Opportunity to engage with cities and urban food systems
Join our informational session about Building-Integrated Agriculture (BIA) Academy
Cities are about to start asking for your help. Are you ready?
A national opportunity is emerging that connects Extension expertise directly to municipal leaders working on urban food systems—and we want you positioned at the center of it.
NUREC, in partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC), is launching the BIA Academy—a year-long cohort experience for cities exploring how to integrate food production into the built environment.
This is not a traditional program. It is a city-driven, partnership-based effort—and Extension professionals will be essential to its success.
Why this matters to you
Cities will be invited to apply for the BIA Academy this fall (proposals due October 5). As they do, they will be actively seeking local partners with technical expertise and community connections.
That means your city may come to you for help with:
- Rooftop agriculture and green roofs
- Vertical farming systems in buildings
- Urban food production embedded in infrastructure and planning
This is your opportunity to:
- Shape how cities approach urban agriculture from the beginning
- Ensure solutions are grounded in research and real-world context
- Bring Extension’s strengths—evidence, partnerships, and community trust—into the conversation early.
Join us:
NUREC is hosting a focused internal webinar for Extension professionals working in urban food systems to prepare you for this opportunity.
NUREC BIA & Extension Webinar
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET
NUREC, BIA and Extension Webinar
NUREC is hosting a focused internal webinar for Extension professionals to learn more about Building-Integrated Agriculture
Tuesday, July 21
10:00am PT / 1:00pm ET
For more information contact:
Maggie Anderson Fasy
Program Manager
msanderson@wsu.edu
Mobile: 206-788-5808
What you’ll walk away with
This session will help you:
- Understand the BIA Academy and its goals
- Clarify your role in outreach and city engagement
- Learn key messages for talking with municipalities
- Get ahead of upcoming requests from your local cities
Why attend now
This is a preparatory session—designed to ensure Extension is ready before cities begin outreach and matchmaking.
We will follow this with a public-facing webinar for cities and municipal leaders shortly after.
Who should join
You don’t need to be a BIA expert—just bring your curiosity and your expertise.
We especially encourage participation from colleagues with backgrounds in:
- Lighting, engineering, stormwater, and green infrastructure
- Aquaponics, hydroponics, and controlled environment agriculture
- Urban planning and systems approaches
- Community engagement and partnership development
BIA is a rapidly evolving field—and Extension has an opportunity to help define it right from the start. Learn more about BIA on our website.
For more information contact Maggie Anderson Fasy, NUREC Program Manager. Mobile: 206-788-5808
