DATS: Urban Agriculture

PANEL DISCUSSION
Reynolds Place, MRCA
Monday, October 11, 2010
10:00—11:30 am

Children’s Museum’s Edible Garden against the Greensboro skyline.

DURING WORLD WAR II, Victory Gardens provided an estimated 40% of the nation’s fresh fruits and veggies; today, with issues of food security, both locally and globally, will urban agriculture once again provide us a simple tool for living in a rapidly changing world? Does it have the power to unite people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion or creed, in a movement to fight climate change? Join us as we discuss the benefits, challenges and possibilities of urban agriculture in the Piedmont, and learn about ways you can get involved in your community.

Panelists Include

Dawn Leonard was originally from Wisconsin. She found her way to the South after meeting her husband while in the Peace Corps in Jamaica. Upon returning to his home of North Carolina, Justin and Dawn moved to Greensboro in 2005. With a BFA in Graphic Design from Iowa State University, Dawn began a career in Greensboro as a graphic and web designer. But the creative spirit often leaves one searching for new ideas, and being an idealist, Dawn found that getting her hands dirty was spiritually more fulfilling. In the transition from artist and professional designer to urban farmer, Dawn has found the commonality of these kindred vocations. In 2008 she co-founded Urban Harvest, a nonprofit in Greensboro dedicated to urban food production, distribution and education. Starting a nonprofit can be an overwhelming challenge, but Dawn believes that important work is often the most challenging, and it is the challenge and passion for our future that drives her forward. She embodies the creative force, not being afraid to take risks or lead us in a new direction. Experience from the Peace Corps, to a summer-long internship at an urban farm, to teaching yoga at Guilford College has led Dawn to a new path of healing the body, the Earth, and our communities.

Justin Leonard is an experienced urban farmer who also is Garden Manager at Edible Schoolyard, part of the Children's Museum on downtown Greensboro. The Edible Schoolyard received national news coverage when Alice Waters, renowned chef, author, and Slow Food advocate came to its groundbreaking ceremony. Justin also a founding member of Urban Harvest and responsible for residential edible landscaping projects.

Kat Siladi works with the Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children's Museum as the Garden Educator and Intern and Volunteer Coordinator. She has a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies and Ceramic Arts from Guilford College and she has recently finished a part-time Americorps term working to make the museum more accessible to immigrants and refugees from the area. Her interest in food education lies in teaching children and families lost knowledge of food production and connecting food production, from seed to table, with multiculturalism and other social issues.

Roland McReynolds (moderator), is executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). Roland grew up on a farm in central Missouri. After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with BA and BS degrees in History and Political Science, he earned his law degree at the University of North Carolina School Of Law and is licensed to practice in the state. He spent almost 10 years in the legal publishing industry, and spent one year exploring local and sustainable food systems in Europe, before coming to work for CFSA. Roland serves on the North Carolina Certified Crop Advisors Board and the Advisory Committees for the North and South Carolina Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education programs.

Dunleith Gardens, Greensboro, NC

More About CFSA

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is a Pittsboro-based organization of 1,000 farmers, gardeners, consumers and businesses in North and South Carolina committed to sustainable agriculture and the development of locally based organic food systems. Founded in 1979 by farmers, gardeners and consumers to support one another and foster the growth of organic food, the Carolinas Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) has grown into a non-profit with more than 1,000 members and seven regional chapters: six in North Carolina and one in Upstate South Carolina.

In December, the CFSA’s 25th annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference will be held in Winston-Salem. This year’s theme this year is, “Local & Organic Arrives: Our Opportunity is Now.” Local and organic food is at a popularity level that proponents would have only dreamed of a few years ago, and the conference will explore how the movement will seize the opportunity and take it to the next level. The keynote this year, author, attorney, economist and entrepreneur Michael Shuman, one of the nation's leading voices on "buy local" and serves as research and economic development director for the much-heralded Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). He will offer compelling and provocative ideas about this important topic.

(photos: Children's Museum: Andrew Young; Betsy Renfrew: Dunleith Gardens)