LEWISBURG – It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertain times globally, nationally, and locally. But, how has it specifically impacted issues like food access, climate change, and sustainable living? Bucknell University’s Center for Sustainability and the Environment (BCSE) is holding a symposium titled, “Adapting in Uncertain Times” to dig deeper into these topics.
Sustainable Technology Director Dr. Milton Newberry says it’s opened new avenues for research and how COVID-19 has impacted them, “If you think about HVAC systems and how we think about which specific air goes through them, now, thinking about the traveling of certain pathogens such as COVID-19 goes through the building.”
The goal of the symposium is to bring together faculty, staff, students, and community stakeholders to share research, teaching, and creative collaborations for community action, “Thinking about a couple of the talks we’re going to have, many of the researchers are student-led researchers that are being supported by faculty at Bucknell and other institutions. For high school students, that shows them that could be them in a couple of years.”
One topic for the event is food justice and waste, which Newberry says is important for all communities, “Especially in the context of people who might live within food deserts, and that’s thinking about having the access to readily available produce to consume and purchase. And so, within the region itself, due to the pandemic, a lot of the supply chains regarding food have been destabilized.”
The virtual symposium will be held Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24 and more information and registration can be found at http://sustainabilitysymposium.scholar.bucknell.edu/
Newberry was a recent guest on WKOK Sunrise, you can hear his full interview on the WKOK Podcast page.
