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- 2012 · Wes Jackson and Steven Apfelbaum
2012 Smith Nature Symposium
Lessons From the Prairie
Keynote Speaker: Wes Jackson

Wes Jackson is president and founder of The Land Institute, an organization dedicated to developing an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops. Drawing knowledge from the way the world has worked for millions of years, Wes seeks to farm in nature’s image by shifting away from the use of monoculture annual grains (like wheat) to inter-mixed (polyculture) perennial grains. Holding degrees in biology, botany and genetics, he is a leader in the international sustainable agriculture movement and has been recognized as a Pew Conservation Scholar and a MacArthur Fellow, as well as presented with the prestigious Right Livelihood Award ('Alternative Nobel Prize') for outstanding vision and work on behalf of our planet and its people.
2012 Friends of Ryerson Woods Award Recipient: Steven Apfelbaum
2012 Friends of Ryerson Woods Award Recipient: Steven Apfelbaum