Food at the Tipping Point: Ways Forward from a Food System in Crisis
Like Bees and Carrots: A Two-Part Interview Special on Northern BC’s Pollinators and Canada’s Organic Vegetables
In the second instalment of our speaker series, we are releasing two video interviews with Dr. Aija White, University of Northern British Columbia, and Dr. Solveig Hanson, formerly University of British Columbia, who share the key findings of their research projects and how they can be applied for a more sustainable and resilient future.
Dr. Aija White’s research looks at understanding pollinator biodiversity in agricultural areas of northern BC (Bulkley-Nechako and Fraser-Fort George), establishing a much-needed baseline for land management and pollination services.
Dr. Solveig Hanson’s research with the Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement (CANOVI) project aims to contribute to the resilience and growth of Canada’s organic vegetable sector by developing and identifying vegetable varieties that excel in Canada’s diverse climates.
For the pollinator fact sheet and full report visit the BC Climate Change Adaptation Program and for the full CANOVI trial results visit the BC Food Web.
View all 10 events in the series here!
Aija White – Ph.D., University of Northern British Columbia
Aija White is an ecologist with a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia, and an M.Sc. in Biology from the University of Western Ontario. Her current research with the BC Climate and Agriculture Initiative aims to inventory pollinator species in areas used for agricultural production in the Bulkley-Nechako and Fraser-Fort George Regional Districts, and to identify environmental factors promoting pollinator biodiversity in these areas.
Solveig Hanson – Postdoctoral Fellow, Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement Project (2021-22)
Solveig Hanson was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Canadian Organic Vegetable Improvement Project (CANOVI) from 2021-22, during which time she led a participatory carrot breeding project and facilitated on-farm vegetable variety trials across Canada, in partnership with the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. Solveig received a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked with flavour in table beet using genetic, genomic, and participatory breeding approaches. Currently, she coordinates a multi-institution Cover Crop Breeding Network as a Research Support Specialist in Dr. Virginia Moore’s forage and cover crop breeding lab at Cornell University.
Funding for Dr. Aija White’s project has been provided in part by the Northern Development Initiative Trust and in part by the governments of Canada and British Columbia under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. Additional project support was provided by the University of Northern British Columbia. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC.
CANOVI is part of Organic Science Cluster 3, led by the Organic Federation of Canada in collaboration with the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada at Dalhousie University, supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership-AgriScience Program, The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, and the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at the UBC Farm.
The Food at the Tipping Point: Ways Forward from a Food System in Crisis series is brought to you by the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (CSFS), the BC Food Web, the Faculty of Land and Food Systems (LFS), and the Royal Bank of Canada. This 10-part speaker series addresses the urgent need for widespread, dramatic change and provides us inspiration and real solutions.
