Our Collaboratory explores humans’ long-term relationship to Western lands; we will identify and evaluate historical attitudes, ideas, and land practices that have the potential to sustain western U.S. land health and productivity in the face of accelerating climate change. We look to the past to inform the present and future of land stewardship. To accomplish this, we will bring together experts and practitioners from across disciplines to identify and discuss practices employed in the past that have current relevance, with the goal of improving sustainability of land management and agricultural production in the western U.S. For example, we will explore topics like water use, land restoration, pollinator habitat improvement, and grazing management. Past practices are often inspired by natural systems and are low tech but can be highly effective. We will explore how these past practices can be adapted to our current systems.
Funding Years 2025-2026
Seeking additional faculty and graduate students on campus to join this team, contact Nick Young for details.
Collaboratory Leads:
- Lindsay Burnette, Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
- Anthony Vorster, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
- William Romme, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
- Nicole Archambeau, History