Still Zoomin'

Where do we get inspiration in this sorta post-COVID world while our days are still mostly filled with Zoom meetings we join from solitary rooms? From those we serve, right? Ecosystems, communities, farmers... Gina reminds us why we do this work, along with a refreshing dose of levity.

Erin Meier, GLBW Director  

Gina Nichols, Iowa State University

I slug through the day. Screen to screen. A sea of eyebrows, another screen. On a bathroom break, a rare venture into the eerie common space, I look out the window. I see a praying mantis, bigger than my hand. Upside down, calmly peering in from outdoors. I wiggle with excitement, and I search for some eyebrows. I see some sandwiched by headphones, walking towards me. ‘There’s a praying mantis on the window!’ The eyebrows don’t move, but the eyes look at me. I point and step back, creating a six foot invitation to look. The eyebrows turn around and walk the opposite way.

I slug back to the office, pack up a screen to take home. I pass by the praying mantis again. I think it’s dead.

At home I talk to a screen, make lunch, then sit down to listen to a screen talk to me. It’s the first installment of the Department of Agronomy’s seminar series. That morning, when I read the email invitation, I could smell the cheap cookies and coffee. No cheap cookies this year. The speaker is a farmer. A graduate of the department. Younger than me. I’m slouched in my chair, my hands full of green beans and hummus as he starts.

Read More

GLBW Technical Assistance Survey
Take a few minutes to answer 10 questions!

For several years now, Green Lands Blue Waters and partners, including many of you, have been asking questions like - How can we help more farmers get the information they need to increase continuous living cover? Who will be the next generation of technical assistance providers? How do we ensure that those providers are adequately trained and that funding and policy supports increase capacity for these TA providers to reach farmers, leading to the changes we want to see on the landscape?

Your participation is critical in helping us assess and improve the availability of TA for CLC.

Help us better understand what we do and don’t know about information available to farmers and training for TA providers through this 10 question survey.

GLBW Steering Committee Spotlight
Helene Murray - Executive Director, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

I am the Executive Director of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA). MISA is a joint venture between the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Extension, and four community-based non-profit organizations. MISA’s purpose is to bring together the interests of the agricultural community to develop and promote the long-term viability of agricultural systems. My responsibilities include oversight and program support for the activities of MISA as determined by a Board of Directors. My research work is focused on sustainable food systems, and identifying ways of increasing diverse team participation in research, education, and outreach programs. I am on the graduate faculty of the Applied Plant Sciences program, the Conservation Biology program, and the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change.

Click to view other members of our steering committee

Whatcha got goin' on?

FILL OUT THIS FORM and let us help you get the word out about your activities, events, research, and resources. As a networked organization, a critical role of Green Lands Blue Waters is to highlight the work of our allies in Continuous Living Cover farming.