EarthWorks welcomes Somali Bantu farmers to the valley

Posted on Feb 25, 2011 in Catawba Sustainability Center, EarthWorks, Press, VT Engagement VT EarthWorks Makes the Dreams of Somali Bantu Farmers a Reality By Lisa Hightower, VT Graduate Student Repost from http://www.outreach.vt.edu/Story.aspx?StoryID=234 “It’s a dream come true,” said Mahammudi Mganga as he discussed working with Virginia Tech’s EarthWorks to farm in Virginia. Mahammudi is part of a Somali Bantu refugee community numbering over 120 members living in Roanoke,...
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Value-Added Riparian Zone Planting at CSC

Posted on Feb 16, 2011 in Agroforestry, Catawba Sustainability Center, Farming, Streamcare, VT Engagement In November 2010, over 200 native perennial trees and shrubs that provide edible or marketable products were planted along the farm lane and the northern banks of Catawba Creek at the Catawba Sustainability Center.  The idea is to include plants that provide merchantable value to traditional buffer zones, both for their ecological as well as economic benefits.  These plantings are part of Katie...
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Agroforestry Project Planted – Nov. 2010

Posted on Feb 16, 2011 in Agroforestry, Catawba Sustainability Center, Events, VT Engagement Virginia Tech graduate student Katie Trozzo is using the Catawba Sustainability Center as the site for her master’s project on using native edible perennial plants as part of a riparian zone scheme.  The project, which is being partially sponsored by the USDA National Agroforestry Center, will evaluate the ecological and economic value of using such plants as part of the vegetated buffer...
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VT Agroforestry Course article

Posted on Feb 16, 2011 in Agroforestry, VT Engagement Each fall, a course on Agroforestry is offered at Virginia Tech in which students work with real life landowners to develop a vision and plan for their entire property.  The process of whole-farm planning breaks down barriers between farming, forestry, and landscaping — merging them all together in one complete plan for the property.  For the last three years, students have worked with...
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VT Students Develop Ideas for Catawba Sustainability Center

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 in Catawba Sustainability Center, VT Engagement During the Fall 2010 semester, Virginia Tech offered an interdisciplinary course where students were able to develop potential ideas and proposals for the Catawba Sustainability Center.  See some of their proposals in this...
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Streamcare In Action (VT Engagement Matters)

Posted on Dec 9, 2010 in Streamcare, VT Engagement Streamcare In Action VT Engagement Matters – Sept. 2010 article by Courtney Kimmel, VT graduate student Copy available to download here. Taking a water break and leaning up against his truck, Justin Laughlin, stream restoration biologist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, surveyed progress being made by volunteers planting seedlings and jamming cuttings into the...
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