Northern Nevada Green Living Podcast: Recent Episodes
gogreenlocally.org
Are you interested in living a more earth-friendly life in the Northern Nevada area? We interview locals from groups, small businesses, and organizations that share their knowledge and ways we can participate with them, to better care for our people, nature, and the environment.
Get to know your green community better. Then jump in and try something new at home, connect with an individual or group, or participate in an activity with your community.
In this episode, we're thrilled to explore the world of sustainability in Northern Nevada with Donna, the visionary Founder and President of greenUp and the Nevada Green Business Network. Not only is she leading the charge in providing environmental education to businesses, but Donna is also at the forefront of an exciting initiative—the Green to Go Reusable Container Program. This program is set to revolutionize takeout practices, offering businesses and consumers an eco-friendly alternative to single-use containers. Join us as we delve into Donna's journey, innovative initiatives, and the positive impact she's making on the environment and our local community.
Keisha & Casey Ernst have been focusing on soil regeneration and habitat restoration as a team since 2011. They have studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham over the past eight years and worked alongside her on many projects. In 2018 Catalyst BioAmendments was founded as an experimental and educational-focused compost lot. The aim was to apply the techniques taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham to compost on a large scale and to improve the processes to ensure the product reliably hosts diverse populations of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes.
Catalyst successfully created a biological-healthy focused product, and since 2019 Keisha & Casey have been using the compost with their consulting. You can see examples of that success. They aim to raise the quality of food grown by helping farmers increase microbial biomass in their agricultural soils and to help microbe farmers worldwide to improve their composting practices.
Their main overarching focus is on fostering a community around microbe farming. They are passionate about helping the unseen lives in the soil come into view through microscopic images.
https://www.catalystbioamendments.com/
Zoe Bray is a professional artist based in Reno, Nevada, who started offering eco-art classes to children to help them enjoy simple, timeless beauty and connection with nature.
As a professional artist, her practice focuses on painting and drawing from life, using traditional fine art techniques, and experimenting with unconventional approaches.
Zoe explores the boundaries between art and ethnography, engaging in questions of identity, representation, and human relations with nature. Zoe trained as a painter in various parts of Europe. She has a Ph.D. in Political Science (Florence, Italy) and an MA in Anthropology (Edinburgh, Scotland).
International shows include painting performances at NYC's American Natural History Museum, the Chicago Art Incubator, the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, Texas, and Beita, the Social Based Art Center in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine. She recently exhibited in the Basque Country in France and Spain, and in Carson City, Nevada.
https://zoebrayartist.com/
Zoe's my new children’s book!
Colin Watley started Scrub Jay Farm in the Spring of 2021 as a result of a career change and a desire to experiment with gardening methods and goals that differ from standard production farms. The emphasis at Scrub Jay Farm is on edible flowers, herbs, food preservation, testing new plant varieties, and seed saving.
The farm consists of hugelkultur beds built throughout a 1/6 acre residential lot with permaculture principles as a central focus. In 2022, the second year, the focus has been on planting shrubby intermediate and taller fruit tree layers and continued soil development.
The work has also shown Colin the secondary benefits of working with plants can be much greater than the value of the flowers or vegetables grown. This has developed into a talk and hands-on workshops that he has presented for several grade schools, an assisted living facility, NAMI, and the Empowerment Center.
Colin also realized that many of the emotional benefits available being around outdoor plants are equally available through indoor plants as well. Since then, he has started offering indoor green-scape installations and services to local Reno businesses. The goals now for Colin and Scrub Jay Farm are to continue to hold talks and workshops and offer more indoor plant-scaping for local businesses.
Quinn is a local botanist, ecologist, gardener, and Nevada native. He has spent most of his career studying the native plants of Nevada and fire ecology in the Great Basin. He’s researched how to effectively restore burned plant communities in our Nevada deserts.
More recently, he began working as a garden manager for Farmily, one of our local non-profits partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to teach social-emotional learning through the garden and providing healthy food to the kids and their families.
