The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

198: Constantin Bisanz on sourcing healthy food.Maintaining a healthy lifestyle through real food options.Health enthusiast, avid athlete and Austrian entrepreneur Constantin founded ALOHA in January 2014 with a mission to help others live healthier, happier lives. Along with his team, Constantin creates real food products made from simple, pure, sustainably-sourced ingredients, offering accessible solutions for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle. His inspiration for founding ALOHA came from studying Ayuryedic medicine in India—a holistic approach to health and wellness centered on the balance of mind, body and spirit—combined with his belief that nutrition is the foundation to overall wellness. This philosophy, fueled by his frustration with weak regulation, conflicting messages and lack of quality products and information in the food and health industries, laid the groundwork for ALOHA.In this podcast: A health enthusiast and entrepreneur Constantin Bisanz shares his story with Greg about getting the inspiration to start a health food company because he was struggling to find healthy food options. His active lifestyle gave him a need for good food, while at the same time challenged him to get access to real food options and with his background, he was ready to make a positive solution viable for other health conscious people.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/18/constantin-bisanz/ for show notes and links.

197: Perrine Herve-Gruyer on Miraculous Abundance.Learning self-sufficient farming from scratch on an organic farm in France.Perrine has worked as an international lawyer and head of the legal department of a major company in Asia, and has volunteered with the High Commissioner for Refugees. When she turned thirty, Perrine radically changed lanes, and began taking courses in psychotherapy, specifically in relaxation therapy, publishing a book titled La Relaxation en Famille. Then with her husband, Charles, she created their Bec Hellouin Farm, inspired by permaculture principles. They both wrote "Miraculous Abundance" Published by Chelsea Green and lead experiments on their farm. In 2018, they will publish another book that is a summary of all the technics they use to grow food….IN THIS PODCAST: Greg gets a chance to talk to Perrine, a delightful French organic farmer and permaculture enthusiast and hear how she transformed her life by ditching her career as a lawyer to start a self-sufficient, organic farm without any engines at all. Now she and her husband are examples to others on how to successfully farm the old-fashioned way.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/16/perrine-herve-gruyer/ for more information, photos and links on this podcast and our other great guests.

196: Josh Volk on Compact Farms.Making the most from small farms for the best viability. Josh is the author of Compact Farms by Storey Press in February 2017. He is the proprietor of Slow Hand Farm in Portland, Oregon, and has been working on and managing small farms around the country for the last 20 years, studying the systems that make them efficient. He travels in the United States and abroad, consulting with farmers and researchers, teaching farm apprentices and new farmers, presenting workshops at agricultural conferences, and writing articles for publications, including Growing for Market magazine. Josh didn’t come from a farming background. He grew up on the edges of cities and his parents had vegetable gardens that he mostly ignored. When he went away to college and started cooking for himself, he became more interested in where his food came from and how to grow it. That interest grew, inspired by books on small-scale food production. There weren’t many writers on that topic then, and it wasn’t so long ago.In this podcast: Josh talks with Greg to explain his concept of making small farms the most productive and his background really helps give him an edge for understanding and explaining this to our listeners.  Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/14/josh-volk/ for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to our other great guests.

195: Cricket Aldridge on Suburban Homesteading.Finding personal euphoria in your own backyard.Cricket is natural homesteader. Growing up in rural Idaho with a garden, a horse, and lots of home canned food, she brings those sensibilities to her suburban home in Phoenix. Add a little dose of cottage garden flavor and permaculture tendencies, and you’ll see why her blog, GardenVariety.Life is a reflection of everything she does.  Cricket enjoys sharing skills that promote a meaningful and practical connection to our gardens and environment. Because so many residents of the metro Phoenix area are transplants like her, she finds that the area’s unique desert climate is often misunderstood and underestimated in terms of what is possible. That’s where the fun begins. Arizona is a burgeoning permaculture haven with homesteading written all over it, and there is nothing Cricket enjoys more than encouraging others to jump in and give it a try.In this podcast: Fellow permaculturist and gardener Cricket Aldridge joins Greg in the studio to talk about her urban farm and how much she loves everything about it. She tells about some of her favorite aspects and what she’s able to grow or make from her harvests, from canning to mead making and many other things besides.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/11/cricket-aldridge/ for more information, photos and links on this podcast and our other great guests.

194: Kate Miller on Bioregional Herbal Medicine.Sourcing herbs and plants in the local ecosystems for health.Kate is a bioregional community herbalist, medicinal herb grower, & Permaculture Design Teacher.  She is both formally trained and self-taught in the field of Permaculture Design, with focus on Dry-land Herb Farming, Herbal Medicine, Mountain Ecology, & Ethical Wildcrafting Practices.  And she is a Certified Herbalist from the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in Boulder. Kate became interested in herbal medicine through years of dealing with chronic illness, including Lyme Disease, food allergies, & autoimmune issues.   Together with her partners Dawne and Stephanie, she runs the bioregional & biodynamic focused herbal product company, Dynamic Roots High Altitude Herbals. Kate is also a co-facilitator for the new Boulder Permaculture Design Course, Across the Divide, running one weekend a month from April through October all around the Front Range of Colorado.  In the next year, Kate is opening Alpine Botanicals, an herbal apothecary, community herbal kitchen, & clinic in downtown Nederland, Colorado.In this podcast: Greg interviews Kate Miller, an herbalist with a focus on healing her community.  She tells how she found her calling in herbalism and becoming a partner in an herbal product company and she explains why ethical harvesting of herbs is so important.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/09/kate-miller/ for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to hear from our other great guests.

193: Chat With An Expert - Bill McDormanBill McDorman is Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, Ketchum, Idaho. He got his start in the bio-regional seed movement while in college in 1979 when he helped start Garden City Seeds. In 1984, Bill started Seeds Trust/High Altitude Gardens, a mail-order seed company he ran successfully until it sold in 2013.   He authored the book, Basic Seed Saving, in 1994.  In 2010, he and his wife Belle Starr created Seed School, a nationally recognized week-long training. He served as Executive Director of Native Seeds Search from 2011 to 2014.  Bill is a passionate and knowledgeable presenter who inspires his audiences to learn to save their own seeds.This is the first in a handful of special interviews in our chat with an interview series.  Bill joins us to share what is happening right now in the Southwest region with seed saving, including the upcoming Seed Summit and other seed events in the region.  Bill shares a few insights and a couple interesting stories about some unique and really cool seeds. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/07/chat-with-an-expert-bill-mcdorman/ for links and show notes 

192: Gene Baur on Protecting Farm Animals.Making choices to help defend animals in industrial agriculture.Gene is co‑founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, a national non-profit organization working to end cruelty to farm animals and change the way society views and treats farm animals.  Hailed as “the conscience of the food movement” by TIME magazine and recently selected by Oprah Winfrey to join her Super Soul 100 dream team of “100 awakened leaders who are using their voices and talent to elevate humanity,” he was a pioneer in undercover investigations and instrumental in passing the first U.S. laws to ban inhumane factory farming practices.He has traveled extensively, campaigning to raise awareness about the abuses of animal agriculture and our cheap food system.  Gene is the author of two national bestselling books: Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food, and Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day.Gene has a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University, and is a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Vegan since 1985, he’s recently started competing in marathons and triathlons, including an Ironman, to demonstrate the benefits of plant-based eating.In this podcast:  The co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, Gene Baur, tells Greg about his life as a vegan and triathlete as well as what prompted him to create a safe facility for rescued farm animals.  He has many helpful tips for those who are wanting to try the meatless lifestyle and diet, and he shares some insight on how to work with those you disagree with.Go to https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/04/gene-baur/y for more information, photos and links on this podcast and to hear our other great guests.

