November 25, 2024 • 12 mins
In this episode, we’re joined by Bethany Harris, director of the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, to discuss her vision for the center as it works to meet the growing needs of urban agriculture in Georgia. As cities across the state expand, so does the need for innovative agricultural practices that support sustainable growth and resilient communities. Harris shares how the center is driving collaboration and research across various disciplines to tackle these challenges head-on while supporting future academic programming that will open educational and career pathways for students eager to shape the future of urban agriculture. Tune in to learn how the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture is working to redefine agriculture’s role in urban areas, building a foundation for thriving cities and a sustainable future.
Resources:
- Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture
- UGA Food Product Innovation & Commercialization Center (FoodPIC)
- UGA Griffin Campus
- UGA Turf Team
- Controlled Environment Agriculture at UGA
Content from CAES:
- Taking Control of the future of agriculture (immersive story)
- From jellyfish to pomegranates: Revolutionizing food processing in Georgia (podcast)
---
Produced by Jordan Powers and Emily Cabrera
Edited by Jordan Powers
Music and sound effects by Mason McClintock, an Athens-based singer, songwriter and storyteller who creates innovative soul-pop music that transcends traditional genre boundaries. Hailing from small-town Southeast Georgia, Mason's influences range from the purest pop to the most powerful gospel. Mason is a former Georgia 4-H'er and University of Georgia graduate! Listen to his music on Spotify.
Almanac is an annual publication that provides a window into the work being done at CAES to make the world increasingly healthy, equitable and sustainable. We are pleased to announce that the 2024 edition is now available online. Explore stories of science in service of humanity and the environment.
Get social with us!
Follow CAES on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and check out UGA Extension on on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest updates.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sound Effect (00:00):
[music]
Jordan Powers (00:00):
Welcome to Cultivating Curiosity where we
get down and dirty with theexperts on all the ways science
and agriculture touch our lives,from what we eat to how we live.
I'm Jordan Powers.
Emily Cabrera (00:12):
And I'm Emily Cabrera. We're from the
University of Georgia's Collegeof Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
Sound Effect (00:19):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (00:20):
We are here today with Bethany Harris, director of
the Georgia Center for UrbanAgriculture, and while the
center is located on the Griffincampus, we are very grateful
that Bethany came to visit ushere in Athens. So thanks for
joining us today, Bethany.
Bethany Harris (00:33):
Of course.
Jordan Powers (00:34):
So over the past couple years, on the podcast,
we've had faculty and UGACooperative Extension
specialists share their workacross various areas of
agriculture. Some listenersmight still be wondering,
though, what exactly is urbanagriculture? Could you kick us
off by explaining what urbanagriculture encompasses, and
highlight any unique aspectsthat distinguish it from more
traditional areas of ag?
Bethany Harris (00:54):
So urban agriculture is very, very
extensive, and it covers avariety of different sectors of
agriculture. So I'll kind ofwalk through those. One of the
things that I think of isactually providing fresh local
produce, being able to providethat within cities, within local
communities. And so urbanfarming is a huge part of urban
agriculture. This can occur notonly just in raised beds, small
(01:17):
scale settings. It can alsooccur in greenhouses. It can
occur in hoop houses. It canalso even occur in small acreage
or field settings. Now there arealso even vertical farms where
people are utilizing warehousesto grow produce. So this is a
huge aspect of urbanagriculture. The other aspect
that I think of as I think abouturban agriculture addressing
(01:38):
urban challenges. So of course,soil erosion is just an example
of a challenge that you mightsee in an urban setting. And so
being able to addresschallenges, environmental
challenges like soil erosion.
The green industry does thatthrough the landscape and
nursery industry, and they're ahuge part of what urban
agriculture is as well. One ofthe benefits of having landscape
and nursery industry withinurban city is not only are they
(02:01):
actually creating theseaesthetic benefits, you know,
and beautifying a space, butthey are addressing challenges
like erosion or heat islandeffect. Obviously, when you go
into the city, one of the thingsthat you probably notice first
is asphalt, pavement, sidewalks,and so with that comes heat
island effect. So they'reputting plants in place to help
address something like erosionor heat island effect or
(02:22):
reduction of carbon dioxide tooin the atmosphere. And so they
not only install plants, butthey maintain plants in the
landscape. And then our nurseryindustry is a huge part of this
as well, because they'reinvolved in actually producing
plant material too that aregoing to go in the landscape.