As we learned about in our last episode, Farmily's newest project, Katie's Garden, is a collaboration with the Katie Grace Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, and Bridge Church, and will house a food forest, production garden, and native plant pollinator garden.
Quinn on his own also has begun hosting native plant walks to teach our community about the fascinating and diverse flora of our deserts.
Since recording this podcast we learned that Quinn was awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation and will be moving to Oahu, Hawaii to start his work towards his PhD. We are super excited and proud of Quinn and wish him all the best in professional eco journeys to make this world a greener place!
Instagram: q_campbell
Email: quinncampbell@gmail.com
Today on our podcast I’m speaking with Rebekah Stetson who has worked in the Northern Nevada green community as a connector, leader, passionate activist and as an organic farmer.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Rebekah two years ago in April of 2020 for the podcast, Locals Share Green Action episode number 7. We’ll be dipping back into some of the topics that she shared then and bring in some of the new things she’s up to now.
For those who don’t know Rebekah, she’s a Northern Nevada Native whose life is led by synchronicity. She is also an organizer, a mother and a philanthropist. She is passionate about the delicate networks that are intertwined leading to the well-being of all ecosystems. She has been active in advocacy at a local, regional, and national level in a variety of areas including and not limited to organic agriculture, public health, environmental protection, and wildlife habitat.
Some of the many hats she’s wearing now: include being the farm manager at Flint Street Farm, the Chairwoman at Coalition for Healthy Nevada Lands, Wildlife and Free-Roaming Horses, is the CEO of Farmily, and is a sustainability consultant at the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.
http://www.ourfarmily.org/
https://www.facebook.com/Flint-Street-Farm-100394011745374
https://www.facebook.com/healthynevadalands
https://www.facebook.com/rebekah.stetson.may
The Valley Wood Park Waterwise Bird Garden project, in its various phases, was created as a demonstration garden to show visitors alternatives to water hungry lawns. This park project is meant to inspire and educate our community about trees, shrubs, and flowers that can be grown in our high desert environment using half the water that lawns require. With our area experiencing less rainfall and higher temperatures we can benefit from learning how to create beautiful urban landscapes in a more sustainable way.
Tom Stille designed and continues to expand this inspiring and delightful collection of waterwise gardens. Learn more about Tom, and the garden and then come and visit or join in volunteering. Check the links for more information.
Valley Wood Park 100% Plan | River School Farm
To learn more about upcoming volunteer opportunities:
(20+) Northern Nevada Permaculture | Facebook
To reach Tom Stille or find out more about River School Farm and their services or location:
Info @riverschoolfarm.org
Tom @riverschoolfarm.org
Riverside Farmers Market https://www.renofarmersmarket.com/
Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation – Caring for Parks, Open Spaces & Trails
In this episode we speak with three representatives from Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation: Matt DeBray, Julie Johnson, and Caroline Stillitano about all of the great things their organization does for people in the greater Washoe County area to increase our enjoyment and knowledge of our beautiful parks.
Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation is a private nonprofit that was incorporated in 2012 and received its 501(c)(3) determination in 2013. The Parks Foundation protects and enhances our communities' livability through public engagement, education, and the sustainability of our parks, open spaces, and trails.
Not only is TM Parks Foundation a great resource, but Matt, Julie, and Caroline are gracious advocates that share their knowledge and enthusiasm to remind us all to enjoy time outdoors with our friends and family in our local parks, and nature trails. They also share new projects underway and places where we can learn more about what we can grow in our own yards to help support our local flora and fauna such as pollinators and native plants.
Matt DeBray: Matt is the Communications Manager for Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation. After serving with TMPF as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2017 he worked to promote AmeriCorps programs throughout Nevada for four years and is excited to be back at the place that started his journey in the nonprofit world. Matt studied Radio Television Production at the University of Montana and brings over a decade of experience to the TMPF communications team. When he isn't working you can find Matt watching baseball, hiking with his family, or being pulled behind a boat.
