The Camden Conference is pleased to announce the awarding of the Bill Taylor Award to a group of Unity College students. The award is the outcome of a challenge to Maine college and high school students to investigate the growing worldwide food and water crisis. Taylor, a long-time supporter of the Conference, created this award to promote student research in support of his strong interest in education. The award of $1,000 was presented to student Sarah Bicknell and Professor Doug Fox by Taylor at a recent Camden Conference Education Committee Meeting.

The Unity College students’ project involves creating “Gardens-in-a-Box.” These boxes will be complete with materials and directions for planting a family garden and will be distributed to local grocery stores and food pantries. Their research will examine the sale of these Boxes and their impact on families. Evidence has shown that families growing their own food are promising for alleviating the rise in hunger in the USA and around the world. This research study fits into a larger R & D scheme for agriculture students at Unity College on the growing food crisis. The study will provide information to Johnny’s Seeds on the potential sustainability of “Gardens-in-a-Box” for responding to local food needs. A future research question for Unity students will focus on the nutritional value of the Box.

The mission of the Camden Conference is to foster informed discourse on world issues. For more information, visit www.camdenconference.org, email info@camdenconference.org, or call 207-236-1034.

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