Rooting DC 2012 – Speaker & Panelist Bios
Click here to download bios & workshop descriptions as a pdf.
9:00-9:45
Registration and sign-in
9:45-10:00
Introduction – Katie Rehwaldt & Bea Trickett, Rooting DC Co-Coordinators
Katie Rehwaldt is a proud DC Native who loves to get her hands dirty. Since 1997 she has been the Program Director for America the Beautiful Fund’s Free Seeds program, saving more than 341 tons of seed and 11 million bulbs from ending up in landfills and granting them to 20,000 civic gardening projects nation-wide. Along with co-coordinating Rooting DC since 2008, Katie is Chair of the City Blossoms Board, is a member of Twin Oaks Community Garden and also of the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community Co-Op, where she enjoys gardening with her neighbors in Columbia Heights.
Bea Trickett has been a community gardener and a community garden organizer in DC since 2006. Besides co-coordinating Rooting DC for 5 years, Bea is the manager of the Mamie D. Lee Community Garden, serves as a Master Gardener volunteer in Prince George’s County, and has served as the Program Director for the Neighborhood Farm Initiative since co-founding the project in 2008. Professionally, Bea is excited to be the new volunteer coordinator at Community Forklift, the DC area’s thrift store for reused building materials.
10:00-10:30
**Keynote Address: Why Gardening is Essential to a Sustainable DC
This presentation will be translated into Spanish via headset, by request
Brendan Shane is the Chief of the Office of Policy and Sustainability for the District Department of the Environment, where he oversees issues related to green building, climate change, and other cross-cutting urban sustainability issues. He is a principal staffer for the Mayor’s Sustainable DC initiative announced by Mayor Vincent Gray in July 2011. In that capacity, he is working across the District Government and with stakeholders throughout the community to define and implement the Mayor’s vision of making the District of Columbia the greenest, healthiest, most livable city in the nation. Brendan’s other responsibilities while at DDOE have included overseeing implementation of the $58 million in federal energy and environmental stimulus funding flowing to the District, and development and management of summer green jobs programs for thousands of District youth.
Laine Cidlowski is the Urban Sustainability Planner for the District of Columbia Office of Planning. Laine is responsible for overarching sustainability planning issues for the District of Columbia, and is currently leading the Mayor’s Sustainability plan for the city, Sustainable DC for the Office of Planning. Laine is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a certified LEED AP. She enjoys gardening in her shared plot in the Newark Street Community Garden.
10:45-11:45
Local Approaches to Food Justice (Auditorium)
How is D.C. tackling the issue of food justice? This panel will offer an overview of local initiatives working to improve food access for all residents of the District.
Paul Strauss is serving his third term as US senator for the District of Columbia. As a non-voting representative to the US Senate, Strauss lobbies the Senate and the House of Representatives on behalf of DC citizens in their attempt to gain full federal representation, self-determination and eventually admittance to the union as the nation’s 51st state. Senator Strauss also works closely with DC’s Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Mayor and the DC Council members to advance the interest of local residents on federal issues.
Alex Ashbrook serves as the director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, an anti-hunger, anti-poverty nonprofit in the District and an initiative of FRAC. She works to end hunger and improve the nutrition, health, economic security, and well-being of low-income families in the nation’s capital. She leads and participates in many city-wide coalitions and most recently, was appointed as chair of the D.C.’s Mayor’s Commission on Food and Nutrition in September 2009. Alex brings extensive advocacy experience to her role, much of which has focused on the needs of vulnerable youth. While at Georgetown Law School’s D.C. Street Law Project, Alex supervised law students teaching at D.C. public high schools. She spent the last ten years working at Street Law, the national nonprofit dedicated to transforming democratic ideals into citizen action. Alex received her J.D. and L.L.M. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Stephen Kendall is Procurement Manager for DC Central Kitchen (DCCK). In this role, he oversees buying and donations for the 10,000 meals DCCK produces daily for public schools, shelters, and social service agencies. He is passionate about sourcing fresh, healthy foods and working to combat food waste in the DC metro area. Originally from upstate New York, he now resides in DC’s Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.