191: Petra Page-Mann on Certified Organic Seeds.Selecting bio-regionally adapted seeds and pursuing seed transparency.Raised in the Finger Lakes of New York, Petra spent over a decade traveling the world studying agriculture before returning to her hometown to start her own farm, Fruition Seeds, in 2012.  She has worked for one of the smallest seed companies in the world & also one of the largest.  She passionately grows, breeds, saves, shares & eats the seeds of certified organic, regionally adapted vegetables, flowers & herbs.  If she’s not farming she is singing, on her bike, hunting mushrooms or sharing a feast with a friend.  IN THIS PODCAST: Organic seed seller Petra Page-Mann chats with Greg about bio-regional adaptations in seeds, genetic purity in seeds, a special heatless habanero, and her seed company which is focused on organic seeds with genetic purity and transparency. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/02/02/petra-page-mann/ for show notes and links.

190: Grace Gershuny on The Organic Revolution.Recollecting early food system activism.Grace is widely known as an author, educator and organic consultant. In the 1990's she served on the staff of the USDA’s National Organic Program, where she helped write the regulations. She learned much of what she knows through her longtime involvement with the grassroots organic movement, where she organized conferences and educational events and developed an early organic certification program for the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA).She currently teaches in the Green Mountain College online Masters in Sustainable Food Systems program and serves on the Board of the Institute for Social Ecology. She has a Masters in Extension Education from the University of Vermont, with a self-designed concentration in Ecological Agriculture.Doing business as GAIA Service she works as an independent organic inspector.  She also does consulting for private and non-profit clients on all aspects of organic certification, developing related standards and certification systems, and training programs.  A reformed market gardener, Grace still grows her own veggies and chicken in Barnet, Vermont.In this podcast: Greg is impressed when he gets a chance to talk with Grace who tells about being part of the early organic food movement and her part in writing the first standards for organic food regulation. Her story is important for anyone who is interested in being active in writing food policy for our legislators.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/30/grace-gershuny/ for show notes and links.

189: Manuel Gonzalez on Innovation in Food and Ag.Pitching food and agriculture related business ideas to potential investors.Manuel is the North America Head of StartUp Innovation at Rabobank, where he leads the growth of their start-up platform build through FoodBytes! and new Accelerator, Terra. At the same time, he focuses on developing plans around how relationships with startup firms can benefit corporate clients. Manuel has been Head of the San Francisco Office of StartUp Innovation since 2012, where he led a process that greatly strengthened relationships with corporate clients in the Western Region of the US.He joined Rabobank in 1996 as a project manager. In 2003, he was named Head of Credit, and a year later became Head of Credit and Legal. Manuel was appointed Deputy General Manager in 2007, and just a year later promoted to General Manager in 2008. Under his leadership, the Mexico franchise significantly strengthened business performance, achieving considerable increases in revenue, cross-sell and net income. Manuel was instrumental in building a strong local investment banking team, and in fostering a high-performance culture focused on enhancing client relationships.In this podcast: Manuel is someone who works to help people with food-and-ag related business ideas connect with investors and start the process towards funding those ideas. He tells Greg about the FoodBytes business pitch event that is focused on food and ag, as well as Terra and Rabobank with their focus on innovation in this business field. His take on how to deal with failure is something every person who runs or hopes to run their own business should hear.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/28/manuel-gonzalez/ for show notes and links.

188: Megan Whatton on The Urban Habitat Network.Mapping the habitats of wildlife around the world a section at a time.Megan is the Urban Habitat Network Manager for The Nature Conservancy. She works with scientists, partners, private landowners, citizen scientists and volunteers to re-imagine their properties as habitat for the benefit of wildlife and people. Most recently she was the volunteer coordinator for the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute on the eMammal project to monitor mammal populations in the mid-Atlantic region. Megan has a M.S. Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University and B.S. Degree from Ball State University.In this podcast: Megan introduces Greg and his listeners to the Nature Conservancy and the Habitat Network Project. This project creates citizen scientists around the globe and is working to map the globe with their data to paint a picture of the wildlife in every part of the world. Megan explains how this project got started and how easy, fun and rewarding being a member of the network can be.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/26/megan-whatton/ for show notes and links.

187: Sherrie Pelsma on Macro Photography in the Garden.Looking at garden wildlife from a whole new perspective.Sherrie grew up on the rural Oregon Coast before moving to Portland to finish her degree. She has spent the last 10 years in Community Education, and runs a program where participants learn Do-It-Yourself skills to make homes safer and more energy efficient. As an environmentalist who loves macro photography, she took a special interest in pollinators and other insects which quickly blossomed into the love that drove the founding of the project Pollinator Parkways. In this podcast: Greg gets a chance to talk with Sherrie about her garden photography. Sheri has been developing her skills with macro photography and loves to share the results with her projects and her community. Here she helps explains the basics of garden photography, and tells how looking through the camera lens has given her a whole new perspective on the tiny lifeforms around her.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/24/sherrie-pelsma-2/ for show notes and links.

186: Robin Kelson on Seed Saving-Resiliency.Keeping the strength of genetic traits through community sharing of seeds.Robin is the owner of the Good Seed Company  - “heirloom seeds for common use,”  a small heirloom vegetable, flower and herb seed company based in Whitefish, MT and dedicated to helping re-establish the community practice of selecting, saving and sharing seeds for common use.The Good Seed Company envisions becoming a model for cultivating community-grown resilient seeds, seed savers and gardeners, and offers “workshops from soil to seed” under the trade name: “DIY:GROW”, including a one-year “seed steward” internship. DIY:GROW seeks to reduce the barrier to entry for anyone wanting to take control of their food. A biochemist and attorney by training, Robin has spent over 30 years exploring human vitality, resiliency, and patterns in the natural world. In support of cultivating a sustainability perspective for our common future, she also offers "The Resiliency Dialogues", presentations for all audiences that introduce simple tools from nature for practicing resiliency in any context and to invite dialogue on this subject.In this podcast: Greg talks to a former lawyer Robin Kelson who now runs The Good Seed Company. She shares her story about the unexpected transition in her life leading her to her work around seeds.  One of the big events in her new life is an epic community event focused on seed saving and sharing.  She also explains why the company is using seeds from backyard growers.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/21/robin-kelson/ for show notes and links.

185: Elaine Ingham on Life in the Soil.Examining the biology of healthy soil to improve plant growth.Dr. Elaine Ingham is the Founder, President and Director of Research for Soil Foodweb Inc., a business that grew out of her Oregon State University research program.  Behind her user-friendly approach to soil lies a wealth of knowledge gained from years of research into the organisms which make up the soil food web. Her goal is to translate this knowledge into actions that ensure a healthy food web that promotes plant growth and reduces reliance on inorganic chemicals. Elaine also offers a pioneering vision for sustainable farming, improving our current soils to a healthier state, without damaging any other ecosystem.In her spare time, Elaine publishes scientific papers, writes book chapters and gives talks at symposia around the world. Elaine and her husband Russ (who also has a Doctorate from Colorado State University in Zoology, emphasizing nematology,) live in Corvallis Oregon.In this podcast: Greg talks with one of the foremost experts on soil health Dr. Elaine Ingham and learns a lot about the world of microbiological life in the soil.  Her studies have been amazing and it is easy to see how being a student in one of her classes can be quite informative.  She tells about how she became so focused on the microbiological life in the soil and educates us on the importance of those first few dozen inches of earth our food is grown in.  This is a mini course of science in just one podcast.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/19/elaine-ingham/ for show notes and links.

