The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the USDA Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program (PDP), and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are pleased to announce an upcoming Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course, to be held at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Poteau, OK, on May 17.

This full-day training will provide participants with the latest science-based approaches to reversing the trend of pollinator declines, and will equip them with the recipes necessary to protect and manage habitat for these vital insects.

The content of this course is tailored to the needs of NRCS, SWCD, Cooperative Extension, and state department of agriculture employees, as well as crop consultants, natural resource specialists,
non-governmental conservation organization staff, and producers of bee-pollinated crops.

Jennifer Hopwood, Midwest Pollinator Conservation Specialist from the Xerces Society, will lead the course.

Thanks to support from Southern SARE’s PDP, 30 scholarships are available on a first-come first-served basis. Registration is $45 per person thereafter. Discounted registration is available for NRCS employees at $35 per person. (Registration fee does not include lunch; please bring a sack lunch.) Canceled registrations can be refunded until May 7th, 2012.

Registration and more information are available from the Xerces Society at www.xerces.org/events. For questions, please contact Ashley Minnerath, Pollinator Program Assistant, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, at shortcourses@xerces.org or 855.232.6639.

For directions, visit www.kerrcenter.com/contact.htm.

Our Changing Environment:

Increasing Sustainability, Empowering People

March 29 – 31, 2012

More here: http://www.tulsacc.edu/ecofest

Learn how to:
create a simple hand rinsing station
food safety handling tips
offer cooking demonstrations for your market
guidelines for food samples
equipment lists
and more
Q & A

This free conference will be held at the Tahlequah Armory Municipal Center at 101 North Water St. on Friday, February 24th from 8:30a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with networking until 6:00 p.m. at the Branch restaurant (on your own). A healthy, local and traditional foods lunch will be provided with your registration survey. Please RSVP by Friday, February 17 to Rita Scott at rita@okfarmandfood.org or 918.640.5408 for your seat at the local foods luncheon!

The Tahlequah Food Policy Council has chosen to focus on five sectors in the agricultural network- Distribution, Production, Processing, Consumption and Composting/Recycle as their pathway to building a strong and sustainable local food system or “food hub”. As diet-related health issues are approaching near-epidemic proportions, consumers, health professionals, policymakers, restaurants, and institutions are looking to local food producers to supply healthy food options. With less than one year of meetings under their belt, participation from producers, city & state officials, interested consumers, Cherokee Nation representatives, NSU faculty & students and local business owners has been vigorous and sustained, leading up to this shared learning opportunity.

The conference is focused on improving awareness of our local food system and its strategic development, business opportunities for local food producers, and purchasing options for schools and businesses. Topics will include: lessons learned from four local Food Policy Councils development, greenhouse operations, composting implementation, nutrition, commercial kitchen & food hub implementation, processing & distribution models, Food System Assessment tool and more! With experts from local, regional and statewide organizations and farms, we expect over 100 attendees primarily from Cherokee County and surrounding counties, with some statewide participants sharing their knowledge and passion.

The Oklahoma Farm and Food Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to advancing the interests of the local food industry in Oklahoma, while enhancing access to healthy, locally produced food.

Oklahoma Farm & Food Alliance – 16523 E. 171st St. South Bixby, OK 74008 – www.okfarmandfood.org

It’s time to register for the 2012 Conference.  December 20 is the pre-registration deadline for the conference.
 
Details and registration form available at the website: http://www.hortla.okstate.edu/his/.

Friday, November 18, 2011
2 to 4 p.m.
Our Farm (Owners: Rex & Marie Koelsch)
7604 West 51st Street, Tulsa, OK
(On West 51st Street, West of I-44 and West of the intersection of West 51st Street and 65th West Avenue in Southwest Tulsa. Entrance on south side of 51st Street.  Use extreme caution as it is a busy street.)
Come and Go Event.  Free.  No registration required.

For details contact: Sue Gray, Tulsa County OSU Extension Center:  918-746-3717, sgray@tulsacounty.org

October 25, 7:00pm – 8:00pm

All Soul Acoustic Coffeehouse
All Soul’s Unitarian Church
2952 South Peoria Avenue
Tulsa, OK

Cost: Free and Open to the Public

http://www.booksmarttulsa.com/

Mark is the CEO of Forest Agriculture Enterprises and runs New Forest Farm, the 106 acre perennial agricultural forest considered by many to be one of the most ambitious sustainable agriculture projects in the United States.

Read about Mark Shepard’s work here: http://permaculture.org.au/2010/12/18/mark-shepherds-106-acre-permaculture-farm-in-viola-wisconsin/
here: http://www.forestag.com/bio.html
and here: http://littlehouseontheurbanprairie.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/new-forest-farm-visit/

The weekend will consist of a free and open-to-the-public lecture on Friday evening. The weekend intensive course will start with a lecture Saturday morning followed by practical application through walking and talking tours at local farms Saturday afternoon through Monday evening and beyond if desired.