Pertula George is the Executive Director of Common Good City Farm in Washington, DC. Before moving to the area she spent six years managing youth programs at The Food Project in Massachusetts. She holds a Master’s Degree in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University’s Heller School of Social Policy and Management. She has served as a school teacher and co-founder of a youth and agriculture project in St. Lucia. Working with diverse people has reinforced her commitment to building strong communities and creating social change. Pertula loves growing, cooking and eating food. She subscribes to local and sustainable food systems and embraces spirituality. She is married and in her spare time she enjoys the outdoors and inspirational books and documentaries.
Lauren Shweder Biel is the Executive Director and co-founder of DC Greens, a local non-profit that supports school garden programs through professional development and food access initiatives across the District through farmers’ market incentive programs. Prior to launching DC Greens in 2009, Lauren worked as Senior Educational Content Specialist at Sesame Workshop in the International Education, Research and Outreach Department. In her three years at Sesame Workshop, she oversaw the creation of new co-productions in Brazil and Northern Ireland, coordinating outreach efforts, crafting curricula and supervising formative and summative research with local partners. Lauren is the mother of two future DCPS students.
**Constructing Raised Beds for Small Space Gardening (Armory)
This presentation will be translated into Spanish via headset, by request
Dennis Chestnut is the founding Executive Director of Groundwork Anacostia River DC (GWARDC), a non-profit business committed to improving the community’s physical landscape through tangible projects. Born in Washington, DC and raised in the Hillbrook neighborhood of Ward 7 where he and his family lives. A vocational educator, master carpenter, lead citizen forester, community organizer, nonprofit board member and Master Watershed Steward. A lover of nature and works to connect people to the outdoors.
D.C. School Lunch 101: How do school meals work in DC, and how can urban gardeners join the farm to school movement? (ROTC Room)
Andrea Northup is the D.C. Farm to School Network Director at Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. The D.C. Farm to School Network aims to increase the amount of healthy, local, and sustainable options in school meals, and to engage kids in the farm-to-table process (so they’re more apt to eat them). Andrea founded the D.C. Farm to School Network in 2008, after graduating from Tufts University with degrees in Community Health and Environmental Engineering. Her past work experience has been in the public health and child nutrition fields at the Capital Area Food Bank, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and others. She likes to cook, eat, play ultimate frisbee and occasionally work on the farm.
Ethnic Foods in Washington, DC: The impact on immigrant and indigenous Populations (Classroom B116)
Yao Afantchao is a UDC Extension Educator, specializing in ethnic and specialty food crops. He started this program at the Small Farm Institute, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore and now with the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) UDC.
An Edible Forest in Your Backyard (Classroom B111)
Learn the basics of forest gardening with edible perennial crops, working with nature to grow food, medicine, habitat, and soil fertility in a permanent agricultural system.
Spencer Ellsworth works as a garden custodian and permaculture teacher with Beet Street Gardens, which trains gardeners in communities facing significant barriers to safe, peaceful outdoor space and healthy, affordable food. Beet Street will help residents of Richardson Dwellings in NE DC install a forest garden this year.
Lincoln Smith recently opened Forested www.forested.us, a forest garden research and education company located on 10 acres in Bowie, where he offers forest garden courses. Previously, Lincoln worked for five years at Graham Landscape Architecture in Annapolis, where helped clients meet their goals on the land as sustainably as possible. He has also completed internships with conservation zoning advocate Randall Arendt, and with Washington DC LEED consultant Greenshape. He holds a Master of Arts in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design.
Cooking Today with Tambra Raye: Healing with Herbs (Cafeteria)
In this workshop, look no further than your yard for creating healing meals and drinks for stress and anxiety. We’ll taste and explore easy-to-grow garden herbs that can easily be transformed into delicious teas and dishes. You’ll want to add them to your garden this spring! Bring your note pad, your taste buds and your appetite to this healing with herbs demonstration-class. You will sample all of the recipes that will be prepared.
