Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Center for Agro-Ecology Updates
Upcoming Events
Tackling Hunger Together: An Eastern Shore Food Security Symposium - Tuesday, March 18
Join the Eastern Shore Food Coalition from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, at Tackling Hunger Together: An Eastern Shore Food Security Symposium at Chesapeake College, 1000 College Circle, Wye Mills, Md.
The symposium will be a day filled with insightful discussions, engaging workshops, and networking opportunities. Attendees will explore innovative solutions to address food insecurity in their communities.
The keynote speaker is LaMonika Jones, Director of State Initiatives at the Food Research and Action Center, where she oversees D.C. Hunger Solutions, Maryland Hunger Solutions, and the New Jersey Food Security Initiative. The speaker for lunch is Kim Hines, co-director of the North American Food Systems Network. Hines’ interest involves national trends in local and regional food systems employment to assess, create, and deliver training and tools for an evolving, place-based workforce. She contributed to the creation of the Community Agriculture Resilience Audit Tool (CARAT) as well as the AgriCluster Resilience and Expansion (ACRE) training, both recently utilized in Maryland.
This event is free, and both breakfast and lunch will be provided. You can register and find the full agenda here: https://easternshorefoodsecurity.eventbrite.com/
Background: The Eastern Shore Food Coalition is a grassroots group of dedicated partners who aim to spark positive change and motivate action among those involved in food security. This inaugural symposium event is designed to catalyze future progress. Partners include MidShore Meals til Monday, Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, Chesapeake Agricultural Innovation Center, the Mid Shore Health Improvement Coalition, Caroline County Public Schools, Talbot Family Network, Food pantries, Local Management Boards and more.
March Webinar to Highlight Triticale Genetics Research - Tuesday, March 25
The Hughes Center is kicking off its 2025 webinar series with a presentation featuring UMD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Associate Professor Dr. Vijay Tiwari and his research on gene editing in triticale cultivars.
Changing climatic conditions, increased pressure from biotic stresses and reduction in agricultural land pose significant global challenges for crop production. As a result, there is an urgent need to focus on developing resilient cereal crops that require low input and can fulfill the needs of grain, forage, feed and cover crops. Dr. Tiwari will present on why triticale is a great fit for these requirements. His project aims to deliver efficient, modern, locally adapted triticale cultivars that can be used as the cool season cover crop for Maryland and the broader Mid-Atlantic region. This project is funded by the Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology.
Dr. Tiwari’s research is focused on genetics and genomics of small grain crops with emphasis on wheat, rye and barley, specifically, integrating genomic tools and germplasm development to achieve the goals of sustainable agriculture. Another important aspect of Tiwari’s research is a focus on molecular understanding of yield and yield contributing factors in bread wheat.
Science Communications and Outreach Internship Available for Summer 2025
The Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology is seeking one University of Maryland student for a summer internship that offers an opportunity to work with an environmental and agricultural nonprofit organization. The Hughes Center is affiliated with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and is located at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, Maryland. This internship is based online with occasional in-person meetings (at least twice but up to four times throughout the 8-week internship) and travel to research site locations for video shoots. Access to reliable transportation is required.
This internship focuses on communications and outreach, specifically with an eye on video content creation and graphic design. The intern will learn how the Hughes Center's projects and scientific research interact with the state's agricultural and environmental sustainability and conservation goals and learn to communicate messages on scientific topics to lay audiences. This internship will provide the opportunity to learn and practice various aspects of public outreach, content creation and distribution, and analytics. The chosen intern will work directly with the Hughes Center's communications coordinator to develop and execute content plans for the Center's research and projects.
Salary: $19.91 per hour, 40 hours per week
Timeline: June 2, 2025 to August 8, 2025
Locations: Virtual with travel
To Apply: Please fill out this form linked here and attach the following documents by midnight on Sunday, April 20, 2025.
- Resume/CV
- Unofficial transcript
- Personal statement describing why you are interested in working with us, what skills you bring to the team, and how this internship will help you achieve your career goals. Please give specific details about your interest in science communication.
- Video or graphic design sample
For questions, email Hughes Center Communications Coordinator Josh Bollinger at joshboll@umd.edu.