Digging Deep on Resiliency Challenges
Assistant Professor Dr. Jean-Thomas Cornelis spends a lot of time getting his hands dirty. But when your research focuses on understanding the intricate micro-scale soil processes that underpin macrosized ecosystems, grubby fingernails at the end of the day are a standard occupational hazard.
Sowing the Seeds for Resilient Production Systems
While Dr. Andrew Riseman takes a lengthy view of the research topics he tackles at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm (CSFS), many of the real world challenges in his field are arising more often and becoming more dramatic.
Drought Solutions for Producers Start Small
Understanding and addressing agriculture’s biggest climate change challenges starts at the microscopic level for plant physiologist Dr. Thorsten Knipfer.
Introduced bumble bee dominates Lower Mainland pollinator surveys
Risa Sargent, who heads the Plant Pollinator and Global Change lab in LFS, and master’s student Sarah Knoerr are featured in a UBC News story to discuss rising concerns about the number of common eastern bumble bees—an introduced species—being found in the wild and in research surveys of pollinators in the Lower Mainland.
Indigenous Forest Gardens Look to Expand
In a first-of-its-kind partnership, UBC, Simon Fraser University (SFU) and three First Nations in so-called B.C. are applying novel approaches to measure soil processes and properties, and the downstream impacts on ecosystem health.
A Fast Read on Plastics in Our Food and Water
A new portable tool can give you a precise reading on how much plastic could be seeping from your plastic coffee cup and into your body.
How Artificial Lights at Night Impact Insects and Bats
Artificial light can play a huge threat on insects and bats. An LFS masters student, Daphne Chevalier is working on a project that aims to understand the impacts of artificial light on various organisms and subsequently, its implications for our food system.
Building Common Languages to Support Healthier Communities
Alumna Madeleine Daepp has developed an array of tools to address some of our most critical issues, which she uses in her unique role as a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research in Seattle, WA. With her role, she continues forging multi-disciplinary collaborations, focusing on the use of novel data sources and technologies to promote health equity and foster climate adaptation in cities.
Baby’s first bites: How to introduce food allergens to infants
May is Food Allergy Awareness Month in Canada. PhD candidate Brock Williams, a registered dietitian, talks about safely introducing potential allergens to an infant for the first time.
Going High Tech in Animal Agriculture
Imagine a future where animals – like many humans – wear Fitbit-like devices. Varina Cabrera, a short-term exchange student from Uruguay uses new technology to enhance the detection of lameness in dairy cows which can enable prediction and prevention of illnesses within the animals.