SOUTHWEST AGROFORESTRY ACTION NETWORK
in partnership with the Arizona Community Tree Council
presents online/via Zoom
Sustainable Community Food Landscapes Sharing Successes Omaha Permaculture & Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden
October 12, 9:00am MT (AZ)
9:00 – 10:00 (60 minutes)
After registering for this program, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This two step process allows us to track attendance for CEUs and CFEs.
Presented by:
Gus von Roenn, Founder and Executive Director
Graham Herbst, Board of Directors Vice President with Omaha Permaculture
Lindsey Hethcote, Director of Education at Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden, at the Tres Estrallas, Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico
Regarding continuing education credits for this program:
- Pending - hours of Continuing Forestry Education (CFE) credits (Cat. 1) by the Society of American Foresters (SAF – contact Andy Mason, acmason1954@gmail.com).
- Pending - hours of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by the America Society of Agronomy (ASA – contact Mick O’Neill, moneill@nmsu.edu).
Presentation Description:
Gus von Roenn, Founder and Executive Director and Graham Herbst, Board of Directors Vice President with Omaha Permaculture will share the mission fostering community through sustainable land stewardship, and the first-ever Claire M. Hubbard Foundation-funded OP Field Manual Almanac – a guide for best practices in urban permaculture. A glimpse from the website shares urban permaculture providing healthy ecosystems for soil microbes, plants, animals, and people; and so much more. ‘With 17 properties demonstrating permaculture in action, we bring environmental education into our neighborhoods via citizen science initiatives; landscape job training for at-risk youth and disenfranchised communities; community gardening opportunities for New Americans and neighborhood residents; and public workshops and gatherings.’ https://www.omahapermaculture.org/.
Lindsey Hethcote, Director of Education at Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden, at the Tres Estrallas, Rancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico will share a ‘35-year-old, 6-acre organic production and educational farm founded and nurtured by Sarah Livia Brightwood, President of Rancho la Puerta. The permaculture inspired farm elegantly incorporates organic biointensive fruit and vegetable production, agroforestry, agrobiodiversity conservation and animal husbandry to create an idyllic example of ecological agriculture. The Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden produces organic mixed fruits and vegetables, culinary and medicinal herbs, eggs, goat milk and cut flowers for three commercial kitchens.’ The Farm also serves to further Fundación La Puerto in their effort creating an educational agricultural resource for the people of Tecate. (https://attra.ncat.org/internship/tres-estrellas-organic-farm-and-garden/) Visit Tres Estellas Organic Farm and Garden on Facebook; Tres Estellas Organic Farm on Instagram.
Following the presentation will be a 15 minutes of Q&A with the presenters and a program wrap-up.
All participants are invited to attend the 30 minute SWAAN Business Meeting that will begin at the close of the education program.
About our presenters:
Gus von Roenn, Founder and Executive Director – Gus is an advocate for permaculture and sustainable practices throughout Nebraska. He works through many organizations like the Nebraska Farmers Union, the Sierra Club, Nebraskans for Solar, Nebraska Sustainability Agricultural Society, and the Metro Omaha Food Policy Council to elevate the discussion of issues surrounding healthy food accessibility, land stewardship and entrepreneurship in low-income communities. His academic background is in anthropology, sociology, archaeology, and permaculture. Currently, Gus is a certified permaculture designer integrating permaculture design consulting and landscaping into community efforts. As an advocate for everything permaculture and sustainability in Nebraska, he likes to help many organizations teach their constituents the limitless opportunities that create abundance in all of our communities for all of us to share.
Graham Herbst, Board of Directors Vice President – Graham is a native Nebraskan and graduate of the Horticulture Program at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. After working in the landscape and arboriculture industries, he moved to the Nebraska Forest Service to promote innovative Urban Forestry projects as the Community Forestry Specialist for Eastern Nebraska. Graham loves growing trees and food at home, connecting people and information through social media, and bringing the family out to plant trees and explore each corner of the Great Plains.
iiLindsey Hethcote, Director of Education, Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden – Lindsey Hethcote, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, currently works as the Director of Education at Tres Estrellas Organic Farm and Garden in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico. She holds a BA in Environmental Science from the University of Denver and a Master’s in Sustainable Agriculture and Agroforestry from Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) in Turrialba, Costa Rica. During her time in Costa Rica, Lindsey worked with local coffee farmers currently falling out of the optimal altitude for coffee production to incorporate vegetable diversity on farm for long-term resilience (https://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/improving-access-to-vegetable-seeds-for-resilient-family-farms-in-costa-rica/)
Lindsey has worked as the Production Manager on various organic farms throughout the US, as well as an Environmental and Sustainable Agriculture Educator. She is very passionate about Latin American culture and agricultural production, and has spent time living and working in Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico. Lindsey hopes to educate and inspire those around her about the importance of healthy, ecological food systems that nourish the Earth and all its living creatures.