And, you know, long term benefitthe community. But I think urban
agriculture, too, is not justthe production of plants and the
(02:42):
production of food. I also thinkof it as creating a community
space that's a huge part ofthis. And so as you walk through
a city, one of the things youmay notice is parks and
recreation, and people enjoyingbeing outside and running on
sports fields because they'replaying football or they're on a
golf course, so they're enjoyingthat recreation component, but
they also might, may sit incommunity gardens and actually
(03:03):
enjoy that space as well. And soI think this is a huge part of
what urban agriculture, too, isconnecting community in a way
that benefits the environment,benefits the community member,
and brings people together.
Jordan Powers (03:16):
I absolutely love that that ending with the
community. And I'll sayanecdotally, since we've put our
raised bed in which you can seefrom various areas of the street
going past my house, I havetalked to more neighbors who are
just genuinely curious aboutlike, "Oh, I see a raised bed.
What are you growing?" So evenoutside of those designated
community green spaces, justkind of that neighborly
community that comes togetherwhen you're producing food in
(03:36):
urban environments is reallyexciting.
Bethany Harris (03:38):
Definitely. I've had the opportunity to work in
several community gardens, andjust seeing people come
together, people learning too.
Not only are they comingtogether and connecting with
community members, but they'relearning about plants and
they're getting to connect withnature. And I think that's a
huge part of what urbanagriculture is as well.
Emily Cabrera (03:53):
It's also interesting to me that a lot of
times when we think about farmsor agriculture, there's this
picture in our mind of a farm oragriculture being "out there" in
rural settings, and there's thistendency to think of it as not
being close, not being part ofour community. And so it's
really interesting to find thatin urban agriculture, they're
taking these empty lots andconverting them into urban
(04:15):
working farms, really intensevegetable production and
diversity of things happeningthere. Could you talk a little
bit about how the center thinksthrough and supports true
working farms within cityspaces?
Bethany Harris (04:29):
One of the program that comes to mind when
I think about that is ourJourneyman Farmer program that's
actually housed out of thecenter. And this program really
is geared towards connectingfarmers. They go through this
program and they learneverything from you know how to
actually start a farm businessin an urban space, to soil
testing, to crop planning andproduction, and even the
post-harvest handling side ofthings. And so I think about
(04:50):
that program, and it comes tomind because a lot of the urban
farmers are coming to us lookingfor programming and training
related to that. They even inthis program, learn, you know
about agritourism and how can webring in community to our farm
space, and they learn aboutfarmers markets. You know, how
can I sell produce and connectin that way? And so I think
that's one of the things thatcomes to mind, is being able to
connect with farmers in urbanspaces and then provide them an
(05:13):
avenue to connect with theirlocal community.
Emily Cabrera (05:15):
So what unique aspects of the Griffin campus
allow you to collaborate andsupport urban agriculture
research?
Bethany Harris (05:22):
One of the benefits of being on the UGA
Griffin campus is our TurfgrassTeam that we have there. They're
working in a variety of areas,from turfgrass plant pathology
to looking at turfgrass stressesto even production of turfgrass.
And they're able to work withautomated mowers and actually
assess that technology and howit's working within the
industry. And so that is one ofthe great aspects of being on
(05:44):
the Griffin campus, is beingable to work with those
researchers in that area.
Another area that we have on theGriffin campus is controlled
environment agriculture. And sowe have faculty that are
actually working in entomologyas well as plant breeding, and
so being able to work with themand learn about the new
technologies, but also learnabout the new varieties that
they're producing has been areally, really great aspect.
Another center that we work withis the FoodPIC Center, or the
(06:06):
Food Product Innovation andCommercialization Center. They
are working with farmersdirectly to produce these added
value products. So as we beginto work with farmers more
closely and provide trainingopportunities, the FoodPIC
Center is a great resource forour urban farmers.
