A lecture by Wes Jackson, founder of the Land Institute, is 10 a.m. April 26 in the Great Plains Art Museum. The talk, "The Future of Ecosystem-Based Agriculture," is free and open to the public. He will address public policy for land use in the Plains in the context of how the history and cultures of the region intersect with biology to shape our decisions.
Life Magazine predicted that Jackson would be among the 100 "most important Americans of the 20th century," a listing based on his work since founding The Land Institute.
Jackson has pioneered the technique of natural systems agriculture -- an agriculture informed by nature that preserves biodiversity. With this technique, fields would be planted with a variety of perennial plants, leading to less erosion and healthier soil.
Jackson is a recipient of the Pew Conservation Scholars award and a MacArthur Fellowship and has been listed as one of the Smithsonian's "35 Who Made a Difference."
He is the author of many books on ecologically sensitive agriculture, including "Becoming Native to This Place" and "Consulting the Genius of the Place: An Ecological Approach to a New Agriculture."
Jackson's talk will be live-streamed on the center's website, http://www.unl.edu/plains, and available on-demand a few days later at http://go.unl.edu/5eb.
The lecture is sponsored by the Great Plains Humanities Alliance and the Center for Great Plains Studies.
-- Katie Nieland, Center for Great Plains Studies