184: Michael Phillips on Holistic Orcharding.Growing fruit trees by creating a healthy ecosystem.Michael is known across the country for helping people grow healthy apples and understand the healing virtues of plant medicines. The “community orchard movement” he helped institute can be found at GrowOrganicApples.com and provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding.  His farm, Lost Nation Orchard, is part of a diversified medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. There, two acres of trees supply local families with many varieties of organic apples, and has a cider mill in the planning stages.Michael is the author of The Apple Grower: A Guide for the Organic Orchardist, and The Holistic Orchard and co-author with his wife Nancy for The Herbalist’s Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines.  His newest book, Mycorrhizal Planet: How Symbiotic Fungi Work with Roots to Support Plant Health and Build Soil Fertility, will be available in March 2017.  Michael was honored by Slow Food USA to receive the first Betsy Lydon Ark Award for his work promoting healthy ways to grow fruit.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg has found an east coast twin when he talks to a fruit tree farmer named Michael Phillips who has been growing apple trees in New Hampshire with a care that works for the health of the trees and the ecosystem in which they live.  Michael grows and sells fruit trees and he focuses a lot of offering tree growing education as well.  He shares his main points of growing healthy fruit trees and explains why some of the steps are so beneficial to trees.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/17/michael-phillips/ for show notes and links.

183: Shawn Jadrnicek on The Bio-Integrated Farm.Maximizing functions from landscape elements to save time, energy and money.Shawn has nourished his interest in sustainability through work as an organic farmer, nursery grower, extension agent, arborist, and landscaper, and now as the manager of Clemson University’s Student Organic Farm. From his earliest permaculture experiments with no-till farming in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California to his highly functional bio-integrated designs in the Southeast, Shawn has learned how to cultivate food in a variety of climates and landscapes. He shares his creative solutions through teaching, consulting, design work and his book The Bio-Integrated Farm:  A Revolutionary Permaculture Based System Using Greenhouses, Ponds, Compost Piles, Aquaponics, Chickens and More - Published by Chelsea Green.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg meets Shawn who explains a key permaculture concept of having multiple functions from one element. Shawn tells how he has designed many projects focusing on elements that have at least seven functions each. With his experience, he has brought together several examples in his new book and so he shares some ideas in this interview. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/14/shawn-jadrnicek/ for show notes and links.

182: Matthew Shepherd on Planting to Feed Bees.Expanding the habitat of an essential pollinator through our garden choices.Matthew’s career began in England where he established a successful community-based conservation program in Essex and helped to create Samfire Hoe, an award-winning nature park. He has also worked with local communities and government agencies in Kenya to improve the management of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, on the coast north of Mombasa. He has created and maintained gardens that provide for insects and other wildlife everywhere he has lived, a passion that began when he learned gardening at his mother’s side.Matthew’s introduction to pollinator conservation actually came two decades ago, on a sunny hillside in southern England, while working on a project to protect disappearing grasslands. He was manually using an artist’s paintbrush to transfer pollen between endangered orchids and realized there was obviously something missing in that ecosystem. Five years later, after marrying an American and moving to Oregon, Matthew was working for the Xerces Society at the vanguard of a new effort to protect pollinators.In the past 15 years, he has collaborated with people from all walks of life to promote awareness about, and protection of, pollinator insects, especially native bees. Matthew is author of numerous articles and other publications, including Attracting Native Pollinators and Gardening for Butterflies. He is now the Society’s Communications Director, reducing the amount of time spent with pollinators, but increasing the time supporting the many other aspects of Xerces conservation work.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg chats with Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society to learn more about their latest book titled 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, as well as some of the projects the Society has been working on.  Matthew’s story of how he got to work for the Xerces Society is a little world tour and then he helps explain more about different bees and what they need.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/12/matthew-shepherd/ for show notes and links.

181: Quita Jackson on Thrifty Self Sufficiency.Taking small steps to being green and making a difference.Quita is one of the founders of GreenDesert.org.   And while some would call her an urban farmer or a gardener, she prefers to consider herself spiritually connected to mother earth and her environment.  She loves everything about nature! GreenDesert.org is all about showing people ways to be more self-sufficient, whether you’re gardening, making your own clothes, recycling, or making your own cleaning products… every little bit counts.Quita is all about living the lifestyle…everything from maintaining a garden rich with herbs, vegetables and fruit, to raising chickens and tilapia, to using a water generator to make water from the humidity in the air, to collecting rainwater and The list goes on. She is quite passionate about this topic because she believes we are all in this together… and must recognize how our actions about the environment affects others.  In addition, saving money is a huge priority for her and of course that’s a huge part of being green.IN THIS PODCAST: Being green is all about having less of a negative impact on the planet and here Greg chats with Quita who has fully adopted a new lifestyle and loves helping others find their way into it as well. Quita tells how she got the courage to start gardening, and how that gave her confidence to try new ways to become self-sufficient even while living in a major city. Her encouraging attitude and caring nature helps as she spreads the word about little steps people can take in their own lives.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/10/quita-jackson/ for show notes and links.

180: Brian Smith on Biochar.Enhancing your soils through an ancient, carbon-sequestering, process.Brian is a systems engineer and project manager living in north Phoenix.  For the past 30 years, he has worked for GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell on software for flight control systems in commercial and military aircraft.  Recently, he became an entrepreneur and started a small software development company.  To balance his high-tech career, he has enjoyed more simple hobbies like making beer, woodworking, and organic gardening.During the Great Recession, he purchased a foreclosed property that had been neglected and abused for many years and he has spent the last 8 years renovating both the indoors and outdoors.  After removing 5 layers of different landscaping stone that previous owners had covered the yard with, he spread several inches of arborist wood chips over the dirt to reduce water loss and increase soil fertility.  In the backyard he converted a broken-down diving pool into a private aquifer by filling it with rock and gravel, connecting a pump to the drain pipe and covering it with topsoil.  He now has several fruit trees and a vegie garden growing on top of 3000 or 4000 gallons of secure rainwater. IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to Brian, a transplant to Arizona who needed to improve his gardening results and found out about biochar. Brian explains the process that was used over 2000 years ago, to transform burned wood into a long lasting organic super buffet with nutrients galore. He tells how he was so interested in the results that he took his research to the point that he can now make his own biochar in his backyard.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/07/brian-smith/ for show notes and links.

