Dailycsr.com – 05 February 2018 – The 18 mile long highway of The Ray is made cleaner and safer by “maximizing all assets”. The “right-of-way” is the land that surrounds the interstate, whereby marking one of the “largest assets” of The Ray.
The Ray uses its said asset for multi-tasking besides its “primary purpose” of a safe harbour for “drives in distress”. In last year, November, The Ray in collaboration with the “Georgia Department of Transportation” and the “Kansas-based Land Institute”, implemented its “newest pilot demonstration” of farming “perennial wheat” on the right-of-way.
The said project will be carried out for the coming three years using “Kernza® perennial grain”, while “UGA’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Program Director and Associate Professor, Brad Davis, as well as a Master of Landscape Architecture student Matthew Quirey” will be at the monitoring helm of the project. In Professor Davis’ words:
“The College of Environment and Design is proud to partner with The Ray, GDOT, and the Land Institute on this first trial of Kernza in a southern locale. We are keenly aware of the potential for perennial grains to transform agriculture and fiber farming, and to improve the way we manage millions of acres of land across the nation and around the world. As landscape architects, planners, and historic preservationists, we have long advocated for more sustainable land management practices and we are enthusiastic in our support of the research goals and mission of the Land Institute. We hope this first small trial will prove successful and pave the way for adoption and expansion across the region and to other innovative perennial seed crops in the future.”
The Land Institute provides the “Kernza seed” for the pilot project that occupies an area of “1,000 square foot”. The seeds of Kernza plants are being used due to their “breakthrough” nature from the “traditional annual wheat grasses” as the former have a “10-foot” deep roots which help in the enriching processes of the soil besides retaining “clean water” and sequestering carbon.
The said pilot programme of The Ray is the first of its kind on the “southeast” while it is also the first one to be found on a “highway roadside”. Georgia DOT’s landscape architecture, Chris DeGrace said:
“Georgia DOT is always improving the management of our roadsides, which are acres of valuable land assets. Over the past two years on The Ray, we have installed pollinator meadows, bioswales of native grasses, and now a pilot of fiber farming. The opportunity to conduct research on a working roadside with the Land Institute and The Ray is unique and unlike anything in the country.”
While, the President as well as the Founder of The Ray, Harriet Langford added:
“Wheat straw is increasingly used as an alternative to trees, and is a more sustainable fiber source for making many of the highly disposable products we use every day - diapers, paper towels, toilet paper. By growing and harvesting wheat in the right-of-way, we’re creating a new economic opportunity, all while drawing down carbon. I think my dad would say this is ‘so right, so smart.’”
In the words of the Land Institute’s director of research and the lead ecologist, Tim Crews:
“This Kernza perennial grain collaboration will help establish Kernza’s productive geographic range as demand for the grain continues to grow. We look forward to data from this project and are excited to collaborate with The Ray, Georgia DOT and other partners”.
Furthermore, the Ethical Performance informed:
“The Land Institute’s Kernza perennial grain is featured in The New York Times bestseller, Drawdown as a ‘coming attraction,’ for its potential to reduce carbon emission”.
Project Drawdown’s senior writer, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson:
“Eyes are opening to the power of soil for carbon drawdown – even in unlikely places and especially with deep-rooted, perennial crops like Kernza. The pilot is another exciting step forward for this corridor of testing, learning, and teaching.”
References:
3blmedia.com
The Ray uses its said asset for multi-tasking besides its “primary purpose” of a safe harbour for “drives in distress”. In last year, November, The Ray in collaboration with the “Georgia Department of Transportation” and the “Kansas-based Land Institute”, implemented its “newest pilot demonstration” of farming “perennial wheat” on the right-of-way.
The said project will be carried out for the coming three years using “Kernza® perennial grain”, while “UGA’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Program Director and Associate Professor, Brad Davis, as well as a Master of Landscape Architecture student Matthew Quirey” will be at the monitoring helm of the project. In Professor Davis’ words:
“The College of Environment and Design is proud to partner with The Ray, GDOT, and the Land Institute on this first trial of Kernza in a southern locale. We are keenly aware of the potential for perennial grains to transform agriculture and fiber farming, and to improve the way we manage millions of acres of land across the nation and around the world. As landscape architects, planners, and historic preservationists, we have long advocated for more sustainable land management practices and we are enthusiastic in our support of the research goals and mission of the Land Institute. We hope this first small trial will prove successful and pave the way for adoption and expansion across the region and to other innovative perennial seed crops in the future.”
The Land Institute provides the “Kernza seed” for the pilot project that occupies an area of “1,000 square foot”. The seeds of Kernza plants are being used due to their “breakthrough” nature from the “traditional annual wheat grasses” as the former have a “10-foot” deep roots which help in the enriching processes of the soil besides retaining “clean water” and sequestering carbon.
The said pilot programme of The Ray is the first of its kind on the “southeast” while it is also the first one to be found on a “highway roadside”. Georgia DOT’s landscape architecture, Chris DeGrace said:
“Georgia DOT is always improving the management of our roadsides, which are acres of valuable land assets. Over the past two years on The Ray, we have installed pollinator meadows, bioswales of native grasses, and now a pilot of fiber farming. The opportunity to conduct research on a working roadside with the Land Institute and The Ray is unique and unlike anything in the country.”
While, the President as well as the Founder of The Ray, Harriet Langford added:
“Wheat straw is increasingly used as an alternative to trees, and is a more sustainable fiber source for making many of the highly disposable products we use every day - diapers, paper towels, toilet paper. By growing and harvesting wheat in the right-of-way, we’re creating a new economic opportunity, all while drawing down carbon. I think my dad would say this is ‘so right, so smart.’”
In the words of the Land Institute’s director of research and the lead ecologist, Tim Crews:
“This Kernza perennial grain collaboration will help establish Kernza’s productive geographic range as demand for the grain continues to grow. We look forward to data from this project and are excited to collaborate with The Ray, Georgia DOT and other partners”.
Furthermore, the Ethical Performance informed:
“The Land Institute’s Kernza perennial grain is featured in The New York Times bestseller, Drawdown as a ‘coming attraction,’ for its potential to reduce carbon emission”.
Project Drawdown’s senior writer, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson:
“Eyes are opening to the power of soil for carbon drawdown – even in unlikely places and especially with deep-rooted, perennial crops like Kernza. The pilot is another exciting step forward for this corridor of testing, learning, and teaching.”
References:
3blmedia.com