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Jordan Powers: 0:15

Welcome to Cultivating Curiosity where we get down and dirty with the experts on all the ways science and agriculture touch our lives, from what we eat to how we live. I'm Jordan Powers.

Emily Cabrera: 0:27

And I'm Emily Cabrera. We're from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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Jordan Powers: 0:35

We are here today with Bethany Harris, director of the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, and while the center is located on the Griffin campus, we are very grateful that Bethany came to visit us here in Athens. So thanks for joining us today, Bethany.

Bethany Harris: 0:48

Of course.

Jordan Powers: 0:48

So over the past couple years, on the podcast, we've had faculty and UGA Cooperative Extension specialists share their work across various areas of agriculture. Some listeners might still be wondering, though, what exactly is urban agriculture? Could you kick us off by explaining what urban agriculture encompasses, and highlight any unique aspects that distinguish it from more traditional areas of ag?

Bethany Harris: 1:09

So urban agriculture is very, very extensive, and it covers a variety of different sectors of agriculture. So I'll kind of walk through those. One of the things that I think of is actually providing fresh local produce, being able to provide that within cities, within local communities. And so urban farming is a huge part of urban agriculture. This can occur not only just in raised beds, small scale settings. It can also occur in greenhouses. It can occur in hoop houses. It can also even occur in small acreage or field settings. Now there are also even vertical farms where people are utilizing warehouses to grow produce. So this is a huge aspect of urban agriculture. The other aspect that I think of as I think about urban agriculture addressing urban challenges. So of course, soil erosion is just an example of a challenge that you might see in an urban setting. And so being able to address challenges, environmental challenges like soil erosion. The green industry does that through the landscape and nursery industry, and they're a huge part of what urban agriculture is as well. One of the benefits of having landscape and nursery industry within urban city is not only are they actually creating these aesthetic benefits, you know, and beautifying a space, but they are addressing challenges like erosion or heat island effect. Obviously, when you go into the city, one of the things that you probably notice first is asphalt, pavement, sidewalks, and so with that comes heat island effect. So they're putting plants in place to help address something like erosion or heat island effect or reduction of carbon dioxide too in the atmosphere. And so they not only install plants, but they maintain plants in the landscape. And then our nursery industry is a huge part of this as well, because they're involved in actually producing plant material too that are going to go in the landscape. And, you know, long term benefit the community. But I think urban agriculture, too, is not just the production of plants and the production of food. I also think of it as creating a community space that's a huge part of this. And so as you walk through a city, one of the things you may notice is parks and recreation, and people enjoying being outside and running on sports fields because they're playing football or they're on a golf course, so they're enjoying that recreation component, but they also might, may sit in community gardens and actually enjoy that space as well. And so I think this is a huge part of what urban agriculture, too, is connecting community in a way that benefits the environment, benefits the community member, and brings people together.

Jordan Powers: 3:30

I absolutely love that that ending with the community. And I'll say anecdotally, since we've put our raised bed in which you can see from various areas of the street going past my house, I have talked to more neighbors who are just genuinely curious about like, "Oh, I see a raised bed. What are you growing?" So even outside of those designated community green spaces, just kind of that neighborly community that comes together when you're producing food in urban environments is really exciting.

Bethany Harris: 3:52

Definitely. I've had the opportunity to work in several community gardens, and just seeing people come together, people learning too. Not only are they coming together and connecting with community members, but they're learning about plants and they're getting to connect with nature. And I think that's a huge part of what urban agriculture is as well.

Emily Cabrera: 4:08

It's also interesting to me that a lot of times when we think about farms or agriculture, there's this picture in our mind of a farm or agriculture being "out there" in rural settings, and there's this tendency to think of it as not being close, not being part of our community. And so it's really interesting to find that in urban agriculture, they're taking these empty lots and converting them into urban working farms, really intense vegetable production and diversity of things happening there. Could you talk a little bit about how the center thinks through and supports true working farms within city spaces?