An Oklahoma native living in Washington, DC, Tambra Raye is a fighter for food, faith, family, fitness and freedom. Empowering families to create meals that heal, she develops and teaches community and faith-based nutrition and fitness for the UDC Center for the Nutrition, Diet and Health. She is on the Board of Directors for the DC Metro Area Dietetic Association. She has a BS in human nutrition from Oklahoma State and a MS in health communication from Tufts University School of Medicine. Her interests cover food consciousness, chakra foods, cooking with herbs, farmer’s markets, urban gardening, and healing power of foods. Stay in touch at www.tambraraye.com.
How to Grow a Grassapillar and Other Garden Crafts (North Gym)
Get creative with garden crafts! Please note: this is a kid-friendly workshop designed for the whole family. Please do not leave your child unattended.
Nadia Mercer, the Garden Manager of the Washington Youth Garden, first came to know WYG as a volunteer in 2009. She quickly fell in love with the 3/4 acre fruit, veggie, and herb garden located in the US National Arboretum and its integral community of volunteers and program participants. The Washington Youth Garden strives to combine elements of art and science to engage participants in the wonders of growing food. www.washingtonyouthgarden.org
Anna Benfield teaches kids how plants grow and where food comes from as the Education Coordinator for the Washington Youth Garden. Anna draws on her years of experience at farms, schools and summer camps to create meaningful garden-based educational experiences for young people in and out of their classrooms. She loves nothing more than putting worms into hands of small children and watching what happens next.
12:00-1:00
What Can We Learn From Our Neighbors: A panel about gardening projects in Baltimore (Auditorium)
Arthur Morgan – Hamilton Crop Circle
Katie Dix – Community Greening Resource Network (CGRN)
Chrissa Carlson – Urban Farmhouse Edibles, School Garden Educator, one of
CGRN original organizers
Rashelle Celestin – Asset Manager of DHCD – Land Resources (AdoptaLot)
Getting Dirty: Soil Basics (Armory)
In this presentation, we will go over the basic of soil science and the important role of both micro and macro nutrients. We will also go over interpretation of soil tests and recommendations for improving soil health.
Maureen Moodie is the Farm Director at the Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture. With a commitment to sustainable agriculture and environmentally sound farming methods, Maureen uses her five years of experience on farms to engage the community and provide a demonstration space for public education. Her past academic experience includes a Master’s degree in cultural anthropology, studying small-scale farmers and the local food movement. She has worked in several farm settings including the Green String Institute, Community Food Security Coalition, the Neighborhood Farm Initiative and Radix Farm. She is also really into beets.
Saving Your Vegetable Seeds (ROTC Room)
This workshop is a returning favorite! This workshop will cover the hows and whys of seed saving. We’ll cover the difference between hybrid and open pollinated seeds, the value of heirloom varieties, and the importance of seed saving and then talk about preventing cross pollination and how to harvest, clean, and store seed from a few popular garden vegetables.
Paul Blundell has been a worker-owner at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for nearly 7 years. SESE is a worker owned coop mail order seed company in Central Virginia which specializes in heirloom, open-pollinated, and organic vegetable seeds especially suited to the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. He has done a little bit of everything and a lot of a few things while there. His current project is heading up the design and construction of a new eco-groovy headquarters for the business.
How Beekeeping Fits in with Gardening & How Gardeners Fit into Beekeeping (Classroom B116)
Kelly Melsted and Izzy Hill are third-year beekeepers in DC. Kelly established and manages hives at community gardens around the city, which are run by trained volunteers. Izzy co-owns hives that are kept alongside Kelly’s community garden hives and helps in mentoring hive volunteers. Both are involved in improving gardening opportunities around the city and educating the community about the larger ecological role of pollinators and its relation to urban gardening.
Who said it’s too cold to grow food? A session on four-season farming (Classroom B111)
If you can spare not eating tomatoes for a few months in exchange for growing the freshest salads and sweetest carrots ever, come learn about how you can show that local food in the Chesapeake Bay watershed won’t go “out of season”.