Julie Johnson: Julie is a Nevada local and earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is passionate about community outreach, stewardship, marketing, and is thrilled to be a part of the TMPF team. As the Student Stewards Program Outreach Coordinator, Julie is looking forward to engaging with the Reno community about the incredible parks and open spaces in the area, as well as the many amazing programs TMPF has to offer! In her free time, Julie loves to be in the mountains. You can usually find her backpacking, skiing, and exploring hot springs.
Caroline Stillitano: Caroline received her BA in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan in 2021. Working with the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation as the Community Engagement Coordinator allows her to follow her passion for environmental justice through expanding access to the outdoors for low-income individuals. She enjoys spending time outdoors and is excited to apply her previous volunteer engagement experience to TMPF!
https://www.tmparksfoundation.org/
https://www.facebook.com/tmparksfoundation/
https://www.instagram.com/tmparksfoundation/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/tmparksfound
https://www.linkedin.com/company/truckee-meadows-parks-foundation/
Emanuela Heller-MacNeilage is a local farmer, a yoga and homesteading skills instructor, and the Vice President of the Northern Nevada Beekeeper’s Association. She raises goats, bees, and chickens and offers instruction on how to care for beehives, and sustainable gardens, and how to make cheese, yogurt, mead, and soap.
At Tiny Living Farm, overlooking the Truckee river, she offers goat yoga classes, and instruction in the many skills that she teaches. She also cares for beehives for other people in the Reno area. If you would like to contact Emanuela for her services, classes, or products (before the TinyLivingFarm website is live), then please direct message her at her new Instagram page @TinyLivingFarm, or call 512-921-1567.
Instagram: @tinylivingfarm
https://tinylivingfarm.com/
Help Save the Bees Foundation – is a 501c3 Nevada nonprofit whose mission is to inspire and educate the community about importance of bees, their challenges, and how to participate in supporting them and taking action for their health and survival.
Ray Hopper is the founder and Treasurer. He has been keeping bees off and on since 1982. His passion has inspired him to dedicate his life to help the plight of bees.
Dan Rider is a Director, a beekeeper and an organic gardener. His wife, Valarie Rider is the owner of Heirloom Gardens an organic Permaculture based landscaping company. Both are very experienced in organic gardening and working to support nature and local ecology.
In this episode we learn more about the health of our bees, about “Help Save the Bees Foundation” and how we can all take action to support the health and recovery of bees and other types of native pollinators.
https://helpsavethebeesfoundation.org/
Additional Links recommended in this episode
https://biggestlittlebeecityusa.org/
Beekeeping Clubs:
https://www.northernnevadabeekeepersassociation.org/ (Reno)
https://greatbasinbeekeepersofnevada.org/ (Carson City)
https://masonvalleybeekeepers.org/index.html (Yerington)
Casey Shiver has been a member of the Buy Nothing Project’s Central Reno group for a couple of years now and started volunteering as an admin in February of 2021. She works full time for UNR, is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Higher Education Administration and spends much of her free time volunteering with local area nonprofits. Her favorite parts of the Buy Nothing Project are getting to know her neighbors and seeing the large number of items being reused rather than entering the landfills.
Liz McFarland has been a member of the Buy Nothing Project’s Central group for a few years. She spent most of her time for the past 8 years as the Lead Volunteer for Project 150 Reno and helping 3,500 homeless, disadvantaged and displaced high school students with basic needs. She is also on the board for the giving group “Thank You Ma’am”, on the board for Women and Children’s Center of the Sierra and for Altrusa of Reno/Sparks. Her favorite part of the project is being able to gift items that others will love, consuming less new products, and keeping items out of the landfill.
