Roots of Change: The Future of Canadian Gardens and Plates

Whether you have a green thumb or not, gardens are a fascinating jumping-off point for learning about the world — from privilege and food security, to climate change and nutrition. Who has access to gardens, for example, and how does this impact a community’s health? And is the way we’re gardening helping or hurting the planet? 

Four experts in public health, anthropology, nutrition and agriculture will discuss how modern gardens interact with some of the most pressing issues of our time — and what we can be doing in our own backyards to build a healthier planet.

Check out the full Alumni Week(end) events listing here.

Moderator:

Dr. Sven Anders is an Agricultural Economist in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology. Sven’s research on the economics of food markets and supply chains uses quantitative methods to provide insights into both producer and consumer behaviour with a focus on advancing food policy and welfare outcomes. Through his research on the dynamics of commodity and food market and agri-food policies, he takes a keen interest in the interdependence of agricultural production, marketing, and food security under changing climatic and agri-environmental conditions. 

Speakers:

Dr. Noreen Willows is Professor, Population and Public Health Nutrition in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences. Her primary research focus is population health intervention research to enhance food access in First Nations communities through school-based, food security and food sovereignty initiatives. She also does research to understand the impact of household and cultural food insecurity on health and well-being. Dr. Willows champions a decolonizing community-based participatory approach to research in which community members and academic co-researchers form community-university partnerships to develop culturally appropriate solutions to health issues identified by community members.  She is also an avid home gardener, growing vegetables, berries, apples and flowers preferred by pollinator species.

Dr. Sherilee Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health and an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health.  Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. Internationally, she is a Lead Author on several of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and serves on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC. Nationally, she is a Lead Author on Health Canada's upcoming national assessment on climate change and health.

Dr. Helen Vallianatos is a Professor of Anthropology and Associate Dean, Office of the Dean of Students. Her research and teaching interests focus on food, gender, body and health issues, collaborating with communities and working in interdisciplinary teams not just in her research activities, but also in classroom contexts. Much of her work is focused on experiences of migration and settlement, particularly gendered experiences, using intersectionality analyses to understand how gender, social class, age, racialized and ethnocultural identities are (re)created in new places, and how these experiences affect family and household dynamics.