Gund Institute Podcasts

Growing variability in the natural environment is anticipated to increase the burden of infectious diseases, including diarrheal diseases, worldwide. The implications of this complex web of factors contributing to diarrheal disease are particularly concerning for the highest-risk populations, such as those living in refugee camps. As climate change and deforestation threaten to disrupt ecosystems globally, and as the burden of refugees continues to grow, a better and more comprehensive understanding of the association between the environment and diarrheal disease in complex humanitarian crises is necessary. This talk will give an overview of the nexus dynamics surrounding human health at the intersection of the environment and complex humanitarian crises with a particular focus on Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Kelsey Gleason is an Assistant Professor in the Larner College of Medicine, though will be transitioning to a new role as an Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Biomedical and Health Sciences in the fall. Her work focuses on the intersection of human health and the environment in complex humanitarian settings. An environmental epidemiologist by training, much of Kelsey’s work has focused on disaster risk reduction efforts, particularly related to climate change, in low- and middle-income countries. She has conducted research all over the world, though her travel has slowed down a bit due to the pandemic and two pandemic babies who have kept me closer to their home in Moretown, Vermont.

Gleason spoke at UVM on April 29th, 2022. Read more about Gleason: https://www.uvm.edu/publichealth/faculty/kelsey-gleason/

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Elizabeth Palchak leads the Office of Sustainability, connecting academics, research, operations, and engagement to amplify UVM’s impact and contributions to sustainable solutions. Elizabeth earned her BA from The College of Wooster and her Ph.D. from the Rubenstein School of Natural Resources, with a focus on social science and the clean energy transition. Prior to her work in the Office of Sustainability, Elizabeth was a Senior Energy Consultant with VEIC, a sustainable energy company based in Vermont. At VEIC, she worked on sustainable energy projects throughout the country for municipalities, utilities, and universities, highlighting the human perspective in program and policy development. She is an active contributor to the Energy Equity Project, a national effort to address energy justice.

Palchak spoke at UVM on April 22nd, 2022. Read more about Elizabeth: https://www.uvm.edu/gund/profiles/elizabeth-palchak

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What value can the study of classical literature, history, and philosophy contribute to the modern world’s ecological and economic challenges? Are older ways of thinking and living worth our time to consider, or reconsider? Are they viable modes of engagement with the world today? Mark thinks so, and his talk – a /précis/ of my latest book – aims to explain how and why.

Mark Usher is a Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature and a faculty member in the Department of Geography and Geosciences, The Environmental Program, and the Food Systems Graduate Program. In addition to his day job at UVM, Usher and his wife built and operate Works & Days Farm in Shoreham, where they raise sheep, and Scottish Highland cattle, manage a sugarbush and dote on two lovely donkeys.

Usher spoke at UVM on April 15th, 2022. Read more about Mark: https://www.uvm.edu/cas/geography/profiles/m-d-usher

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In this talk, Jennifer Lai will discuss how the Social Construction of Nature complicates the discourse surrounding environmental factors in type 2 diabetes science. When discussed in relation to type 2 diabetes, health scholars and practitioners describe environmental factors as factors that are “not genetic” or as elements of a “kitchen sink,” i.e., myriad social and material infrastructures that prevent access to nearly all aspects of healthy living. Jennifer draws from feminist science and decolonial studies to argue that while our definitions of environmental factors matter, the impact of such definitions on the actual prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes should be further scrutinized. While scholars develop the concept of environmental factors in order to advance medical discourse, who is responsible for the amelioration of environmental factors is far less clear.

Jennifer Lai is the Andrew Harris Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Health and Society Program, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Drawing from feminist science and decolonial studies, she investigates how knowledge is produced on “the environment” within type 2 diabetes science. Jennifer received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University in 2021 and currently teaches courses on intersectional health and the American healthcare system.

Lai spoke at UVM on March 25th, 2022. Read more about Jennifer: https://www.uvm.edu/news/cas/new-sociology-faculty-member-focuses-social-justice

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The Vermont Climate Assessment (VCA) examines current trends and impacts of climate change within our state. This talk will highlight VCA findings on the effects of global change on Vermont’s people, economy, and environment. VCA thoroughly examines the effects of climate change in Vermont and is a key input into climate planning actions.

