Farm Education – Page 12 – Yarden of Eatin'

13th Annual Seed Celebration and Sustainable Community Fair

December 31, 2017February 4, 2018Leave a comment

This year’s 13th Annual Seed Celebration and Sustainable Community Fair will be held on Saturday, February 10th, from 8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship. This family-friendly event offers presentations on permaculture and related topics including local food, environmental and sustainable community initiatives, children’s activities and an opportunity for participants to plan gardens and stock up on organic seeds.

Schedule of Events

All Day:

The Caterpillar Lab, Seeds For Sale & Swap, Seed Art! Living Prayer Mandala, Activities for Children & Families, Tablers, Displays, Networking, café, Raffle

8:30	Doors Open
9:00	Welcome – Valerie Piedmont – Hive Space
9:30 – 10:30	Jonah Ruh Roberts: Medicinal Herbs for the Northeast Garden – Colony Room
9:30 – 10:30	Nicole Colvin-Griffin: Social Permaculture and Activism – Creating A New Way Together – Roxbury Room
9:30 – 11:00	Lionel Chute: Planetary Management: Principles and Consequences – Buckminster Room
9:45 – 11:15	Valerie Piedmont: Designing the Self – Green Energy Options
9:45 – 11:45	Marty Castriotta: Introduction to Permaculture – Wadsworth Room
11:00 – 11:45	Jodi Turner: Home is Where the Heart Is – Honey Bees & Pollinators – Roxbury Room
11:00 – 12:00	Dave Wichland: Mycological Landscaping: Breaking it all Down! – Colony Room
11:15 – 12:00	Lior Sadeh: Herbs in Biodynamic Preparation – Buckminster Room
11:45 – 12:00	Jennifer Close: Seed Blessing Circle – Hive Space
12:15 – 1:00	Solar Sisters Concert – Combined Roxbury & Wadsworth rooms
1:15 – 1:45	Tom Prunier: Kimchi Making – Wadsworth Room
1:15 – 2:00	Jean Balamuth: Vermiculture – Colony Room
1:15 – 2:15	Leslie Kreek: Planting Your First Vegetable Garden – Roxbury Room
1:15 – 2:15	Katherine Policy: Financial Permaculture – Buckminster Room
1:15 – 2:15	Jennifer Close: Powerful Potential: A Guided Drum Journey and Circle Discussion on Seeds – Green Energy Options
2:00 – 3:30	Tad Montgomery: A Call for a Connecticut River Watershed Bioregional Congress – Wadsworth Room
2:15 – 3:00	Doug Clayton: Getting Biochar into your Compost – Colony Room
2:30 – 3:15	Eric Zablowsky: Permaculture strategies for raising chickens! – Roxbury Room
2:30 – 3:30	Jan Lambert: Beavers: Nature’s Water Cycle Experts – Buckminster Room
3:30	Last Call for Raffle
3:30 – 4:00	Firebird Morris Dancers – Hive Space
4:00	Raffle Drawing

The celebration will focus on stewardship and other skills necessary for living well in a changing world. Topics include: mycological landscaping, biochar, permaculture design, bioregionalism, financial permaculture, vermiculture, beekeeping, making kimchee and tools for personal and planetary growth. There will be music and dance including a lunchtime concert. Our café features soups, stews and baked goods from local restaurants and kitchens, as well as Orchard Hill breads.

Over the years, farmers, gardeners, and activists working for sustainable communities have come to know this event as a great opportunity for networking and day-long fun. Your support enables us to make this event a success.

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Co-op Shoppers Raise $4,380.99 to Preserve Local Farm Land

October 8, 2017Leave a comment

During September, shoppers at Monadnock Food Co-op raised $4,380.99 to support the preservation of farm land in the Monadnock Region by Monadnock Conservancy‘s Farmland Protection Program, just by rounding up their change.

