Indigenous Cropping System Topic of Next Sustainable Symposium Lecture

WOOSTER, Ohio - Jane Mt. Pleasant, associate professor at Cornell University and director of outreach for the American Indian Program, will present "Science and Sustainability: Lessons from an Indigenous Cropping System" on Tuesday, April 4, at The College of Wooster. The lecture, which is part of the "Sustainable Wooster, Sustainable World" Symposium, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.). Admission is free and open to the public.

The following day (April 5), an Ohio Native American Artifact Display and Discussion with Mt. Pleasant and David Kline will be held in Ebert Art Museum (1220 Beall Ave.) beginning at 7:30 p.m. A dessert reception will precede both events.

Mt. Pleasant's research focuses on soil and cropping systems with emphasis on sustainable agriculture. She conducts research on cover crops in corn-based systems and on mechanical weed control in corn. Results of her research are extended to dairy and cash grain farmers in New York. She also works with the College's Small Farms task group and coordinates efforts to better serve small farmers through research and extension initiatives. In addition, she directs the American Indian Agriculture Project that emphasizes conservation and distribution of traditional Iroquois open-pollinated corn varieties and the enhancement of indigenous agriculture. In this capacity, she lectures frequently on indigenous agriculture and its links to sustainability for contemporary agriculture. In 1998, she received the Ely S. Parker Award from the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, which recognizes a Native American scientist who has made outstanding contributions to native peoples through research.

Mt. Pleasant's address is sponsored by the Environmental Analysis and Action Grant, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation, as well as Peace-by-Peace, Environmental Concerns of Students, Green House, Roots-N-Shoots, Organic Farming House, and the Women's Resource Center. For additional information, please call 330-263-2380.