Jordan Powers (06:22):
Some really exciting aspects ahead for the
center. And speaking of what'sahead for the center, we know
that you just came on board withUGA Extension in the middle of
August, so while we're sureyou're still in the midst of
kind of figuring out which wayis up in this new role, can you
share some of your vision or theoverarching goals you have for
the center?
Bethany Harris (06:38):
One of the areas that is so essential to leading
the Urban Ag Center is reallybeing able to connect with
growers, whether that be farmersor landscapers or nurserymen or
even people that are working instormwater management, but being
able to work with industry as awhole, the urban agriculture
industry, to determine whatchallenges there are. Obviously,
you know, there's new challengespopping up every day as cities
(07:00):
begin to grow. And a lot oftimes when we probably think
about urban agriculture, wethink of metro Atlanta, but you
know, Savannah, and Columbus,and Augusta, those are cities as
well that continuously havechallenges. And there may be
different challenges indifferent areas of the state.
And so being able to determinewhat those challenges are, and
then work with researchers andExtension specialists and agents
to address those challenges is ahuge overarching goal of mine,
(07:23):
and being able to actuallyconduct research to address
these challenges, I think, isessential to being able to lead
the center.
Emily Cabrera (07:29):
Kind of touching on what the center does for
faculty and students, and reallybeyond that, the residents of
Georgia. So you've touched onthat a little bit. But how do
you see your role as thedirector and the faculty that
make up the center. How do yousee that role benefiting each of
those different variouscommunities, faculty, students,
residents?
Bethany Harris (07:49):
So I think of the Center for Urban Agriculture
as really that connectorcomponent. That's one of the
beauties I think of being theCenter for Urban Ag, is we do
get to work a lot with students.
We get to work a lot withindustry members and are really
connected with them, but thenalso being able to work with
agents and specialists andresearchers. And so the way, you
know, I see this is really beingable to work with all parties to
address an issue and connectingwith them. And I'm glad you
(08:10):
brought up the studentcomponent, because I think
that's a huge part of urbanagriculture too, is not only
just thinking of, how do weaddress challenges now, but how
do we get students moreinvolved, you know, and
interested in urban agriculture,so that long term, they make
this a career.
Jordan Powers (08:24):
Speaking of the student component of that, we
know you're an alum of CAES.
Tell us a little bit about youracademic and career journey
before coming back to UGA.
Bethany Harris (08:31):
My interest in urban agriculture and
horticulture really started atan early age. I was actually in
4-H in Spalding County, and Iactually participated in
District Project Achievementevery year in the flower, shrubs
and lawns category [laughter andoverlapping talk].
Emily Cabrera (08:44):
So precious [laughter].
Bethany Harris (08:47):
That was an area that I just really had interest
in, and never really thoughtthat it would probably lead to a
long term career. But obviouslyit did. I was also a part of the
Young Scholars Program on theGriffin campus, so,
Jordan Powers (08:58):
Wow.
Bethany Harris (08:58):
During that time, I got to actually work
with researchers in horticultureand then work at the Research
and Education Garden there onthe UGA Griffin campus. And so I
got exposure to a variety ofdifferent urban agriculture
challenges going through that.
Then I decided I wanted topursue my bachelor's degree in
environmental science from theCollege of Ag and Environmental
Sciences. And I really chosethat degree because I knew I
could work in a variety ofareas, whether it be entomology,
(09:20):
or horticulture, or waterquality, or soils. And so that
was really an area that I hadinterest in. I decided to pursue
my master's in entomology, and Igraduated in 2015 with that
degree from the College of Agand Environmental Sciences. And
then my PhD in 2018 inhorticulture from the College of
Ag and Environmental Sciences.
Jordan Powers (09:39):
So you're coming home.
Bethany Harris (09:40):
Definitely, definitely.
Jordan Powers (09:42):
So I have to admit, I didn't realize you were
a triple dog. I apparentlydidn't do my homework for this
episode. So your academicjourney is very much tied into
UGA. But can you tell us alittle bit about your career
journey and how you think thataspect helped prepare you for
this role?
