The Massachusetts Pollinator Network works to protect pollinators and their habitat across the state. See the poster below and enter high quality images of your artwork (all mediums considered) by September 6. For more information email tillartwave@tillinc.org.
The NOFA Summer Conference is the annual summer gathering of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. NOFA is a non-profit organization of over 5,000 small-scale farmers, gardeners, consumers and food system reformers. We promote healthy food, organic regenerative farming practices, and climate disruption solutions through soil management strategies.
The 49th annual NOFA Summer Conference begins online: Monday, July 24 – Thursday July 27, with evening workshops. On Friday July 28 and Saturday July 29, we gather in-person and online at Worcester State University, Worcester, MA for knowledge sharing and celebration through workshops and discussions, racial equity talks, children’s programming, plus local food and drink, music, and a fair. The 2023 theme is Buen Vivir: Celebrating Harmony with Nature and Our Communities. Buen Vivir is a contemporary philosophy rooted in Indigenous Andean traditions of collective care, land stewardship, and harmonious co-existence. For complete information and registration, visit https://www.nofamass.org/nofa-summer-conference/
This Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Wednesday, September 16 at 6:30 pm program will be held virtually. Once you register you will receive a zoom link in the confirmation. This webinar will also be RECORDED and available for 2 months to all registrants.
Would you like to fill the edges and understory of your landscape with durable, attractive ground covers? Do you want to do less mowing? Let’s look at the advantages and challenges of covering ground with healthy plants and shrubs. Possibilities include low-growing flowering perennials, shrub beds, native ornamental grasses, sedum, ferns, moss, and low-mow grass mixes that replace conventional lawns. We’ll talk about the importance of thorough site preparation this fall and winter, realistic expectations, and the value of advance planning. Extensive resource handout and plant lists included.
Instructor Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer who specializes in naturalized designs, low-impact techniques, and native plants for homeowners, municipalities, and other organizations. Kathy has a master’s degree in landscape planning and design from the Conway School in Easthampton, MA. She completed the advanced master gardener program and is an Accredited Organic Land Care Professional through NOFA. She is an active member of the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group (CIPWG). She is a regular columnist for The Day community papers which circulate throughout southeastern Connecticut and has written about lawn alternatives for TheSpruce/About.com. She gives about 25 talks and workshops each year for conservation organizations, master gardeners, museums, libraries, land trusts, and garden clubs. Her website is www.SpeakingofLandscapes.com.
$10 for Mass Hort members, $15 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org
Even as Hampshire College is going through a tumultuous period, their summer schedule is business as usual. We at the Northeast Organic Farming Association are grateful that they are sticking it out even while things are rocky and we have constant communication with them as they manage their way forward. We hope they find a solution to their woes that gives them long term stability and allows their cutting edge culture of creativity to continue to thrive.
We are excited to host our 45th annual NOFA Summer Conference with keynote speaker Sandor Katz for a festive summer weekend August 9 -11, 2019 at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. Always a family friendly event, you can bring the whole family to enjoy workshops for adults, kids and teens, over 60 vendors, live music, games and amazing food!
Registration is now open and we hope you’ll join us this summer! Registration and complete schedule can be found at www.nofasummerconference.org.
This New England Wild Flower Society program on February 22 from 10 – noon at Garden in the Woods focuses on the climatic and physical characteristics of New England’s alpine areas on the highest mountains of ME, NH, and VT. Botanist Ted Elliman details the unique, highly specialized, and beautiful flora that characterize the above-timberline community. $26 for NEWFS and NOFA members, $32 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/flora-and-physical-features-of-the-alpine-zone
On Saturday, December 8, from 1 – 4 at Nasami Farm in Whately, learn to propagate native plants from seed in the first session of this two-part, hands-on workshop that focuses on practical methods for small-scale propagation. This workshop is appropriate for beginners and propagators with some experience. Take one or both classes. Part 1 explores seed biology, overcoming dormancy, and sowing techniques. $40 for New England Wild Flower Society and Northeast Organic Farmers Association members, $48 for nonmembers. Kate Stafford leads the class. Register at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn/our-programs/propagating-native-plants-from-seed-part-1-dormancy-and-sowing-techniques
Be inspired as the coming generation of horticultural innovators shares how they are breathing new life into the green industry. On Monday, June 4, from 2 – 6 at Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, Rhode Island, visit under the tent for discussions on horticulture, landscape design, arboriculture, cut-flower farming and how these young professionals have adapted their businesses and have found success. Enjoy food truck, live music and networking during the dinner/cocktail hour. $55 Members (Blithewold, RINLA, ISA, APLD, ASCFG, NOFA) $65 Nonmembers. Register at https://www.blithewold.org/event/industry-innovators-next-generation-horticultural-rock-stars/ or email jcleveland@blithewold.org
Join Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island on Sunday, March 4 from 8:30 – 4:30 at Hope & Main, 691 Main Street in Warren, Rhode Island for a full day of workshops with speakers locally known and nationally recognized. There will be a potluck lunch.
Featured in the award-wining documentary, A Small Good Thing, Jennifer and Pete Salinetti (pictured below) have been farming together for over 16 years and have created a thriving farm and CSA business in the Berkshires. Woven Roots Farm focuses on bio-intensive growing using no-till and environmentally sound farming practices. For the past 15 years, Jen has taught classes and has lead garden education programs throughout New England and has been actively involved in the local food movement within the Berkshires. She is currently developing an education center at their homestead in Tyringham. Jen holds a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Herbal Studies and Pete has has a degree in horticulture.The Salinettis grow more than 75 crops, “all the usual stuff,” plus a considerable amount grown to extend their season. In recent years they have not been using tillage to grow their vegetables. Jen feels that by not disturbing the soil they have a considerable positive impact on carbon sequestration on their land. They have experienced and found a significant increase in quality and yields which has enabled them to create a viable business on a small amount land.