Christian Melendez works at ECO City Farms, a non-profit organization growing local food, farms, and farmers. Its Edmonston Urban Farm is an on-going experimental and educational farm which supports a year-round local food system in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Christian and others have spent several seasons utilizing hoophouses and other techniques to provide local food, even when the thermometer is below freezing. They are currently in the middle of their first Winter CSA. Please visit www.ecocityfarms.org for more information on our classes, volunteer hours, and other ways to get involved.
**Cooking with Local Produce: Eating Healthy Vegetarian on a Budget
Issues related to creating both a balanced and healthy vegetarian diet are extremely important to young adults, particularly for those who use urban gardens as the primary fresh food source for lower-income communities. The cooking demo will emphasize seasonal produce, and include the making of a delicious (and nutritious!) vegetarian meal. Samples for all
This presentation will be translated into Spanish via headset, by request
Juliette Tahar is the president of Healthy Living Inc., a 501c3 organization that she founded in 2004. HL mission is to educate people of all backgrounds, regardless of income, in how to plan and prepare simple, delicious, healthy meals in an environment that is supportive and safe, and which fosters community spirit. Tahar has worked in the natural food business since 1992, first as the owner of a for-profit business that provided vegetarian and macrobiotic catering and teaching services in WDC until 2004, when she founded HL. Starting in 1986 until the mid-10’s, she trained extensively both in Europe and the US in small community-setting macrobiotic cooking centers.
Tips and Tricks for Outdoor Cooking with Kids (North Gym)
Children, families and teachers are all invited to this participatory workshop on outdoor cooking. Please note: this is a kid-friendly workshop also designed for family participation. Please do not leave your child unattended.
Lola Bloom is the co-founder and Director of Programming of City Blossoms. Lola has been interested in gardening for more reasons than her last name. Growing up in the Washington, DC area, she was able to watch and learn from her parents working in the back yard. After college she returned to the D.C. area in 2001 and joined dirt-loving forces with Rebecca. www.cityblossoms.org
1:00 – 2:00 Information Fair (South Gym) & Lunch ($7 for box lunch, or BYO)
1:10 & 1:40: Learn how to make the perfect batch of guacamole, with Chipotle chefs Elizabeth and Barry. No prior cooking experience needed! (Classroom B111)
2:15-3:15
**How to Build a Successful School Garden and Use it! (Auditorium)
This workshop will begin with an overview of school gardening in DC and then break into two tracks: 101–How to Launch your School Garden Program and 102–Early Childhood Education in the Garden: Ideas and Lessons for your Outdoor Classroom. This presentation will be translated into Spanish via headset, by request
Rebecca Lemos is the co-founder and Executive Director of City Blossoms, an organization dedicated to creating robust green spaces where children and youth are engaged as the main cultivators. www.cityblossoms.org
Mia Ballard first came to City Blossoms as a volunteer in the spring of 2008 and later became its first workshop leader. In the past, her interests in food projection have lead her to work on farms in Washington State, Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mia also brings with her a passion for community empowerment and child education.
Anna Benfield teaches kids how plants grow and where food comes from as the Education Coordinator for the Washington Youth Garden. Anna draws on her years of experience at farms, schools and summer camps to create meaningful garden-based educational experiences for youth in and out of their classrooms. She loves nothing more than putting worms into hands of small children and watching what happens next.
Sarah Bernardi is co-founder and Program Director of DC Greens, a non-profit that supports school garden initiatives and food access programs in the District of Columbia. Sarah is a Nationally Board Certified teacher with 10 years of public elementary school teaching experience. She is the Farm Operations Director at The Farm at Walker Jones, Co-Chairs the DC Schoolyard Greening Committee and is a strong advocate for making gardens fully staffed components of all public schools.