Bethany Harris (09:55):
So one of the great things that I was able to
do is I worked at CallawayGardens, and I was their
Director of Education, and alsothe Director of the Cecil B. Day
Butterfly Center there. And so Ireally got exposure and working
in a variety of different urbanagriculture areas, from leading
the tropical butterflyconservatory to actually working
with volunteers in horticultureand other environmental areas.
(10:16):
And also being able to provideenvironmental education, not
only just to k5 through 12thgrade students, but to
homeowners and even to industrymembers during my time at
Callaway. So that was a hugepart of really preparing me for
the Urban Agriculture Centerdirector role. And then my last
role was at the SouthernCrescent Horticulture Program.
And I was actually thehorticulture instructor and
(10:37):
program coordinator there. So Iwas teaching classes from small
scale food production tolandscape management to urban
landscape issues. And so beingable to actually train industry,
you know, and actually work withthose students and teach them
about hands-on components ofurban agriculture was really,
really great opportunity.
Jordan Powers (10:53):
That's a perfect combination of the education and
the career path afterwards, kindof melding together into this
role that's really exciting.
Emily Cabrera (11:01):
So, kind of pivoting a little bit back to
the center's position in metroareas and its ability, its
capacity, to help industrypartners and help the public
understand what urban ag is,reframing agriculture in these
urban settings. We know that inthe southeast in general,
populations are growing, and sowe're going to see more densely
(11:22):
populated areas. So I'm curiousthe role of the center in
educating the public, includingpolicy makers, about urban
agriculture, how that isimportant preemptively, before
we start seeing more expansion.
Bethany Harris (11:34):
So, I think a huge part of this is being able
to work with professionalassociations that are already
involved in urban agriculture.
And the center has actually beenable to do that throughout the
years, but continuing thoserelationships, because these
individuals, they're actuallyworking in the industry, and
they are seeing the growth aswell that you talk about. So
being able to work with themdirectly, and then also being
able to, I would say, actuallybe proactive in determining what
(11:57):
are going to be the nextchallenges. So that's one of the
biggest things in this role thatI think the center has the
opportunity to do, is kind of beahead of the game and figure out
what are the challenges going tobe as we continue to grow and
expand.
Jordan Powers (12:10):
We are excited to follow along this journey as you
continue to develop plans forthe center. But, in the
meantime, thank you so much forcoming out today,Bethany, it has
been awesome to catch a glimpseinto the plans for the center,
and we can't wait to follow thejourney.
Bethany Harris (12:21):
Thank you for having me, and I look forward to
being back.
Sound Effect (12:23):
[music]
Jordan Powers (12:24):
Thanks for listening to Cultivating
Curiosity, a podcast produced bythe UGA College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Aspecial thanks to Mason
McClintock for our music andsound effects. Find more
episodes wherever you get yourpodcasts.
[music]
Jordan Powers (00:00):
Welcome to Cultivating Curiosity where we
get down and dirty with theexperts on all the ways science
and agriculture touch our lives,from what we eat to how we live.
I'm Jordan Powers.
Emily Cabrera (00:12):
And I'm Emily Cabrera. We're from the
University of Georgia's Collegeof Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
Sound Effect (00:19):
[chime]
Jordan Powers (00:20):
We are here today with Bethany Harris, director of
the Georgia Center for UrbanAgriculture, and while the
center is located on the Griffincampus, we are very grateful
that Bethany came to visit ushere in Athens. So thanks for
joining us today, Bethany.
Bethany Harris (00:33):
Of course.
Jordan Powers (00:34):
So over the past couple years, on the podcast,
we've had faculty and UGACooperative Extension
specialists share their workacross various areas of
agriculture. Some listenersmight still be wondering,
though, what exactly is urbanagriculture? Could you kick us
off by explaining what urbanagriculture encompasses, and
highlight any unique aspectsthat distinguish it from more
traditional areas of ag?
