Communicating Science through Stories in Film: A Dialogue about Agricultural Sustainability and Soil
Deborah Koons Garcia & Kate Scow
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2014 at 8:00 pm – Great Hall, Memorial Union
Deborah Koons Garcia is a filmmaker whose projects include Symphony of the Soil and The Future of Food. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute and runs her own production company, Lily Films. Kate Scow is a professor of soil science and a soil microbial ecologist at the University of California at Davis, where she also directs the Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility. Scow worked with Garcia on Symphony of the Soil, an artistic exploration of soil science and its role in tackling some of the most challenging environmental issues of our time. The 2014 Pesek-Pierre Colloquium on Agricultural Sustainability and Soil ScienceDeborah Koons Garcia is a film director, writer, and producer who fell in love with filmmaking while a student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1970. She went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her film The Future of Food examines the rapidly increasing corporate domination of our food supply. More recently she directed and produced Symphony of the Soil. Drawing from ancient knowledge and new scientific discoveries, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance called soil. The film also examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time.
Kate M. Scow is a professor of soil science and a soil microbial ecologist at the University of California at Davis with degrees from Antioch College (BS) and Cornell University (MS and PhD). Her program focuses on a broad range of interactions between microorganisms and their environments and spans the continuum from individual organisms to large scale-field studies. She works on the below ground biodiversity of agroecosystems, microbial ecology of nitrogen cycling, and the microbial processes of biodegradation and bioremediation. She also works with smallholder farmers in Uganda on participatory extension approaches to enhance production and marketing of vegetables. Dr. Scow teaches an introductory course in soil science and two soil microbiology courses. She is also Director of the Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility and Chair of the International Agricultural Development Graduate Group.
Cosponsored By:
- Agronomy
- Bioeconomy Institute
- College of Design
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
- Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
- English
- Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture
- Greenlee School of Journalism & Communication
- Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
- Pierre Soil Science Lecture Fund
- Practical Farmers of Iowa
- Science Communication Project @ISU
- Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
Stay for the entire event, including the brief question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentation. Most events run 75 minutes.
Sign-ins are after the event concludes. For lectures in the Memorial Union, go to the information desk in the Main Lounge. In other academic buildings, look for signage outside the auditorium.
Lecture Etiquette
- Stay for the entire lecture and the brief audience Q&A. If a student needs to leave early, he or she should sit near the back and exit discreetly.
- Do not bring food or uncovered drinks into the lecture.
- Check with Lectures staff before taking photographs or recording any portion of the event. There are often restrictions. Cell phones, tablets and laptops may be used to take notes or for class assignments.
- Keep questions or comments brief and concise to allow as many as possible.