Sprawl Or Smart Growth, Farms, Open Space

Author Louis Bromfield on Malabar Farm, now a state park.

"Rural Smart Growth: The Role of Local Farms & Food in Advancing Livable Communities" presented by Julia Freedgood, managing director, Farmlands & Communities Initiatives, American Farmland Trust at "Smart Growth" conference at Connecticut College on Saturday, March 5.

Other key topics during the two-day conference in prograss include preserved open space including farmland, new development concentrated in existing communities, and multiple public transportation options. The conference encompasses a series of concepts developed from urban planning roots that have come to represent an alternative to sprawl.

Co-sponsored by Connecticut College's Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment and the Nature Conservancy, lectures and discussions cover sprawl, barriers to smart growth and the key elements of sustainable development, including mixed land uses, walkable neighborhoods, preserved open spaces and improved public transportation.

Anthony Flint, a fellow and director of public affairs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Mass., will give a keynote address, "Evolving from Sprawl: The Way Forward," Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the Blaustein Humanities Center Ernst Common Room. The talk is free and open to the public.

Registration, which includes refreshments and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, is $60 per person and $25 for students.

Mohegan Chief Malerba Interview

"Indigenous Politics" is a radio show hosted by J. Kehaulani Kauanui.

Heard this week is an interesting interview, an episode with special guest, Lynn Malerba, the first female chief of Mohegan Tribe in almost 300 years.

Chief Malerba talked about the history of the tribe, the roles of Council of Elders and the Tribal Council and other issues.

The importance of land and place came across strongly.  Gaming, taxes and historical background leading to the tribe's economic power as a business were discussed. The reality of the Mohegans over time as compared to corporate businesses was discussed. The economic impact of the tribe as a community to the region was well presented.

The loss of one of the most ancient tribal burial grounds to a modern building has now been restored by the tribe in recent times. This portion was especially interesting.

To listen to the audio version or download it, visit this link http://indigenouspolitics.mypodcast.com/2011/03/Lynn_Malerba_Chief_of_the_Mohegan_Tribe-343408.html.

Legacy of Land, Earth, Malabar Farm

"What I wanted was a piece of land which I could love passionately, which I could spend the rest of my life in cultivating, cherishing and improving, which I might leave together, perhaps with my own feeling for it, to my children who might in time leave it to their children, a piece of land upon which I might leave the mark of my character, my ingenuity, my intelligence, my sense of beauty - perhaps the only real immortality man can have."

- Louis Bromfield, author, visionary

Where's My Food Come From? New Series

Do hot dogs have lips? Just what is head cheese? Why is it possible to buy summer sausage in the winter, and what makes American bacon so different from Canadian bacon?

These are just a few of the questions that students have asked Dr. Cameron Faustman, associate dean, University of Connecticut (UConn) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

As part of a new series about food and culture, the UConn State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center (part of UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), will offer lively events open to the public during 2009.

Dr. Faustman will present Why is There a Bag in My Turkey? on Sunday, Feb. 22, 3 p.m., as part of a new series, The Natural History of Food. (And yes, he will answer some of the humorous questions listed above.)


Explore the jungle-like plant collections in a special tour, Sugar and Spice and Chocolate!, led by UConn Ecology & Evolutionary (EEB) greenhouse staff on Saturday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.

The UConn EEB greenhouses hold one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries. A special guided greenhouse tour will provide the uncommon opportunity to see the plant sources of many spices, foods, and medicines. (A great family outing, a real treat to see where vanilla and chocolate come from, or how cloves or pepper are grown.)

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Lectures, programs, and workshops include:

Dr. Margaret Bruchac, from UConn’s Anthropology Department, and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at the Avery Point campus, will talk about the wide-ranging impact the foods of the Americas have had since European explorers and Native American communities first interacted. Her program, Algonkian Indian Influences on Yankee Foodways, will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 1, 3 p.m.


Dr. Alexia Smith, assistant professor of Anthropology at UConn, specializes in ecological anthropology, climate and land use history, and the development of agriculture in the Near East. She will discuss the beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East in Seeds, Glorious Seeds! Examining Food Use in Antiquity, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 p.m.

For more information or directions to specific events (held at different campuses), check the listings at this link, or call (860) 486-4460. The greenhouses are located at the main UConn Storrs campus. Images, courtesy of UConn.

Where's My Food Come From? New Series

Do hot dogs have lips? Just what is head cheese? Why is it possible to buy summer sausage in the winter, and what makes American bacon so different from Canadian bacon?

These are just a few of the questions that students have asked Dr. Cameron Faustman, associate dean, University of Connecticut (UConn) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

As part of a new series about food and culture, the UConn State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center (part of UConn’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), will offer lively events open to the public during 2009.

Dr. Faustman will present Why is There a Bag in My Turkey? on Sunday, Feb. 22, 3 pm., as part of a new series, The Natural History of Food. (And yes, he will answer some of the humorous questions listed above.)


Learn how horseradish grows and what cloves look like as they grow in a special tour, Sugar and Spice and Chocolate!, will be led by EEB greenhouse staff on Saturday, February 14, 10 am to noon.

The UConn Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth greenhouses have one of the most diverse teaching plant collections in the United States, including many connected to the food and medical industries. A special guided greenhouse tour will provide the uncommon opportunity to see the plant sources of many spices, foods, and medicines. (A great family outing, a real treat to tour the humid and lush plants inside glass houses.)

“This series is an exciting opportunity to bring together many talented experts from the University of Connecticut and beyond,” says Jeremy Teitelbaum, new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Lectures, programs, and workshops include:

Dr. Margaret Bruchac, from UConn’s Anthropology Department, and coordinator of the Native American Studies Program at the Avery Point campus, will talk about the wide-ranging impact the foods of the Americas have had since European explorers and Native American communities first interacted. Her program, Algonkian Indian Influences on Yankee Foodways, will be offered on Sunday, Feb. 1, 3 pm.


Dr. Alexia Smith, assistant professor of Anthropology at UConn, specializes in ecological anthropology, climate and land use history, and the development of agriculture in the Near East. She will discuss the beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East in Seeds, Glorious Seeds! Examining Food Use in Antiquity, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 pm.

For more information or directions to specific events (held at different campuses), check the listings at www.mnh.uconn.edu/currentcalendar.html, or call (860) 486-4460. The greenhouses are located at the main UConn Storrs campus.