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Event on Growing Field Schools: Global to Local Adaptations of Participatory Programs at The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden

13/09/2018

Growing Field Schools: Global to Local Adaptations of Participatory Programs at UBC Botanical Garden

 

In 2007, a lunch and learn session on FAO Farmer Field Schools inspired a young researcher to consider new ways of supporting participatory and people-centred programming for sustainable behavioural change. Now, over 10 years later, the program has been adapted and is flourishing at University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Canada.

 

The Sustainable Communities Field School program engages local businesses and organizations in team-building activities focused on food systems, biodiversity conservation, water conservation, and waste reduction.  The program aims to mobilize and inspire action in the green economy and sustainability policies including the Vancouver Greenest City Action Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals through educational research. Research results from the program found that Field School participants were significantly more knowledgeable about environmental issues, more nature oriented, more connected to nature, and showed greater intentions and willingness to engage in sustainability actions, compared to regular garden visitors. The results suggest that a sustainability education program delivered at a botanical garden can be an effective model to mobilize public engagement and actions at the local level.

 

Join Dr. Tara Moreau for a lunch and learn session to hear about how the FAO Farmer Field School model continues to provide guidance for replicating and scaling up educational programming. With over 2500 botanical gardens distributed around the world, hear how these organizations and their community networks can play an increasingly important role in supporting sustainable behaviour change at local and global levels.

This event can be followed live online 12:30 to 13:30 CEST in a Webinar: http://fao.adobeconnect.com/rrm6see1xbbe/

 

Bio for Tara Moreau:

Dr. Tara Moreau is Associate Director of Sustainability and Community Programs at UBC Botanical Garden where she manages educational programs, sustainability initiatives and community outreach through programs and partnerships such as the Sustainable Communities Field School, Grow Green Guide, and CBIRD. Her work intersects climate change, food security, sustainability education, agricultural biodiversity, pest management and community development.

 

Tara has over 15 years of food systems experience. She worked as a consultant with Sustainability Pathways at UN-FAO from 2005-2014. She is a long-standing member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council and completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions through a joint appointment at UBC and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She holds a PhD in Plant Science from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (UBC, 2010), an MSc in Agriculture (Dalhousie University, 2004) and a BSc in Biology & Environmental Science (Bishops University, 2000).  She is a long-standing board member at SPEC a Vancouver-based environmental NGO.