179: Penn Parmenter on Passive Solar Greenhouses.Designing greenhouses using the natural laws of nature as allies and resources.Since 1992 Penn and her husband Cord have been growing food just above the 8,000 feet level in the Wet Mountains of South Central Colorado. With many years of research and development, they founded Smart Greenhouses LLC and Miss Penn’s Mountain Seeds in 2013,Together they build smart greenhouses all over the Rocky Mountain West at even the highest elevations. Their greenhouses are 100% sustainable as they heat, cool and ventilate themselves without the use of fossil fuel. Penn and Cord are also co-instructors at the Denver Botanic Gardens teaching a slew of high-altitude growing classes there and around the region.  Their very popular day-long Sustainable Greenhouse Design class is held on their 43-acre property and at the Denver Botanic Gardens.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg connects again with Penn to talk about the greenhouse designs she and her husband create, sell and teach about. Penn tells how her husband Cord took passive solar concepts and implemented them into the first greenhouse they built from reclaimed and scrap materials, and how they have made many improvements over time. Their greenhouse once kept her precious tomatoes safe and growing during a week of temperatures 10 and 20 degrees below zero.  High altitude growing was the impetus for their greenhouse designs, and Cord’s skills and need for perfection have created some results that would make any gardener rethink their calendars.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/05/penn-parmenter-2/ for show notes and links.

178: Jayson Matthews on Solutions to Hunger.Discussing food insecurity in urban communities and how to improve resilience against hunger.Jayson is currently the Director of Ending Hunger for the Valley of the Sun United Way and has been with the organization since September 2014. Before joining the United Way, Jayson served as Executive Assistant to former Tempe Mayor Neil Guiliano, as the Assistant Director and Chief Program Officer of Tempe Community Council, and as the Chief Development Officer for United Food Bank.Jayson earned a Bachelors of Arts in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Arizona in 1999 and a Masters in Public Administration from Arizona State University in 2003.  He is also a graduate of Tempe Leadership, a trained facilitator specializing in nonprofit board development and community development, and recently became a Certified Poverty Coach.He is a fierce advocate for human services and public service and demonstrates this through his volunteer work on various municipal boards, commissions, and nonprofit boards in Phoenix and Tempe.  In his free time, he enjoys going on adventures with his dear wife and partner Emma and their adorable dog, Daisy.IN THIS PODCAST: The complex and oft misunderstood situation of food insecurity and hunger are the discussion focus in Greg’s interview with Jayson Matthews. Jayson’s personal history growing up as the son of a young single mother gave him the empathy he needed to fill his role at the United Way. Jayson helps to explain many of the distinctions of hunger as well as how prevalent the reality is in the urban communities in America.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2017/01/03/jayson-matthews/ for show notes and links.

177: Drew Taddia on Reducing Stress and Detoxing Smartly.Making long lasting changes a little at a time and using a plant-based diet to avoid toxins.Drew has traveled the world as a professional athlete coming from Canada, working through the US, and overseas into Australia and Germany following his dreams and passion of baseball.  He quickly became the ‘go to’ guy regarding fitness and nutrition as he continually experimented on his own body to find out what foods would help him recover quicker or build muscle more efficiently, and how to exercise to help him jump higher, run faster, and help him stand out on the field.He soon found out stress played a vital role in what he was putting both in and on his body. He learned that by reducing stress through a plant based diet and avoiding toxins both on and off the field, he could improve as an athlete and stand out from the competition.Using what he learned, Drew wrote the best-selling book Detoxify Yourself, which is a 30-day plant-based meal plan teaching readers how to avoid toxins, chose foods to help heal and recover, and how to prepare the meals with recipes and grocery lists.  Concerned about the toxins on the market in conventional protein supplements, he designed his own plant based protein powder made with quinoa and hemp hearts. Drew has also been on air for 5 years as a radio host (96.5 ckfm) where he interviews world renowned experts in health, fitness, nutrition, lifestyle and more.In this podcast: Greg interviews health and fitness advocate and radio show host Drew Taddia, and they talk about the importance of reducing stress and making sustainable lifestyle changes that work. Drew teaches about using a different mindset when making lifestyle changes, and how that can be the difference in succeeding or failing. He tackles health and fitness in three areas of nutrition, exercise and environment and explains how to keep it from becoming overwhelming.  “If you never start, you're never going to get anywhere”Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/31/drew-taddia/ for show notes and links.

176: Cory Williams on Tropical Fruit Trees.Growing a tropical fruit forest paradise in spite of a harsh climate.Cory lives in Chandler, Arizona and owns a video production company called Studio 9 Production. Prior to that, he spent 5 years in radio in Flagstaff, AZ, and 12 years on TV in Phoenix, as a Sports Anchor / Reporter for the local news channels. Cory got into farming and gardening after a trip to Napa Valley in Sonoma, California, about 15 years ago, at which time he was inspired to start growing his own grapes. Following that trip, every time he moved he planted more and more grapevines at each house.  Until 4 years ago, when he and his wife purchased a home on an acre and a half.  As soon as they moved in, they started planting. He began by just focusing on gardening and some vines, and then over the last couple years, he’s jumped head-first into full-fledged tree farming. He now has over 150 trees, vines and fruiting plants, and he is proud to claim that he planted every one himself and maintains them all. Cory is happily married and they have four kids ages 6, 4, 2, and just welcomed a brand-new baby to their family.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg meets Cory Williams, a man who could not take ‘You can’t do that’ for an answer. Cory has transformed his home just outside of Phoenix to his own tropical fruit forest paradise using microclimates, observation, experimentation, and frankly ignoring naysayers.  His interest started with a few wine grapes and he got bit by the growing bug as he now has over 150 trees on his urban property and is not done trying new things.  His can-do attitude is infectious and you might have new goals after listening to this podcast.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/29/cory-williams/ for show notes and links.

175: Kaye Kittrell on Urban Gardening.Discovering organic gardening alongside a determined learner.In the fall of 2011, Kaye converted the front yard and parkway of her home in Pacific Palisades, CA, into an edible garden. She removed all non-edible grass, small trees and bushes that occupied approximately 300 square feet of valuable sunny area, and planted citrus trees and herbs. In April 2012, Kaye began her urban garden blog, “Late Bloomer Show”, sharing her results with other urban gardeners, food bloggers and family farmers. With her photography skills and on-camera likeability from 30 years as a working actor in New York and Hollywood, Kaye created a web show, also titled “Late Bloomer,” chronicling her discovering how to grow food. A year later, her summer garden produced over 150 lbs. of produce, about 40 percent of which was given away. She also wrote her first e-book, “10 Steps to a Great First Garden.”And, in 2015, Kaye created her first DVD, “Growing Heirloom Tomatoes,” a compilation of her five-part series on YouTube.  “Late Bloomer” now has 96 episodes on YouTube and in 2015 won Best Edutainment Series at Miami Web Fest 2015. In 2016, Kaye added a vlog to the channel, which includes 50 videos and offers Kaye an opportunity to visit and share other gardens and urban farms with her audience.  Kaye’s goal is to inspire anyone to grow their own food and take charge of their food security.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg chats with a new friend Kaye, a recent convert to organic gardening who has been chronicling her challenges and amazing successes in her small garden.  Living in California on the beach has it benefits, but it also comes with a challenging microclimate due to early morning fogs that limit the sun to her small garden. Kaye shares how she was inspired to start a vlog about her learning curve and has won several accolades for her work. She is still learning, but she is willing to share both the challenges and the answers she is finding on this new journey to food security.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/27/kaye-kittrell/ for show notes and links.

