Agriculture in a Changing World: Students tackling food security, biodiversity and climate change through a first-year course

The Sustainable Agriculture and Environment major (SAGE) provides students with practical course work to tackle environmental challenges such as sustainable crop production and biodiversity loss. Extensive engagement with undergraduate students in SAGE identified the need for clearer alignment between existing core courses, and the development of a 100-level course on the foundations of sustainable agriculture. The objectives of this project are: to introduce students to critical issues facing agriculture, specifically climate change, biodiversity, and food security; integrate Indigenous ways of knowing across course content; enhance experiential and land-based learning; and link with practitioners outside the university to better raise awareness of future career paths. Through this TLEF project, we will develop a new course (APBI 160) which will provide a foundation for the existing core series (APBI 260, 360, 460), introduce indigenous perspectives, and align the core series with career pathways.

Sandra Brown, Associate Professor of Teaching, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Juli Carrillo, Assistant Professor, Plant-Insect Ecology and Evolution Lab, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Simone Castellarin, Associate Professor, Applied Biology / Canada Research Chair in Viticulture / Associate Director, Wine Research Centre, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
JT Cornelis, Associate Professor, SoilRes3 Lab, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Jennifer Grenz, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Ecology Lab, Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry / Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Thorsten Knipfer, Plant-Water Relations Lab, Assistant Professor, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Maja Krzic, Professor, Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry / Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems / 3M National Teaching Fellow
Delisa Lewis, Lecturer, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Andrew Riseman, Associate Professor, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Risa Sargent, Associate Professor, Plant-Pollinator and Global Change Lab, Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Sean Smukler, Director, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm / Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab / Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems