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The Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs' first Environmental Summit Lite Conference begins with a Brownbagger presentation by Terra Brockman — founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland for sustainable farming, matching farmers with land, training new farmers and connecting consumers with local producers — from 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Leslie F. Malpass Library, fourth floor. Photo from The Land Connection on Facebook.
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IIRA's Environmental Summit Lite April 1 to Feature Sustainable Farming Advocate

March 25, 2014

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MACOMB, IL – The Environmental Summit Lite, hosted by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, will debut Tuesday, April 1. According to IIRA Assistant Director Timothy Collins, the first annual WIU Environmental Sustainability Lite Conference will be held (April 1) on the Macomb campus. The conference is open free to the public.

"The IIRA will sponsor the Environmental Summit during the fall this year, and we have organized a smaller event to be held during April, which will also conclude our 2014 Spring Semester Sustainability Brownbaggers' sessions," Collins explained. "Because Earth Day is observed in April, we chose this date to present the new event, to help create awareness for the Earth's environment and to encourage sustainability. Earth Day was originated in the United States in 1970 by Senator Gaylord Nelson and since 1990, it has been observed globally by more than 500 million people," he added.

The conference begins with a Brownbagger presentation by Terra Brockman — founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland for sustainable farming, matching farmers with land, training new farmers and connecting consumers with local producers — from 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Leslie F. Malpass Library, fourth floor. Brockman will also attend a late afternoon (4-5 p.m.) reception in the Malpass Library Garden Lounge, and she will give a second presentation from 7-8 p.m. in Stipes Hall 121.

Brockman Background
After completing her graduate degree in English literature and biology at Illinois State University, Brockman traveled to Japan to work as a teacher, writer and editor before she moved to New York City, where she worked as a writer and editor for nearly a decade. During those years, she traveled extensively, from Nepal to Eritrea to Morocco to the Baltics. While visiting the so-called "third world" countries she found she often ate better foods than in the US because their foods were fresh, local and unprocessed.

In 2001, Brockman founded The Land Connection. She writes, speaks and advocates for many aspects of sustainable farming, food and farm issues. Her most recent book is "The Seasons on Henry's Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm," which was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2010. She has been honored with a Green Award from "Chicago Magazine," a Good Eating Award from the Chicago Tribune and a rural achievement award from Illinois Lt. Governor Sheila Simon.

For more information, contact Sandy Wittig at the IIRA (309) 298-2637 or via email at SK-wittig@wiu.edu. Learn more about the IIRA at www.iira.org.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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