Community Garden Scholar

I'm thrilled to be joining  The Cornucopia Project  staff part-time as a Garden Educator. The Cornucopia Project empowers our community to make healthy food choices. We do this by creating and delivering interactive experiential educational programs and teaching models, adapted to a variety of learning spaces, from gardens to classrooms and kitchens. These programs connect people of all ages to real food and to each other. We increase our impact by partnering with organizations that share our core values of: Good Health Effective Education Strong Community My internship experience with this organization in 2011 essentially solidified my sense of professional calling as an environmental educator in community food systems. I was especially proud that year to have researched and written a Community Impact Grant to build a learning and giving garden which has now been providing fresh produce for the pantry at the Peterborough Community Center for several years. I'm really...

I'm currently following a story ( recently covered by NHPR ) about a proposal  and neighbors' reactions  around small-scale cattle grazing as a practice of restorative agriculture. There's a piece of land in Peterborough, NH, down the road from me, that was conserved some time ago and has since declined in quality due to inactive management. Stan Fry has proposed introducing a small herd of Belted Galloways, which would actively improve soil quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, as well as keep and enhance the cultural and aesthetic landscape that has always been so important to the people of the town. To me, Stan's proposal seems well-based in sound science and experience, and I am hopeful that residents will take the time to become informed about restorative agriculture, contemplate the potential benefits, and make reasonable efforts to move in that direction. I'm especially interested in the possibilities for a regenerative agrihood , which is someth...

Food Solutions New England  has published a story on the service learning project I am now wrapping up: Monadnock Farm & Community Coalition Introduces New Local Food Resource, "Cultivating Community" The Monadnock Farm & Community Coalition (MFCC) has announced the launch of a new resource for Coalition partners and community members: a visual and narrative portfolio depicting the array of work people in the Monadnock Region are doing around issues of local food and the ways these individuals experience, relate with, and find meaning in the work. The photographic and written depictions, available to the public through MFCC’s  website , can be used by organizations and stakeholders to enhance their own efforts, whether to inform promotional or educational programs, engage new members, apply for funding, or support collaboration. The collection can also provide a tool for farmers, service providers, educators, and others to reflect upon and communicate the val...

Sharing from the  Cheshire County Conservation District : Supported in part by a New Hampshire Humanities Community Project Grant, the series of events is sponsored by the Cheshire County Conservation District in partnership with Keene State College. It is a collaborative venture that will further an urgent project at the heart of the environmental humanities: the connection of people, ideas, and the land. The Conservation District works with the farming community on improving management practices that enhance soil health and viability and to educate the general public on the foundation for a healthy food system. This project poses a series of challenging questions about human culture and agriculture: What do our current agricultural practices say about us both individually and collectively? How do we understand the social needs and demands of our local agricultural economy, the natural constraints of ecology and the political imperatives of democracy? And how do we reco...

Sharing this exciting event at Stonewall Farm...   On the Farm: Let's Discuss Local Food Security, Regional Wellness, and Earth Stewardship Date:                  Thursday, February 18, 2016 Time:                  5 - 7:30 pm Place:                Stonewall Farm, 242 Chesterfield Rd., Keene, NH RSVP by 2/15:    Kate Hickey  or  (603) 283-2436 Please join us for an evening inspired by the book  On the Farm: The Uncertain Future of an American Legacy  with text by Ronald Dodson and paintings by  Adriano Manocchia.  Adriano's paintings will be on display and available for purchase.     We'll relish local foods, enjoy exquisite art, and engage in a facilitated discussion about the...

Visit the Monadock Farm & Community Coalition 's event page for details: Produced by the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition and Monadnock Food Co-op, Healthy Monadnock Champions November 9 – 15, 2015 The  6th Annual Feast on This! Film Festival features movies that educate our community about the diverse issues affecting our national, regional and local food and agricultural systems. We chose films that  will spark conversation and action  around building stronger local, regional and sustainable food systems. FILM SCHEDULE: 5:30pm Monday, November 9, 2015  – Hosted by Prime Roast Coffee, Keene 3 Acres in Detroit A willful urban farmer sets out to transform an abandoned house into a greenhouse 7pm, Tuesday, November 10, 2015  –  Hosted by   The Cornucopia Project, Peterborough Lunch Love Community Passion, creative energy and persistence come together when Berkeley advocates and educators tackle food reform and food justice ...