Sustainability Research

A growing majority of Utahns (68% as of 2023) agree that global warming is happening, with increasing recognition of its human causes and scientific consensus, though support for related policies like renewable energy research and carbon taxes has remaine...

Utah is home to over 45 markets where local farmers and artisans sell their homegrown food and homemade wares. These markets gather community, stimulate regional commerce, champion nutrition for Utahns from all backgrounds, and most of all, create a home ...

Water-wise landscaping is the practice of using plants in a landscape that are adapted to local conditions and only need small amounts of water. Converting yards to water-wise landscaping conserves water and is a climate adaptation action residents can ta...

Those growing and producing food within a 100 mile radius from Moab have been included in this guide to help YOU make locally sourced purchasing decisions!

Utah’s farmers markets reside and operate on the territories of the eight tribes of Utah, who have been living, working, and residing on this land from time immemorial. These tribes are the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indians, Navajo Nation, Ute In...

This fact sheet provides communities and individuals with general urban gardening information about: Common contaminants that can be found in urban soil. Ways to identify contaminants and reduce exposure. Improving soils and growing plants in mildly conta...

Indigenous responses to challenges are strongly based on their values, creativity, and ingenuity. It is not enough just to solve a problem, but to solve it in a way that is consistent with such values as ancestral teachings, moral responsibilities, r

As with all businesses, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) growers may experience legal concerns. This fact sheet will walk growers through certain steps that may be taken to minimize the liability of your CSA operation and manage possible risks.

This brief guide will help your businesses develop a sustainability goal, understand the behavior changes necessary to meet your goal, provide successful techniques to achieve those behavior changes, and outline the implementation of a successful plan to ...

Knowing how to water properly will help you to maintain a more productive, sustainable garden and help the environment by reducing your consumption of this precious resource.

Here are some ideas for improvements that don’t require changing your trees, shrubs, flowers, or lawn.

The goal of providing recycling related information is to help individuals and businesses make informed decisions about recycling. This fact sheet will focus on green waste recycling for compost.

Beef is part of American culture, so is there a way to make wiser choices when it comes to purchasing beef? The short answer is, yes!

This fact sheet reviews how climate change can affect freshwater fishing in the United States. Climate change can affect the availability and diversity of target species, the environmental and aesthetic quality of fishing sites, as well as the policies us...

As interest in home gardening and self-sufficiency surged during the pandemic, many are looking for ways to preserve foods from their newfound harvests. This fact sheet provides an overview of how to build a community solar food dehydrator for food preser...

A Guide for Growers and Extension Educators.

This fact sheet describes the complex relationship between forests and climate change based on current research.

The National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) serves as an anchor for Extension professionals, researchers, and partners to collaborate on climate-related issues, share resources, discuss barriers and opportunities for advancing climate change progra

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2015, it is a good time to reflect on some of the factors that contribute to successful brownfields efforts at the federal, state, and local levels....

This fact sheet describes research conducted at Utah State University that identified factors to improve the success of regenerating aspen in southern Utah.

Researchers at Utah State University are exploring the use of tannin-containing legumes as a method for finishing cattle to address environmental and efficiency concerns associated with the most common current beef production systems.

Ideas on how to reduce your energy consumption using new technologies and conservation practices.

The goal of providing recycling related information is to help individuals and businesses make informed decisions about recycling. This fact sheet will focus on paper recycling.

This book is a compilation of 58 researched-based fact sheets written and compiled by Utah State University faculty and students.

This publication examines Utah farmers’ market consumer preferences for organically grown and local fresh produce and their willingness to pay premiums for labeled products by production method and origin.

When you market your community supported agriculture (CSA) operation, you should consider the best communication tools to delivering information to potential and current shareholders, engaging your shareholders, and getting feedback.

This qualitative research study was designed to examine the current level of implementation of environmentally sustainable practices at Utah’s ski resort areas and also ascertain future plans.

A Quick Guide to Home Vegetable Gardening

With proper care, management, and harvesting, backyard beekeeping can provide health, economic, and environmental benefits.

CSA members are offered fresh, locally grown goods and an opportunity to support local farms and farmers by investing in a CSA share from a local grower.

IN THIS ISSUE: The Energy Future of Rural America; Ten-Year Energy Vision-Western Governors' Association Energy Initiative; Energy in a Global Economy; The Sociology of Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Renewable Energy: Implications for Rural Development and Rur...

This packet includes all the information you need to successfully implement, and evaluate Create Farm Fresh Food classes.

This fact sheet will help you learn more about the components of an effective crop plan and how to use one in your CSA operation.

This toolkit outlines how farmers markets can implement a SNAP program, and help combat food insecurity in their communities.

Starting a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation requires planning and consideration. The method and process of your CSA operation must be determined, as well as how to properly record and finance the operation.

