Iowans with research and
demonstration ideas for the Leopold Center are invited
to submit their pre-proposals by August 17. A Request
for Pre-proposals (RFP) with information on the
application process will be available in early July on
the Center’s web site at:
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/rfp/2007.htm.
Investigators representing any Iowa nonprofit
organization/agency and/or educational institution (such
as soil and water conservation districts, schools and
colleges, and regional development groups) may submit
pre-proposals; there are no restrictions on project
partners or collaborators.
After August 17, the two-page concept papers will be
reviewed by Center staff and Advisory Board members to
assess the technical merit and relevance to the Center’s
mission. Requests for full proposals will be issued in
mid-September following the Advisory Board discussions.
For more information or to receive a paper copy, contact
the Center at (515) 294-3711.
Communications specialist joins Center staff
Carol Brown hit the ground running when she started work
May 1 for the Leopold Center as the new communications
specialist assigned to the Iowa Learning Farm (ILF)
project.
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Carol Brown |
Her first day took her to a monthly meeting of Iowa
State University researchers and staff from five
departments working on this multi-year project, now
coordinated by the Leopold Center. By her third day, she
was designing poster panels for a new rainfall simulator
that is traveling the state to help show Iowans how
conservation practices can improve water quality. Within
a week, she helped transport the rainfall simulator to
central Iowa, where 5,000 fifth- and sixth-graders
attended the Iowa Children’s Water Festival at Des
Moines Area Community College.
“I’m working with the Iowa Learning Farm team to promote
the project and its research findings, including
innovative conservation practices and water quality
improvements that help farmers remain profitable while
sustaining their land's resources. These topics affect
not only the agricultural community but all Iowans,”
said Brown.
The Leopold Center became involved in the ILF project
late last year. Since that time, communications
responsibilities have been shared between Leopold Center
communications specialist Laura Miller, sociologist
Jackie Comito who also is working on project
evaluations, and Jean McGuire, ISU Extension
communications specialist. About 20 percent of Brown’s
time will be spent on Leopold Center projects.
“Although I didn’t grow up on a farm, I have lived in
Iowa my entire life, apart from two years in Minnesota.
It’s difficult not to be affected by agriculture when we
are surrounded by it,” Brown said. “I’m proud of Iowa
and want to do my part to preserve its assets. I was
taught a deep appreciation for Iowa’s environment
through my paternal grandparents and an outstanding Iowa
history teacher, Michael Zahs. I’m excited to work for
the Leopold Center and the Iowa Learning Farm; I believe
we share the same values and pride.”
Brown recently relocated to Ames with her family from
Mount Pleasant in southeastern Iowa. For the past 14
years she had worked as communications and publications
director for Iowa Wesleyan College. She wrote and
produced the college's alumni magazine, and helped plan
and promote activities and events of the college.
A native of Washington, Iowa, Brown earned a degree in
graphic design from Iowa State University in 1985. After
graduation, she was graphic artist for the Ames
Advertiser, composition manager for the Ames Tribune,
and worked for a weekly newspaper in Madelia, Minnesota.
She lives in Ames with her husband and two children.
More about the Iowa Learning Farm project
Center
publishes volume of 2006 research results
What did Iowa farm women have to say about the 2007 Farm
Bill deliberations? How can buffers help stabilize
western Iowa’s Loess Hills soils? Can local food
producers use contracts to expand their market
opportunities with foodservice outlets? Does fire have a
future as a management tool for grassland reserves?
These are just some of questions answered in the
findings from 20 Leopold Center competitive grants
projects that appear in the new 2007 Center Progress
Report. Now available in print and on-line, the
sixteenth in an annual series of reports begun in 1992
describes projects supported by the Center’s three
research initiatives: Ecology, Marketing and Food
Systems, and Policy.
Summaries are condensed from final reports submitted by
principal investigators, who approved them prior to
publication. Contact information appears at the end of
each summary for those who want more information from
the principal investigator. For information about
ongoing Center projects, annual progress reports are
available from the Center.
Support for the competitive grants administered by the
Center is provided through the state of Iowa educational
appropriations and from the state’s Agriculture
Management Account, generated from fees charged on
nitrogen fertilizers and pest control chemicals sold in
Iowa.
Paper copies of the 2007 Center Progress Report
are available from the Center office and
individual research summaries are found on-line at
the Center’s web site.