The easiest way to join is to go onto the Buy Nothing projects website at:
https://buynothingproject.org/
or if you’re in the Reno/Sparks/Carson/ Tahoe area, you can find a link to the group for your area at https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?fbclid=IwAR1j7xrdHAFzrliiP3UqgqjyiaZOc0l4eBUhbq-mc_FEQc_cUV_PwSsBI4Y∣=1P-wF7OPrJh2GLgiy-pXnmBKTsjs≪=39.62177576560294%2C-119.58638278378768&z=10
In this episode we dive into the topic of the local forest stewardship and some of the work that Norman Cone is doing as a research associate working with Great Basin Institute. He shares many factors that weigh into decisions that are made on a daily basis, as many groups work to maintain, protect, and restore our forests.
As residents living near amazing national parks, Norman shares things that we can do to be better environmental stewards. We learn more so that we can have greater appreciation for our forests and for the current challenges of caring for our forests and the stewardship of the indigenous tribes who protected and cared for them for thousands of years in the pre-colonial times.
https://www.thegreatbasininstitute.org/
Sharon Lugone is retired from teaching computer literacy to elementary and middle school levels and has gone on to instruct and do private consultations to teach sustainable wardrobe fashion strategies called Capsules101. She is teaching courses locally in the Reno area.
After watching the documentary “The True Cost”, she was moved to take action to address better choices for all of us to meet the challenges of fashion industry and how to be more strategic and mindful in our clothing purchases.
The documentary – “The True Cost” https://youtu.be/nxhCpLzreCw
c a p s u l e s 1 0 1
http://www.capsules101.com/
s h e r r y l u g o n e
c a p s u l e w a r d r o b e g u r u
c a p s u l e s 1 0 1 . c o m
We meet the owners of Thali an organic vegetarian restaurant that share multiple ways that they are striving to operate sustainably. Learn more about how this little family-owned restaurant works to support local farms, and avoid waste while delivery delicious meals for their community.
https://www.thalireno.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Thalireno/
Katie Colling who is the founder and manager of Katherina’s Garden a community garden that is seeking to help feed people in poverty with healthy, fresh foods grown right in the neighborhood. Katie was the vice president for RISE for seven years and she is the founder and manager of Katharina's Garden and Compost Program since it's inception in 2017.
https://gofund.me/97c62413
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1716313595100783/user/100000482378184/
kmcolling@gmail.com
www.katharinasgarden.org
Life as we know it would be much different if it weren’t for the mysterious and miraculous mycelium. Such an impressive entity, so different than most life on earth. This fungus can destroy and give life simultaneously. Mycelium helps soil by breaking down organic matter, keeping moisture in the soil, and helping to prevent erosion.
About Rachel
Rachel Jessee, originally from Reno, NV has recently returned to the region after over a decade of exploring different cultures, climates and lifestyles. She currently practices regenerative agriculture and subsistence farming at Rosewater Ranch, a rural ranch just outside of Reno. Most recently she returned from two years in Morocco where she implemented and managed a 5 hectare permaculture garden within an operating 10 hectare organic olive grove and where she was also curating an on-site artist residency. There she gained priceless experience in growing food in an arid environment which has cultivated her newest passion in soil health. She is currently enrolled in Peter McCoy’s “Mycologos” course – the world’s first extensive course dedicated solely to mycology and is also a student of Harvard’s Extension School program pursuing a degree in environmental studies with a focus in agro-ecology.
Walker Sauls is the founder of the nonprofit GreenVibe World and the urban mushroom farm called Biggest Little Mushrooms. Walker Sauls completed his Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science and founded a nonprofit, GreenVibe World and a sustainable urban farm called Biggest Little Mushrooms.
At Biggest Little Mushrooms they pride themselves in growing high-quality mushrooms with as little impact to the environment as possible. Their small farm contributes healthy and delicious mushrooms to their local community through a co-op, a CSA, and soon at a stand at the local farmer’s market.
Learn more about GreenVibe’s work in the Reno/Sparks area and how they farm sustainably for a cleaner green community.
