National Capital Chapter: Events
SWCS National Capital Chapter Events
The National Capital Chapter typically sponsors four tours and/or seminars each year. Past events have included:
- A tour of Rock Creek National Park and the U.S. National Arboretum
- A tour of the Congressional Research Service, the House Agriculture Appropriations Hearing Rooms, the National Botanical Garden, and the USDA People's Garden
- A seminar on the Renewable Fuels Standard
Please contact any of the NCC Officers with suggestions for tours and seminars.
Past Events
Social Gatherings
January 2013: 2013 Kick-Off Social Gathering at Founding Farmers
March 2012: Environmental Film Festival
Enjoying some Mexican food after the movie screenings of Expedition Blue Planet: North America and Potomac: American Reflections. Left to Right: Andy Manale, Michelle Perez, Maggie Spinelli, Phil Spinelli, and Becky Mitschele.
Enjoying some Chinese food after the movie screening of the Symphony of Soil. Left to Right: Ed Murtagh, Michelle Perez, Joceyln Aieman, and Kathy Michels.
December 2012: Lessons Learned from 13 NIFA-CEAP Watershed Projects
Presentation and Discussion by Dr. Deanna Osmond, NIFA-CEAP
Thirteen watershed projects were funded by NIFA and NRCS as part of the overall CEAP initiative to focus on Relating water quality change to conservation. Some of the lessons learned from these projects will be presented in this talk.
June 2012: Feeding a 9 Billion World: Implications for Soil and Water Conservation
Panelists:
Dr. Neil Conklin, President of the Farm Foundation, is an economist and worked on international trade and bioenergy at Economic Research Service and at the Farm Credit Council where he was vice-president and chief economist prior to the Farm Foundation.
Dr. Theo Dillaha, Professor of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech University, researches and advises on approaches to systems-based management of natural resources both domestically and internationally.
Dr. Sara Scherr, President and CEO of Ecoagriculture Partners, is an agricultural and natural resource economist specializing in land and forest management policy in tropical developing countries.
About the event: There have been numerous presentations and discussions of late on how to feed a future world with 9 billion people. What we have not heard presented is how to meet these new demands for food, fiber, and fuel while conserving our soil and water resources and protecting biodiversity. What are the different paths forward and the role of US policy in ensuring a sustainable future? What are the tradeoffs for conservation? Three panelists discuss the different viewpoints regarding 1) the need for a new Green Revolution and the need for more land for crop production, 2) the possibilities for shifting current production to more conserving production, including the transfer of technology from first to third worlds, and 3) the role of changing food and product choices—food versus fuel, healthier food consumptions habits. How do we shift to a more sustainable trajectory towards food security?
Organizers: SWCS members Andy Manale, Rich Iovanna, and Michelle Perez helped to organize the event along with Steve Ness and Skip Hyberg of the USDA Economists Group and Tamara Wagester of C-FARE.
Presentations:
Overview - Seminar Overview
Neil Conklin - Feeding a 9 Billion World: Implications for Conservation. Is Less More or Must We Do More With Less
Theo Dillaha - Feeding a 9 Billion World: Implications for Conservation. Conservation Challenges
Sara Scherr – Conserving our Ecosytems While Feeding 9 Billion: Emerging Solutions
August 2010: Dr. Ryan C. Atwell is an American Association for the Advancement of Science Technology Fellow working with the USDA Office of Environmental Markets. Dr. Atwell will share highlights from his dissertation entitled “Linking Resilience Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory to Understand the Potential for Perennials in the Corn Belt.” Interview data indicate that the adoption of conservation practices is based not only on immediate profitability but also on the interplay between contextual factors at three distinct levels of the system: compatibility, community level reinforcement, and well-targeted incentives and regulations.
October 2009: Sally Collins, Director of USDA Office of Ecosystem Services and Markets will discuss how markets for water quality, wetlands, carbon, and biodiversity can reward America’s landowners for their stewardship activities.
September 2008: A Special Seminar The Renewable Fuels Standard Panel Presentation and Discussion: Pros, Cons, Challenges, Unintended Consequences and Regulatory Activities.
Summer 1999: The U.S.-South Africa BiNational Commission and the Role of the Working Group on Sustainable Natural Resource Utilization.
Tours
2009 Spring Tour Botanical Garden
2008 Fall Tour Rock Creek and National Arboretum
2007 Spring Tour ARS Research Farm and US FWS Patuxent Center
2007 Fall Tour Conservation at the Rural Suburban Interface
2006 Fall Tour Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
2005 Fall Conservation Tour Potomac and Anacostia River Tours
2003 Fall Tour Conservation in Anne Arundel Co MD
