CONSERVE co-PD Paul Goeringer to Lead New Multi-Institutional Grant to Examine the Legal, Economic, and Policy Implications of Solar Power on Agricultural Land

Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) led by CONSERVE co-PD Paul Goeringer were recently awarded nearly $500K by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to lead a new multi-institutional investigation of solar power production on rural or agricultural land. The project aims to produce educational resources for Extension agents and attorneys to help farmers and rural landowners understand drawbacks and benefits of solar power production. Researchers will be surveying rural landowners to really make sure all of their legal concerns, responsibilities for solar panel maintenance, pricing and leasing confusions, and the pros and cons economically and legally are examined across the agricultural sector. 

For more information on this new solar energy project, visit: https://agnr.umd.edu/news/umd-researchers-lead-new-multi-institutional-grant-examine-legal-economic-and-policy

Paul Goeringer

CONSERVE Project Director Dr. Amy Sapkota to lead the educational component of a new NIFA-funded grant

Dr. Amy Sapkota

Dr. Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang

CONSERVE Project Director Dr. Amy Sapkota will lead the educational component of a grant that was recently awarded to University of Maryland Professor Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang. The five-year, $10 million project is funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the same institute that funded CONSERVE, to help farmers in the Corn Belt navigate efficient water and nutrient use in order to increase crop production. Dr. Liang, along with other UMD researchers, plan to develop a Dashboard for Agricultural Water use and Nutrient management (DAWN) that will help maximize corn, soybean and bioenergy crop production in the Midwestern United States. They expect DAWN to identify innovative ways of increasing land- and water-use efficiency given competing resource demands and varying water availability and quality. As part of this new project, Dr. Sapkota plans to expand the CONSERVE Scholars and the CONSERVE Summer Internship Program, two very successful components of our CONSERVE project.

For additional information on the DAWN project, please visit:  https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/4607 

Results of a Needs Assessment Survey of Farmers and Growers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest USA

Members of the CONSERVE Extension team from the University of Maryland and University of Arizona conducted a needs assessment of farmers and growers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest regions of the United States. The Extension team created this infographic using results from the survey that was published in Environmental Research journal in 2019. These survey results will help researchers and educators understand the agricultural educational needs of farmers and growers and create relevant training and resources.

CONSERVE Researcher investigates the “Yuck Factor”

Wastewater Treatment Plant in Maryland

Participant EEG Results before and after viewing water education videos

Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein (co-PD of the CONSERVE Extension team) and her collaborator Dr. Edward Bernat (UMD Department of Psychology) were awarded a 2019 Seed Grant from the University of Maryland Brain and Behavior Institute (BBI) . The goal of the project was to use neural activity measures to understand consumer perceptions of water reuse in order to determine how to increase acceptance of water reuse. In Phase I of the project the researchers measured changes in neural activity in response to multiple categories of water reuse terms pre- and post-exposure to water reuse education videos using electroencephalogram (EEG). Large changes in brain activity were observed after participants viewed the videos. These changes could correspond to increased attention, engagement, and interest in the water reuse terms as a result of viewing the videos. The results thus far point to the importance of validating the effectiveness of water reuse education materials using sophisticated neurocognitive measures. The integration of psychology into water reuse educational efforts will aid targeted education campaigns that could lead to increased public acceptance.

View the video below to learn more about the project!

CONSERVE Researchers at the University of Maryland Among Top 100 Proposals for MacArthur $100 Million Grant

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation unveiled on February 19th that the University of Maryland has one of the highest-scoring proposals, designated as the Top 100, in its 100&Change competition for a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world's most critical social challenges. 

CONSERVE researchers at the University of Maryland are partnering with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and CultivAid (Ethiopia). Together, they are joined by Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), Kathmandu University (Nepal), the Environment and Public Health Organization (Nepal), and the Arava Institute (Israel). This multinational team comprises the Global Alliance for Sustainable Water Reuse, Food and Health, a unique, world-renowned group of agricultural, public health environmental, social/behavioral, engineering and policy experts, working to alleviate global food and water insecurity, improve public health and build resilience to climate change.

Read the full press release here: https://sph.umd.edu/news-item/university-maryland-among-top-100-proposals-macarthur-100-million-grant

Learn more about the Global Alliance for Sustainable Water Reuse, Food and Health here: http://conservewaterforfood.org/global-alliance

CONSERVE and UMD Global STEWARDS Graduate Students Traveled to Israel and the West Bank to Learn About Food-Energy-Water Nexus Issues in the Region

Visit to the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

A group of CONSERVE Scholars and Global STEWARDS fellows traveled to Israel and the West Bank in January 2020 to learn about Food Energy Water (FEW) nexus issues in the region. The students were led by UMD faculty members Dr. Rianna Murray and Dr. Angela Ferelli and were joined by two students of the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Students learned from our Israeli partners who are world leaders in sustainable, energy-efficient water reuse for food production, and from local off-grid communities in the development of low or no energy water reuse systems for food crop irrigation.