174: Shaun Keesee on Biointensive FarmingA beginner's experience converting to larger scale organic farming.Shaun has an upstart one-acre mini-farm called BioManna Farms in Warrenton, NC. On his farm he grows using a combination of conventional and bio-intensive techniques, slowly moving towards a completely organic set up and is growing in all four seasons, with majority of production coming during the typical growing season.He is planning to expand to three acres in the future, and into other ventures to diversify, such as beekeeping, vermicomposting, and nursery growing.  Shaun is in the process of starting a CSA, has taken agricultural entrepreneurship classes at his local community college, and has secured three local restaurants to buy his produce.IN THIS PODCAST:  In this podcast:  Greg talks to a newer farmer in Shaun who is having some success using biointensive farming techniques.  Shaun shares how he reclaimed the land his family was leasing out to a hay farmer and starting growing crops to sell to markets and restaurants. He is applying the skills he has learned through his reading, internet and agriculture courses at his local college.  His interest in organic farming is taking root in his community and he is gladly sharing a few tips here.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/24/shaun-keesee/ for show notes and links.

173: Brendan Gaughran on Liver and Gut HealthUnderstanding the sequence of food drive n diseasesBrendan holds a degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Connecticut and his MBA from Bentley University. He has spent 15 years in the Healthcare field and was an executive for a major nutraceutical manufacturer before starting multiple companies of his own, the latest being Liver Medic. He conducts health lectures to both physicians and the public. His research focuses primarily on gut health, liver health, endocrine system, adrenal fatigue and optimum diets.IN THIS PODCAST: Brendan teaches Greg a lot about the functions and dysfunctions of the liver and gut, and how a cascade of medical issues can be traced back to the health of the gut. Brendan explains why he gave up his well-paying career to focus on finding answers on the treatment of metabolic syndrome. He describes what his research has revealed and how our foods we eat are a huge contributor to our health, starting with our gut bacteria.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/22/brendan-gaughran/ for show notes and links.

172: Ocean Robbins on Changing our Food FutureFinding the motivation to make changes in our diets At 15, Ocean was a co-founder of the Creating Our Future environmental speaking tour, on which he and three other participants spoke in person to more than 30,000 students, presented for 2,000 people at the United Nations, and opened for the Jerry Garcia band in San Francisco.In 1990 at age 16, Ocean founded YES!, an organization he directed for the next 20 years with the goal of connecting, inspiring and mobilizing visionary young leaders worldwide.  He has since spoken to hundreds of thousands of people, led hundreds of retreats, workshops and Jams for leaders in over 65 nations, written books, mentored (and learned from) changemakers, and been a creative partner and lead editor for several bestsellers.In 2012 Ocean founded the Food Revolution Network, which now has more than 350,000 members working for healthy, sustainable, humane and delicious food.  He currently serves as adjunct professor in the Peace Studies department at Chapman University.  Ocean has personally spoken and facilitated leadership gatherings in Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Singapore, Costa Rica, Russia, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, India, Peru, and across the USA.All this and he is also an active and proud father of special needs twins, a lover of life, and a human being who is trying to live in a good way on this earth.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg chats with Ocean Robbins of the Food Revolution Network to talk about changing our food future and how important it is to make a change in today’s diets.  Starting at a very young age, Ocean had been motivated and inspired to help others eat better for their own health.  Now as an adult and father, his drive has only grown stronger and deeper to spread a message of education on the food choices being made today.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/20/ocean-robbins/ for show notes and links.

171: Robbie Shell on Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder.A researcher's perspective on the marvelous efficiency of honeybees.Robbie was a business journalist and co-author of a book on leadership, who turned her attention to honeybees when her brother, a beekeeper, brought her jars of honey harvested from his backyard hives. Inspired by the teamwork and efficiency displayed by these tiny pollinators, she left her job as a business editor/writer and wrote “Bees on the Roof.”The middle-grade environmental fiction novel tells the story of four seventh graders competing in a science competition but also educates young readers about the importance of honeybees to our environment and the dangers they face from the still mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder.Robbie, who graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history, grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Charlottesville, Va., Boston, Mass., New York City and Washington, D.C.  She and her husband now live in Philadelphia, where they raised their two sons.  She has never been stung by a honeybee (Wasps are a different story.)IN THIS PODCAST: Greg meets Robbie who is not a farmer or gardener but really has a story to tell that can make a difference. Robbie was inspired by some honeybees and decided to learn more about them. Her research eventually led her to write an environmental fiction book for middle school kids to help them understand and appreciate the honeybees and the challenge of colony collapse disorder. She shares with Greg some of the amazing details she learned through her research and talks about how adults and kids can help the bees.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/17/robbie-shell/ for show notes and links.

170: Don Tipping on Seeds and Plant BreedingCultivating the future through seed saving and educationDon has been offering hands-on, practical workshops at Seven Seeds Farm since 1997.  His farm is a small, organic family farm in the Siskiyou Mountains of SW Oregon; situated at 2,000 feet elevation on a 7,000-foot-tall-forested mountain with rushing spring fed creeks flowing through the land and nestled among old growth forests.Don helped to found the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative, which manages a 300 share CSA, a commercial seed growing operation, and an equipment co-op and internship curriculum among the 12 cooperating farms. He also co-founded the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative, a seed growing, marketing and distribution cooperative comprised of 10 western organic farms. He sits on the board of the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance and is a regular contributor to the Oregon State University Small Farms educational program.  Don is also a charter member of the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) as a plant breeder and a seed company advocate. Don is regularly sought out as a teacher, collaborator and consultant in the Pacific Northwest.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg chats with an organic seed farmer and educator Don  also explains how and why a couple cooperatives got started including the Open Source Seed Initiative.  He has been able to open his farm to host intensive seed academy classes and he guides Greg through the topics that are covered.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/15/don-tipping/ for show notes and links. 

169: Sarah Highlen on Farm MarketingOffering cost-effective marketing for small farms and food producersSarah spent 17 years in the marketing industry, working with clients across diverse industries. As her values evolved, her career in marketing became dispiriting — until she realized she could use her marketing skills for something she felt really good about: good food. Sarah founded Grapevine Local Food Marketing in 2016 to help small farms, local food producers, and other small food businesses.   In August, Katy Horst joined the Grapevine team, and together Sarah and Katy provide websites, logos, Facebook marketing, email newsletters, and other marketing services to clients in Indiana and beyond.When Sarah's not working on marketing projects, she's usually growing food, buying food, cooking food, photographing food, or eating food. Sarah also enjoys helping people develop an appreciation for real food through education and recipes, and she's a founding member and board president of her local food council (NWI Food Council).IN THIS PODCAST: Greg hears from a woman who got tired of marketing food “products” and figured out it was much more rewarding to market for small family farms and local food producers instead.  Sarah tells how her desire to eat better and be healthier led her to a farm that needed some help.  This led to a very satisfying career change and a chance to make a difference for local people who make real food and help regular people find the sources of the good food.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/13/sarah-highlen/ for show notes and links.

168: Kerry Audisho on Locally Grown FoodsConnecting a community to a healthier diet and access to locally grown foods.Kerry is a wife, mother, certified Dr. Sears health coach, local food advocate, and lover of food growing. She spends her time visiting various farms and gardens in and around Phoenix, and connecting consumers directly to local growers.She organizes three Meetup groups, Your Farm Foods, Arizona Natural Food Group and Food as Medicine.She blogs at yourfarmfoods.com and has created an online open marketplace, friendingfarmers.com that allows users to buy, sell and share our locally grown foods.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg talks with Kerry to find out why she is so committed to helping others improve their diets and connect with locally grown foods.  Kerry shares the story of her conversion to healthy foods and then how even that diet was improved after a trip to a restaurant with a friend.  Her experience giving up sugar is a startling one. She also explains how she started her meet-up group to help her community connect with locally grown foods.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/10/kerry-audisho/ for show notes and links.