Permaculture is a design concept for sustainable, food producing landscapes mimicking the diversity and resilience of natural ecosystems

This fact sheet provides a set of quick facts and action tools to make educated choices concerning one major purchasing choice for many: meat.

Moab Grown partners local farmers and producers with our community chefs and retail outlets. This one-page document highlights Moab Grown’s 2023 impacts.

In most landscapes, large amounts of water can be saved without changing the landscape at all. Saving water in an existing landscape usually begins with maintenance.

Air pollution comes from many sources including power plants, factories, cars, trucks, volcanoes, and windblown dust. Air pollutants are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of our national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). ...

Community agriculture initiatives are often run by organizations (1) relying on volunteer structures; (2) growing produce sustainably; and (3) aiming to improve health and access to food in their communities.

By "landscaping for wildlife," we can design a residential yard which attracts and supports native birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

This fact sheet reviews recent research examining how winter-based outdoor recreation along the North Shore of Lake Superior will be affected by climate change.

Eating locally means minimizing the distance between production and consumption, especially in relation to the modern mainstream food system.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) provides a direct connection between local community members and growers, generally through purchasing a weekly “share” of locally grown goods provided by the grower throughout a time frame.

This fact sheet reviews the state of scientific knowledge regarding how climate change can impact inland recreational fishing.

To evaluate the impacts of CSA program and benefits of local foods, this fact sheet provides an overview of the advantages of CSA programs as they relate to supporting economic, social and ecological sustainability.

A Guide to Vegetative Propagation of Native Woody Plants in Utah

Among renewable energy resources, wind power is the “most mature” and “cost effective”. People have been using wind power for over 3,000 years and have been generating electrical power from wind for approximately 120 years.

Rainwater harvesting is a win-win situation for the environment and homeowner.

Actionable science co-produced in partnership with Indigenous peoples can support Tribal resource management decision-making.

This resource includes information about starting seedlings outdoors and materials for success, knowing when to plant, sowing seeds, seed germination, and more!

Find a farmers market near you.

If you can’t beat them, eat them! Increase your garden’s yield by identifying the edible weeds and adding them to your harvest.

Best Management Practices Monitoring Guide for Stream Systems provides guidance on establishing a water quality monitoring program that will demonstrate the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce nonpoint source pollution in stream sy...

This guide’s steps were compiled during background research for advertising acceptance of SNAP benefits using Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards and the Double Up Food Bucks (Double Up) program offered at farmers markets throughout Utah.

Utah is home to more than 20 percent of the 4,000+ named species of wild bees that are native to North America.

This information can help you through the financial process by explaining how to develop a budget, how to price your CSA share with different pricing strategies, and payment policy.

In Cache Valley and along the Wasatch Front, tiny PM2.5 particles form and accumulate to unhealthy levels when air is trapped in the bottom of the valley during cold winter days.

This gives you key information regarding the resources that are available to the bees during certain times of the year and if supplementation of food and resources may be necessary.

Worm composting as it is more commonly known is the process of using worms to break down discarded food and other organic wastes and convert them into compost and liquid fertilizers.

Urban foraging is the art of finding, identifying and collecting wild edibles in everyday urban settings.

Beneficial insects & other natural enemies identification guide

There are many benefits to having more natural light in your home. The most obvious of these are the savings you can achieve with a reduced utility bill.

The benefits of using compost as a soil amendment include increasing soil tilth, fertility, water holding capacity, aeration, and drainage.

Why irrigate only with treated drinking water when you can supplement your irrigation needs through an effective graywater system?

Rangelands can be managed to increase soil carbon storage through more equitable distribution of grazing pressure over time and space to reduce forage plant defoliation and increase carbon inputs from standing plants to soils. The overall ability of range...

A viable alternative to disposing of unwanted possessions in the trash is to donate them to a freestore to be used by others. If one does not already exist in your area, consider implementing one for the benefit of the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) authorizes businesses to accept SNAP benefits, including direct marketing farmers and nonprofit food buying cooperatives operating a CSA.

Now is a great time to take advantage of the shifting focus away from vehicle commuting and delve into a healthier and cheaper mode of transportation: Cycling.

As popular as Utah’s deserts are, they are also very diverse and fragile, and can be highly affected by those that want to spend time there.

Tips to increase the ease and accuracy of recycling in high traffic areas, using Zion National Park as a case study.

If you are looking for ways to save money and add creative flair to your daily life, reusing everyday items you are likely to throw away could be the answer!

Every year in the United States alone, it is estimated that as a many as 599 million birds are killed because they fly into a glass window; some researchers estimate the number may be as high as 988 million. This is approximately 10 percent of the bird po...

Climate change is impacting Utah. Forty-five years of temperature data show that Utah is steadily warming which, in turn, is driving declines in winter snowpack, shifting the timing and amount of available water, increasing fire risk, and causing ecologic...