Workshop: 024 Agroecology & Environmental Science

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Who is this Workshop for?

High school students are interested in ecology, knowing how and for whom food is produced, and the relationship of agriculture to the environment and health.

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Prerequisites

Students should have some background knowledge of biology and ecology or environmental science.

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Workshop Description

Like never before, the systemic nature of our world has been revealed to us by the coronavirus pandemic:  human, animal, and ecological health are closely linked.  Agroecology provides an inspiring example of a powerful systemic approach. In this time of the coronavirus pandemic,  agroecology can prove helpful to explore further the links between agriculture, health, and the environment and realize that the way we practice agriculture can provide opportunities for improving environmental and human health. Still, if done wrongly, agriculture can cause significant ecological and health risks. The best agricultural system that will cope with future challenges is one based on agroecological principles exhibiting high levels of diversity and resilience while delivering reasonable yields and ecosystem services.  Agroecology can restore the production capacities of small-scale farmers by promoting agroecological principles and practices increasing traditional agricultural yields, and enhancing agrobiodiversity and its associated positive effects on food security and environmental integrity.

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Sample Research Topics

• Why is it important to conserve natural habitats surrounding farms? How can we enrich the landscape matrix of a farm?

• What are the benefits of promoting urban agriculture in a particular city?

• How are pandemics related to the way we farm?

• What kind of policies would be needed to promote agroecology?

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Past Students' Research Projects