For the faculty and staff who made their way to Bible Hill on the AV俱乐部 bus last Thursday, it was hardly another day at the office.
You鈥檙e probably not going to be shearing sheep in Halifax, after all. Or having an in-depth conversation with a falconer, whose birds of prey protect a campus of bio-food crops from unwanted avian visitors. Or learning about world leading research to grow stronger potatoes and Christmas trees that are climate- and pest-resistant.
These are the sorts of experiences that make Nova Scotia Agricultural College unique, and this September they鈥檙e poised to become a key part of the AV俱乐部 experience as well. The two universities are about to embark on an exciting new chapter of research and innovation together, with NSAC becoming Dal鈥檚 Faculty of Agriculture and the university鈥檚 Agricultural Campus.
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Each year, NSAC throws out the welcome mat to the entire Truro/Bible Hill community at its Open House, opening its doors to families, friends and community members of all stripes 鈥� including Tiger stripes.
The AV俱乐部 Tiger himself, in fact, was along for the trip, helping Dal employees hand out Tiger Tail-flavoured ice cream and greeting kids with hugs alongside Rocky the Ram, NSAC鈥檚 mascot. Other faculty and staff on the trip spent their time on guided tours, walking through the spectacular gardens and checking out exhibits in each of the campus鈥� research centres.
Research that connects with community
Though I鈥檇 spent time at NSAC before, it was always task-focused and fleeting, so Open House was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the research and scholarship that will soon become part of the AV俱乐部 community. From the Plant Sciences teams set up in the Cox Building, to Aquaculture in the Haley Institute, to the barns of the Ruminant Animal Centre and the Atlantic Poultry Research Centre, nearly ever corner of campus was filled with excited students and faculty eager to share how their work makes a real difference to the agricultural community in Nova Scotia, the Maritimes and beyond.
For example, Zhuhui Ye, a masters student in aquaculture, told me about his lab鈥檚 research on the striped bass, a threatened species which spawns in the Shubenacadie River. With a natural gas plant set to begin construction nearby, the lab will be working with the gas company to monitor salt levels in the river, ensuring the bass鈥� spawning habitat remains viable. There were also plenty of other sea and river creatures on display, from rainbow trout to an elusive blue lobster.
Over in Plant Sciences, I talked with PhD student Sanghyun Lim about his genetics work on potatoes. 鈥淔armers often use lots of chemicals to kill fungi, but those chemicals can include toxins,鈥� he explained. His team is working on growing potatoes with built-in residence to threatening fungi, limiting the need for these chemicals. I also had an extremely informative chat with Rachel Kennedy and Ernest Korankye of NSAC鈥檚 renowned Christmas Tree Research Centre, which is the only Christmas tree research centre in the world focusing on Balsam Firs. Part of their work is finding ways to keep trees lasting longer once they鈥檙e cut.
Not all of the NSAC researchers I talked to are doing strictly scientific projects. Jaclyn Mosher, with the Rural Research Centre, is the coordinator of the Wool Value Chain Development Project. She鈥檚 working with a wool mill in North River to determine the viability of insulation sales as a secondary revenue stream for farmers, since a great deal of sheep wool that can鈥檛 be used for clothing simply gets thrown out. And I spoke with two engineering students working on a rather awesome looking precision fertilizer spreader that not only uses a computerized map, but a real-time sensing and control system that can distinguish between weeds, bare spots and plants, and fertilize accordingly.
The spirit of the occasion
Of course, no trip to NSAC would be complete without visiting the barns. I got to watch young kids gleefully get into a 鈥渂aaa-ing鈥� contest with sheep, and then be entertained as said sheep were given new summer haircuts. I watched while guests put their hands inside a live cow鈥檚 stomach to see what constitutes a bovine breakfast鈥攊t was more cool than gross, trust me鈥攁nd saw others carefully handle a group of newly-hatched baby chicks.
Walking back to the centre of campus, through the Rock Gardens (okay鈥 cheated and took the tractor ride part of the way), I couldn鈥檛 help but note the energy that seemed to fill the campus. Surely, the fact that it was the perfect day for this sort of event helped a great deal鈥攕unny skies, a slight breeze, ideal for walking around and exploring鈥攂ut it was more the spirit of the occasion: a university-wide effort to be open, accessible and connected with community. Open House may only be one day a year, but it was clear that this spirit flowed deep through the efforts of students, faculty and staff at NSAC.
It鈥檚 a spirit that will fit right in as part of AV俱乐部.
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