Bethany Harris (00:54):
So urban agriculture is very, very
extensive, and it covers avariety of different sectors of
agriculture. So I'll kind ofwalk through those. One of the
things that I think of isactually providing fresh local
produce, being able to providethat within cities, within local
communities. And so urbanfarming is a huge part of urban
agriculture. This can occur notonly just in raised beds, small
(01:17):
scale settings. It can alsooccur in greenhouses. It can
occur in hoop houses. It canalso even occur in small acreage
or field settings. Now there arealso even vertical farms where
people are utilizing warehousesto grow produce. So this is a
huge aspect of urbanagriculture. The other aspect
that I think of as I think abouturban agriculture addressing
(01:38):
urban challenges. So of course,soil erosion is just an example
of a challenge that you mightsee in an urban setting. And so
being able to addresschallenges, environmental
challenges like soil erosion.
The green industry does thatthrough the landscape and
nursery industry, and they're ahuge part of what urban
agriculture is as well. One ofthe benefits of having landscape
and nursery industry withinurban city is not only are they
(02:01):
actually creating theseaesthetic benefits, you know,
and beautifying a space, butthey are addressing challenges
like erosion or heat islandeffect. Obviously, when you go
into the city, one of the thingsthat you probably notice first
is asphalt, pavement, sidewalks,and so with that comes heat
island effect. So they'reputting plants in place to help
address something like erosionor heat island effect or
(02:22):
reduction of carbon dioxide tooin the atmosphere. And so they
not only install plants, butthey maintain plants in the
landscape. And then our nurseryindustry is a huge part of this
as well, because they'reinvolved in actually producing
plant material too that aregoing to go in the landscape.
And, you know, long term benefitthe community. But I think urban
agriculture, too, is not justthe production of plants and the
(02:42):
production of food. I also thinkof it as creating a community
space that's a huge part ofthis. And so as you walk through
a city, one of the things youmay notice is parks and
recreation, and people enjoyingbeing outside and running on
sports fields because they'replaying football or they're on a
golf course, so they're enjoyingthat recreation component, but
they also might, may sit incommunity gardens and actually
(03:03):
enjoy that space as well. And soI think this is a huge part of
what urban agriculture, too, isconnecting community in a way
that benefits the environment,benefits the community member,
and brings people together.
Jordan Powers (03:16):
I absolutely love that that ending with the
community. And I'll sayanecdotally, since we've put our
raised bed in which you can seefrom various areas of the street
going past my house, I havetalked to more neighbors who are
just genuinely curious aboutlike, "Oh, I see a raised bed.
What are you growing?" So evenoutside of those designated
community green spaces, justkind of that neighborly
community that comes togetherwhen you're producing food in
(03:36):
urban environments is reallyexciting.
Bethany Harris (03:38):
Definitely. I've had the opportunity to work in
several community gardens, andjust seeing people come
together, people learning too.
Not only are they comingtogether and connecting with
community members, but they'relearning about plants and
they're getting to connect withnature. And I think that's a
huge part of what urbanagriculture is as well.
Emily Cabrera (03:53):
It's also interesting to me that a lot of
times when we think about farmsor agriculture, there's this
picture in our mind of a farm oragriculture being "out there" in
rural settings, and there's thistendency to think of it as not
being close, not being part ofour community. And so it's
really interesting to find thatin urban agriculture, they're
taking these empty lots andconverting them into urban
(04:15):
working farms, really intensevegetable production and
diversity of things happeningthere. Could you talk a little
bit about how the center thinksthrough and supports true
working farms within cityspaces?
Bethany Harris (04:29):
One of the program that comes to mind when
I think about that is ourJourneyman Farmer program that's
actually housed out of thecenter. And this program really
is geared towards connectingfarmers. They go through this
program and they learneverything from you know how to
actually start a farm businessin an urban space, to soil
testing, to crop planning andproduction, and even the
post-harvest handling side ofthings. And so I think about
(04:50):
that program, and it comes tomind because a lot of the urban
farmers are coming to us lookingfor programming and training
related to that. They even inthis program, learn, you know
about agritourism and how can webring in community to our farm
space, and they learn aboutfarmers markets. You know, how
can I sell produce and connectin that way? And so I think
that's one of the things thatcomes to mind, is being able to
connect with farmers in urbanspaces and then provide them an
(05:13):
avenue to connect with theirlocal community.