Gillian L. Galford is a Research Associate Professor in the Rubenstein School of the Environment and Natural Resources and a Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont. She serves as Coordinator of the Geospatial Technologies program. As an ecosystem ecologist and earth system scientist, Gillian studies land-cover and land-use change and its impacts, particularly on greenhouse gas emissions and the water cycle. She works across scales, from plot level studies on farms to regional analyses through remote sensing and ecosystems modeling. In Vermont, her work focuses on resilience in the face of climate change and variability. Gillian leads the Vermont Climate Assessment and collaborates with state and national-level sustained assessments. She holds a B.A. in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a Ph.D. from Brown University.

Gillian spoke at UVM on March 18th, 2022. Read more about Gillian: https://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/profiles/gillian_galford

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In 2017 a small group of Vermont organic farmers met to decide the next steps after years of failed attempts to reform the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP).  The very foundations of organic were threatened as industry joined and then overwhelmed the NOP. Deciding that it couldn't go on, the farmers began the Real Organic Project. This quickly became a national movement that attracted many of the pioneers of the American organic movement.  Dave will describe the failures that drove the farmers to this action and what progress has been made. Currently, there are over 850 farms across the country certified by the Real Organic Project, which is recognized internationally as the authentic voice of the organic movement in the US.

Dave Chapman is a lifelong organic farmer. He runs Long Wind Farm in East Thetford, Vermont. He is a co-founder of the Vermont Organic Farmers and was among those initially certified by the USDA's National Organic Program. He is co-founder, co-director, and Board Chair of the Real Organic Project. He serves on the Policy Committee of the Organic Farmers Association. He has worked for years as an advocate for reform of the USDA. He has helped to organize 17 rallies across the country to protect organic. Now he works to bring together the organic movement and regain the lost integrity of the organic brand. He has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR's Morning Edition, The New Yorker, BBC World, and many other media outlets. Dave has interviewed many farmers, authors, chefs, activists, politicians, journalists, scientists, and eaters for the Real Organic Podcast. Excerpts of these interviews have appeared in the Real Organic Symposia.

Chapman spoke with UVM on February 18th, 2022. Read more about Dave: https://www.realorganicproject.org/board-members/executive-board/executive-board-dave-chapman/

The Real Organic Project: https://www.realorganicproject.org/

The Real Organic Podcast: https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-podcast/

The Real Organic Symposium: https://www.realorganicsymposium.org/

Learn more about the Gund Institute: www.uvm.edu/gund

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Compost is a controlled aerobic biological process that follows a trajectory of ecological succession and offers ecosystem services beyond fertility and carbon sequestration. As a living entity, compost is a substrate to disseminate consortia of microbes to soil that can promote plant growth by tipping the balance between pathogens and natural antagonists. Not all composts are created equal. Both recipe and compost process are manageable factors that affect the community ecology and can make the difference between reducing or exacerbating disease. Development of consistent products with disease suppressive properties demands a better understanding of ecology and mechanisms, so we get the right players and mechanisms. With a better understanding, we can learn the pivotal points where compost can be managed to enhance disease suppressiveness.

Deborah (“Deb”) Neher, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont. She is a soil ecologist, and her recent research focuses on biological communities in compost and their role in disease suppression by natural mechanisms. Dr. Neher has 30+ years of experience as a researcher, educator, and graduate student mentor. She has published more than 95 peer-reviewed articles and 24 book chapters on biological indicators of soil, ecotoxicology, and biotechnology risk assessment, climate change and soil biological crusts, and plant pathology and sustainable agriculture. Prior to the University of Vermont, she held faculty positions at the University of Toledo and North Carolina State University.

Deb spoke with UVM on February 4th, 2022. Read more about Deb: https://www.uvm.edu/cals/pss/profiles/professor-deborah-neher

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Listen in as Gus Speth speaks about insights from his book, _They Knew_. As early as the Carter Administration, in which Speth served, experts in and out of government argued for climate action, urgings well-covered in the media at the time. Six administrations followed, with next to nothing being done to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and much being done to sustain them. There are lessons to be learned for the future, especially one big lesson.

