April 3, 2023

It is hard to believe we are in the homestretch of our spring semester with a significant milestone on the horizon – graduation! I am looking forward to celebrating our nearly 150 students on the path to graduation and want to thank our dedicated faculty and staff for supporting our students along their journey to graduation and beyond. 

Student engagement in research and projects with real world applications is an important aspect of our work in SENR. Last week there were a couple of opportunities to learn about the research of our students - the SENR Student Symposium (agenda here, program here and recap story with a few photos here) and the CFAES Celebration of Research Week (Details here). Students this semester have also shared their research at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum, the Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum and the Stone Laboratory and Olentangy River Wetlands Winter Program. And senior capstone students guided by SENR faculty and instructors in collaboration with clients will have the opportunity to present the findings of their projects at an event later this month. 

As is our tradition in spring semester, SENR celebrates Earth Day with our signature event. On April 19, our Environmental Professionals Network will host – Art, agriculture, and advancing the relationship of Black people on land.  

Starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Fawcett Center join for a performance by Brother(hood) Dance! followed by a conversation with Dr. Tiffany Bourgeois, assistant professor of Arts Management at Ohio State’s Department of Arts, Administration, Education and Policy, who will discuss Black on Earth to her scholarship, practice of growing food, and the use of creative inquiries into art, racial justice, agriculture, and the creation of green community spaces. Jera Oliver and Adrienne Williams will join Dr. Bourgeois in a conversation about blending the arts, agriculture, and community using culturally relevant and evidence-based programming. Oliver and Williams are co-founders of Growing and Growth Collective, an organization where urban agriculture is used as a means of social action for improved health outcomes, and deepened community engagement and economic empowerment with Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) in mind. Additional details on the evening celebration, including how to join virtually via a EPN livestream production and registration is available here.