Current Projects
Research
Work in E.D.I.D.
Developing an equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization lexicon for authors (Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development)
Co-Researcher: Fally Masambuka, JAFSCD Equity Advisor
*More information coming*
Collaborative Writing
Faculty Learning Communities: Communities of Practice that Support, Inspire, Engage and Transform Higher Education Classrooms
Edited by Kristin N. Rainville, David Title, Cynthia G. Desrochers.
Submitted book chapter. A collaborative writing project with our contract faculty community of practice (in alphabetical order): Chris Klassen, Lisa Kuron, Holly Gibbs, Erin Hodson, Bina Mehta, Jennifer Marshman, Sobia Iqbal, Brent Hagerman, Marybeth White.
Photo by J. Marshman © 2021
Textbook Contribution
Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets
Kathleen Kevany and Paolo Prosperi, co-Editors
Authors:
Dr. Paul Manning
Jennifer Marshman
Chapter Title: Conserving insect biodiversity in agroecosystems underpins sustainable diets
Abstract: Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life, measured at the genetic, species, or ecosystem level. Insects create the foundation for all ecosystems and represent a large component of the biodiversity found within agroecosystems. Though insects interfere with the capacity of human societies to produce food by consuming crops and spreading plant diseases, insects also play numerous important roles in supporting production of food for sustainable diets. In this chapter, we begin with a high-level review of the important contributions of insects to biodiversity in agroecosystems. Then, using a series of short case-studies we share how insect biodiversity supports sustainable diets through influencing the social, economic, and environmental components of sustainability. In the first, we explore the human-pollinator nexus through our understanding, interaction, and management of bees. In the second, we share how insect biodiversity supports the economic sustainability of food production through biological control of pests. An exceptionally diverse guild of insects (parasitic wasps and flies) supports this important function. We share several examples explaining how these ‘natural enemies’ help farmers avoid economic losses to pests. In the third, spanning the global north and south, we share how dung beetles underpin the environmental sustainability of diets through building soil carbon, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and suppressing pathogens and disease. We conclude by discussing some of the threats to insect biodiversity in agroecosystems, and overview the value that principles of organic production and contemporary agri-environmental policy have placed on conserving insect biodiversity now and into the future.
Textbook Contribution
Global Transformations of Food Systems for Climate Change Resilience
Preety Gadhoke, Barrett P. Brenton, Solomon Katz, Editors
Author: Jennifer Marshman
Chapter Title: Bee Cities: Pollinators, Climate Change, and Food Security
Abstract: Human and ecological health are dependent on pollinators in myriad, interconnected ways, from providing food, fiber, and medicine, to supporting the very web of life that sustains living organisms on Earth. Pollinators are responsible for pollinating an estimated 35% of global crop volume and 90% of the flowering plants on Earth. While most global crop production happens outside of urban spaces, food production, ecosystem resilience, and urban health are inextricably linked through the services provided by pollinators. Despite good evidence of pollinator population declines due to human-induced causes such as habitat loss, pesticide use, and a changing global climate, research on the human dimensions of pollinator conservation, particularly in an urban context, is small but growing. Using a case study methodology, this chapter introduces the Bee City movement in Ontario, Canada. Bee City is a conservation engagement strategy that brings together municipal leadership with urban citizens. By embedding these efforts at the municipal level, the Bee City movement facilitates public and policy discourse through the primary criteria of habitat creation, education, and celebration. Addressing pollinator declines through municipal conservation efforts is an important intervention to ensure a healthy future for people, pollinators, and the planet. With a growing number of Bee Cities across North America there is an intentional effort to foreground pollinator health in municipal planning. With active implementation, this movement has potentially far-reaching implications from increasing interest and awareness, to the creation of pollinator habitat on municipal, private, and residential property with all the associated benefits.
Laurier Sustainability Office
Garden Stewards & Volunteer Program
*NEW* 2021 program.
Katarina Milicic
Jennifer Marshman
Recruiting & providing training and workshops for the Laurier pollinator projects including Bee Campus.
Certified Master Melittologist
Delving deeper into the study of native bee biology and ecology.
