West Virginia University is one of a small number of schools with a well-established organic agriculture initiative, and its research activities filter into academics and outreach.

A retired WVU faculty member has enhanced the project’s capacities. Linda Butler, professor emeritus of entomology, has endowed the Butler Organics Discretionary Fund to support WVU’s Organic Research Project in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

During her tenure at WVU, Butler was part of the multidisciplinary group of researchers who launched the initiative in 1998 and began transitioning the traditional horticulture farm into a certified organic facility.

“Personally, I have always been very committed to environmentally friendly means of food production, having grown my own organic fruits and vegetables for many years,” Butler said. “Additionally, I wanted to support the Organic Research Project because it is now a long-lived project that has a strong past and, with help, can continue successfully into the future.”

The Organic Research Project encompasses many disciplines, including entomology, animal science, horticulture, soil science, crops agronomy and weed management.

“This interdisciplinary approach to research and problem solving encourages us to ‘see the big picture’ while focusing on the small details and building blocks for the big picture,” Butler said.

One use of the Butler Organics Discretionary Fund will be to support summer internships for students at the project farm.

“Classroom learning is critical in higher education, but it falls short if not coupled with practical, hands-on experience,” Butler said. “Few approaches can provide this as well as internships. This is especially true with a broad, multidisciplinary field such as organic research where the students interact with faculty and students from many disciplines and apply classroom theory to the real world.”

“Dr. Butler’s gift reveals a lot about her commitment to the educational programs she has been a part of in the Division of Plant and Soil Science at WVU,” said Matthew Jenks, director of the division. “Her support for the organic farm intern program will help us take our programs to the next level, and will provide for what promises to be a wonderful learning experience for our students.”

Each student intern will have the opportunity to see beyond her or his immediate project into the complexity of living plants, animals, soil, and weather. Sven Verlinden, associate professor of horticulture, is currently recruiting the first class of summer organic interns.

“Students enrolled in this program will be exposed to all facets of managing an organic farm from developing a farm plan to maintaining organic certification and dealing with problems and opportunities inherent to organic production of plants and animals,” Verlinden said.

For more information on the internship application process, please contact Dr. Verlinden at Sven.Verlinden@mail.wvu.edu.

During her tenure at WVU, Butler was named a 2001 Benedum Distinguished Scholar and became the first Davis-Michael Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences in 2002. Her work has contributed greatly to a better understanding of the relationships among species and the ecology of the whole forest rather than an isolated insect or tree, and she incorporated that understanding into her teaching

Butler’s gift was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $1 billion comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2017.

-WVU-

dw/02/05/15

CONTACT: David Welsh, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design
304.293.2394, David.Welsh@mail.wvu.edu

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