Sustaining The Sustainability Office

U of M extension educator Natalie Hoidal on supporting local vegetable farmers

Natalie Hoidal, a Local Food and Vegetable Production educator with the University of Minnesota Extension, talks us through what it means to be an extension educator and why she loves Minnesota's small vegetable farms. From researching ways that farms can manage insect infestations to connecting with farmers over how to cultivate resilience in the face of climate change, Natalie's work revolves around supporting our small-scale farmers so they can succeed in an agricultural system built for large, monocrop farms.

Upcycling cloth into useable works of art with Kathy Ness

Kathy Ness is a Northfield, MN, based artist and crafter who turns discarded cloth and old clothes into beautiful new clothing, bags, and other useful items. She sells these through her buisness UpCycleMN and organizes volunteers to make 'boomerang bags' that are available at the public library. In this episode, Kathy talks us through her creative process, and explains why she chooses to combat fast fashion through making durable, practical, and aesthetic textile pieces.

Resisting Hyperscale Data Centers with Aubree Derksen and Bill Saville

Aubree Derksen and Bill Saville are Minnesota locals who are active in opposing the construction of hyperscale data centers in their towns. They walk us through their perspectives on how data centers can be harmful to our area, environmental impacts of hyperscale data centers, the political activism they've been engaged in, and their opinions on the uses and harms of artificial intelligence.

Hauberg Woods restoration work with Grace Clemens, CCCE fellow

Grace Clemens, a Food and Environmental Justice fellow from the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE) at Carleton College, talks us through her work collaboring with the Friends of Hauberg Woods. Hauberg Woods is a forested area in Northfield, MN where people have been working to restore the landscape for several years. Grace will talk about why restoring Hauberg Woods matters to her, and why we should all care about the health of our wild spaces.

The importance of buying local with St. Olaf 'Common Good' fellow Lauren Williams

Lauren Williams is a 2025-2026 Common Good fellow from St. Olaf college. During the past year she worked with the 'Be Local Buy Local' group of small buisness owners in Northfield to find ways to get St. Olaf students more engaged with shops in downtown Northfield. Here, Lauren walks us through the process of forming her fellowship project and talks about why it's important that each of us try to be more engaged with small buisnesses in our communities.