Tessa Dee Miller is a treasure hunter and upcycling enthusiast. She is the shop owner of the “The Nest” a vintage furniture, décor, and clothing shop that has been in Reno for almost 10 years.
THE NEST
201 Keystone Ave
Reno, NV 89503
(775) 284-8841
thenestreno@gmail.com
www.thenestreno.com
FB/IG @thenestreno
Monday - Saturday 11am - 6pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
TMCC Thrift Store Shopping Class Tuesday, February 23rd 3-6pm:
https://truckee.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=28617&int_category_id=0&int_sub_category_id=0&int_catalog_id=0
Also available:
Zero waste items
Reupholstering services
Vintage shopping services
Nathan Rosenbloom is with Loping Coyote, Rosewater Ranch, and Mountain Mushrooms. He is an ecological garden designer, a farmer, and a nursery business owner.
He shares the benefits of a forest garden designs and more about their local nursery yearly sale to provide the trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs to support these ecological designed gardens and farms.
Learn more at:
https://www.lopingcoyotefarms.com/
Site Consultations and Assessments,
-On-site and remote project evaluations - from native landscaping to backyard farms to broad acre land management.
-Landscape and Garden installations
-Farm/Garden Educational Tours
-Ecological Garden Education and Speaking Engagements
Among other numerous community service roles, Earstin Whitten is the co-founder and president of Soulful Seeds, a non-profit whose mission is to provide greater food security through community gardens and gardening education. He is also affectionately known as the local “Guru of Garlic” as he teaches community members how to grow garlic successfully.
Soulful Seeds, Reno, NV
https://www.soulful-seeds.com/
Soulful Seeds Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/soulfulseedsnnv/
Charles grew up in California, enjoying the outdoors, surfing, and working in restaurants as he attended school. He ended up in Reno, Nevada and is now the program director of University of Nevada Reno’s Desert Farming Initiative. He is an agricultural specialist for sustainable and organic farming practices. His previous experience includes multiple diversified row crop farms, small-scale orchards, CSAs, farmer’s markets and restaurants.
He was a part of the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project where he put into practice the belief that farms can contribute to maintaining and protecting the health of watersheds through sustainable soil management and enhancing farm biodiversity. In addition, Charles is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and registered Soil Health Champion with the National Association of Conservation Districts.
University of Nevada – Reno Faculty:
http://naes.unr.edu/directory_details.aspx?hIj7_GDp0x45=1455
Desert Farming Initiative
https://naes.unr.edu/dfi/default.aspx
Happy holidays everyone! We hope you all are staying safe and healthy and having a chance to enjoy some festive cheer whether you are staying close to home, are hiking the hills, or are visiting with a few close friends and family.
If you are in a position to buy gifts this year, please consider shopping at our local small businesses. Especially the ones that are striving to be sustainable and make our little part of this planet a kinder and safer place for us all. We would love to have time to share all of our local green businesses in this episode, but instead we have put together a special webpage that includes lots of local businesses that have great green gifts to consider. Please visit https://www.gogreenlocally.org/local-green-gifts. If you know of some other businesses that you think should be added then please contact us at info@gogreenlocally.org and we’ll consider adding them. Even after the holidays we would like to leave this page up for birthdays and other special occasions that you might need to buy for.
- Well 2020 has been a challenging in so many ways. Part of that challenge has been trying to avoid extra waste that we don’t want to be creating. To learn more about some of the changes in the Reno/ Sparks recycling program, we are talking with Kim Rios with KTMB.
https://www.ktmb.org/recycle
- An interview with Andrew Frank with Space Cadet a nonprofit in Reno that is recycling retail display fixtures new local businesses
https://www.cadetspace.org/
- We talk with Jamah Dacus with BlendBee a specialty loose leaf and custom tea company located in Sparks.
https://blendbee.com/
Catch up with local nonprofit event news and a great talk with Jessi Sprocket with the Reno Generator about their new 40,000 square foot maker space in Sparks.
