Urban Farming – The Convergence

Go Underground: Grow Mushrooms

Convergence Program — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 16:00:51 +0000

Understanding the ecology of mushrooms and how to integrate desired mushrooms into gardens.

Anyone can grow mushrooms for food or for a local market. Learn to grow mushrooms as a food to enhance health, recycle organic materials on site and as a cash crop. This workshop will present several choices of mushrooms that are suited to these uses, including Hen of the Woods, King Stropharia, Oyster Mushroom, Turkey Tail Mushroom and Shitake Mushroom. We will discuss several methods for growing these using local organic waste products.

Presented By: Theresa Halula

New Systems for Urban Agriculture

Joshua Angelo Silva — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 01:53:04 +0000

Today more people live in cities and they have inherited poor design and crumbling infrastructure that needs to be maintained, Their is also a lot of possibilities with the new systems being built. What does it take to turn some of the cities problems into solutions and how do we convert these landscapes, buildings and infrastructure into ones that are regenerative and living? In this session you will be exposed to innovative solutions of growing more food in the city while building ecology and creating a culture that is equitable. We will engage in a discussion and interactive exercise to determine the solutions that lay before us and the steps it will take for us to get there.

Learn and discuss innovative solutions to build ecology and grow food at scale within the urban sector while helping to breakdown the cultural walls that separate us.

Presented with visuals, interactive exercise and discussion. Breaking down the walls that divide and how these are compounded in the urban environment through the designs we have inherited, how these patterns are unconsciously reinforced in the PC community. Participants will gain a collective perspective, assessment of where we are at and some ideas of the steps to get us to where we might need to go, a collective discussion of where do we need to go.

Saturday Oct 7| 9:30am| Solar Panel

Presented by Benjamin Fahrer, Rodney Spencer & Jonathan Youtt

Benjamin Fahrer

Joshua Angelo Silva — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 23:58:50 +0000

Benjamin Fahrer has become well known for his ability to read the landscape and recognize natural patterns to help build ecological landscapes and farms. He has a BA in Ecological Design and is a registered Permaculture Research Institute/TAGARI instructor since 2006. He has lead and facilitated over two dozen PDCs and numerous courses and workshops worldwide. A US Delegate at Terra Madre in 2006 & 2008 and IPC9 in Malawi, Africa, Benjamin has managed high profile projects while building his capacity for teaching and growing. He is now translating these land and life lessons into the urban environment in California by starting Top Leaf Farms, a licensed contracting company that designs, builds and operates urban farms with a focus on a innovative rooftop farming and ecological services.

2017 Workshop:New Systems for Urban Agriculture

Bring Us with You: Engaging Community in Transforming the Food System

Michael Lott — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 06:07:13 +0000

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Food insecurity is a reality faced by many low-income urban families, however the food access movement goes beyond developing local gardens, farmers markets, grocery stores, etc. This workshop is for those who are seeking methods on how to engage community members in altering the food system. Come join this interactive hour long workshop and learn about resident- led projects, in food swamps like Oakland and Bayview Hunters Point, CA, which integrated community engagement for local and governmental level change.

Presented By: Jasmine Vassar

Lauren Tucker

Michael Lott — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 06:23:32 +0000

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Lauren Tucker is a community organizer and the Executive Director of Kiss the Ground. Kiss the Ground is a nonprofit dedicated to the vision that a new view has emerged where people are reverent of our interconnectedness with nature and our planet is restored, balanced, and abundant. Lauren’s passion for community building has led her to projects in Washington, D.C., West Africa, New Orleans, and Southern California. Lauren has studied permaculture design, biodynamic farming, and earned a B.A. in International Studies and Psychology from American University. She is a mother and urban farmer.

2016 RED Talk Presentation: Building a movement for permaculture to cool the planet