Kristin Nikodemski on the Grow it Yourself RevolutionEncouraging growth in the community of organic gardenersAs the Product Marketing Manager for Arborjet and The Dirt on Dirt, Kristin divides her time between marketing, supporting, and developing products for the horticulture industry. From her early days helping her father in the yard, working for garden centers, and professionally managing consumer garden brands since 2010, Kristin brings a wealth of experience.In her free time, Kristin is an avid indoor & outdoor gardener, artist, and foodie. She is a graduate of Salve Regina University.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg learns more about some organic gardening resources from Kristin who tells her story of how she joined a sustainability focused horticulture company. Kristin has found a way to blend her love of gardening with a care of community by helping create the Dirt on Dirt community. She also helps explain some of the Arborjet products and why they work.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/08/kristin-nikodemski/ for show notes and links.

166: Susan Poizner on Fruit Tree CareNurturing relationships with community and nature through orchards and fruit trees.Susan is an urban orchardist in Toronto, Canada. She is the author of the award-winning fruit tree care book “Growing Urban Orchards” and the creator of an award-winning online fruit tree care training course. In her in-person and online workshops Susan has trained hundreds of students from across North America. Her students include Master Gardeners, arborists and people who are completely new to gardening and fruit tree care.  Susan is also the host and creator of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast on RealityRadio101.com.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg meets another lover of fruit trees with Susan who founded a community orchard in her home town and found her calling as well. Susan tells how she got the idea to start an orchard in her neighborhood park, and how learning everything she could about fruit trees has morphed into her popular education program.  Her down-to-earth nature is very apparent as she explains some highs and lows on this journey and how her love for her community of people and trees has grown beyond her expectations. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/06/susan-poizner/ for show notes and links.

165: Penn Parmenter on High Altitude TomatoesGrowing and saving seeds for extreme or challenging climatesSince 1992 Penn and her husband Cord have been growing food just above the 8,000 feet level in the Wet Mountains of South Central Colorado.  With many years of research and development, they founded Smart Greenhouses LLC and Miss Penn’s Mountain Seeds in 2013,Miss Penn’s Mountain Seeds is a small, high-altitude, bio-regional seed company servicing the mountain people.  As a tomato specialist, she offers over 200 varieties of adapted tomatoes – the Holy Grail of the mountains; as well as around 50 native wildflowers along with a mix of garden flowers, herbs and wild foods.Penn and Cord have three famished sons, Maximilian, Beauregard and Wulfgar who help them in all aspects of their work.IN THIS PODCAST: we hear an enthusiastic and fun guest as Penn chats with Greg about her passion for growing and saving seeds.  Penn tells how she got started in the seed business and why she enjoys her job so much.  Besides making the act of saving seeds sound really fun, she also explains why it is so important.  Her upbeat and positive nature has a great effect, and with the way she describes her crops, it must be like adopting a loved one when you order seeds from her.  And if you have a garden, her explanation of how seeds adapt for the area they are grown might just be enough to encourage you to try seed saving on your own.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/03/penn-parmenter/ for show notes and links.

164: Jeff Moyer on Organic Farmers AssociationGiving a larger voice to organic farmers in national policy discussions.Jeff is a world-renowned authority in organic agriculture. His expertise includes organic crop production systems with a focus on weed management, cover crops, crop rotations, equipment modification and use, and facilities design.Jeff is perhaps most well-known for conceptualizing and popularizing the No-Till Roller Crimper for use in organic agriculture. In 2011, he wrote Organic No-Till Farming, a publication that has become a resource for farmers throughout the world.In September 2015, Jeff was appointed as Executive Director of Rodale Institute after spending the last four decades there, helping countless farmers make the transition from conventional, chemical-based farming to organic methods.IN THIS PODCAST:  Author Jeff Moyer chats with Greg about the importance of organic farming, the role and purpose of the Rodale Institute, and the new Organic Famers Association.  Jeff has a great passion for a change in food production to a healthier method, and it is obvious as he explains the history of the Rodale Institute.  He explains why it is important to have organic agriculture and how consumers change affect the whole food system with just a simple act. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/12/01/jeff-moyer/ for show notes and links.

163: Melinda Adkins on Learning Homesteading SkillsRekindling skills of past generations and sharing thrifty gardening tipsMelinda’s Urban Homesteader journey began as a child watching her mother and grandmother tend their gardens which instilled in her a love and appreciation for gardening.  After college she purchased a home in the city and secured employment with the local school district as well as a part-time Park Ranger.  The park had an 1880's working farm on the property which gave her the opportunity to visit and observe vintage skills. It was during her time as a Park Ranger that her love for the outdoors and living a simpler life really grew. She has a great love of nature, has earned a Wildlife Habitat Certification as a result.  Eventually, she began incorporating skills she learned from the farm staff into her own urban homestead. Somehow she finds time to watch documentaries in her spare time to continue her learning. Melinda is highly invested in helping her community and is the founder of HPC-Community.com IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to community homesteader Melinda who founded a community group to share tips and experiences while learning about homesteading. Melinda was a bit of a groundbreaker in her town with some unorthodox thinking, so in order to find others with similar preparedness and vintage skills interests she created an online group.  Her goal is to share gardening and preparedness information affordably.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/29/melinda-adkins/ for show notes and links.

162: Jesse Sparks on Neighborhood HarvestingHarvesting fruits and friends from your neighborhood communityJesse is a sixth-generation Arizona native. His great-grandfather owned and operated a farm in Tempe, AZ, and Jesse’s mother’s side comes from farming heritage in Iowa, so he has been surrounded by gardens, fruit trees, and fresh produce his entire life. He and his wife had a townhouse where they started growing food by converting the lawn area in the back into a little 5ft square garden. Then, after moving and expanding to a larger area with more garden space, he noticed he physically felt better after eating home-grown produce. He travels a lot for work and is constantly on airplanes with recirculated air, but he credits having never come home with “travel crud” to his healthier, home-grown eating style.Jesse lives in the Northwest valley of Phoenix Arizona with his wife Heather, their 2 sons, and is expecting twin daughters due early 2017.IN THIS PODCAST: An inspiring young father Jesse shares his story with Greg about how he has started harvesting the unwanted fruit from his neighbor’s front yard and is developing a stronger community as well.  Jesse’s story is delightful, and uplifting as he and his young son collect fruit, make jellies, and bring the harvest back to share.  He shares how he started and it is not as hard as you might think. Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/26/jesse-sparks/ for show notes and links.