Also a presentation from Carrie Jensen, a landscape architect and environmental educator about river-friendly landscaping in the local watershed and how our learning more about this can help us all play a very important role in protecting our local drinking water source and the beauty of our rivers and lakes.
The Reno Generator:
https://www.therenogenerator.com/
River-Friendly Landscaping
https://youtu.be/pLDx68JEPWE
River-Friendly Poll – for before and after watching
Poll #1: https://forms.gle/ju2hsgaz9EDVoyGr8
Poll #2: https://forms.gle/PTKeVF7UFUoywmgw9
Urban Ecology Solutions, LLC
Carrie Jensen, Manager
1590 California Ave.
Reno, NV 89509
(408) 221-8715
urbanecologysolutions@gmail.com
Urban Ecology Solutions offers environmental education and landscape architecture consulting services. Our education programs cover local ecology and sustainable landscaping practices for the home gardener. Our landscape designs emphasize sustainable and river-friendly practices that protect and conserve water, incorporate native plants, and create wildlife habitat.
Whether you’ve been veggie gardening for a while or are just getting started on trying urban homesteading, there might be something for you in this episode. We learn more with Charles Schembre with Desert Farming Initiative about floating row covers, irrigation hoses, cover crops, season timing, and more.
In this episode we learn from a “Garlic Guru” how to grow garlic, which is one of Northern Nevada’s major crops. We also learn about a great program/event being offered in place of the “Reno Garlic Festival” which is a year-round monthly virtual class on how to grow this popular easy-to-grow vegetable along with added incentive giveaways to the first people to sign up for the classes.
We also hear from a local environmental educator more about her upcoming talk about “River-Friendly Landscaping” along with other great upcoming, in-person and virtual local events.
Free Garlic Course:
Mighty Network Link (you have to join the network then you have access to the Course for FREE! Don't think I explicitly said the free part in the interview ;) - https://growingnv.mn.co/all-coursesReno Food Systems Website (Reno Garlic Fest Page) - https://www.renofoodsystems.org/garlicfestReno Garlic Fest Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/RenoGarlicFest/Reno Garlic Fest Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/renogarlicfest/
“River-Friendly Landscaping” talk Zoom invite information:
https://www.meetup.com/Permaculture-Northern-Nevada/events/nhzmlrybcnbsb/
Urban Ecology Solutions, LLC
Carrie Jensen, Manager
1590 California Ave.
Reno, NV 89509
(408) 221-8715
urbanecologysolutions@gmail.com
Urban Ecology Solutions offers environmental education and landscape architecture consulting services. Our education programs cover local ecology and sustainable landscaping practices for the home gardener. Our landscape designs emphasize sustainable and river-friendly practices that protect and conserve water, incorporate native plants, and create wildlife habitat.
Slow Jams – Garlic Infused Coconut Oil - Ruby Nixon
slowjams1029@gmail.com
On October 24th and 25th Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation will be hosting their "Fall Plantemonium" event at the proposed Nature Study Area in the Rosewood Wetland. We will be planting 600 native plants in the wetland over the course of two days. The event will take place on Saturday and Sunday from 9am- 12pm. Very soon they will be releasing all of the details to the public.
- More details are available from Spencer Cox at spencer@tmparksfoundation.org or their website at:
- https://www.tmparksfoundation.org/programs
Additional events:
https://gogreenlocally.wixsite.com/reno-sparkshub/event-directory
In this episode, we hear from Ed Kleiner with Comstock Seed Company and Lorraine Fitzhaugh with VitalBeeBuds whose businesses are both located in Carson Valley. They both share great information and resources for growing seeds and plants in gardens and farms that help support our pollinators, our local ecosystems, and the amazing watersheds of the Northern Nevada area.
For More Interview Details and Events:
Ed Kleiner – Comstock Seed
http://comstockseed.com/
Lorraine Fitzhaugh - VitalBeeBuds - plants, seeds, and consultations
https://www.vitalbeebuds.com/
Local event information and links are available on the link below:
https://gogreenlocally.wixsite.com/reno-sparkshub/event-directory
This is a complete interview with Ed Kleiner with Comstock Seed in Gardnerville, NV who is an amazing resource of information for using choosing native seeds for eco-system and land restoration.