This event is possible due to a grant from Sustainable Green Country, NSU Committee for Sustainability (assistance in locating lecture space), generosity of River Bend Catering, participating farms, and workshop attendees. Many thanks to all!!! If there are any proceeds raised above Mark Shepard’s fees, they will be used to start a Sustainable Tahlequah Lecture Series aimed at bringing regional and national sustainability/regenerative farming experts to the Tahlequah area.

Fees for participants:
Friday: Free and open to the public
Saturday: $55 per person
Sunday: $45 per person
Monday: $45 per person

If you are serious about agroforestry/permaculture and would like to attend this course but the participant fee is a barrier, please contact Julie Gahn at juliegahn@yahoo.com or (918) 207-9107.

DETAILED SCHEDULE:

Friday evening Lecture 7 pm to 9 pm:
NSU Webb Building, Room 614

Introduction to agroforestry, ecologically designed farming and permaculture including a brief history of agriculture, followed by a brief introduction to ecosystem mimicry, then on to some Permaculture design principles and how we apply them on an agricultural scale.

Saturday morning Lecture 8 am to 11 am:
NSU Webb Building, Room 614

Earth shaping and water management in the farm-scale agroforestry/permaculture system and introduction to stacking and succession.

Saturday Lunch 11:30 am to 12:30 pm (Riverbend Catering!)
Gahn farm on Double Spring Creek
(You’re invited to leave your suggestion for our farm name!)

Saturday Walking and Talking Tour 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm:
Gahn farm at Double Spring Creek
(Bring clipboards and pens)

During the tour of the farm, the owners will discuss with Mark:

– Earth shaping and water management
– Perennial polycultures and succession appropriate for our location
– Logistics of harvesting in a polyculture system e.g. how to harvest tons of nuts in a “stacked” situation
– Processing nuts (Mark’s hazelnut invention)
– Integration of animals into nut/fruit plantings
– Practical advice for a newbie getting their first farm animals
– Recommendations on enterprises that could be undertaken & collaborations that could be sought
– Selling to the “nut” markets?
– Wood gas from nut hulls?
– Alcohol Can Be a Gas — is David Blume’s book sound from an engineering standpoint?
– Should we be planning/designing systems to produce our own vehicle fuel from alcohol?
– Complementary fruit products?
– How to practically go “off-grid”

(Participants are welcome to ask questions too.)

We are in the finalizing the schedule for Sunday and Monday (at this point four more farms have expressed interest in hosting at least a 1/2 day walking/talking tour. Mark Shepard is driving to Tahlequah, giving him the option to extend his stay, and additional farms are welcome to arrange for a walking and talking tour. Please contact Julie Gahn at juliegahn@yahoo.com or (918) 207-9107 for further information.

We hope you can come learn about Mark’s approach to agroforestry, permaculture and regenerative farming!

Nowhere is this truer than at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. After a tornado mangled a newly erected hoop house in April and torrential rain washed seed out of the ground, Kerr Center staff dug in to fix damage and replant.

On Thursday, August 4, from 6:45 until dark, visitors can see the results of those efforts during an evening garden tour at the center, located about five miles south of Poteau on Highway 271.

The event is free and no pre-registration is required.

“We would love to have folks from around the area come out for the evening,” says George Kuepper, manager of the horticulture projects.

Visitors should wear walking shoes, he adds. Shade will be available, as will seating, but visitors may bring lawn chairs if they wish.

The gardens will again be open on Saturday, September 17, for a full-day workshop, when topics will be covered in depth. Preregistration for the September event is required.

Featured on the evening garden walk will be test plots of four varieties of heirloom tomatoes (Paul Robeson Angola, Cherokee Purple, Millionaire and Homestead) and twelve heirloom varieties of sweet potatoes.

Okinawa Purple, Carolina Ruby and Oklahoma Heirloom are just three of the unique sweet potato varieties being grown in a trial funded with a specialty crops block grant from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

Heirloom varieties are older varieties that once were widely grown and often have unique flavors, colors or shapes. The Kerr Center is looking for varieties that do well in eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

Compost, compost tea, biochar, cover crops, organic pest control, rotations, mulch and drip irrigation will also be discussed.

The center’s almost seven acre horticulture plot was certified organic in June. Features of the center’s two hoop houses will be highlighted during the tour. Tomatoes are being grown in hoop houses under shade cloth, plastic, and a plastic/shade cloth combo, as well as in the open field.

Farm machinery and implements designed for use on small-scale farms will be on display. These include an Italian-made BCS walk-behind tractor and a propane lawn mower.

For detailed directions and more information on the Kerr Center’s projects and events, contact the office at 918.647.9123 or visit www.kerrcenter.com. Guided tours (fee charged) of the center are available on the second Tuesday of each month.