Around CAUSES

• CAUSES student wins UDC Award
• Prof. Stockard honored on 40th anniversary of historic women's basketball game
• Dr. Broadnax featured on NurseJournal.com
• CAUSES participating in Rooting DC Feb. 28
• Valerie Best joins CAUSES
• Join CAUSES at the Anacostia River Festival 
• Request for Proposals

CAUSES student wins UDC Award
CAUSES PSM student Siaka Nuah is one of three students selected for the first ever University of the District of Columbia Humanitarian and Civic Engagement Award. The award was presented at the 2015 UDC Founder's Day Convocation for his demonstrated commitment to activism, social responsibility, civic participation and advocacy for the welfare and benefit of the University of the District of Columbia and the greater community. You do CAUSES proud, Mr. Nuah! 

Prof. Stockard honored on 40th anniversary of historic women's basketball game
CAUSES professor Bessie Stockard was honored by the University of the District of Columbia Athletic Department as part of a 40th Anniversary and Commemoration of the historic 1975 women's basketball game between FCC and the Women's Basketball Team of the People's Republic of China on Wednesday, Feb. 11. Stockard is the former head women's basketball coach. Interim President, Dr. James Lyons, Embassy of China Counsellor, Zha Liyou, Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, and Miss UDC, Toi Glover, all took part in the ceremony. Read more at udcfirebirds.com.

Copyright UDC Firebirds

Dr. Broadnax featured on NurseJournal.com
CAUSES director of the RN to BSN program, Dr. Pier Broadnax, talks to NurseJournal.com about UDC's Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. Dr. Broadnax shares what's unique about the professional level program. Read the full interview. 

CAUSES participating in Rooting DC Feb. 28
For the past eight years, the Rooting DC Forum has been the central meeting ground for individuals and nonprofits looking to grow a healthier food system in the nation’s capital. What started as a small gathering of like-minded urban gardeners in 2007, has grown into an annual event with more than 1200 individual attendees from across the city, and more than 60 local nonprofits and urban farm collectives sharing their knowledge and learning from one another. Visit the information area at the 8th Annual Rooting DC Forum on February 28 at Wilson High School (3950 Chesapeake St. NW, Washington. CAUSES is participating in this event. Forum details

CAUSES/Washington Parks & People Healthy Cooking Course Ends

The first "Healthy Cooking with Chef T" graduated six participants. The classes were offered in partnership with the Washington Parks & People's Riverside Healthy Living Center and hosted at their Northeast, DC, location. In addition to cooking demonstrations, the course covered sanitation, knife skills, food safety and healthy menu planning under the tutelage of Tyrome "Chef T" Henson.

Participants agreed that the six-week long program was a success and that they intended to replicate the recipes they've learned at home. They also shared additional positive comments about their experience:

• "I love the class. I love how to make different things and learning about MyPlate and food techniques. Chef T is very precise!"
• "I enjoyed the knife tutorial; and learning how to handle a knife."
• "It was great meeting other participants from different Wards, and getting to know them better."

The next course, also six weeks long, will be offered on the following Saturdays from Noon - 2:30 p.m. at the Washington Parks & People's Riverside Healthy Living Center, located at 5200 Foote St., NE, DC:

• March 14
• March 21
• March 28
• April 11
• April 18
• April 25

To register, email Chef T at thenson@udc.edu or call (202) 274-5757. The class is open to ages 18 and over. 

Institute of Gerontology visited by noted French expert

By Carilyne Vance

Senior Volunteers with the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences’ Institute of Gerontology (IOG) sat down with noted French aging expert Dr. Jean-Philippe Viriot-Durandal, professor of Sociology at the University of Lorraine, to discuss the parameters of the Senior Companion Program and why it has enjoyed such great success.  Dr. Viriot-Durandal, a former Fulbright Scholar, United States Senate Congressional Fellow and Co-founder of the International Network of Research on Age came to University of the District of Columbia to determine the reason for the programs’ success and to see what elements of it could be reproduced in Europe. 

• Serving disabled, frail or terminally ill senior adult residents of the District “who need extra assistance to live independently in their homes and communities,” volunteering with the program, according to volunteer Ryland Stewart, is “bigger than a volunteer opportunity.” 
• Ms. Miley Bell, who has been a volunteer with the program for the last seven years, spoke of how “it brings in a human element to giving back.”   
• Ciara Faulk, another program volunteer, spoke to how client extended family members value the enrichment that the volunteers bring to their loved ones lives. Whether through the simple preparation of meals, taking clients out for brief excursions or just engaging them in conversation, Senior Companion Program volunteers make their clients’ lives better.

Healthy Recipes: Jerusalem Artichoke Pasta, Swiss Chard Quiche, and Rice-Swiss Chard Soup

The following recipes are courtesy of Chef Herb, of the CAUSES Center for Nutrition, Diet and Health:

Are you passionate about healthy food, gardens and kids? Apply for FoodCorps!

