Iowa Learning Farms June webinar features results from Leopold Center grant

June 1, 2016

The regular monthly Iowa Learning Farms webinar for June will be on Wednesday, June 15 at 1 p.m. This month’s guest speaker is Angie Carter, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Welfare at Augustana College. Carter is an environmental sociologist and an eighth generation Iowan. She studies the intersections of social change, community, and the environment.

Participate in the webinar to learn more about how we can reframe our work and conversations about conservation, and specifically about water quality, in our watersheds. What new methods of engagement or intervention might we use to create community and build new narratives around our shared values? Carter will share information about her recent research that studies women farmland ownership in Iowa.

She will also share her recent work that focuses on a group of women farmland owners in the Raccoon River watershed who took part in a participatory photo project. More creative and targeted approaches for community building can help shape the path of future conservation work as we move forward.

This work was completed through a special Policy Initiative grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The photographs will be exhibited on Sunday, June 12, at the Town/Craft Center, 1122 Willis Ave., Perry. The event will be from 5-6:30 p.m. with a short presentation at 5:15.

The ILF webinars are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. They are free, and all that is needed to participate is a computer with Internet access. To log in, go to: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/ at 1 p.m. on the afternoon of the webinar and log in through the “guest” option. Webinar participants will be able to converse with Carter by typing their questions through the chat function. The webinar will be recorded and archived on the ILF website for viewing at any time at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/Webinars/.

ILF has hosted a webinar every month since January 2011. To date, there are 65 webinars to view on a wide range of topics including soil erosion, water quality, cover crops, buffers, and farmer perspectives.

Established in 2004, Iowa Learning Farms is building a Culture of Conservation, encouraging adoption of conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF team members are working together to identify and implement the best management practices that improve water quality and soil health while remaining profitable. Partners of Iowa Learning Farms are the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (USEPA Section 319), Conserva­tion Districts of Iowa, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Water Center and Practical Farmers of Iowa. For more information about Iowa Learning Farms, visit the website: www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf.