July 10, 2023
K-State to host ecosystem restoration dialog
Submitted by Larry E. Erickson
The 2023 Dialog on Sustainability will be on ecosystem restoration from 9-11 a.m. CDT Saturday, July 22, on Zoom.
Phytotechnologies have been very beneficial for improving soil health, and all of the speakers have had significant experience working with vegetation to restore ecosystems. This is the United Nations, or UN, decade on ecosystem restoration because of the global need to improve soils and the value of brownfields. Carbon sequestration is very important in the global efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
This event is free and open to all who wish to attend. Please pre-register by sending your name and contact information — affiliation, phone number and email address — to Sheree Walsh, administrative coordinator in the Center for Hazardous Substance Research, chsr@k-state.edu. Registration is necessary to receive the Zoom link. Gerry Snyder will serve as Zoom host and operator.
The following is the agenda:
- 8:50 a.m. — Pre-event dialog via Zoom.
- 9 a.m. — Introduction by Larry Erickson, professor of chemical engineering.
- 9:05 a.m. — "Ecosystem Restoration: Examples and Challenges" presented by Kate Kennen, owner of Offshoots Inc., Charlestown, Massachusetts.
- 9:20 a.m. — Questions and discussion facilitated by Donna Schenck-Hamlin, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.
- 9:30 a.m. — "Phytoremediation of Land Contaminated by Military Activities" presented by Valentina Pidlisnyuk, professor of environmental chemistry, UJEP, Czech Republic.
- 9:50 a.m. — Questions and discussion facilitated by Donna Schenck-Hamlin, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.
- 9:55 a.m. — "Ecosystem Restoration of Mine Lands" presented by Ganga Hettiarachchi, professor of agronomy.
- 10:10 a.m. — Questions and discussion facilitated by Donna Schenck-Hamlin, Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy.
- 10:20 a.m. — Dialog on ecosystem restoration.
- 10:55 a.m. — Closing comments by Blase Leven, director of the Center for Hazardous Substance Research, and Larry Erickson, professor of chemical engineering.
The event URL is engg.ksu.edu/chsr/sustainability/dialogs/.