Winners of the 2013 SARE/NACAA Fellows Program Announced
The SARE/NACAA Sustainable Agriculture Fellows program enhances extension educators' understanding of sustainable agriculture through broad-based trainings that feature practices that are successful, unique and geographically diverse.
Each year, the Sustainable Agriculture Fellows program selects one educator from each of the four SARE regions to participate in a series of national seminars that highlight how sustainable management principles are practiced in the field. Announced last week at the Galaxy IV Conference in Pittsburgh, the 2013 Sustainable Agriculture Fellows are:
- Jennifer Blazek, Agriculture Agent at University of Wisconsin Extension
- Tianna DuPont, Sustainable Agriculture Educator at Penn State University
- Matt Palmer, Agriculture/4-H Youth Agent at Utah State University
- Laura Anne Sanagorski, Ed.D., Environmental Horticulture Extension Faculty at University of Florida
Fellow Tianna DuPont finds that "visiting farms and sharing with fellow educators are key to collecting great ideas and learning how to convey them." She plans to use this experience to hold workshops and trainings, educating over 130 growers.
Fellow Jennifer Blazek hopes to use her experience to expand local sustainable production and local market development by helping farmers learn from one another. "I believe that the experience of first-hand learning during site visits is more beneficial than any lecture or classroom-style workshop learning environment."
Participants will visit sustainable farming and ranching systems in each of the four regions to learn sustainable agriculture strategies and how to implement them. Following the two year program, they will share this knowledge to help build capacity among the farmers and ranchers in their locality.
Every year since 2007, USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents have collaborated to provide a two-year educational experience in sustainable agriculture for four stellar extension workers.
More information about past and current SARE/NACAA Sustainable Agriculture Fellows can be found on SARE's website.