Students are currently working with our Israeli collaborators on projects that were conceptualized based on their experiences while on the trip. One group of students is creating a survey that will be distributed to off-grid communities to understand their water use behaviors and their perceptions of using recycled wastewater for crop irrigation. Another group is using an Extension approach to develop signage and visitor guides for a Bedouin farm that uses innovative, solar-powered technology to recycle wastewater that is then used to irrigate agricultural crops. These projects will not only assist Israeli and West Bank researchers, communities and farmers, but will also give the students an opportunity to broaden their cultural and world perspectives.

Students visit a Bedouin village and share in a traditional Bedouin meal while learning about off-grid technologies for wastewater reuse on a village farm

Tour of the Ashkelon Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) Plant

CONSERVE Extension Specialist from the University of Arizona Worked as a Visiting Scholar at the Arava Institute in Ketura, Israel

Natalie A. Brassill, an Assistant in Extension at the University of Arizona, spent Fall 2019 as a Visiting Scholar at the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies in Ketura, Israel, working with collaborator Dr. Clive Lipchin. During her stay, Ms. Brassill worked with Palestinian and Bedouin communities located in areas that lack access to centralized wastewater treatment systems, and therefore, rely on off-grid grey water treatment technologies. These transformative off-grid water treatment systems allow Palestinians and Bedouins to treat their household grey water and reuse it for agricultural irrigation. This practice is helping to expand water security and diversify the water portfolio of community stakeholders in this region. 

Ms. Brassill primarily worked with a Bedouin community in Israel, monitoring their off-grid household greywater treatment system for E. coli and physiological parameters, and informing the community about her findings. Since the off-grid household grey water treatment technologies were installed, the Bedouin community has planted over 30 olive trees and is using this water (that was previously wasted) for food crop irrigation. Ms. Brassill also monitored 3 villages in the West Bank, Palestinian Territories that are also using off-grid greywater treatment systems to irrigate date palm trees. By using treated household greywater for irrigation, Palestinians in the West Bank are now able to grow lemon and olive trees with reused water.

CONSERVE hosts half-day workshops throughout Maryland on Water Reuse for Agriculture: What Growers need to know

CONSERVE is hosting a series of half-day workshops throughout MD on Water Reuse for Agriculture: What Growers need to know. Join us to see demonstrations and learn about water reuse research and regulation updates from University of Maryland researchers. Free lunch provided at every workshop! Please register at: https://go.umd.edu/w2C

All workshops will be held from 8:00AM - 1:00PM.

Workshop dates and locations:

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4TH 2019

9501 Crain Highway, Box 1

Bel Alton, MD 20611

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH, 2020

Eastern Shore Hospital Center

English Hall

5262 Woods Road

Cambridge, MD 21613

WEDNESDAY MARCH 11TH, 2020

Frederick County Extension Office

330 Montevue Lane

Frederick, MD 21702

CONSERVE Team Member Contributes to Maryland Graywater Regulation Development

Dr. Masoud Negahban-Azar

Dr. Masoud Negahban-Azar, a University of maryland researcher and co-PD of CONSERVE, has been invited to serve on Maryland's Residential Graywater Advisory Committee. The Committee is helping the Maryland Department of Environment develop regulations to implement a State graywater law adopted in 2018 (SB 496). Typical graywater sources include bathroom sinks, showers/bathtubs and laundry washing.

Among his varied interests in systems-level water and environmental management, Dr. Negahban-Azar has conducted research into irrigation using graywater, and published multiple papers on this topic. His work related to CONSERVE includes characterizing the quantity of nontraditional irrigation water sources (e.g., wastewater treatment plant effluent, vegetable processing plant effluent etc.) available in Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Delaware (DE) and Maryland (MD) through the development of a user-friendly geospatial (GIS) platform. He has also developed a decision support system to identify hotspots for use of recycled water for agricultural irrigation. 

View more about Maryland’s Residential Graywater Advisory Committee here, including a short video introduction to graywater: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/waterconservation/Pages/graywater.aspx

Another Successful CONSERVE Annual Meeting!

On July 15-16, the CONSERVE Team convened for our annual meeting in College Park, Maryland. The activity updates reconfirmed the amazing efforts of our transdisciplinary team. Year 4 will largely focus on analyzing the massive data sets and translating the findings into messages for all of our stakeholders: growers, teachers, students, researchers, policy makers, and more.