Feb. 15, 2019
NORTH ADAMS, MASS. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announces the next
Green Living Seminar will take place on Thursday, Feb. 28, with a presentation on
“Indoor Farming: The Future of Food?” by James Mayer, a farmer at Grateful Greens
in Stephentown, N.Y.
All Green Living Seminars will take place at 5:30 p.m. in room 121 of the Feigenbaum
Center for Science and Innovation on the MCLA campus. Presented on Thursdays throughout
the spring semester, this series is free and open to the public.
The theme of this semester’s series is “Sustainable Food and Farming,” which focuses
on the past, present, and future of how food is produced and distributed in our region,
and strategies for improving the sustainability of our food system.
Mayer will talk about the advantages and challenges of indoor farming, and running
a microgreens operation. Microgreens are the shoots of plants or vegetables such as
sunflowers, peas, radishes, or wheatgrass that are picked just after the first leaves
have developed.
In operation since January 2018, Mayer grows Grateful Greens’ microgreens without
the use of chemicals. His produce is featured at local restaurants and gourmet stores
as a highlight of salads and sandwiches.
This semester’s Green Living Seminars will take place through April 25. Following
Mayer’s talk on Thursday, Feb. 28, the next Green Living lecture will take place on
Thursday, March 7, when Trevor Mance, owner of TAM Organics LLC in Bennington, Vt.,
presents “Closing the Loop: Composting Food Waste.”
Podcasts of this semester’s Green Living lectures will be posted online following
each presentation at http://www.mcla.edu/greenliving.
MCLA’s Green Living Seminar Series hosts lectures by local, regional, and national
experts. The seminars are organized around a central theme related to the environment
and sustainability. The 2019 series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies
Department and MCLA’s Berkshire Environmental Resource Center.
For more information, go to www.mcla.edu/greenliving or contact Traister at (413)
662-5303 or Elena.Traister@mcla.edu.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) is the Commonwealth's public liberal
arts college and a campus of the Massachusetts state university system. MCLA promotes
excellence in learning and teaching, innovative scholarship, intellectual creativity,
public service, applied knowledge, and active and responsible citizenship. MCLA graduates
are prepared to be practical problem solvers and engaged, resilient global citizens.
For more information, go to www.mcla.edu.