An Introduction to Common Garden Pests and Organic Pest Control (Armory)
Beginner gardeners will be introduced to common garden pests, learn how to recognize pest damage for early detection, and learn about cultural practices and commonly used organic pest control products that help deter infestations so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Mary Farrah, a Washington, DC native, is from a family of gardeners and has been gardening since she was old enough to walk. As an Extension Agent for the University of the District of Columbia’s (UDC) Cooperative Extension Service, Mary runs the Urban Gardening and Forestry Outreach program. The gardening program offers technical assistance to DC residents, and in collaboration with the Ethnic Crop Extension Agent, has established permanent and rotating demonstration plots planted with traditional and ethnic vegetables in neighborhoods throughout the District. The forestry side of the program is mainly focused on invasive plant species awareness, education, and abatement, logging 670 volunteer hours for invasive weed removal events in 2011. After having helped at family friend’s shiitake mushroom farm for over 20 years, Mary is working to incorporate that experience into her program and is in the process of organizing mushroom log demonstration sites in the District. Mary has a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and in currently enrolled in UDC’s Professional Science Master’s Program in Water Resources Management.
Backyard wildlife gardening in the District: Attracting pollinators with native (and edible) plants (ROTC Room)
The District Department of the Environment and Audubon MD/DC team up to present the principles of urban wildlife gardening and to introduce the District’s new certification program for wildlife habitat gardens in DC. Julie Dieguez and Damien Ossi will cover the principles of wildlife gardening and will review the selection of native plants that support local birds, butterflies and other pollinators. Additionally we will discuss edible native plants, ideas for incorporating native plants into your vegetable garden.
Julie Dieguez works as the Coordinator of Maryland No Child Left Inside Coalition and practices what she preaches, taking every opportunity to teach the joys of dirt and sunshine. She has served on the boards of both the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council and the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education. Julie is passionate about connecting people with their natural heritage through playing and gardening.
Damien Ossi is a wildlife biologist with the District Department of the Environment. He performs wildlife inventory and monitoring in natural areas in the District, and manages a backyard wildlife habitat program for District residents. He is also tackling the problem of invasive plants through the DC Cooperative Weed Management Area, a group that seeks to raise local awareness of invasive plants and to manage invasive plants across the District. He is a native Marylander, raised in Takoma Park and living in Greenbelt.
Harnessing the Power of a Community (Classroom B116)
HIPS Garden Stewards will lead a discussion on finding the existing and potential assets and leaders of a community, and how to encourage and foster safe and thriving garden community.
Kirk Douglas, Jackie Lawrence and Carlton Wright are long-term Brentwood residents, community leaders, and Beet Street Garden Stewards at HIPS. Over two seasons they have created a vibrant garden club that includes elders, chefs, herbalists and new gardeners from their community. Together they create a safe space and positive change one season at a time.
DC Area Historic Heirlooms: Growing and Eating and Healing With History (Classroom B111)
Join culinary historian Michael W. Twitty for a presentation on local and regional heirloom varieties including those important to African American and other ethnic culinary and medicinal traditions.
Michael Twitty is a recognized culinary historian of African American food and folk culture. He is webmaster of www.afroculinaria.com, the first blog devoted to the preservation of historic African American foods and food and its relationship to cultures of African descent around the world. He has conducted classes and workshops, written curricula and educational programs, given lectures and performed cooking demonstrations for over 100 groups including the Smithsonian, Colonial Williamsburg, Jefferson’s Monticello, Library of Congress, and the Oxford University Symposium on Food and Cookery. His other blog is www.thecookinggene.com, a project tracing his family history along with the story of African American foodways.
Canning for Beginners by Bradley Kennedy (Cafeteria)
Learn how to safely store your harvest using simple techniques and inexpensive equipment. We’ll focus on canning, but can also answer questions on other preservation techniques.
Bradley Kennedy is a biologist by day and a foodie by night. She holds a degree in Natural Resources from Cornell and has a wide variety of farm and homesteading experience. She’s been preserving food at home for about ten years, and brings a scientist’s expertise and a farmer’s practicality to the art of food preservation.