By Maddie Morales, FoodCorps DC Fellow

Are you passionate about healthy food, gardens and kids? Apply for FoodCorps! Learn more about the application process and frequently asked questions and apply today! The application deadline closes March 31.

Join FoodCorps and spend a year of paid public service building healthy school food environments. FoodCorps service members implement a three-ingredient recipe for healthy kids:

• TEACH children about what healthy food is and where it comes from
• BUILD and tend school gardens
• BRING quality local food into public school cafeteria

For your year of full-time service, you are eligible to receive the following benefits:

• $17,500 living allowance
• A $5,730 AmeriCorps Segal Education Award
• Student loan forbearance
• Health insurance
• Partial childcare reimbursements
• Training and mentorship
• Alumni network
• The experience of a lifetime!

So what is it like to be a FoodCorps service member? Read this account from current service member, Nick Geer, in Washington DC.

Malawi and CAUSES Sign Food and Water Security MOU

Continuing its mission to combat food security, the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Republic of Malawi. The Ambassador of Malawi, Stephen D. Matenje, was present to help commemorate the occasion February 6, 2015, and accompanied by the Deputy Ambassador, Jane Nankwenya, President Lyons of the University of the District of Columbia, and UDC CAUSES Dean Sabine O'Hara. The MOU was signed by the President of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources back Malawi, and delivered personally by the Ambassador to President Lyons to formalize the agreement.

"Over the years, our fish stock has been dwindling and sometimes we have to import fish from countries such as Namibia to supplement the stocks we have. And for this reason, that's why I was so moved by the aquaponics project and the potential it has to help us improve food security; as well as nutrition security," explained the Ambassador, referencing his visit to the UDC farm in June 2014. 

According to the United Nations, Malawi is in a state of fragile food security combined with nutrition insecurity. The small, primarily agricultural, landlocked country borders Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. The country was ranked 45 of 79 on the 2012 Global Hunger Index, where over 40 percent of the country’s 14 million people live on less than $1.00 per day, according to the 2012 Government of Malawi MDG Report. The 2013-14 National Food Security Forecast projected that 1.4 million Malawian people would be food insecure, representing 9.5 per cent of the population.

"Mr. Ambassador, we are very pleased to celebrate this important step of improving food and water security in Malawi. Hopefully, we will be able to make a contribution to that effect," commented Dean Sabine O'Hara. "We are privileged to be part of the mission your country has of improving food and water security."

Ambassador Matenje visiting the UDC Farm in 2014. 

Food and Fun at the CAUSES Food Tasting

CAUSES hosted a special food tasting for our UDC friends and family. The event, held the day before Valentine's Day, gave UDC students, faculty and staff a chance to sample the types of recipes and other creations that can be made using food grown at Muirkirk Farm, and the potential monetary impact that could be a boon to the University. 


"This event gives us the opportunity to show what the farm has to generate funds for the University. We wanted the UDC Administration to have a firsthand knowledge in terms of tasting so they would know what we are trying to do at the farm at the farm and have a better understanding of how to raise generate funds in the future, using the farm as a resource," explained Prof. Clarence Pearson.

In fact, all of the major components for the sampling dishes were created only using Muirkirk produce, fish and rice.
"First and foremost, I want the UDC community to understand the versatility of what we can do with our farm produce--that's grown with the highest nutritional content. Secondly, I want them to ponder how can we better utilize the farm to improve for what we're doing," said Chef Herb Holden, a community educator with the CAUSES Center for Nutrition and Health. 

Learn more about UDC'a Muirkirk Research Farm. See additional event photos on our Facebook page. And Chef Herb's healthy recipes for Jerusalem Artichoke pasta, Swiss Chard and rice soup, and Swiss Chard Quiche can be found here.

Chef Herb prepares dishes ahead of the tasting. 

In the foreground, Dean Sabine O'Hara greets guests.

Not only is Clarence Pearson a distinguished UDC Professor, he also donated his preserves and pickled veggies to the event.  

A closer look at Prof. Pearson's canned offerings. Spicy!

 

Chef Herb stands between Dean Broderick of the David A. Clarke School of Law and Dean O'Hara.

Spreading the Message on Urban Agriculture

Could Washington, D.C., Become the American Capital of Urban Farming? That's the title of the Takepart.com article by Steve Holt, who originally caught Axum's presentation during the livestreaming of the first annual Food Tank Summit. Here's an excerpt:

This is where Axum and the University of the District of Columbia come in: As a land-grant university, UDC must provide educational opportunities both on campus and in the surrounding community. One of the school's focuses of late has been urban agriculture production and nutritional security in D.C.—where rates of obesity hover close to 75 percent in some wards—a charge the university’s president personally tasked Axum to focus on. 

Thanks to Steve Holt for such a great article and helping CAUSES to spread our message. If you did not get the chance to livestream Che's 2015 Food Summit presentation, watch it now!

