WORKSHOPS
AGROFORESTRY and TREEPLANTING
ANDREW GORDON
Explore the history and development of agroforestry systems suitable for Southern Ontario, including forest farming (non-timber forest products) and intercropping systems. Find out about the use of trees for bioenergy systems, and the importance and advantages of planting native trees. Participants may also engage in a hands-on tree planting activity (weather permitting).
Biography
Andrew Gordon received his B.Sc.F. from the University of New Brunswick and his Ph.D. from the University of Alaska. He has been a faculty member of the Department of Environmental Biology at the University of Guelph since 1984, and is the Director of the Agroforestry Research and Development Program. His research interests lie in ecosystem processes in agricultural and temperate/boreal forest ecosystems. He is a winner of the Best of the Web award for best distance education course in North America, and also the President and CEO of Forest Environments Universal.
WATER CONSERVATION – ONE DROP AT A TIME
TANIA CLERAC
This workshop will inform and educate participants about water conservation issues at both the local and global level, and provide practical, easy and inexpensive ways to reduce water consumption inside and outside your home. Activities will include a session on choosing native garden plants that are less water reliant.
Biography
Tania Clerac is the Sustainability Project Coordinator for Fleming College, which involves implementing conservation strategies and “green” projects and engaging the campus community. She has previously worked for the Lower Trent Conservation Authority implementing the Source Water Protection Plan, as an Environmental Consultant in Denmark and Greenland and for a Water Management Office in Germany. Tania has a M.Sc. in Physical Geography and is currently in the process of obtaining a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at Trent University.
POLLINATORS AT WORK!
SUSAN BLAYNEY
This session will address the importance of pollinators as they relate to agriculture. Participants will learn what they can do in their own backyards to provide habitat and food for these industrious creatures! This includes a hands-on activity to create a bee condo to take home.
Biography
Susan Blayney is a retired RN and a self-taught field naturalist with a passion for butterflies and other insects. She moved to the Kawarthas in 2008 and joined the Kawartha Field Naturalists Club. In 2012, she was asked to sit on the City of Kawartha Lakes Environmental Advisory Committee and began working on an initiative for pollinator conservation. She is very pleased to be asked to participate in this conference as an advocate for native bees.
COMPOSTING 101
SUSAN HALL
This workshop will educate participants about global food waste issues and how composting can be an easy solution to reduce your waste footprint at home! We will explore the science behind composting and a variety of the techniques in current use, as well as the many benefits of composting. Get started in your own home by building your very own vermicomposter!
Biography
Susan is a 3rd year student at Fleming College currently studying in the Ecosystem Management Technology program. She has grown up working on many dairy farms, and ran her own organic farm in 2013. Susan decided to join the Ecosystem Management program because she wanted to gain an environmental knowledge and apply it to local agricultural systems. Food waste is a huge problem within the farming and food industry, and she sees composting as a viable solution that can be implemented in local communities
MAKE YOUR OWN GREENHOUSES
TAYLOR PHILLIPS
Learn about the benefits and importance of greenhouses from Let’s Talk Science representatives. All participants will have a chance to learn how greenhouses work by making their own greenhouse balloon that they can take home and watch grow!
Biography
Taylor Phillips is currently enrolled in the Ecosystem Management Technician program at Fleming College. She is the Let's Talk Science Outreach Coordinator, which involves organizing hands-on, science-based workshops for youth within the local community, allowing them to be engaged in unique learning opportunities. Taylor is joined by two Let’s Talk Science volunteers and Ecosystem Management students, Shannon Farmer and Tyler Mulhall.
FANTASTIC FUNGI
JUSTIN BRODEUR
This workshop explores the many roles of fungi in nature and the application of fungal solutions for current food, water and energy issues. The workshop will cover the life cycle of mushrooms and participants will create their very own edible mushroom log.
Biography
Justin is an Ecosystem Management Technology student, and is in his third year of study at Fleming College. Justin’s work was featured at the 16th National Conference and Global Forum on Science, Policy and the Environment in Washington, DC. His group’s poster ‘Mycelium Matters’, focused on the application of mycelium in agriculture for the management and preservation of soil. Keeping with the theme of fungi (and also alliteration), Justin’s workshop ‘Fantastic Fungi’ will give audiences a deep look into the importance of an often overlooked and misunderstood group of organisms. Outside of school, Justin is an avid gardener and forager and has experience in identifying Ontario’s numerous edible and delicious wild mushrooms.
AQUACULTURE
STEVE NAYLOR, ARLEN TAYLOR
Participants will be introduced to aquaculture fundamentals and learn about the role of aquaculture in food production, the cultivation of ornamental species, and the production of fish for conservation purposes. Visit the Frost Campus aquaculture facility during a tour and learn about the programs we offer in this emerging field.
Biography
This workshop will be introduced by Ben Normand and Trent Meyers who are students of the Aquaculture program here at Fleming College. The first of our guest speakers, Steve Naylor, has been an Aquaculture Specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) for the past 19 years. Our second speaker, Arlen Taylor, is an operator of the Cedar Crest Trout Farm in the Grey-Bruce County.
GROWING SUSTAINABLE SELF-DETERMINATION: THE REVITALIZATION OF WILD RICE IN THE KAWARTHA LAKES REGION
PAULA ANDERSON, JAMES WHETUNG
This workshop will discuss the importance of restoring our relationships with the traditional food systems of this region, with a particular focus on manoomin (wild rice). It will explore the ecological, socio-economic, cultural, spiritual and health benefits of the bio-cultural restoration of manoomin for regional First Nation communities as well as discuss the responsibilities of settler communities to support this revitalization process.
Biography
Paula Anderson has a Master of Science in sustainable systems design. For the past 20 years, she has been incubating innovative sustainable agriculture and food system revitalization projects in the Kawartha Lakes Region of Ontario, such as the Peterborough Community Garden Network, By the Bushel Community Food Co-operative and Black Duck Wild Rice. She is a permaculturalist, an avid seed saver, urban maple tree tapper and manoomin harvester. She runs Sun Root Organics, an innovative small-scale urban/rural organic vegetable operation. She teaches in Trent University’s Indigenous Environmental Studies/Science Program as well as in the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Program, and is a Ph. D. candidate
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ANDREW MCDONOUGH
This talk will discuss the historic energy system throughout Canada, and where we are headed with renewable sources. Learn how different forms of energy work!
Biography
Andrew is a Ph. D Candidate at Trent University and is currently a Terrestrial Effects Scientist for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. Andrew’s research focuses on biogeochemical processes such as eutrophication and phytotoxic effects on terrestrial ecosystems via air pollution in Ontario and the bituminous (oil) sands region of Alberta. Currently, his research has focused on plant and soil interactions with atmospheric fluoride, persistent organic pollutants, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals and insecticides.