Emily Cabrera (05:15):
So what unique aspects of the Griffin campus
allow you to collaborate andsupport urban agriculture
research?
Bethany Harris (05:22):
One of the benefits of being on the UGA
Griffin campus is our TurfgrassTeam that we have there. They're
working in a variety of areas,from turfgrass plant pathology
to looking at turfgrass stressesto even production of turfgrass.
And they're able to work withautomated mowers and actually
assess that technology and howit's working within the
industry. And so that is one ofthe great aspects of being on
(05:44):
the Griffin campus, is beingable to work with those
researchers in that area.
Another area that we have on theGriffin campus is controlled
environment agriculture. And sowe have faculty that are
actually working in entomologyas well as plant breeding, and
so being able to work with themand learn about the new
technologies, but also learnabout the new varieties that
they're producing has been areally, really great aspect.
Another center that we work withis the FoodPIC Center, or the
(06:06):
Food Product Innovation andCommercialization Center. They
are working with farmersdirectly to produce these added
value products. So as we beginto work with farmers more
closely and provide trainingopportunities, the FoodPIC
Center is a great resource forour urban farmers.
Jordan Powers (06:22):
Some really exciting aspects ahead for the
center. And speaking of what'sahead for the center, we know
that you just came on board withUGA Extension in the middle of
August, so while we're sureyou're still in the midst of
kind of figuring out which wayis up in this new role, can you
share some of your vision or theoverarching goals you have for
the center?
Bethany Harris (06:38):
One of the areas that is so essential to leading
the Urban Ag Center is reallybeing able to connect with
growers, whether that be farmersor landscapers or nurserymen or
even people that are working instormwater management, but being
able to work with industry as awhole, the urban agriculture
industry, to determine whatchallenges there are. Obviously,
you know, there's new challengespopping up every day as cities
(07:00):
begin to grow. And a lot oftimes when we probably think
about urban agriculture, wethink of metro Atlanta, but you
know, Savannah, and Columbus,and Augusta, those are cities as
well that continuously havechallenges. And there may be
different challenges indifferent areas of the state.
And so being able to determinewhat those challenges are, and
then work with researchers andExtension specialists and agents
to address those challenges is ahuge overarching goal of mine,
(07:23):
and being able to actuallyconduct research to address
these challenges, I think, isessential to being able to lead
the center.
Emily Cabrera (07:29):
Kind of touching on what the center does for
faculty and students, and reallybeyond that, the residents of
Georgia. So you've touched onthat a little bit. But how do
you see your role as thedirector and the faculty that
make up the center. How do yousee that role benefiting each of
those different variouscommunities, faculty, students,
residents?
Bethany Harris (07:49):
So I think of the Center for Urban Agriculture
as really that connectorcomponent. That's one of the
beauties I think of being theCenter for Urban Ag, is we do
get to work a lot with students.
We get to work a lot withindustry members and are really
connected with them, but thenalso being able to work with
agents and specialists andresearchers. And so the way, you
know, I see this is really beingable to work with all parties to
address an issue and connectingwith them. And I'm glad you
(08:10):
brought up the studentcomponent, because I think
that's a huge part of urbanagriculture too, is not only
just thinking of, how do weaddress challenges now, but how
do we get students moreinvolved, you know, and
interested in urban agriculture,so that long term, they make
this a career.
Jordan Powers (08:24):
Speaking of the student component of that, we
know you're an alum of CAES.
Tell us a little bit about youracademic and career journey
before coming back to UGA.
Bethany Harris (08:31):
My interest in urban agriculture and
horticulture really started atan early age. I was actually in
4-H in Spalding County, and Iactually participated in
District Project Achievementevery year in the flower, shrubs
and lawns category [laughter andoverlapping talk].
Emily Cabrera (08:44):
So precious [laughter].
Bethany Harris (08:47):
That was an area that I just really had interest
in, and never really thoughtthat it would probably lead to a
long term career. But obviouslyit did. I was also a part of the
Young Scholars Program on theGriffin campus, so,
Jordan Powers (08:58):
Wow.