3:30-4:30
**Getting the Most Bang for your Buck – Through Gardening (Auditorium)
Ever walk into the grocery store and think, “Wow those tomatoes are expensive!” or “Why are red, yellow and orange peppers so much more expensive than the green ones?” Gardening is a wonderful way to get exercise and grow healthy, delicious food, but let’s be honest, it takes time. Unfortunately, time is what most of us don’t have. This workshop will help you focus your energy and time by teaching you which fruits and vegetables are expensive to buy but easy to grow. The time you spend in this short class is guaranteed to save you $$ at the grocery store this summer! This presentation will be translated into Spanish via headset, by request
Susan Topping is the Program Manager in the Capital Area Food Bank’s Healthy Eating Department. She manages numerous education, distribution and community based programs that enable low-income people to have access to fresh locally grown produce. She came to the Food Bank seven years ago to coordinate the Anacostia Farmer’s Market and Food Stamp Initiative Programs. She is proud of how much kale she has harvested from her garden throughout this past winter!
Abbie Steiner is the Program Educator in the Capital Area Food Bank’s Healthy Eating Department. She focuses on building the food growing capacity of the food bank’s partner organizations through direct education and trainings. She is currently in the process of designing the urban demonstration garden that will blossom on the north end of the food bank’s new distribution center in Northeast DC. In her spare time, she likes to garden, volunteer on Urban Farm projects, bake bread and make pickles.
Standard and Worm Composting (Armory)
Learn to use your garden, yard and kitchen waste to create rich soil. We will focus on methods easy and suitable for small yards and apartments and include bin composting and vermiculture methods.
Niko Welch has a background in biochemistry/molecular biology as well as experience with various types of compost systems in Africa and USA. He also manages the compost system at Common Good City Farm in Ledroit Park area and keeps worms at home.
Volunteer Resources for Urban Farms and School Gardens (ROTC Room)
Learn how your organization or school can partner with volunteer groups to make your farm/garden plan come to life. Hear from an expert panel and join the discussion on how best to recruit, train and manage volunteers to keep them coming back.
Laura Toscano is the Manager of Skilled Volunteering at HandsOn Greater DC Cares, the largest coordinator of volunteerism and service in the Washington DC region. With her leading experience in nonprofit capacity assessment and volunteer management, Laura oversees the project development and volunteer experience for 100 capacity-building pro bono projects annually. Prior to her work with HandsOn Greater DC Cares, she has worked in the field of DC social enterprise nonprofits for eight years with a focus on asset based community development, eco-friendly standards for volunteerism, and scaling strategy for nonprofit organizations. Laura holds a BA from Yale University.
Kristin Georger has been working as the Volunteer Coordinator with the Neighborhood Farm Initiative (NFI) since August 2011. Prior to that, she was a volunteer with NFI and other organizations in the area. Kristin really enjoys meeting new volunteers and seeing volunteers grow while working at NFI. NFI is a non-profit project increasing access to healthy food by providing hands-on organic gardening education, promoting urban farming techniques, and cultivating strong community connections. NFI can always put more on-site gardening volunteers to work! Please see www.neighborhoodfarminitiative.org for more info.
Cathy Anderton is the Acting Chair of the Board for Neighborhood Farm Initiative, which she first heard about while attending Rooting DC 2011. She was an active volunteer in NFI’s demonstration garden during the 2011 growing season. Her previous volunteer efforts have included serving as an interpreter at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and La Clinica del Pueblo in Washington, DC; and a year as a human rights observer with Witness for Peace in Nicaragua at the end of the Contra War. She is a physician by training and works in healthcare administration for a nonprofit agency in Washington, DC. Cathy can speak from personal experience about what factors promote volunteer interest and dedication to an organization.
Sarah Bernardi is co-founder and Program Director of DC Greens, a non-profit that supports school garden initiatives and food access programs in the District of Columbia. Sarah is a Nationally Board Certified teacher with 10 years of public elementary school teaching experience. She is the Farm Operations Director at The Farm at Walker Jones, Co-Chairs the DC Schoolyard Greening Committee and is a strong advocate for making gardens fully staffed components of all public schools.