The Monadnock Conservancy is a community-based, nonprofit land conservation trust that holds permanent conservation agreements on more than 220 properties, nearly 20,000 acres, in 28 towns across the Monadnock Region. Conserving farmland is a major priority for the Conservancy; they work with farmers and communities to ensure the region’s prime farmland soils and fields stay open and productive permanently, rather than being sold to developers to build housing.

“Thank you to all our generous shoppers who pitched in their pennies to raise this money!” said Emerald Levick, Marketing Manager at Monadnock Food Co-op. “The saying ‘no farms, no food’ means that without preserving farmland, our suppliers like Manning Hill Farm and Tracie’s Community Farm would be outbid by developers to buy or lease the land, so they could not produce enough fresh, quality, sustainably farmed food for all of us to enjoy.”

In addition to farmland conservation, the Conservancy also does the important work of pairing conservation landowners with farmers who need land that is accessible and affordable. This fulfills a great need for new, young farmers. They also created the Farmland Disaster Relief Fund which provides grants to assist with well repair, grain bills, seeds, plants, equipment repair and more. So far, the fund has assisted 10 local farmers who were severely affected by the recent drought.

The Natural and Cultural History of Soil

September 17, 2017September 17, 2017Leave a comment

Cultivating Fertile Soil, Generating Resilient Communities

The Natural and Cultural History of Soil is a series of educational events on the theme of soil as the foundation of a healthy food system – – and society. Macarthur Fellow, scientist, and author, Dr. David R. Montgomery, will share his research on the history and future of soil here in the Monadnock region in November with complimentary events in October leading up to his talks.

October 3rd @6PM – Film Screening of Dirt! The Movie and Facilitated Discussion by Dr. Mark C. Long of Keene State College, Stonewall Farm, 242 Chesterfield Rd, Keene, Parking available on site, to register visit http://www.cheshireconservation.org/film-screening-dirt-the-movie or contact at 603-756-2988 ext.116 or amanda@cheshireconservation.org

October 19th @6PM – Panel and Roundtable Discussion of ideas raised by Dr. David Montgomery’s books Dirt: the Erosion of Civilizations and Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life, Facilitated by Dr. Mark C. Long of Keene State College, Stonewall Farm, 242 Chesterfield Rd, Keene, Parking available on site, to register visit http://www.cheshireconservation.org/dirt-series-panel-roundtable-discussion or contact at 603-756-2988 ext.116 or amanda@cheshireconservation.org

November 2nd @5PM – NH Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting & Working Lands Conference, Keynote address by David Montgomery, Courtyard Marriott, 75 Railroad St, Keene, Parking available downtown, $20 ticketed banquet dinner open to public (dinner is included for those attending) to register visit http://www.cheshireconservation.org/working-lands-conference or contact at 603-756-2988 ext.116 or amanda@cheshireconservation.org

November 3rd @11AM – Free, Public Talk by David Montgomery – Growing a Revolution, Keene State College Alumni Center, Centennial Hall at the Alumni Center, 229 Main Street, Keene, Parking available on street and limited parking on site, to register visit www.cheshireconservation.org/growing-a-revolution or contact at 603-756-2988 ext.116 or amanda@cheshireconservation.org

Kids Connect! Farm, Field & Forest

July 16, 2017Leave a comment

cornucopiaprojectlogo_4c_new The Cornucopia Project announces a new partnership with the Monadnock Conservancy, with support from the Caswell Foundation, to create the Kids Connect! Farm, Field & Forest Youth Summer Program at Four Winds Farm in Peterborough. The Kids Connect! program promotes self-esteem, teamwork, play and healthy eating by connecting children to land and nature through safe and enjoyable farming and gardening activities and adventures in cooking.

The program is geared for children entering grades 3 to 6 and meets every Monday and Thursday from 4 to 6:30 p.m., from July 17 to August 17. The cost is $150 per child for 10 classes, or tuition-free for families eligible. For more information please email katrina@monadnockconservancy.org.