UDC to Host World Green Energy Symposium March 12

"Renewables will command...65% of the $7.7 trillion of power investment....Economics – rather than policy – will increasingly drive the uptake of renewable technologies....." Bloomberg 2030 Market Outlook 

You are invited to join us March 12, 2015, at the World Green Energy Symposium. WGES is known for its balanced strategic process and serves as a platform for launches, unveiling of incentives and programs, forecasts, policies and actual case studies. The WGES program focuses on renewable and advanced technologies/innovations as the vantage point in the new economy for creating and maintaining jobs, contract and exporting policies leading to economic vitality and a healthier planet. Designed to serve as a conduit for opportunity and outcome, the WGES also provides opportunities for learning, exchanging, exhibiting and investing in the future of new energy technologies, products and services. 

Why you should attend:  

• (WGES) ..a quality, not just a quantity for the sake of quantity event. It was well planned and worthy of our time...(UGI)

• The relationship building and collaboration as a result of your outstanding efforts to put together a world class symposium has been invaluable... V.Reynoso, CEO GEE

• I get to attend symposiums & events on a regular basis. I find the WGES events to be one of the best organized, most informative, packed with highly connected and influential people... M.Holler, Director EES

• We (DOW) Applaud WGES and its efforts to raise awareness and elevate the importance of energy efficiency...

Continue reading for the speaker line up!

Announcing the Anacostia River Festival

The first-ever Anacostia River Festival will celebrate the history, ecology and communities along the banks of the Anacostia River. The 11th Street Bridge Park and the National Park Service present the event, which will offer free kayaking and canoeing, musical performances, fishing and water filtration workshops, live birds of prey demonstration, a photography exhibition and a bike parade. The Anacostia River Festival is a premier event and official closing of the 2015 National Cherry Blossom Festival. 

Copyright Bridgepark.org

WHEN: Sunday, April 12, 2015, noon – 4 p.m. 

WHERE: National Park Service’s Anacostia Park. Good Hope Road and Anacostia Drive SE 

COST: Free – Family Friendly Event 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.bridgepark.org/anacostia-river-festival 

“We are so excited to be a part of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival and look forward to the positive exposure it will bring to East of the River neighborhoods as well as the 11th Street Bridge Park,” said Scott Kratz, director of the 11th Street Bridge Park, a collaborative project of the D.C. City Government and non-profit Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC transforming an old freeway into a new civic space scheduled to open in 2018. 

“The Anacostia River is a stunning, but often forgotten,natural resource hiding in plain sight and, by collaborating with a number of existing groups, we aim to re-engage residents with this amazing urban watershed.” The event will bring people from across the city and throughout the region to participate in hands-on art workshops, dragon boat rides, a community sing along, urban archaeology, community bicycle rides, boating and other fun activities to connect families with the natural world. 

CAUSES TV: Economic Development & Local Food Systems

On this episode of CAUSES TV, Dr. Sabine O'Hara sits down with Stanley Jackson to discuss economic development and local food systems.

Mr. Jackson is head of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation; former Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development under District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams, and even served as interim president of the University of the District of Columbia.

UDC 4-H to Host LifeSmarts Competition March 13

The University of the District of Columbia will again host the 4-H LifeSmarts Competition on March 13, 2015. The LifeSmarts consumer education for teenagers program creates savvy consumers and develops marketplace skills among teens in a fun and engaging format. The competition will be held in room 515 of the David A. Clarke School of Law from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., located on the UDC campus at 4340 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC.

Complementing high school curricula, LifeSmarts is run as a game-show style competition for 9th through 12th grade students. DC teams are set to compete in the areas of: personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology, consumer rights and responsibilities. Over the past three years, McKinley Tech students have been crowned champions of DC LifeSmarts competition and will be returning to defend their crown. The champions of this year's competition will travel to Seattle, Washington, to vie for the National Championship April 17-20.

UDC to Host 2015 Water Resources Research Symposium

The UDC Water Resources Research Institute  will host the 2015 National Capital Region Water Resources Symposium on April 10, 2015. The symposium, themed Urban Water Management and Resilience in Uncertain Times, will bring together experts from governmental agencies, academia, the private sector, and non-profits to discuss challenges and opportunities for sustainable management of water resources and infrastructure in the region, as well as nationally and internationally.

Featured speakers include Daniel Zarrilli, Director of the Mayor's Office of Recovery and Resiliency for the City of New York (keynote), and panelists: Carolyn Kousky (Resources for the Future), Vicki Arroyo (The Georgetown Climate Center), Mary M. Cheh (Ward 3 Council Member, District of Columbia), and Panel Moderator Roland C. Steiner. In addition, 25 papers will be presented at four con-current sessions and poster exhibits. View the full agenda and register online. Early, discounted registration will be offered until April 6, 2015.