James Gatzke shares his background and experience that prepared him for his current conservation, restoration, and native plant nursery work with Walker Basin Conservancy in the challenging desert environment of Northern Nevada.
Samantha Romanick, a microbiology PhD student, is the founder and operator of Black Rock Refill, a zero-waste business to help people in the Reno, Nevada and surrounding areas have options to reduce plastic waste in their lives. Studying the biology of micro-plastic contamination in the environment, she knows intimately why we should consider minimizing our use of plastic and how to go about it. She operates her business without a brick and mortar store and still manages to make her products available to a large area.
Luke and Shannon own Blustery Bovine, a 6-acre farm in Washoe Valley, NV where they raise cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens to supply food to their CSA and farm store. They have been using regenerative land management practices and methods that better care for animals and at the same time help to heal and replenish the health of wildlife, pasture grasses, and the soil.
Gwen Bourne shares her small local flower business that she started after her semi-retirement. She shares her passion for growing beautiful flowers without the need for toxic sprays and how doing so encourages and supports pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and birds.
Neil Bertrando with RT Permaculture and Reno Food Systems shares some of his vast knowledge of ecological landscaping/gardening design and some regenerative models that offer examples of what is possible for our local communities.
Jolene Cook and Rachelle Lerude share the upcoming (mostly virtual) GrowingNV Local Food Week celebration.
Eva Ruiz with Lowenkind Bakery shares her love of healthy ingredients, baking, and providing options for people looking for gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free and grain-free European baked dessert options.
Erica Gallegos shares a fairly new green Nevada business certification program called GreenBiz Tracker that is being offered at no cost to businesses.
Local upcoming events.
Green living tip for reducing waste during our COVID-19 times.
Lotspeich Farm in Elko, Nevada, 5 generations of farming with weather extremes. They share their challenges, successes and favorite short season seed varieties.
A Reno health center combines Eastern and Western medicine, acupuncture and preventative health – less toxic options for people and planet health
Newly green certified Reno, Nevada business, Extremely Emollient, details their commitment to quality fair-trade ingredients.
Idea for a natural bug repellent spray
Upcoming local events (mostly virtual for now)
COVID-19 Farm Aid Program for Nevada Farmers
More Details:
https://www.thechencenter.com/
The Chen Center was created in 2019 as a place to combine the best of Western, Eastern and Integrative Medicine and to offer a seamless concierge medicine experience to a limited number of patient members. The Chen Center also offers medical acupuncture, both private and group sessions.
________________________________
Congratulate newly green certified business
EXTREMELY EMOLLIENT
Handcrafted, organic, vegan, and cruelty-free body butters, CBD butters, scrubs, lip balms, bath bombs, baby butters, beard butters, pet butters, etc. Our two main ingredients are Organic Raw Shea Butter and Organic Refined Coconut Oil, and our scents are primarily made from organic essential oils.
Shea butter comes from a women owned farm collective in Ghana, Africa, and our refined coconut oil comes from a Fair Trade organization in the Philippines.
While mainstream suppliers are allowed to add 5% non-organic ingredients this company has tried to stay true to their ideals of all quality ingredients
_______________________________
Flint Street Farms has distributed over 400 pounds of fresh produce to Community Health Alliance, The Empowerment Center, RISE (Reno intitaive for shelter and equality) and food not bombs in the last 40.days.
Farmily is starting to break ground at the bridge church on a huge permaculture garden called Katie's Garden that will provide a larger learning sight for our Boys and Girls Club program as well as fresh produce for the food pantry at the church!
We are looking for donations for Katie's Garden and folks can make their tax deductible contribution at www.ourfarmily.org/donate.
