Students to Visit Victus Farm

Students in Dr. Linda Krug's core MAPL class, Political and Advocacy Leadership, will be traveling up to Victus Farms in Silver Bay to meet with Dr. Mageau. He will talk about his efforts and discuss the challenges faced and strategies used in creating a self-contained food and energy generating ecosystem with a number of stakeholders.

Dr. Mageau is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Environment & Sustainability Program at UMD. He also directs the Center for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD), and the Sustainable Development Research Opportunities Program (SDROP). Dr. Mageau's research and teaching interests include Ecological Economics and Sustainable Economic Development. He has been working with communities in the region for the past ten years on a wide variety of renewable energy and food systems projects and has played a crucial role in establishing Victus Farm in Silver Bay.

Victus Farms is a new facility that will house a self-contained food and energy generating ecosystem made up of a greenhouse, fish tanks, and algae production areas. The facility will use waste products from growing fish to serve as a natural nutrient source for plants and algae that, in the end, will produce energy. The fish, produce, and algal oil generated by the system will be brought to market and sold for revenue. 

The project is the result of a partnership between the City of Silver Bay and UMD's Center for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD) that is focusing on creating jobs, producing fuel and food, and improving the environment.

For additional information about Victus Farm, please visit their website:
http://www.d.umn.edu/cscd/victusfarm/index.php