Environmentalist Dave Jacke spoke about the possibilities of ecologically designed agriculture tonight at the Center for Natural Science for this year’s Sustainability Speakers Series presentation.

Jacke, a graduate of Simon’s Rock College and the Conway School of Landscape Design, is the primary author of  “Edible Forest Gardens.” He has owned and operated his own firm, Dynamics Ecological Deign, since 1984. Jacke has spent much of his adult life designing and building ecological landscapes across the Northeast.

Speaking before a lecture hall filled beyond maximum capacity, Jacke began his presentation by inviting the attendees to participate in a meditative exercise. Jacke then spoke of the critical integration that must occur between ecology, design and agriculture.

Jacke calls this synthesis of sub-fields “ecosystem agriculture.”

Between joking about monarch butterfly imitations and using a broom as his pointer, Jacke detailed different models of incorporating agriculture into nature. These models included bioshelters, wetland gardens and aquaculture, annual vegetable polycultures, prairie and perennial grains, savannah mimics, restoration forestry and forest gardening. Jacke also described how forest gardening can be used for food, coppicing and pollarding uses.

“If you make all the mistakes you can in forest gardening, you can still eat out of it every day of the growing season,” Jacke said.

With design as the critical factor, forest gardening is “a low maintenance Eden,” he said.

Senior Taryn Hubbard said she attended the event because of personal interest.

“I am interested in practical applications to permaculture and ecological agriculture,” she said.

Junior Emma Hileman, an Environmental Studies major, said she attended the presentation for both class and personal reasons.

“I thought it was great, I learned a lot, but I am filled with lots of questions that I want to ask him,” Hileman said.

Taryn and Hileman are members of the Organic Growers of Ithaca College and are inviting interested students to join the club at tomorrow’s Student Organization Fair because they hope to try some of the practices Jacke discussed tonight.

Encouraging attendees to become involved in ecological agriculture before concluding, Jacke said, “I need all of you to begin playing in your backyards.”

Members of the Ithaca College, Cornell University and greater regional communities attended the event. The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, the Commit-to-Change program and the Sustainability Initiative at Ithaca College jointly sponsored Jacke’s presentation on campus.

Special assistant to the provost Marian Brown was instrumental in bringing Jacke to the college and thought ideas presented at the lecture were important for students to hear.

“There are less intensive ways of designing landscapes that don’t require extensive maintenance,” Brown said.