Bethany Harris: 4:43

One of the program that comes to mind when I think about that is our Journeyman Farmer program that's actually housed out of the center. And this program really is geared towards connecting farmers. They go through this program and they learn everything from you know how to actually start a farm business in an urban space, to soil testing, to crop planning and production, and even the post-harvest handling side of things. And so I think about that program, and it comes to mind because a lot of the urban farmers are coming to us looking for programming and training related to that. They even in this program, learn, you know about agritourism and how can we bring in community to our farm space, and they learn about farmers markets. You know, how can I sell produce and connect in that way? And so I think that's one of the things that comes to mind, is being able to connect with farmers in urban spaces and then provide them an avenue to connect with their local community.

Emily Cabrera: 5:30

So what unique aspects of the Griffin campus allow you to collaborate and support urban agriculture research?

Bethany Harris: 5:37

One of the benefits of being on the UGA Griffin campus is our Turfgrass Team that we have there. They're working in a variety of areas, from turfgrass plant pathology to looking at turfgrass stresses to even production of turfgrass. And they're able to work with automated mowers and actually assess that technology and how it's working within the industry. And so that is one of the great aspects of being on the Griffin campus, is being able to work with those researchers in that area. Another area that we have on the Griffin campus is controlled environment agriculture. And so we have faculty that are actually working in entomology as well as plant breeding, and so being able to work with them and learn about the new technologies, but also learn about the new varieties that they're producing has been a really, really great aspect. Another center that we work with is the FoodPIC Center, or the Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center. They are working with farmers directly to produce these added value products. So as we begin to work with farmers more closely and provide training opportunities, the FoodPIC Center is a great resource for our urban farmers.

Jordan Powers: 6:37

Some really exciting aspects ahead for the center. And speaking of what's ahead for the center, we know that you just came on board with UGA Extension in the middle of August, so while we're sure you're still in the midst of kind of figuring out which way is up in this new role, can you share some of your vision or the overarching goals you have for the center?

Bethany Harris: 6:53

One of the areas that is so essential to leading the Urban Ag Center is really being able to connect with growers, whether that be farmers or landscapers or nurserymen or even people that are working in stormwater management, but being able to work with industry as a whole, the urban agriculture industry, to determine what challenges there are. Obviously, you know, there's new challenges popping up every day as cities begin to grow. And a lot of times when we probably think about urban agriculture, we think of metro Atlanta, but you know, Savannah, and Columbus, and Augusta, those are cities as well that continuously have challenges. And there may be different challenges in different areas of the state. And so being able to determine what those challenges are, and then work with researchers and Extension specialists and agents to address those challenges is a huge overarching goal of mine, and being able to actually conduct research to address these challenges, I think, is essential to being able to lead the center.

Emily Cabrera: 7:44

Kind of touching on what the center does for faculty and students, and really beyond that, the residents of Georgia. So you've touched on that a little bit. But how do you see your role as the director and the faculty that make up the center. How do you see that role benefiting each of those different various communities, faculty, students, residents?

Bethany Harris: 8:04

So I think of the Center for Urban Agriculture as really that connector component. That's one of the beauties I think of being the Center for Urban Ag, is we do get to work a lot with students. We get to work a lot with industry members and are really connected with them, but then also being able to work with agents and specialists and researchers. And so the way, you know, I see this is really being able to work with all parties to address an issue and connecting with them. And I'm glad you brought up the student component, because I think that's a huge part of urban agriculture too, is not only just thinking of, how do we address challenges now, but how do we get students more involved, you know, and interested in urban agriculture, so that long term, they make this a career.

Jordan Powers: 8:39

Speaking of the student component of that, we know you're an alum of CAES. Tell us a little bit about your academic and career journey before coming back to UGA.

