High Profile Visitors to Muirkirk Farm

UDC's Muirkirk Farm was honored to welcome three high profile groups: a group of ANC Commissioners; a group from the State Department Foreign Press Centers, and a group of African diplomats as part of a Leadership Africa USA visit.The tours were led by CAUSES Dean Sabine O’Hara, Associate Dean of Landgrant Programs, William Hare, Farm Manager Che' Axum and UDC Professor of Environmental Science, Tom Kakovitch. Guests toured the aquaponics and hydroponic greenhouses, the photovoltaic solar system, the ethnic crops field, microgreens plots and greenhouses, the rice field, orchard and the future site of the organic composting facility.

Photo courtesy of Ed Jones, UDC TV.

DC ANCs

On June 28 CAUSES hosted its first ANC open house at Muirkirk Research Farm. This was the first official tour for advisory neighborhood commissioners. ANCS, who serve two year terms, consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the District's annual budget. Dean O’Hara believed that extending the invitation would present a unique opportunity for the ANCs to see and experience the farm’s growing operations first hand and the opportunities urban agriculture can offer them. Read more about the visit and ANC testimonials at the Forest Hills Connection and from ANC 3D01 Commissioner Kent Slowinski. Additional photos are available on our Facebook page.

Photo: Foreign Press Center

State Department, Foreign Press Center:

The farm was pleased to welcome journalists from the U.S. Department of State, Foreign Press Centers on July 21. The mission of the Foreign Press Centers is to support U.S. policies and priorities by helping resident and visiting foreign media cover the U.S. The visit resulted after Foreign Press Centers' Information Specialist Miriam Rider, read about the farm in the Washington Post. "The journalists were really impressed with your operation, and found the tour and the interviews really interesting," Ms. Rider commented. Visiting journalists hailed from Azerbaijan, Estonia, Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic and Voice of America's Chinese News Service. Read more about their visit on the Foreign Press Center's website. Photo's are available on their Facebook page.

Leadership Africa USA:

Murkirk Farm was honored to be visited by several African diplomats, including the Ambassador from Malawi, as well as diplomats from South Africa and Congo, thanks to our partner Leadership Africa USA. Leadership Africa USA was established to address challenges facing effective African leaders with a mandate to develop leadership curricula and provide skills training through public-private partnerships for future African leaders. Leadership Africa USA, working with compatible institutions and organizations, Several USDA Agricultural Research Service officials also joined the tour. The African officials, in particular were interested in our aquaponics technology, which is ideal not only for urban areas, but also for those parts of the world with limited arable land. Special thanks to Walker Williams and Shehnaz Rangwala of Leadership Africa USA for arranging the tour. Photos are available on our Facebook page.