Living With The Land: Recent Episodes
Lito O'Neill & Casey O'Neill
Lito and Casey O'Neill are brothers and 3rd generation homesteaders operating a farm that produces organic vegetables and licensed cannabis in the hills of Mendocino county California where they grew up. In this show, the O'Neill brothers talk with farmers, foragers, witches, scholars, and other folks about their connection to the natural world to explore topics like sustainable food production and healthy nutrition, environmental and social justice, and building communities around shared values.
For generations, Emandal has been a cherished farm, camp, and gathering place on the banks of the Eel River. Currently under the stewardship of Tam Adams and her daughter Kashaya Adams, it is a working dairy farm with extensive flower gardens that produces a bounty of delicious jams and jellies. a hub for community, family, and connection with the land. They have created and nurtured memories for many many people through group camps, celebrations, kids’ camp, and school programs. Their jams and jellies are cherished by people far and wide, and their flowers brighten homes across Mendocino County.
In this episode, Lito and Casey visit Emandal to walk the land, marvel at its historic barn, and sit down with Tam for a heartfelt conversation about farming, flowers, family traditions, and what it means to be a keeper of the farm and to hold space for others to live with the land.
For over 20 years, Meadow Shere has been the proprietor of Long Valley Feed and Supply and a highly respected member of the farming community in Mendocino County. Along with the essential goods that the store carries, it has long served as a gathering place where folks come to discuss all aspects of caring for livestock and crops. Recently the store has added a farmstand that has been a boon to the Laytonville community by providing a market for producers and providing customers access to local foods. In this episode Meadow, Casey, and Lito talk about farming, food, and community while sitting around Lito's kitchen table.
Mean Gene is a Mendocino county local who has been living closely with the cannabis plant his whole life. He has a deep and distinctive understanding of all aspects of cannabis that the O'Neill brothers, along with many other folks, hold in high esteem. This episode is from a fun, fascinating conversation between Gene, Lito, and Casey as the three of them sat at Lito's kitchen table and talked about cannabis, soil, farming, local history, and memes.
Marguerite Maguire is a beloved elder of the mountain community of Bell Springs California. Lito and Casey O'Neill have known Marguerite their whole lives, grew up around her children, and have a deep respect for the many ways she's shaped and strengthened the community. This episode is based on a wonderful conversation when Lito, Casey, and Marguerite sat down at Lito's kitchen table to talk about the early days of Bell Springs and life on the hill.
In May 1982, Mark O'Neill and his wife Anne moved from Southern California to the hills of Northern California to build a life that was self-sustaining and more closely connected to the natural world. The moved into a tiny cabin without heat on raw land. Now, 40 years later, that land is a thriving family farm that provides livelihood and sustenance for multiple generations of O'Neills and provides healthy food for their community. Just before the 40th anniversary of Mark and Anne arriving on the land that is now Happy Day Farms, the brothers sat down with their dad at Lito's kitchen table and recorded this very special conversation about the last 40 years of the farm.
Green Uprising is a multi-generational, extended family farm in Willits California that has been working more than a decade to rebuild and develop a beautiful old farm, with apple, pear, plum, and walnut orchards, a couple of small vineyards, lots of wild blackberries, a small goat herd, several vegetable gardens, hoophouses, the beginnings of a food forest and a medicinal herb garden. In this episode, the O'Neill brothers sit down with three members of the Green Uprising family: Thea Grusky-Foley, Sara Grusky, and Micheal Foley.
All three of these folks are very active in local food communities and have long running friendships with the O'Neill brothers based on strong mutual respect. This episode is a recording of a wonderful conversation between the five of them while sitting around an outdoor table on the Green Uprising farm. Listen in as they discuss food sovereignty, the cultural norms around store-bought vs home-grown food, belonging in a place and the magic of belonging to the Eel River watershed, and building the world you want to live in.
Erin Kelly is a professor in the department of Forestry & Wildland Resources at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Her research interests center around the ways that humans interact with forest and she is actively engaged with restoration work in Northern California.
The O'Neill brothers have a fun and lively discussion with Erin about the timber wars, the cannabis green rush, restoration economies and the role of nonprofit organizations in them - plus Erin gives a clear explanation of how California's cap and trade carbon market works.
Joey Burger is a Permaculture Educator and a Regenerative Cannabis Consultant. He was born and raised in a Healing Arts Intentional Community deep in the hills of Northern California that grew its own food and medicine. Joey was gardening from a very young age, and as an adult became a community organizer and an educator who brought the cannabis community together for events to share information and genetics. The O'Neill brothers and Joey grew up close to each other in a particularly special area where Southern Humboldt county and Northern Mendocino county meet, and have been friends for many years. In this episode, they talk about the recent history and current state of cannabis markets, how the collapse of the green rush has some silver linings for the legacy cannabis community, the benefits of regenerative agriculture practices, and some of the community gatherings Joey has recently been organizing.
Adina Merenlender is the author of author of Climate Stewardship: Taking Collective Action to Protect California. She is a well respected conservation biologist with decades of research experience and a deep understanding of Californian ecosystems. In this episode, Lito and Casey talk with Adina about the book and go into some specifics about water deficit, community clean energy, and the advantages of using homemade natural inputs rather than store bought nutrients. The brothers loved Adina's book and their enthusiasm comes through in the interview. And just like in the book, the conversation has a feeling of hope woven throughout despite the topic.
Taylor and Daniel Stein are homesteaders whose family farm in Northern California produces organic vegetables and cannabis. The Stein family and the O'Neill family are guided by similar principles and philosophies when it comes to farming and living in connection to the natural world. These overlapping values formed the basis of their close friendship, the warmth of which comes through when listening to their conversation in this episode. While sitting around the kitchen table at Lito's house, Taylor, Daniel, Casey and Lito talk farming, the anxiety that comes with living out of touch with nature and the peace that comes from reconnecting with natural cycles, fire management, and the complexities of stewarding land that was stolen.
Tony Alvarez is a professional forager and plant medicine guide in Northern California. Through his forays, Shroomy Walkabouts, he has introduced hundreds of people to the joy of foraging for wild food and medicine. He also works with individuals, families, and other groups to access the healing and growth potential of sacred plant medicines. In this episode Tony, Lito, and Casey share some of their personal foraging experiences, explore the concept of human communities being either mycophilic or mycophobic, and talk about how microdoses of psilocybin mushrooms can lead to greater connection to both the natural world and other humans.
Folks who know and love Marbry Sipila often refer to her as an Elemental - that's a biodynamic term that means a spiritual being who has a deep communion with the flow of the seasons and the natural world in general. Marbry has been an active and engaged member of the homesteading communities of Northern California since moving to Mendocino county from Santa Cruz in the 1970s. In the over 4 decades she and her husband John have been homesteading in the mountain community of Bell Springs California, she has mentored and trained numerous people that went on to be skilled farmers and herbalists who trained people themselves. Along the way she was instrumental in the creation of the Bell Springs school and the farmers market in nearby Laytonville. The hosts Lito and Casey grew up playing with Marbry's children and see her as a teacher and mentor. This episode is based on a warm and personal chat the brothers had with Marbry in which she talks about the early days of homesteading in Bell Springs, community development, and living with the land.
In this trailer episode, Lito and Casey talk about growing up on the family homestead, how cannabis was the gateway plant that lead to becoming vegetable farmers and having a stronger relationship to the land, plus their hopes for this show and what listeners can expect to hear in upcoming episodes.