Saving Asia’s Threatened Trees: From Assessment to Action

Learn how international partnerships are helping protect some of Asia’s most threatened tree species during a special presentation by conservation professionals from The Morton Arboretum.

Kate Good, research manager, and Amy Byrne, strategic partnerships manager, will share insights from the Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation Program. Their presentation will explore how researchers assess threats to tree species and translate their findings into collaborative conservation action.

Students interested in biodiversity, conservation, environmental research, nonprofit organizations or international environmental work are encouraged to attend.

Date: Friday, Oct. 16, 2026
Time: Noon
Location: Peters Campus Life Building, Room 100
Attendance option: In person or online

This event is cosponsored by the NIU Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability and Energy.

Gary Zimmer comes to MCC - This Friday!

 Have you ever heard Gary Zimmer speak on soil health?  His exuberance is un-matched!

 

 

Gary Zimmer is Founder of Midwestern BioAg. Known as the “father” of biological agriculture, Zimmer is an internationally known author, speaker, and consultant. He owns Otter Creek Organic Farm, a family-operated, award-winning 1,000 acre farm near Lone Rock, WI, and has been on the board of Taliesin Preservation Inc. since 2011. Zimmer is the author of three books, The Biological Farmer (Second Edition), The Biological Farmer and Advancing Biological Farming, and numerous articles on soils and livestock nutrition.

 

Gary is just ONE of the featured speakers at Why Organic?  How to Transition and Succeed 

 

Friday November 15

10am - 3pm

McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL

Free, Includes Lunch (but registration required)

 

Register HERE

 

Whether you’re already organic, on a mission to transition, or organic-curious, this event is for you. Learn about…

·                     The significance of organic practices and certification

• USDA certified organic processes and requirements
• The impact of organic practices on soil ecology and productivity
• Climate resilient practices within organic production systems

Enjoy a provided lunch with other organic producers, supporters, educators, and certifiers

Curbside Consultations with: Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA), Oregon Tilth, OnMark Certification Services, Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA)

This event is a collaboration between Farmer's Rising and the Center for Agrarian Learning at MCC. 

 

9:45am | Doors Open

Arrival & Check In

10:00am | Welcome

Welcome | Sheri Doyel (Center for Agrarian Learning at MCC)
TOPP | Kate Larson (Farmers Rising)
Why Organic? | Thomas Manley (Marbleseed)

11:00am | Breakouts

Certification Success | Process and requirements, and building a relationship with your certifier, with Mark Geistlinger (MOSA) and local organic production farmers: Christopher Schoeneweiss and Jason Sonnefeldt

Soil Health and Ecology | The impact of organic practices on soil ecology and productivity, with Gary Zimmer (Midwestern BioAg)

Climate Solutions | Resilient practices within organic production systems, with Josh Bendorf (USDA Midwest Climate Hub) and  local farmers building into climate resilience: Christina Foster  and  Jennifer Viktora-Cuomo

12:30pm | Lunch

Catered by | Duke's Alehouse & Kitchen

1:30pm - 3:00pm | Curbside Consultations

10 - 15 minute one-on-one conversations with Certifiers from:
​Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA)
Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA)
OnMark Certification Services
Oregon Tilth

Free, REGISTER HERE

 

This program would not be possible without the generous support of the Transition to Organic Partnership Program. The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) exists to provide technical assistance and wrap-around support for transitioning and existing organic farmers. 

The 20th annual Lincoln Lecture

The 20^th annual Lincoln Lecture will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 in Altgeld Auditorium. This year’s program will feature a discussion with award-winning author Clint Smith on the topic of “Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America,” moderated by Christina Abreu, Director of the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies. The program will draw on Smith’s 2021 book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and selected by the New York Times as one of the 10 best books of 2021.

The W. Bruce Lincoln Endowed Lecture Series brings to campus distinguished scholars who address topics of interest to both the academic community and the general public. The lectures engage key issues and are often interdisciplinary, in the spirit of Professor Lincoln’s research, writing and teaching.