Dr. Matthew Houser joined the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory as its first Regenerative Agriculture Fellow. This is a new partnership between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) to build and execute collaborative projects that will advance their collective goals in regenerative agriculture and sustainable agricultural landscapes in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Houser is an environmental sociologist who conducts interdisciplinary research programs to inform the development of “policy and engagement strategies toward increasing the short- and long-term resilience of managed ecosystems and human communities to environmental change.”
Previously, he was a Faculty Fellow and Assistant Research Scientist with the Environmental Resilience Institute and Department of Sociology at Indiana University. Other topics, Matt has researched include agricultural nitrogen fertilizer management, farmers’ decision-making in response to climate extremes, and the general publics’ climate change beliefs and support for policies to reduce its impact.
“Matt stood out in our recruiting process because of his approach to working collaboratively with the agricultural community and his record of developing multi-disciplinary teams to answer science questions that have direct application to land management”, says Amy Jacobs, TNC Maryland/DC Agriculture Program Director.
“We are excited to undertake this new partnership with TNC to advance our efforts to improve agricultural practices that promote a healthy Chesapeake Bay, says Mike Roman, Director of the Horn Point Laboratory.
Houser is pleased to return to the Chesapeake Bay area and be closer to his family farm in Pennsylvania. He will be splitting his time between TNC’s Easton office and the UMCES’ Horn Point campus in Cambridge.
