Luca Galler will be completing her master’s in the School of Environmental Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Graham and Dr. Sara Edge, Arrell Chair in Food, Policy, and Society. Luca hold a bachelor’s degree in Biological and Medical Physics from the University of Waterloo. She has previously completed a co-op placement at the University of Guelph’s world-renowned Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility. Under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Graham and Dr. Mike Dixon, she conducted experiments as a Research Technician that aimed at optimizing cilantro for a large-scale automated vertical farming system in collaboration with Intravision Group AS. Luca’s perception of food insecurity are shaped by her experiences volunteering at food banks and emergency shelters, motivating her to pursue further studies in the food systems space.

Her research will aim to increase the availability of healthy and culturally relevant produce in food-insecure regions of northern Canada by selecting and optimizing crops in Controlled Environment Agricultural/Systems (CEA/CES) complexes. By collaborating with northern and remote communities and fine-tuning horticultural practices for crops that have not been successfully cultivated in controlled environment systems before, her project will work to foster equity in food access, enhance community resilience, and pave the way for a more sustainable global food system that can meet the needs of northern Canada and adapt to the challenges of the future. This project contributes to the kind of future that Luca wants to be a part of and have a hand in achieving, one in which all communities, especially those of historically marginalized groups, have access to nourishing food that aligns with their needs, values, and sovereignty.

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