New guidelines for educational events

Guidelines for the Leopold Center's new educational events program provide limited funds to support Iowa-based outreach activities.

A written request must outline objectives and expected outcomes for the event, and arrive no later than 30 days prior to the event. The event also must relate to one or more of the Center's ecology, marketing and policy initiatives. Applicants can be from any Iowa nonprofit organization and/or educational institution.

The educational events program replaces the Center's eight-year-old quarterly conference and workshop program that was suspended after the Spring 2001 cycle due to budget cuts.

Most of the Center's outreach and educational funds will support conferences, workshops and other programs that are planned by Center staff and are part of the Center's three initiatives.

The Center's initiatives focus on:

• ecologically friendly systems less dependent on purchased farm inputs,
• markets for food, fuel and fiber that support and are linked to resilient local communities, and
• new food and agriculture policies that are community- and farmer-friendly.

Jeri Neal is directing activities on the ecology initiative, Rich Pirog is working on the marketing initiative, and Mike Duffy leads the policy initiative. Contact the Leopold Center, (515) 294-3711, for more information about the educational events program.