Bethany Harris (08:58):
During that time, I got to actually work
with researchers in horticultureand then work at the Research
and Education Garden there onthe UGA Griffin campus. And so I
got exposure to a variety ofdifferent urban agriculture
challenges going through that.
Then I decided I wanted topursue my bachelor's degree in
environmental science from theCollege of Ag and Environmental
Sciences. And I really chosethat degree because I knew I
could work in a variety ofareas, whether it be entomology,
(09:20):
or horticulture, or waterquality, or soils. And so that
was really an area that I hadinterest in. I decided to pursue
my master's in entomology, and Igraduated in 2015 with that
degree from the College of Agand Environmental Sciences. And
then my PhD in 2018 inhorticulture from the College of
Ag and Environmental Sciences.
Jordan Powers (09:39):
So you're coming home.
Bethany Harris (09:40):
Definitely, definitely.
Jordan Powers (09:42):
So I have to admit, I didn't realize you were
a triple dog. I apparentlydidn't do my homework for this
episode. So your academicjourney is very much tied into
UGA. But can you tell us alittle bit about your career
journey and how you think thataspect helped prepare you for
this role?
Bethany Harris (09:55):
So one of the great things that I was able to
do is I worked at CallawayGardens, and I was their
Director of Education, and alsothe Director of the Cecil B. Day
Butterfly Center there. And so Ireally got exposure and working
in a variety of different urbanagriculture areas, from leading
the tropical butterflyconservatory to actually working
with volunteers in horticultureand other environmental areas.
(10:16):
And also being able to provideenvironmental education, not
only just to k5 through 12thgrade students, but to
homeowners and even to industrymembers during my time at
Callaway. So that was a hugepart of really preparing me for
the Urban Agriculture Centerdirector role. And then my last
role was at the SouthernCrescent Horticulture Program.
And I was actually thehorticulture instructor and
(10:37):
program coordinator there. So Iwas teaching classes from small
scale food production tolandscape management to urban
landscape issues. And so beingable to actually train industry,
you know, and actually work withthose students and teach them
about hands-on components ofurban agriculture was really,
really great opportunity.
Jordan Powers (10:53):
That's a perfect combination of the education and
the career path afterwards, kindof melding together into this
role that's really exciting.
Emily Cabrera (11:01):
So, kind of pivoting a little bit back to
the center's position in metroareas and its ability, its
capacity, to help industrypartners and help the public
understand what urban ag is,reframing agriculture in these
urban settings. We know that inthe southeast in general,
populations are growing, and sowe're going to see more densely
(11:22):
populated areas. So I'm curiousthe role of the center in
educating the public, includingpolicy makers, about urban
agriculture, how that isimportant preemptively, before
we start seeing more expansion.
Bethany Harris (11:34):
So, I think a huge part of this is being able
to work with professionalassociations that are already
involved in urban agriculture.
And the center has actually beenable to do that throughout the
years, but continuing thoserelationships, because these
individuals, they're actuallyworking in the industry, and
they are seeing the growth aswell that you talk about. So
being able to work with themdirectly, and then also being
able to, I would say, actuallybe proactive in determining what
(11:57):
are going to be the nextchallenges. So that's one of the
biggest things in this role thatI think the center has the
opportunity to do, is kind of beahead of the game and figure out
what are the challenges going tobe as we continue to grow and
expand.
Jordan Powers (12:10):
We are excited to follow along this journey as you
continue to develop plans forthe center. But, in the
meantime, thank you so much forcoming out today,Bethany, it has
been awesome to catch a glimpseinto the plans for the center,
and we can't wait to follow thejourney.
Bethany Harris (12:21):
Thank you for having me, and I look forward to
being back.
Sound Effect (12:23):
[music]
Jordan Powers (12:24):
Thanks for listening to Cultivating
Curiosity, a podcast produced bythe UGA College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Aspecial thanks to Mason
McClintock for our music andsound effects. Find more
episodes wherever you get yourpodcasts.
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