Also featured is Ben Hewitt of Lazy Mill Hill Farm, speaking on The Family Cow and The Nourishing Homestead. Born and raised in northern Vermont, in a two-room cabin situated on a 165-acres, Ben knows about a thing or two about homesteading. He now lives in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom with his wife and two sons, where they run a small-scale, diversified hill farm. Their focus is producing nutrient dense foods from vibrant, mineralized soils for their family and the immediate community. He’s a freelance writer and author. He is currently working on his sixth book.
Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt of RI Mushroom Hunting Foundation will give a talk on Spring Mushroom Season. Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt created the Mushroom Hunting Foundation, to educate people about safely hunting for wild mushrooms. It is a nonprofit organization that aims to make mushroom hunting better understood and well-known as part of our culture. Ryan is the author of Gourmet Mushrooms of Rhode Island, the first book and calendar about mushroom hunting in the Ocean State. Look for a new 2019 edition titled Gourmet Mushrooms of the Northeast.
Learn about Growing Medicinal Herbs from Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs. Since 2001, Mary has taught classes on herbalism at local businesses, hospitals, universities, conferences and to special interest groups and non profits. Her programs were so popular that Mary started developing the Farmacy’s Herbal Education and Training Program. Her programs focus on herbal medicine, health justice and nutritional healing. Mary holds a teaching associate position at the Brown University Medical School, teaching Western Herbalism to the Integrative Resident Program.
Chuck Currie of Freedom Food Farm will discuss Onions & Garlic Grown Organically. Chuck studied biochemistry and chemistry before taking a sustainable agriculture course, visiting a small farm run by someone not much older than him, and instantly realizing he had wanted to be a farmer his entire life. After many years of farming in Vermont, Chuck moved back to Southeastern Massachusetts with the goal of providing equal access to good food in more urban communities, and to be closer to family and friends. He started Freedom Food Farm in 2012.
Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge of Many Hands Organic Farm will speak on Practical No-Till Carbon Farming. Julie, the Executive Director of NOFA Mass, and Jack, editor of NOFA’s “The Natural Farmer”, are in a unique position as educators and advocates of carbon farming as their farm is one of many to demonstrate that building soil makes both economic and ecological sense for farmers. Over the years, Julie has experimented with various tillage practices and can offer many insights to the challenges of moving to a no-tillage operation. Julie and Jack run a 70-person CSA, raise and sell pasture-raised eggs, broiler chickens, turkeys, beef, and pork, and operate a non-profit, Many Hands Sustainability Center.
Rick Hermonont presents Tools for a Profitable Livestock Business. After operating a dairy farm for over 30 years, Rick converted the farm to diversified agricultural including turkeys, chicken, pork, beef, misc. cash crops and agri-tourism. For over 20 years, Rick has held sessions to train those interested in records keeping, budgeting, business planning, financial and feasibility analysis, succession planning, business benchmarking and more. Rick is a Farm Business Consultant with Farm Credit East. He holds a BS in Animal Science from the University of Connecticut.
Finally, Dan Bensenoff, a father, farmer, forager, and fermentation freak, will give a talk entitled Garden Like a Farmer. Before working with NOFA/Mass, he worked as a vegetable grower for 4 years.
Register at http://nofari.org/events/winter-conference/#.WohhS4JG06d. NOFA member price $50, nonmember $60.
The Northeast Organic Farming Association will hold its Winter Conference at Worcester State University on Saturday, January 13, from 7:30 am – 7:30 pm. The theme is Cover. Diversify. Regenerate.
Join keynoter Regenerative Pioneer Gabe Brown (pictured) and more than 60 farming and gardening experts at this year’s 31st Annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference. We will explore how soils can be improved and degraded soils can be restored by promoting the biological function of the soil ecosystem with living plant cover, mulches, and smart farm systems.
In addition to dedicating a portion of our program the science and practice of building soil life, we have workshops on topics like raising healthy livestock, high-production gardening, managing an integrated farm and homestead, growing and marketing nutrient-dense crops, encouraging beneficial insect populations, improving access to healthy foods and soils, and supporting organic food systems in a changing climate. Fee is $90. Register at https://www.nofamass.org/events/wc
NOFA is grateful to have Dr. Don Huber and Michael Phillips as 2017’s keynote speakers at the NOFA Summer Conference, to be held August 11 – 13 at Hampshire College in Amherst. We are also excited to host an amazing collection of organic minded professionals that will enliven our potential to create robust, healthy food systems that provide real food for all. Our three-day conference offers a wide-range of seminars, workshops and other educational opportunities. Immerse yourself in a community of like-minded practitioners and curious learners eager to share inspiration and ideas for organic food, farming, health, activism, and beyond.
From generations of past cultures that established the sustainable production systems upon which we base our modernized techniques, to our immediate relationship with neighbors and the global community of conscious minded producers and consumers, to the microbial life that supports our bodies and our environment, we exist within a vast web of interconnectedness.
Simply put, we are better together. We are stronger together. Inseparable, in fact, from each other and the systems that support our lives and our food. If we work to ensure a harmonious relationship with ecological and social systems, we can cultivate fair and thriving production and consumer models to live within.
Join us to build upon this interconnectedness – from microbial to human communities – on August 11-13! Registration prices range from $70 – $250. Check all the options and register at http://nofasummerconference.org/
