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Inaugural Small Farm Summit Featuring Joel Salatin Inspired Hundreds
Inaugural Small Farm Summit Featuring Joel Salatin Inspired Hundreds There was standing room only for Virginia farmer Joel Salatin’s keynote address at the Small Farm Summit at SUNY College at Old Westbury on April 15, 2011. Nearly 600 gardeners, farmers, health and energy advocates, students, teachers, and interested individuals packed the auditorium for this inaugural event in support of sustainable local agriculture and growing the local food source. Mr. Salatin, a third-generation alternative farmer, was at one time a feature writer at the Staunton, Virginia newspaper, The News Leader, then returned to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas. A self-described “Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist farmer,” his Polyface Farm uses environmentally responsible, ecologically beneficial, sustainable, though unconventional, methods. His riveting, fire-and-brimstone address debunked ten myths about farming—ranging from “farming is environmentally harmful” (use of appropriate farming practices is responsible land and water stewardship) to “farmers are dummies” (in fact, they have to be some of the smartest, most resourceful people in our community to survive and prosper). The day was filled with 20 bustling workshops led by 72 expert panelists presenting a wide range of topics ranging from food and farm policy to raising honeybees, to starting an organic or school garden. Plenty of opportunities for discussion and networking enhanced participants’ understanding of the breadth of issues facing farmers and Long Island and New York City residents in pursuit of local food sources. Attendees’ awareness was further improved through dozens of educational exhibits and demonstrations staffed by a variety of non-profit, commercial, university, and municipal organizations. Decorations, provided by the North Country Garden Club, featured an educational display complete with a blue pickup truck, live chickens, fresh eggs, manure, and Muttontown vegetables grown from seed. The Sylvester Manor Worksongers played delightful live music throughout the day and included fiddlers, banjo players, drummers, and guitarists. They wrote a special “chicken song,” honoring Joel Salatin, which was received with laughter and cheers from the audience. Like all successful events, the Small Farm Summit would not have been possible without the many volunteers who gave their time and energy in the days leading up to the Summit, as well as the six months of planning that preceded this inspiring day. North Shore Land Alliance, convener and primary organizer of the event, is most grateful to the Land Trust Alliance / New York State Conservation Partnership Program, Whole Foods Market, Karma 411, the Center for Social Innovation at Adelphi University, NOFA-NY, and Lisa Mitten for their financial support. The Land Alliance strives to help people understand the incredible value land brings to our daily lives. The ability to grow more food locally leads to a more sustainable community which will benefit us all. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
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LINCK’s No Child Left Inside: Connecting Children with Nature Conference featuring Richard Louv
LINCK’s No Child Left Inside: Connecting Children with Nature Conference featuring Richard Louv When author and journalist Richard Louv published his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, its message that kids these days do not connect to the natural world spread like wildfire. Countless studies have concluded that children’s and adults’ exposure to nature can aid their ability to manage stress and think more clearly. Environmental education and related experience, such as community service Dana Friedman, Richard Louv, Lisa Ott, Jane Jackson projects outdoors, can make a difference and, in the process, increase appreciation of the outdoors among participants in these activities. Recognizing the importance of these findings, the North Shore Land Alliance and the Long Island Nature Collaborative for Kids (LINCK) (a project of the Early Childhood Institute) partnered to bring Louv to Long Island on Thursday, March 12, 2009 as the keynote speaker of LINCK’s No Child Left Inside: Connecting Children with Nature conference, held at the Islandia Marriott Long Island. The event, which drew over 300 hundred attendees including 20 Land Alliance members who were guests at the keynote address, was also sponsored by Computer Associates, the Rauch Foundation, and other organizations. The conference included a number of hands-on workshops designed to enable educators, child care workers, and parents alike to get their children into the natural world (or, in some case, to take nature to them!). As undeveloped land has become increasingly scarce, children’s exposure to the outdoors has waned. There is broad consensus that we do not protect what we do not love, and we do not love what we do not know. It is today’s youngsters who will be faced with tomorrow’s responsibilities for protecting land and stewarding our open spaces, so Louv’s visit to Long Island to share his knowledge with a local audience was timely. Louv is the Chair of the Children & Nature Network, which supports organizations and individuals working to link children and nature, and is the author of seven books. Last Child in the Woods won the prestigious Audubon Medal (also granted to Jimmy Carter, Rachel Carson, and Robert Redford, among others) by the National Audubon Society earlier this year. It has earned top ranking from Discover Magazine, Spirituality & Health Magazine, and the National School Board Journal.
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Land Use Planning Workshop: Conservation Subdivision Design Featuring Randall Arendt
Land Use Planning Workshop: Conservation Subdivision Design Featuring Randall Arendt For land use on Long Island, the balance of open space preservation and economic growth is critical. With that in mind, NSLA invited top land use planner, Randall Arendt, to conduct a seminar focusing on conservation subdivision design. On May 26th, 135 land use decision makers gathered at the Hoffman Center in Muttontown for a 5 hour workshop to learn conservation design and the supporting regulatory framework needed by villages and towns. Attendees included Village Mayors, Trustees, Town and County Planning Board Members, Builders, Architects, Landscape Architects, Engineers, and Realtors. Mr. Arendt’s message was clear: in order to achieve a community’s goal for “growing greener,” model ordinances must be adopted. In addition to requiring a process in which the conservation areas of a site are determined first, zoning ordinances must contain, at a minimum, a requirement that protected lands in conservation subdivisions are comprised of at least 50% of the buildable ground whenever the underlying density is one unit per acre or lower. Mr. Arendt’s workshop offered valuable “greener” land use planning tools and an enlightened vision for decision makers to move forward with conservation objectives for their own communities. NSLA is deeply grateful to Mr.Arendt for sharing his wisdom, to all the workshop attendees for their time and attention, and to fellow co-sponsors for the program, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Bay, Hoffman Center and Nassau Land Trust
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