Joe Husain is a senior in Water Resource Management with a minor in Civic Agriculture and Food Systems. He is currently working on his capstone project for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems. For his project, he planted apple trees at the Hale Community Garden which will serve as a food source for those at the garden and in the community. He plans on finishing his bachelor's degree this fall and hiking the Appalachian Trail, a 1,800 mile trail!

Through the Civic Agriculture and Food Systems Minor, Joe has made connections with like-minded people who have a passion for helping create sustainable ways to improve our local food systems. When asked about the minor Joe said this, “Make sure you start early enough! Fall semester of sophomore year is a perfect time to start, because a lot of the courses are prerequisites for each other. When you start classes for the minor, get involved. Make sure you are active and engaged because that will enhance your learning experience. After all, this is a community-based minor.”

Joe worked at Homefield Farms for his service learning activity in the Introduction to Civic Agriculture course (ALS 2204) where Alex, the farm manager, had many interesting things to share. Joe especially remembers when Alex was teaching him about the level of capsaisin in peppers and how this affects their spiciness. After this lesson, they spent time comparing the different peppers by trying them!