Northern Arizona University

CSE News

 

CSE now offers degrees in Environmental Sciences, Environemental Studies, and a M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Policy. 

 

Gary Nabhan: Farewell Lecture, Presentation, and Book Signing

On Thursday, April 24th, Northern Arizona will say good-bye to acclaimed author and world-renowned conservation scientist Gary paul Nabhan, Ph.D. Dr. Nabhan will give a farewell lecture and book signing at 7 p.m.  in Northern Arizona University's Cline Library Assembly Hall. preceding the lecture, the public is invited to a reception in the President's Room at Cline Library from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

Dr. Nabhan is the outgoing Director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, where he catalyzed the Canyon Country Fresh regional food initiative on the Colorado Plateau. After gaining degrees in agriculture and arid lands resources from the University of Arizona, Dr. Nabhan co-founded Native Seeds/ SEARCH and became a leading voice for conserving and renovating native plant agriculture in the Americas.

Over three decades, he has worked with more than a dozen indigenous communities on cross-cultural initiatives to revive indigenous foods to prevent diabetes, to restore ancient agricultural landscapes and to honor traditional knowledge.For this work and his related writings, he has received a MacArthur “Genius” award, and a lifetime achievement award from the Society of Conservation Biology, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship.

He is a currently a Board member of the Seed Savers Exchange. He is author of twenty books (including Coming Home to Eat) and well over 200 technical articles and essays in addition to op-eds, poems, and reviews.

Dr. Nabhan's work moves from policy to practice, as his founding of the Renewing America's Food Traditions and Forgotten Pollinators campaigns demonstrate. He and wife Laurie Monti raise Navajo-Churro sheep, Black Spanish turkeys and native crops in the pygmy woodlands near Winona, Arizona.

This will be Dr. Nabhan’s last lecture before moving from Northern Arizona to Tucson. He will speak on his work on the Colorado Plateau and read from his newest books, Arab/American:  Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts (2008) and Renewing America's Food Traditions:  Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods (2008).

This event is part of the Northern Arizona Book Festival and the One Community Sustainable Living Lecture Series, sponsored by the Masters of Arts in Sustainable Communities, Program in Community, Culture and Environment, Center for Sustainable Environments, and Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Program in partnership with the Coconino County Sustainable Building Program, the Coconino County Sustainable Economic Development Initiative, the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program, Willow Bend Environmental Education  Center, and Coconino Community College.

 

NAU Signs Agreement in Support of Renewable Energy

Northern Arizona University along with some of the region's largest electrical power users signed an agreement on February 5, 2008 pledging their financial support of renewable energy generation facilities in northern Arizona.

The agreement is sponsored by the Coconino County Sustainable Economic Development Initiative, and organization that promotes local sustainable economics.

By signing the agreement, participants pledge their intent to pay a small premium for renewable energy to support the development of "green" generation facilities in the region. NAU has pledged to purchase 5% of its power from renewable sources.

Read the entire story (here)

Hooper Student Funds Awarded

The Center for Sustainable Environments and the Hooper Student Fund Committee have awarded their 2008 sustainability project awards. Please check back for information on applying for the 2009 awards.

CSE Senior Research Associate wins Outstanding Leadership Award

On January 20, 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, CSE Director Gary Nabhan was awarded the Quivira Coalition’s Outstanding Leadership Award for accomplishments, contributions and leadership in research. This award was instituted to mark the Quivira Coalition’s 10th anniversary to recognize those individuals who have shown “remarkable and enduring leadership in the difficult job of working in the radical center – the place where people are coming together to explore their common interests rather than argue their differences…”

Three other Outstanding Leaderships awards were also given in the areas of ranching (David and Kay James), conservation (Curt Meine) and civil service (Dave Stewart). The Quivira Coalition is an non-profit organization established in 1997 to foster ecological, economic and social health on western landscapes through education, innovation, collaboration and progressive public and private land stewardship.

Researchers Protect Historic Orchard

Connecting the past with the future isn't as easy as comparing apples to apples. But Northern Arizona University researchers are doing just that in an effort to preserve Sedona's heirloom apple orchards for future generations. And the project is branching out to other campus departments in an interdisciplinary approach to preserving one of the most popular tourist destinations of the Arizona State Park system. (more....)

CSE Senior Research Associate in the Media Spotlight.

The Center for Sustainable Environments' Senior Research Associate, Gary Paul Nabhan, has long researched and promoted eating local as a means of preserving agro-biodiversity and supporting local farmers and ranchers. His work is highlighted in TIME magazine, Sierra Magazine, and the Quivira Coalition Journal. Please use the following links to access the articles:

• TIME magazine - "Eating Better than Organic"
• Sierra Magazine - "Home Cooking - What's Your Food Nation?"
• Quivira Coalition Journal - "In Praise, and in Appraisal of, the Working Landscapes of the West"
• The Washington Post - "The Geography of Flavor"

The NAU Green Practices Guide Available Online.

Northern Arizona University is working hard to become more eco-friendly and sustainable and is taking another important step with the Sustainability Ambassadors Network Green Practices Guide. This 15 page guide was developed to read, share and promote in your office, residence hall, apartment complex or even your home! Enjoy these colorful and comprehensive energy and resource saving tips designed to help you understand how easy and fun it can be to live, work and play in a sustainable fashion. (more...)

Engaging Students in Field Research Collaborations.

A cooperative agreement between Northern Arizona University, the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Division (USGS-Bio) and other federal agencies provides NAU undergraduates and graduates rich opportunities for applied research in ecology, wildlife behavior, cultural preservation and land management. (more...)

   

CSE is proud to be in our new home in the Applied Research and Development Building - one of the most efficient buildings in the world!  The ARD building has been granted the US Green Building Council's LEED "Platinum" certification, the highest level attainable.