The Agroecology Knowledge Exchange Workshop was held in Waterloo, Ontario from August 15–17, 2016, and was organized by FLEdGE’s Agroecology Working Group. The workshop brought together leaders in agroecology research and practice from Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Canada. It was an opportunity to share stories of innovation, learn some practical skills, build relationships across boundaries and cultures, and celebrate the diversity in approaches. The goal of the workshop was to help build attendees’ collective capacity to engage in agroecology as a means of increasing the resilience of agroecosystems and communities.

Day 1: Presentations

Presenters:

• Angel Leyva Galán, Biodiversity and agroecostystem evaluation specialist, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (Department of Sustainable Agroecosystem Management), Cuba
• Marvin Gómez, Participatory Plant Breeding specialist, USC Canada Seeds of Survival, based in Honduras
• Laura Gómez Tovar, Participatory organic certification and rural development specialist, University of Chapingo (Agroecology Department), Mexico
• Gabriela Soto, Organic agriculture and sustainability specialist, Sustainable Assessment Committee, based in Costa Rica
• Sarah Hargreaves, Farmer-Led Research Program specialist, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, Canada
• Thorsten Arnold, Ecological farming-research-networking specialist, Grey-Bruce Centre for Agroecology, Canada

Day 2: Field Learning at Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Centre

Workshop topics:

• participatory agroecosystem/biodiversity evaluation
• participatory organic certification and low-input strategies for producing beneficial micro-organisms
• participatory plant breeding and seed security

Day 3: Farm Tours at Fertile Ground CSA and Zócalo Organics

Itinerary:

• farmer-led research field tour and recognition event, hosted by Angie Koch of Fertile Ground
• farm tour of Zócalo Organics
• planning session for future collaboration