Humanities students build bridges to strong communities
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign doctoral student Dale Mize (History) is using storytelling to help raise awareness about food sourcing through summer research interviews on three area farms that use sustainable practices and regenerative land use systems.
Crider Farms, a family farm in Farmer City.
Photo courtesy Sonia Warner
He is one of five students participating in the 2024 Humanities Without Walls Summer Bridge experience through the Humanities Research Institute. Individuals selected for the paid fellowship connect with an organization, identify an area of need, and collaborate to design and implement a project to address the need.
We CU community engaged scholars, a university initiative that supports partnerships between local organizations and service-learning instructors, facilitates the collaborations. Mize is working with The Land Connection, a Champaign nonprofit that helps farmers improve environmental, ecological, economic and quality of life outcomes for their operations.
“My project educates people about regenerative, or sustainable, agricultural practices and highlights farmers in the area currently doing this work,” Mize said. He is studying agricultural history. His project’s primary focus is on beef cattle from historical and health perspectives. He has visited beef, pork and poultry farms, and has also been to ones that have yaks and sheep.
There is an overarching altruistic quality to the work. “As we think about climate change and the issues the planet faces and will continue to face, we must understand humans’ interactions with the environment and move toward practices that prolong the health of the Earth,” Mize said.
Read the full story on the News Bureau website.
By Anthony Hicks, Writer-Editor
Originally published July 15, 2024