Spring Valley EcoFarms is a non-profit organization focusing on education, research, and outreach to promote more ecologically sustainable agriculture. Its seat is Spring Valley Farm, 100 acres in the Georgia Piedmont. The vision is to reduce reliance on external subsidies in agricultural systems through incorporating free services of nature. The goal is to develop a model for conservation of biological diversity and to provide a laboratory where ecological science and theory are put to a real-world test.
Spring Valley EcoFarms is addressing the need to develop future farmers and environmentally conscious people. We do this through participatory growth. Spring Valley EcoFarms currently works with dynamic students, entrepreneurs, schools, volunteers and scientists to build a farm that features many compatible applications. We are (on a small, human scale) providing a “real” farm environment where one can encounter a “little bit of everything” that makes up a farm.
In today's climate, it's become obvious that there is a concrete need for site specific research, agricultural training at all ages and raising general awareness of environmental issues to ensure local economic stability. There is a real interest in cultivating self-sustaining practices and getting people from all cross-sections of society a little more plugged into nature. Spring Valley EcoFarms can help.
Carl F. Jordan Agroecology Laboratory, Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Abstract
The global food crisis has resulted in calls for a second “Green Revolution” that uses genetically engineered crops to boost agricultural yields.Like the first “Green Revolution”, the second depends upon petroleum to manufacture and spread fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and to power irrigation systems that act upon crops selected to increase agricultural yield.The rising costs and eventual scarcity of petroleum, and the pollution caused by agricultural chemicals may preclude this approach to feed the world.
Agriculture that relies more upon the services of nature and less upon petroleum presents an alternative. This type of agriculture promotes the activity of beneficial soil micro-organisms that tighten the nutrient cycle, the planting of leguminous crops to supply nitrogen, and the presence of beneficial insects that prey upon pest species. One term for such agriculture is “organic”, but there are other terms that capture the spirit of organic agriculture such as sustainable agriculture, alternative agriculture, ecological agriculture and regenerative agriculture. But can this type of agriculture feed the world? In order to answer the question, this article develops a perspective concerning: a) the conflict among agronomists and policy makers over the future of agriculture; b) the arguments for a second green revolution; c) the evidence for unsustainability of industrial agriculture; d) the evidence for the productive potential of organic agriculture; e) the economic and political roadblocks to an organic transition; and f) the steps that can be taken to facilitate a transition.
Introduction to Spring Valley EcoFarms:Restoring Georgia's Natural Capital
Film credits: Laurie Fowler, UGA River Basin Center, Katie Smith M.S. candidate -UGA Conservation Ecology, Kathleen Frey SVE member and M.S. candidate- UGA Conservation Ecology
Why do we exist? We exist because there is a need for agriculture that is environmentally friendly.
What constituency do we serve? We serve people who are concerned about the harmful effects of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizer pollution, and wish to learn alternative ways of producing food and fiber. These people would include undergraduate and graduate students, some of whom would like to become agricultural professionals, extension agents whose job it is to train farmers, conventional farmers who wish to transition to organic, urban dwellers who wish to have their own organic garden, and anyone else from the U.S. or abroad who is interested in a healthy and sustainable life style.
What services do we provide? We currently teach courses in organic agriculture at both the undergraduate and graduate level at the Univ. of Georgia. We would like to expand our training by offering courses, workshops, and internships to people outside the academic setting.
What needs of our constituency do we satisfy? The demand for organic products in many areas of the country is greater than the supply. An important reason is lack of organizations that can train organic farmers. We can satisfy that need, at least in part.
Who else provides such services? There are several Universities and Colleges that have courses or programs in organic/sustainable agriculture. There also are numerous private organizations that offer training to non-students. But as far as we know, there are no non-profit organizations that can give similar University accredited courses to students and non-students alike, that is, courses with academic rigor plus field laboratories and hands-on training.
How are we unique? Our training facility is a privately owned farm. Therefore we have much greater flexibility in experimenting with novel approaches to all aspects of agriculture than is possible on land owned by a College of Agriculture. Nevertheless, research on the farm is carried out through grants given to a Research University, and courses on the farm are accredited by a University. Thus we have the best of two worlds – the detailed expertise of specialists at the University plus the freedom to cross disciplinary boundaries, a freedom often not found in academia.
Environmental Education in Georgia brings state educators to Spring Valley EcoFarms
It’s late fall and raining; the rain turns to a light mist in the afternoon as a group of Georgia educators get off the city bus to tour and ask questions about how Spring Valley EcoFarms can help raise the environmental awareness bar in public and private schools.
This is a motivated group…enduring the elements. Just the kind of people that will help pioneer sustainable education in the Southeast; the group is armed with umbrellas, rain jackets, cameras and curiosity- all dosed with a good bit of energy to circle the periphery of the farm and many of it’s application plots.
Discussions arise about pasture management, forestry, water, insects and animals. The group is a dynamic one- featuring folks from a variety of backgrounds with different opinions on what it takes to integrate ecology into school programs in a broad sense at an earlier age.
Spring Valley is looking forward to an ongoing dialogue with EE in Georgia and it’s audience in order to assist “training the trainers”…the tenacious educators of Georgia who are striving to enhance the understanding of nature and how to manage it better for the good of everyone.
