in the majority of posts. Additionally, information seeking was the most dominant communicative function among the posts. Neither the type of sentiment nor communicative functions were significantly connected to engagement. Future research should determine changes in knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior as a result of exposure to, and engagement with, the Facebook page. Additionally, a qualitative study determining consumers’ attitudes toward Facebook content can provide a deeper understanding of the audience’s thought processes and content preferences. Page administrators should craft engaging content that builds community among followers

Welcoming and Inclusive Farmers Markets: A Community of Practice to Encourage Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Farmers markets, as vibrant hubs for community connection and stimulus to the local economy, often have staff, vendor, and customer demographics that are predominantly white. The Utah Farmers Market Network (UFMN) convened a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community of Practice with market managers statewide to assist markets in becoming more welcoming and inclusive of historically excluded populations

Cooperative Extension and Sustainability Outreach: Programmatic Successes, Administrative Support, and Areas for Improvement

According to the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, without urgent global changes, climate catastrophe caused by warming of greater than 1.5°C will occur by 2030, endangering the planet\u27s capacity to sustain human populations and livelihoods. The National Network for Sustainable Living Education administered a national survey in January 2017 to assess how well-positioned Extension is to address sustainability in the communities the organization serves. Educators from 40 states responded, and 1,395 usable surveys were received. Survey results will help Extension employees discover opportunities for innovation and relevancy in their programming