Posted on by CALS Communications

Agroecology Blooms in VT: The UVM Institute for Agroecology

White apple blossoms with a pink tinge on an apple tree.

The roots of agroecology at the University of Vermont (UVM) were set over a decade ago. Since then, agroecology has grown and flourished. With todays launch of a new Institute, agroecology has come into full bloom at UVM, marking a new cycle of research, learning and action aimed at creating more just and sustainable food systems.

We can’t wait for new seeds to be planted, and for new collaborations to grow with partners in Vermont, the USA, and around the world. Together we will mobilize knowledge for agroecology and food sovereignty to transform food systems and address the multiple crises that stem from industrial food systems: Inequity, the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, diet-related disease, food insecurity, and the degradation of the environment.

To learn more about the Institute for Agroecology (IFA), check out the new website – https://www.uvm.edu/instituteforagroecology

Our Approach

Our approach to agroecology focuses on understanding and designing food systems to regenerate the environment, cool the planet, and provide good, healthy food for all. Agroecology is rooted in indigenous practices and ancestral knowledge, which are combined with scientific approaches to reimagine how our food systems can and should function. Our approach to agroecology is not only about changing farming techniques, but is also about transforming policy, science, cultures, and economies to bring about more just food systems.

The institute for Agroecology works with and for farmers, Indigenous people, social movements, and communities who are driving change in Vermont and around the world. Through research, learning, and action, we mobilize knowledge to nurture agroecology research, practice, and movements.

We are committed to co-creating more just and sustainable food systems and know that this work must be done in collaboration with those who are most impacted.

The IFA will support the transition towards agroecology through five strategies:

  • Research: undertake critical, transdisciplinary, and participatory action research to uncover new ideas and strategies for redesigning food systems.
  • Convene: bring together collaborators within and outside of academia to cross pollinate ideas and relationships across local, national, and international networks.
  • Amplify: develop creative communication and advocacy strategies to influence policy, narratives, hearts, and minds.
  • Cultivate: prepare the next generation of agroecologists through undergraduate, graduate, community-based, and professional learning programs.
  • Activate: support local economic, ecological, social and cultural processes to grow agroecology on the ground in Vermont and around the globe.

Join us in seeding just and sustainable food systems.

Our work is powered by partnerships with farmers, collaborators, communities, and other people who make generous contributions to the Institute and to wider efforts to create a more just and sustainable food system. This support and partnership is critical for our work, both today and into the future.

We are grateful to the University of Vermont for administrative and financial support, and for our generous financial sponsors, including from the McKnight foundations Global Collaboration for Resilient Food Systems (CRFS) program and a major gift from Schmidt Family Foundations 11th Hour Project.