Bethany Harris: 8:45

My interest in urban agriculture and horticulture really started at an early age. I was actually in 4-H in Spalding County, and I actually participated in District Project Achievement every year in the flower, shrubs and lawns category [laughter and overlapping talk].

Emily Cabrera: 8:58

So precious[laughter].

Bethany Harris: 9:01

That was an area that I just really had interest in, and never really thought that it would probably lead to a long term career. But obviously it did. I was also a part of the Young Scholars Program on the Griffin campus, so,

Jordan Powers: 9:13

Wow.

Bethany Harris: 9:13

During that time, I got to actually work with researchers in horticulture and then work at the Research and Education Garden there on the UGA Griffin campus. And so I got exposure to a variety of different urban agriculture challenges going through that. Then I decided I wanted to pursue my bachelor's degree in environmental science from the College of Ag and Environmental Sciences. And I really chose that degree because I knew I could work in a variety of areas, whether it be entomology, or horticulture, or water quality, or soils. And so that was really an area that I had interest in. I decided to pursue my master's in entomology, and I graduated in 2015 with that degree from the College of Ag and Environmental Sciences. And then my PhD in 2018 in horticulture from the College of Ag and Environmental Sciences.

Jordan Powers: 9:54

So you're coming home.

Bethany Harris: 9:55

Definitely, definitely.

Jordan Powers: 9:57

So I have to admit, I didn't realize you were a triple dog. I apparently didn't do my homework for this episode. So your academic journey is very much tied into UGA. But can you tell us a little bit about your career journey and how you think that aspect helped prepare you for this role?

Bethany Harris: 10:10

So one of the great things that I was able to do is I worked at Callaway Gardens, and I was their Director of Education, and also the Director of the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center there. And so I really got exposure and working in a variety of different urban agriculture areas, from leading the tropical butterfly conservatory to actually working with volunteers in horticulture and other environmental areas. And also being able to provide environmental education, not only just to k5 through 12th grade students, but to homeowners and even to industry members during my time at Callaway. So that was a huge part of really preparing me for the Urban Agriculture Center director role. And then my last role was at the Southern Crescent Horticulture Program. And I was actually the horticulture instructor and program coordinator there. So I was teaching classes from small scale food production to landscape management to urban landscape issues. And so being able to actually train industry, you know, and actually work with those students and teach them about hands-on components of urban agriculture was really, really great opportunity.

Jordan Powers: 11:07

That's a perfect combination of the education and the career path afterwards, kind of melding together into this role that's really exciting.

Emily Cabrera: 11:16

So, kind of pivoting a little bit back to the center's position in metro areas and its ability, its capacity, to help industry partners and help the public understand what urban ag is, reframing agriculture in these urban settings. We know that in the southeast in general, populations are growing, and so we're going to see more densely populated areas. So I'm curious the role of the center in educating the public, including policy makers, about urban agriculture, how that is important preemptively, before we start seeing more expansion.

Bethany Harris: 11:49

So, I think a huge part of this is being able to work with professional associations that are already involved in urban agriculture. And the center has actually been able to do that throughout the years, but continuing those relationships, because these individuals, they're actually working in the industry, and they are seeing the growth as well that you talk about. So being able to work with them directly, and then also being able to, I would say, actually be proactive in determining what are going to be the next challenges. So that's one of the biggest things in this role that I think the center has the opportunity to do, is kind of be ahead of the game and figure out what are the challenges going to be as we continue to grow and expand.

Jordan Powers: 12:24

We are excited to follow along this journey as you continue to develop plans for the center. But, in the meantime, thank you so much for coming out today,Bethany, it has been awesome to catch a glimpse into the plans for the center, and we can't wait to follow the journey.

Bethany Harris: 12:35

Thank you for having me, and I look forward to being back.

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Jordan Powers: 12:39

Thanks for listening to Cultivating Curiosity, a podcast produced by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. A special thanks to Mason McClintock for our music and sound effects. Find more episodes wherever you get your podcasts.