________________________________
Harvest NV is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability and food security by working with local residents and volunteers to harvest, collect, and donate fruit and veggies from backyard fruit trees and gardens to organizations that feed hungry people in Reno.
If you or your neighbor has excess produce that you would like us to come harvest and donate this year, Our community needs it more than ever. please reach out harvestNv.org, on Facebook or insta, via email harvestnv@gmail.com or by phone or text to 775-583-4590.
________________________________
Lotspeich Farm - Dan and Leslie
https://www.facebook.com/LotspeichFamilyFarm/
________________________________
Galena Creek Visitor Center’s
On the ground, the wildflowers are blooming! Along our trails, you'll see Wavy-leaf Paintbrush, Royal Penstemon, Buckwheats, and Lupines! Expect even more in July!
This episode items:
Gwen Bourne from Gwendolyn's Flowers shares about how to raise flowers naturally and take care of our pollinators
June and July Events in the area
Luke & Shannon Thompson from Blustery Bovine share about sustainable regenerative agriculture and their CSA.
Results of our test non-toxic alternatives to toxic weed killers
Seedlings still available in the area
May 2020
-
How to raise backyard chickens organically by Leslie Berg
-
Rebekah shares about the 2nd annual Truckee Meadows Earth Day event
-
Laurie Martin shares a non-profit offering a financial navigator program to help people trying to work through issues related to the COVID-19 situation.
-
Local Events & Alternatives to using toxic herbicide sprays
-
Bonus - ways to have a little fun with family, friends or co-workers
Vanessa Robertson is currently the Executive Co-Director of Envirolution, in Reno, NV which works with teachers and students, K-12 for "youth leadership development, and community outreach programs centered around energy efficiency, sustainability, and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) career development."
Josie, originally from the Midwest, traveled to Reno, NV to participate in the Americorp program and ended up making Northern Nevada her new home. After Americorp she went on to found a non-profit called Urban Roots. Now working as a Montessori teacher, she looks back and shares the story of how she took her university education, Americorp training, and Permaculture training and used it to create something wonderful to share and inspire a love of organic, sustainable farming with children in the community.
Tanner Petrilla has been working as a farm intern at four different organic farms learning what works best with various growing conditions, types of crops, and holistic land management methods.
Kasey Crispin shares her and her partner Zach Cannady's successful 1.5-acre, organic no-till farm. They share how they live their green values to care for people and the planet as they supply nutrient-dense food to northern Nevadans while equally caring for nature and the soil on their farm.
Rebekah Stetson has worked in her Northern Nevada green community as a connector, leader, passionate activist, and as an organic farmer. She has been practicing advocacy at a local, regional, and national level in a variety of areas including organic agriculture, public health, environmental protection, and wildlife habitat.
Yashila Sanchez - a marketing professional in Reno, NV - shares her talents while working as a volunteer organizer/educator in her community, helping to organize and promote Permaculture and other local green events. She also advocates for slow and steady action, that we can all take, to learn more while growing our own gardens.
Skylar Jones works as an environmental scientist focusing on sustainability outreach and education for the State of Nevada. Learn more about how her environmental studies degree became an opportunity to turn her concern for the environment into an opportunity to take green action on a daily basis.
Christoph Weber is a certified arborist and home orchardist in Reno, NV that has helped clients dissatisfied with their purely ornamental yards transition them to more productive, edible and delicious landscapes with fruit trees, grape vines, berry bushes and herb plants.
Kyle Isacksen is the Co-Director of the non-profit, Be The Change Project in Reno, NV. Kyle and his wife Katie founded an urban homestead and learning space which is dedicated to service, sustainability and community uplift.
Garrett Menghini, is the owner of Down to Earth Composting, a rapidly growing, hands-on composting service that picks up people's food scraps and returns to them a rich soil conditioner for their home gardens. Garrett shares about his previous career working as an electrical engineer for SpaceX, and a need to find work that was more in alignment with his values - a life that would include care for people and care for the earth.