161: Vanessa Simkins on Juicing DeliciouslyConnecting healthy and flavorful juicing combinations for health and a good dietVanessa, is the founder of AllAboutJuicing.com: a website and newsletter serving up fresh, tested juicing advice for getting a hot body, glowing skin, and lifelong health through a straw. She is also the founder of Vanessa’s Juice Club and the author of the Juice Lover’s Big Book of Juices: 425 recipes for super nutritious and crazy delicious juices.Her newsletters, products and site reach over a quarter-million readers each month – a veritable army, inspired to juice for better health.  A juicing trendsetter known for her inventive and tasty juice recipes, Vanessa has an undying thirst for connecting people back to what makes them healthy, one drink at a time.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg finds many connections with Vanessa as she shares why she started juicing and why she runs her own business helping others learn about juicing. Vanessa tells about how she got started with her blog and her recipe book. She also tells about her love for mixing juices blends, and how she can serve up delicious drink combinations even from some normally challenging ingredient flavors.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/24/vanessa-simkins/ for show notes and links.

160: Jim Loomis on Lifestyle MedicineConnecting a plant-based diet and lifestyle to positive health benefits Jim Loomis Jr., M.D., M.B.A., received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and graduated with honors.  He subsequently completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital/ Washington University in St. Louis, MO. and received an M.B.A. from the Olin School of Business at Washington University.Jim is the medical director at the Barnard Medical Center in Washington DC.  He is board certified in internal medicine and has also completed the certification program in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University.  Before coming to the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, DC, Jim practiced internal medicine and was the director of prevention and wellness at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis.  Jim is on the clinical faculty of the department of internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and also serves on the board of directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.When not practicing medicine, Jim enjoys reading history books, cooking, and teaching plant-based cooking classes. He also enjoys running, biking, and swimming, and has completed numerous half marathons, marathons, and triathlons.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg talks to a Doctor that he met a few months back.  Dr. Jim is fabulous at bringing the complexities of healthy eating to simple and memorable analogies. Transitioning from a standard American diet to a plant based one to improve health and vitality is something that Dr. Jim can talk about because he did just that.  He was one of the worst kind of patients because he already knew the side effects of the meds he was prescribed, and his search for a healthier lifestyle is now what he shares with others.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/22/james-loomis/ for show notes and links.

159: Brandon Peterman on Natural BuildingConstructing buildings and materials from locally sourced ingredients Brandon grew up in Southern California and went to University of Southern California Riverside.  Always feeling a connection to nature, he has been living on homesteads in the woods for the past four years and has been actively doing natural building for the past three years.  He has participated in the building of over two dozen natural structures from cottages to bread ovens, garden walls, to covered benches and other homestead based structures.His goal is to create a fully functioning working farm with a gardening education program and a year-round school program.  After his own apprenticeship, Brandon joined Kirk Mobert at the Sundog School of Natural Building which is based on 50 acres in Gualala, California. The school offers classes and on a rotating basis and apprenticeships in natural building.IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg gets to hear about a new topic on the podcast when he chats with Brandon who shares the basics about Natural Building.  A life-long lover of the outdoors, Brandon tells how he found what he had been looking for in a building process that has been around for many centuries. This process is one that embodies several permaculture principles and has many time-tested examples existing around the world. Brandon tells about this method and the school that offers apprentice positions.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/19/brandon-peterman/ for show notes and links.

158: Andrew Millison on Scaling up PermacultureSharing a regenerative design system and the medicine our planet needs.Andrew has been studying, teaching and practicing permaculture since he took his first design course in 1996. He began teaching permaculture design at the college level in 2001 and has been an instructor at Oregon State University in the Horticulture Department since 2009. Andrew currently teaches the Permaculture Design Course at OSU on campus and online.Andrew first learned permaculture design in the drylands of Arizona, where he studied for his undergraduate and master's degrees at Prescott College focusing on rainwater harvesting, greywater systems and desert agriculture.In recent years, his focus has been more on broad scale farm planning, permaculture housing developments and obtaining water rights. In 2015 he founded Permaculture Design International, a collaborative design firm that works on large-scale global projects. And, he runs a free Intro to Permaculture course that has had over 20,000 enrollments to date.IN THIS PODCAST:  Andrew catches up with Greg and brings him up to speed on what he has done since they took a permaculture class together 20 years ago.  This is an inspiring and EPIC story of someone who was ready to take permaculture to the next level and beyond.  The ultimate part of this adventure is that there is room for others to join in an online aspect.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/17/andrew-millison/ for show notes and links.

Elena Ortiz on Nature Education for AdultsMaking connections to nature through working in a college garden.Elena has been teaching with the Phoenix College Biosciences Department in the Maricopa Community College System for eleven years. She has taught environmental biology and general biology for non-majors. Her newest class is Plants and Society, a basic botany course for non-majors.As part of teaching this class, she brings her personal interest for gardening into the classroom. She says the garden is a great place to introduce, or reintroduce, students to nature and ecology. Elena has a PhD in Plant Biology from ASU, a Master of Science in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.Her interests in ecology and gardening were both heavily influenced by her maternal grandfather who was a family doctor and gentleman farmer in Puerto Rico who retired on his farm. As a young girl, she would follow him around as he would spend the day working on projects, in his garden and orchid collection, or his farm. She credits him for most of the knowledge of the natural history of Puerto Rico that she still remembers today.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg chats with an old college friend who is now teaching botany at Phoenix College. Elena shares what she is doing now and how she has brought her classrooms outdoors and into the garden.  She describes how she believes it is important to make a connection with nature right outside your door, and how some of her students are surprised how easy it is to grow things in the desert.  She also depicts how her students make the connections and take ownership of the garden enough that they want to stay working even after the class ends.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/15/elena-ortiz/ for show notes and links.

Keri Fox on SPIN FarmingStarting a farming business in an urban area and making it work.Keri grew up on an organic farm in a small Saskatchewan community when organic wasn’t cool or trendy. After feeling like an outcast, and perceiving her parents as “poor,” she decided to pursue a more profitable career.  After getting her electrician journeyperson license, she ran an electrical contracting business for 8 years and made good money doing this. However, she felt her business was contributing to the destruction of the planet.  Knowing she needed a change, and having recently been introduced to permaculture, she took a leap of faith and sold her business to search for a lifestyle that would help heal the planet.Keri took a series of permaculture based workshops over the next couple of years and eventually found herself in a SPIN farming workshop. Having found what she was looking for, she immediately returned home with a “crazy idea” to farm in the city. The idea got around and she started her new business with veggies in 8 different yards in return for a weekly box of vegetables, and sold the rest at the local farmers market. Now, at the end of 5th growing season, she works 1/3 of an acre including 7 outdoor garden spaces, one hoop house style greenhouse and an indoor micro-green operation, offers a salad box subscription that delivers to 9 restaurants as well as the weekly farmers market.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to Keri, a former electrician who quit to be a farmer because it was better for the planet. She tells why she left her successful business to run a small plot farm, and how she has developed that into quite the impressive and sustainable venture.  She describes how she rides her bike from plot to plot, sells to restaurants and farmers markets, and has a salad box subscription.  Farming with little-to-no land of your own can work, and she proves it in her story.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/12/keri-fox/ for show notes and links.

155: Lawrence Parkhill of the Veteran Farmers of America Helping our returning veterans heal through farming and agriculture.Lawrence signed up for the infantry at age 16 when the towers fell, and left at age 18 to go to Camp Pendleton. He was deployed twice to Iraq with India Company, Third Battalion, First Marines.  Lawrence extended his contract by six months or so to deploy with the Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC) to Afghanistan. He has a total of five year’s active duty as a machine gunner and got out as E5 (sergeant) with two Purple Hearts, and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with V device for valor. Lawrence is the President and Co-Founder of Veteran Farmers of America. He is also the National Maintenance Support Manager at Mission Produce in Oxnard where he lives.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg is honored to talk to Sargent Lawrence Parkhill who shares his story of how he founded a new non-profit which is helping veterans reintegrate into non-combat life with jobs in agriculture. Veteran Farmers of America is working with returning servicemen and women to find internships and jobs in various aspects of the agriculture industry.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/10/lawrence-parkhill/ for show notes and links.

