The Urban Farm Podcast with Greg Peterson

Justin is dedicated to making the world a better place and it shows in all that he does. In today's episode, Justin shares how he has reached out to 36,000 students in 30 states through Compass Green, a school garden on wheels. From three years as a monk in India to living and working on a schooner in Hawaii, to working as Co-Director of Programs in Japan for the David Lynch Foundation, he has always pursued work for the betterment of humankind and the environment. In 2009 and 2010, Justin helped found the Green Belt Team for teaching Biointensive sustainable farming in developing nations, and set up the mini-farm site for their internship on California’s Mendocino Coast.Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/29/justin-cutter/

18: Bill McDorman on Playful Plant BreedingToday on The Urban Farm  Podcast we have Bill McDorman to talk about seeds and playful plant breeding! Bill 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 weeklong training. He served as Executive Director of Native Seeds/SEARCH from 2011 to 2014.Bill 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 weeklong 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.To find more links and resources for this podcast go to   http://www.urbanfarm.org/blog/2015/12/26/bill-mcdorman/ 

David Burns and Austin Young talk about the placement of fruit trees throughout urban spaces as a means to cultivate community and food security. Fallen Fruit is a collaborative art project that began in Los Angeles in 2004 with mapping public fruit–fruit that grows on or over public property. Our projects include diverse site-specific artworks that embrace public participation. Fallen Fruit’s art works encourage the public to experience their city as a fruitful, generous place, inviting people to engage in sharing and collectively explore the meaning of community and collaboration through public participation and exhibition projects. Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/24/david-burns-and-austin-young/

Today on The Urban Farm Podcast we Jim Dennis from Farm Phoenix, a featured farmer here to expand on his urban farming journey. Jim was raised on a farm that had one foot in the past and one in the future. Leaving that place, he spent a long time in cities and the corporate world, and eventually returned to his roots. Jim’s business is to help people learn the ways of gardening and adapting to a sustainable lifestyle.Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/22/jim-dennis/

15: Casey Hay on Gardening as a Tool for Special EducationToday on The Urban Farm Podcast we have Casey Hay to talk about gardening as a tool for special education and student partnerships! One of Casey’s personal missions is to educate our up-and-coming generations with knowledge that is attainable for all learning styles. She currently works in a self-contained Special Education classroom at Curry Elementary in the Tempe School District. She has introduced the "Kindness Matters" garden project, which she originally created in 2013, to the school Special Ed program. This program builds self-confidence and pride in the students by walking them through all the steps of planting and maintaining a garden from seed, also providing the opportunity to connect general education and special education students together. Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/19/casey-hay/

James is the author of two nonfiction books, including My Backyard Jungle: The Adventures of an Urban Wildlife Lover Who Turned His Yard into Habitat and Learned to Live with It. In his writing he explores what it means to be human in the natural world. His work has also appeared in print and online in The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic and Conservation as well as numerous other publications, and he has appeared on a variety of national public radio shows. Jim currently serves as a creative and environmental writing professor at the University of South Carolina.Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/17/james-barilla/

Table top farming of edible insectsKatharina grew up raising chickens, cows and horses on the border of Austria and Hungary. Noticing the dramatic state of our food system while living in Hong Kong, she is now determined to ‘design nature for humans’ and her first product that she is developing with her company Livin Farms is the world’s first tabletop device for edible insects. Katharina is a Fulbright alumna and an award winning industrial designer.In this podcast: Think bugs are disgusting to eat? Think again! Did you know that mealworms are edible AND one of the best sources of protein out there? It sounds crazy, but when you listen to this podcast with Katharina Unger from Livin Farms, you might just be converted. Listen today as award-winning industrial designer Katharina shares her latest project: the world’s first tabletop device for edible insects.Check out our show notes https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/15/katharina-unger/

Julian was born and raised in Bakersfield, California. After graduating from college he experimented with various entrepreneurial projects and eventually found his niche in urban farming and self-sustainable technology. He started his first garden after a year of preparation and was soon motivated to expand his work to include more urban farming projects. He is currently preparing to build a self-sustainable micro-farm. In this episode of The Urban Farm Podcast, Julian shares about the successes and struggles that come with being a self-starter and urban farming beginner.Check out out show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/12/julian-jacquez/

11: Scott Murray on Avocado FarmingScott has 42 years of organic agricultural production experience in the United States and Mexico. He has a multitude of experience with conservation, food production, and environmental leadership—including serving as an elected California Conservation official for the last 22 years and president of South Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council. Scott also specializes in farmland preservation projects utilizing Smart Growth Principles. He joins us today to share his experience and talk about avocado farming.Check out our show notes at https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/10/scott-murray/

Julia McGuire has kept bees in her backyard since 2008 and expanded to keeping bees in other people's yards in 2013. She coordinates her local bee club, and currently works for the Iowa Honey Producers Association as an agency relations specialist and belongs to its District 4 Education Team. She joins us on today's show to share tips on natural and successful beekeeping.Check out our show notes https://www.urbanfarm.org/2015/12/08/julia-mcguire/