Sustainability Series
Presented by Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi and Dr. Sabine Martin, Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University
Moderated by Jim Rocco, Redevelopment Institute Instructor
Download the presentation slides here.
1 AICP CM Credit
Interest in local agriculture is increasing, especially in urban areas. Many of these gardens are or will be located on land that may be impacted by previous use. This webinar will highlight the latest Kansas State University research data on contaminant uptake by food crops tools for gardening grown on brownfields across the U.S. sites slated for community gardens. Three urban community garden sites located in Kansas City, Missouri; Tacoma, WA; and Indianapolis, IN will be used as examples. Contaminants associated with these sites were lead, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Field test plots were established within the community gardens and three vegetable crop types with three very different growth and contaminant uptake patterns were planted over two growing seasons. We will discuss our findings regarding plant uptake of lead, arsenic and PAHs; the effectiveness of selected site-specific soil amendments to reduce bioavailability of these contaminants; associated best management practices focusing on reduction of both direct (soil-human) and indirect (soil-plant-human) exposure to the gardeners and their children; and potential human health risks associated with growing crops on brownfields sites.
The Presenters
Dr. Ganga Hettiarachchi is an Associate Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University. Dr. Hettiarachchi's research interests currently focus on agricultural soilscontaminated urban soils, and mine-impacted soils/geomaterials in order to understand?biogeochemical transformation of nutrient and potentially toxic elements and their role in controlling soil-plant?transfer, mobility, and attenuation processes.
Dr. Sabine Martin is a Program Associate in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University and President of CTOR Solutions, a small company dedicated to assist communities with revitalization of blighted and underutilized properties (brownfields). Dr. Martin's expertise and interest in site revitalization, community outreach and gardening (she is a Master Gardener) came together as a co-Principal Investigator under the EPA grant that made the presented research possible.