Julian Awad on Backyard Riches and SPIN FarmingTaking a Small Plot and with Intensive Farming generate income.Julian experienced entrepreneurship early at the age of 12 when he first started importing candy from Singapore to Malaysia where his family was living at the time. At 19 he started his first company in real estate. Since then, his interest for business and social responsibility has taken him from refugee trips in Sumatra, Indonesia to driving new innovative genetic risk assessments.It was while working with Google on marketing and advertising, that Julian realized the need for marketing agencies which focused on a Return On Investment or were performance oriented.  Eventually he formed JSA Interactive Inc. to meet the growing demand for his marketing and commercialization services.Julian has over 15 years of professional experience in marketing, strategic planning, project management, and internet technologies. He also has 10 years of entrepreneurial experience in marketing companies, launching consumer focused internet startups, and financing small businesses. He states his greatest achievements are finding and marrying his wife/best friend and having his new son and twin daughters.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg talks to Julian Awad of Backyard Riches, who breaks down some of the intricacies of turning a backyard plot into a profitable urban farm business.  As an entrepreneur who has figured out how to turn ideas into businesses, Julian describes the models that he offers to help urban farmers become successful in a sustainable way.  The method of Small Plot Intensive Farming is the new way of being a farmer – especially in urban areas.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/08/julian-awad/ for show notes and links.

Forest started urban farming in 1969 in Berkeley, California. Through the People’s Park Movement, he was launched into gardening and got the basic training and motivation for becoming a seedman. He has been a full time, independent, professions seed provider since 1972 and has owned, led, or helped launch at least four seed companies, and founded the nonprofit Abundant Life Seed Foundation which produced and distributed up to 600 types of open-pollinated vegetable, herb and flower seedsSince 1974 Forest has been giving workshops on seed saving and the importance of genetic diversity, and was the keynote speaker for the 2012 Northwest Permaculture Convergence and, also the Regenerations Seed and Plant Exchange in Hawaii.  Forest had a radio show for a couple of years with 30 minute interviews featuring a variety of people including many permaculturists.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg is enthralled by the story telling of Forest who brings us along on the adventures of a seedman.  Forest felt the pull of his calling in the late 1960’s and has been actively gardening and harvesting seeds ever since. Moving through a few seed company projects over the years, he has also harvested skills, friends, experiences, and an appreciation for the importance of native seeds.  With so much experienced focused on the tiny seeds that are essential to all gardeners and farmers, Forest’s story connects with everyone in one way or another.  Listen in and harvest your own kernels to save.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/05/forest-shomer/ for show notes and links.Go to www.urbanfarm.org/blog/podcast/ to see our list of podcast and to sign up for weekly updates.

Making a difference through social permaculture and gardening.Matt is an experienced teacher, family guy, author, consultant, farmer, seed saver, plant breeder, musician, blogger, & permaculturist. He frequently speaks at conferences, colleges, schools, and events about permaculture and education.Applying his years of working as a teacher writing curriculum from scratch using online classrooms, Matt has opened an online program to accompany his textbook series The Permaculture Student.Focused on starting resilient small businesses and homesteads from scratch, students of all ages and families learn through weekly collections of videos, worksheets, coloring pages, projects, activities, & critical thinking with teacher's guides, recipes, plant focus, seed saving, & Q&A.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg meets another permaculture enthusiast in Matt, who after a significant wake-up call regarding the health of his wife decided to pursue a healthier lifestyle for him and his family. This decision led him on the path to education and gardening which he combined with a new understanding of regenerative design to become an activist of permaculture education. Now he tells how he is bringing permaculture teachings to new areas and students.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/03/matt-powers/ for show notes and links.

Saskia is a passionate gardener who believes everyone can grow some of their own food. She is trained in Permaculture, Environmental Science, and Regenerative Entrepreneurship. After turning a house in Anchorage, Alaska into an abundant urban homestead, she created a successful business teaching others how to garden. She recently turned her hands-on food gardening course into a curriculum and manual to help others teach gardening in their own communities. IN THIS PODCAST: Greg meets Saskia, a young woman who was motivated enough to transform her life and career to encompass the ideals of permaculture. However, she was not happy just making her own garden, Saskia has a goal of having everyone or every yard have the chance to garden. So as she started making the changes to a gardening lifestyle she was determined to find a way to make a living with this new mode of living.  She has done this partly by helping others become teachers of gardening in their own areas.  Here she explains how she is preparing her army of educators and how they can make a living teaching others how to garden.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/11/01/saskia-esslinger/ for show notes and links.

Transitioning to a plant based diet for a healthy lifestyle.Karine was once an extreme carnivore and she happily ate sweetbreads, blood pudding, lots of meats including game, and all kinds of raw meats. Food was her life. She had a catering business and organized dinner parties that would have made a vegan faint. Life was spent in the kitchen, and life was good. Then she embarked on her vegan journey just over year ago to combat significant skin issues. She started by first eating fruits and vegetables in large quantities but she struggled from low energy levels. Then she tried a paleo diet which did not work out for her, so she started educating herself about plant-based protein.Education was the key to her success, and two pillars of veganism became important to her: mercy for animals, and protection of the environment. Grains, seeds, and nuts are now the biggest part of her diet while she is striving to achieve a complete plant-based diet.  She loves whole and natural ingredients, and wants to show others how a vegan diet can be fun, easy, and delicious!IN THIS PODCAST:  Greg gets to chat with new friend Karine who has a mission to help others cook delicious vegan meals.  Karine shares her experience of going vegan and explains why she was she was motivated to make that change. With her experience running a catering business, it makes sense that cooking would be a passion that continues even with a dramatic lifestyle change. She is committed to helping others by sharing her journey and sharing many tasty and healthy vegan recipes and she explains why this is so important to her.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/10/29/karine-kuchipudi/ for show notes and links.

Considering design in architecture and it’s impact on urban agriculture.Sean complements his design practice with research in green building technologies including, among other things, urban and vertical agriculture. Sean is a Lecturer at Danube University Krems, Austria, was an Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and is a frequent lecturer at international universities and conferences.For the past several years, Sean has led research in Urban & Vertical Farming, and developed a prominent exhibition on urban ecology and biomimicry at the Hong Kong-Shezhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism. His research has been presented to key stakeholders at the United Nations, as well as for multiple international governments, diplomatic, private, and non-profit organizations. Sean believes that urban agriculture can provide a multi-faceted solution to the health and resilience of cities while catalyzing community and economic growth.IN THIS PODCAST: Greg gets to interview Sean Quinn, who works to meld sustainable architectural design with urban agriculture for one of the largest global design firms. Sean talks about how this field has changed over the years and is tackling the issues of food systems and just connection to nature in highly urban landscapes like Honk Kong and San Francisco. Just by focusing on these issues, he has developed a sincere passion for designs that build solutions combining flora and human interaction.Visit https://www.urbanfarm.org/2016/10/27/sean-quinn/ for show notes and links.