Steve Ventura to give Gaylord Nelson Lecture – Feb. 27
Steve Ventura, a professor of environmental studies and soil science, will give the Nelson Institute’s Gaylord Nelson Lecture on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. in the H.F. DeLuca Forum in the Discovery Building.
Ventura, the UW-Madison Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor, is known widely for his work in land and food systems and will describe the important ecosystem services derived from healthy soils and present new ideas about how to protect them. He serves as director of the Nelson Institute Land Tenure Center and the Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility. Ventura’s current research examines innovations and successes in community and regional food systems, opportunities for silvopasturing (combining forestry and livestock grazing in a mutually beneficial way) in southwestern Wisconsin, environmental impacts of hard-rock mining, and the development of local land use planning tools.
His expertise also spans water quality modeling, geographic information systems and environmental impact analysis. He leads a consortium of UW-Madison researchers studying sustainable food systems in urban areas such as Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit where food insecurity is considered extensive. The research is conducted in partnership with University of Wisconsin Extension, Growing Power, Inc., Michael Fields Agricultural Institute and numerous community organizations. This effort has led to the creation of the Cooperative Institute for Urban Agriculture and Nutrition in Milwaukee.