Gus Speth: In 2009, he completed his decade-long tenure as Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  From 1993 to 1999, Gus Speth was Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the U.N. Development Group.  Prior to his service at the U.N., he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality (Carter Administration); and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation’s Resources Defense Award, the Natural Resources Council of America’s Barbara Swain Award of Honor, a 1997 Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Law Institute and the League of Conservation Voters, the Blue Planet Prize, the Thomas Berry Great Work Award of the Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities, and the Thomas Berry Award of the Forum on Religion and Ecology.

Speth spoke with UVM on January 28th, 2022. Read more about Gus: https://www.uvm.edu/gund/profiles/gus-speth

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Speakers:

Eric Bishop-von Wettberg (he/him), Travis Reynolds (he/him), and Dan Tobin (he/him)

We are launching the Consortium on Crop Genetic Heritage, a group of researchers and practitioners who view the maintenance and promotion of crop diversity as critical to building resilient agricultural systems positioned to address climate change, increase access to culturally meaningful crops, and promote empowerment and self-determination. Through our work, we conduct basic and applied research, collaborate with domestic and international partners, build networks and capacity, facilitate convenings, offer training, train students, and publish report and peer-reviewed publications. We value diversity, equity, inclusion, participatory processes, community engagement, and action-oriented scholarship based on the principle that crop diversity must be viewed and supported as a public good. Our partners include non-profit organizations, farmer collectives, BIPOC communities, smallholder farmers, international research institutions, and seed libraries, among others.

Eric

Eric von Wettberg is a Gund fellow, an associate professor of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont, director of UVM’s Graduate Program in Food Systems, and a member of UVM’s Consortium for Crop Genetic Heritage. As a conservation geneticist working to preserve the genetic diversity of legume crops, his research uses a combination of laboratory, greenhouse, and field approaches. Working in the legacy of the great crop geneticist, Nikolai Vavilov, many of Eric’s recent projects have supported international crop genebanks by exploring and adding to the genetic diversity held in their collections.

Travis

Travis Reynolds is a Gund fellow and an assistant professor in the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont. Dr. Reynolds’ has studied the relationships between farm management, economic development, and ecosystem services – with an emphasis on poverty alleviation – for the past ten years. His work has been published in top interdisciplinary and agricultural development journals including World Development, Journal of Development Studies, Journal of Agricultural Economics, and Food Security.

Dan

Daniel Tobin is a rural sociologist who is an assistant professor in Community Development and Applied Economics, a Gund Fellow, and graduate faculty in Food Systems. His research focuses on how small- and medium-scale farmers respond to external influences like market forces, policy mechanisms, and environmental changes. Particular interests include sociology of agriculture, development sociology, the political economy of agricultural development, crop diversity conservation, and seed systems.

Eric, Travis, and Dan spoke at UVM on December 10th, 2021. Read more about their work: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/calsfac/190

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Although agroecosystems now dominate the terrestrial world, we have a limited understanding of how their origin and culture shape agrobiodiversity and its functioning. By studying these processes in Mexico, a major center of crop origin, we have been focused on understanding how people shape agrobiodiversity and the implications for sustainable agriculture. Since seed systems structure how people acquire seeds, changes in social context influence evolutionary processes within agroecosystems. Since the middle of the 20th century, major changes have occurred that have effectively limited farmer selection for locally-adapted crops. We propose that smallholder farmers play a central but underappreciated role in the management of eco-evolutionary processes in agroecosystems, which form the basis for sustainable agriculture under changing climates.

Yolanda grew up in Illinois and New Jersey, where she developed a concern about human impacts on the natural world. As an undergraduate student, she majored in Natural Resource Management at Cook College, which was the Agricultural and Environmental School of Rutgers University. She helped start the two-acre Cook College Student Organic Farm, where she co-managed a group of student volunteers. After realizing that she was particularly interested in agroecology and insect-plant interactions, she did a Ph. D. in insect ecology in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. After her Ph. D., she switched fields and did a postdoc in population genetics. In order to understand the role of science in sustainable development, she ran a research lab studying host plant resistance at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines for four years. She returned to the US to start a position at the University of Vermont, where she has held the position of Associate Professor since 2015.

Chen spoke at UVM on December 3rd, 2021. Read more about Yolanda: https://www.uvm.edu/cals/pss/profiles/associate-professor-yolanda-fanslow-chen

Learn more about the Gund Institute: https://www.uvm.edu/gund

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