Nick, Author at Ceres Trust

Livestock on the Land

Livestock on the Land is a story by Practical Farmers of Iowa about the ways that farmers are building a regenerative agriculture by centering their operations around the animals they care for. Whether it’s through rotational grazing or cover crops or fertility for crop fields, livestock hold the key to protecting our soil, cleaning up our water and even providing habitat for wildlife. But most importantly, livestock give farmers a chance to get started, grow businesses, provide for their families, work together, and ultimately, bring back the next generation to start it all over again. View the video…

Practical Farmers of Iowa: Cover Crop Options to Improve Soil Health

Because small-grains crops like wheat or oats are harvested in mid-summer, the many weeks remaining before winter presents opportunities for a panoply of cover crop options to improve soil health. Noah Wendt and Caleb Akin farm together near Cambridge in central Iowa. Among other reasons, they use small-grains crops in their rotation in order to facilitate cover crop mixes for the purposes of high-quality forage for grazing cattle and for boosting soil fertility.

Beyond Pesticides: 40 Years of Protecting Health and the Environment with Science, Policy, and Action

We’re living in a crucial time for action and we have structured our work to meet the existential challenges to health and the environment as we collaborate with communities across the country and globally. We educate on the hazards of pesticide dependency and bring hands-on support to put in place organic land management programs for parks, playing fields, school yards, and open space. Watch the video for a reflection on 40 years at Beyond Pesticides…

The Native Seed Pod

The Native Seed Pod is a podcast that explores and celebrates Native foodways, ancestral seeds, and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge needed to renew the health of the Earth and all our relations. From planting songs to cultural foodscapes, we highlight the importance of protecting and restoring agrobiodiversity and food sovereignty to sustain resilient communities.

Maui County Council Passes Strongest Public Lands Organic Policy in the Nation

“This legislation represents the most comprehensive restriction of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers on public lands in a major county in the US,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of the nonprofit Beyond Pesticides. “It represents a clear commitment to the elimination of petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers and an incredibly important effort to confront the climate crisis, biodiversity collapse, and the protection of the health of workers and communities.”

Justice Through Food – A Community Food Sovereignty Collaborative

Food sovereignty engages grassroots leaders from marginalized communities of color to drive advocacy and social innovation. It focuses on food for people, values providers, and puts control locally. When our marginalized and under-resourced communities have equitable access to land and capital, they can apply their traditional knowledge and entrepreneurship through food sovereignty and shift the…

The Science & Environmental Health Network

Since 1998, SEHN has been the leading proponent in the US of the Precautionary Principle as a new basis for environmental and public health policy.

Keawanui Updates from ‘Aina Momona

As we work to bring regenerative practices to the Kaʻamola ahupuaʻa, we try to be as innovative as possible and explore solutions to cross-cutting issues on the land and in the sea. Along the south shore of the island we have seen huge blooms of the invasive limu known as gorilla ogo. This seaweed suffocates the reef system below and kills off native limu in the area. Additionally, native fish species tend not to eat this limu.

Agricultural Updates from ‘Aina Momona

With several acres cleared at our land base Keawanui, ‘Āina Momona has been working with our partners at Māla Kaluʻulu Cooperative to develop an agricultural plan for the site that will guide our food production and land restoration efforts for the coming years. We are currently in the design phase, looking at possible concepts that will work best for our goals and landscape.

FAO Recognition for ‘Aina Momona Program Director

This month our program director Jane Au was highlighted by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Indingeous People’s Unit for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Indigenous women are keepers of traditional knowledge that will play a crucial role in bettering the conservation and environmental movements of our time.