Harvesting and Preserving Herbs (Cafeteria)
Learn the best ways to harvest, dry, freeze, create vinegars and tinctures, and otherwise preserve your herb garden goodness for the winter and beyond!
Tricia McCauley is an herbalist and health coach specializing in digestive issues, food sensitivities, and stress management. She works with individual clients at Healing Arts of Capitol Hill, teaches workshops around the DC area, makes lotions and lip balms, and is the resident herbalist at Common Good City Farm. Sign up for her newsletter and find out more at www.nutriciaconsulting.com or www.leafyhead.com.
The Best Fruit Trees for the Mid-Atlantic Climate and Small-Space Gardens (Classroom B116)
Kathy Jentz is editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine. A life-long gardener, Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration. Kathy’s work is featured in numerous area publications including the Washington Examiner newspaper, Pathways Magazine, and Washington Women magazine. In addition, she appears on regular gardening guest spots on Channel 9, Channel 4, and WAMU radio.
Gardening with Early Childhood (Classroom B111)
A workshop about sharing ideas about gardening with children ages 2-5. Includes tips and lessons great for any early childhood center and any sized garden
Rebecca Lemos is the co-founder of City Blossoms, an organization dedicated to creating robust green spaces where children and youth are engaged as the main cultivators. www.cityblossoms.org
Mia Ballard first came to City Blossoms as a volunteer in the spring of 2008 and later became its first workshop leader. In the past, her interests in food projection have lead her to work on farms in Washington State, Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mia also brings with her a passion for community empowerment and child education.
15 Minute Field Trips: Garden Activities Round Robin (North Gym)
Come have fun with DC food and garden educators and walk away able to facilitate educational garden tastings, outdoor garden activities and short indoor lessons. Families, educators and kids of all ages are welcome.
Anna Benfield teaches kids how plants grow and where food comes from as the Education Coordinator for the Washington Youth Garden. Anna draws on her years of experience at farms, schools and summer camps to create meaningful garden-based educational experiences for youth in and out of their classrooms. She loves nothing more than putting worms into hands of small children and watching what happens next.
Nadia Mercer, the Garden Manager of the Washington Youth Garden, first came to know WYG as a volunteer in 2009. She quickly fell in love with the 3/4 acre fruit, veggie, and herb garden located in the US National Arboretum and its integral community of volunteers and program participants. The Washington Youth Garden strives to combine elements of art and science to engage participants in the wonders of growing food. www.washingtonyouthgarden.org
Jonna McKone has worked on food systems research in New York City for City Harvest. She helped run Added Value’s summer youth program. Added Value is one of the largest and longest running farms in New York’s five boroughs. She currently manages EW Stokes Vegetable Garden and teaches gardening, ecology, science and social studies classes on a weekly basis for 3rd and 6th graders. You can also find Jonna reporting for public radio and local print publications.
Andrea Northup is the D.C. Farm to School Network Director at Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. The D.C. Farm to School Network aims to increase the amount of healthy, local, and sustainable options in school meals, and to engage kids in the farm-to-table process. Andrea founded the D.C. Farm to School Network in 2008, after graduating from Tufts University with degrees in Community Health and Environmental Engineering. She likes to cook, eat, play ultimate frisbee and occasionally work on the farm.
Kealy Rudersdorf is the garden educator and environmental teacher at Stoddert Elementary School, where she is working with DC Greens to improve environmental literacy. She earned a BS in civil engineering and a MA in Education and recently spent a year and a half working as the Head Gardener on a chocolate farm in Costa Rica. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, biking, gardening, salsa dancing, and hiking.
** Translation services throughout the day are generously provided by Dario Muralles of Capital Area Food Bank
Dario Muralles has been the Bilingual Partner Relations Coordinator at the Capital Area Food Bank for the past 3 years. In this role, he has successfully recruited 93 new partner agencies and trained 446 people in the areas of membership and shopping at the food bank, and the best practices of an emergency feeding program. Dario received the Linowes Leadership Award in 2003 and was a 2005 Finalist for Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award given by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
