Ecogal the curious consumer

Jeff Poppen, a Midwestern farm boy, helped develop an organic farm and Tennessee homestead in the mid-1970s, and ten years later began applying biodynamic principals and making the preparations to do so. His livelihood comes primarily from vegetable and cattle grown on the 250-acre Long Hungry Creek Farm, where cows, compost, and community keep the land vibrant and productive. Jeff advocates for a more peaceful agriculture by mentoring young farmers and gardeners, along with a bit of lecturing, consulting, hosting events, and facilitating a few new farm enterprises. His style of old-time farming comes from paying close attention to what elder farmers thought, felt, and did, and by studying how farms were managed before agricultural chemicals were first manufactured on a large scale over one hundred years ago. Like his animals, he gets his food from the farm.

The theme for this year's summit (2023) ~ Cultivating Cooperation a few panels to participate in: Starting a cooperative business in TennesseeLunchtime keynote panel, Dec 2nd, moderated by the co-director of Southeast Center for Cooperative Development. Building a Seed CommonsKeynote panel Friday, Dec. 1st - Building a Seed Commons from an Indigenous Peoples Lens.

As we enter into the holiday's here are some ideas on ways to reduce your footprint while still being festive and merry!

Jeremy Lekich was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee by two hippy parents who fostered a sense of reverence in him for the more-than-human world. In 2010, Jeremy founded Nashville Foodscapes and in 2021, transitioned the company to a worker-owned cooperative. In 2014, Jeremy co-founded Compost Nashville. Jeremy's journey as an entrepreneur and forest lover has inspired his work to leverage our current economic model (and lawns!) to create new ones that are more equitable and harmonious.

Natalie Ashker Seevers from Tennessee Local Food joins me in the ecogal studio to talk about food, grown locally. Why it's important to support local farmers, how one can access food directly by joining a community supported Agriculture (CSA) and how to go about finding the right fit for you.

Rachel Werbal, conservationist and sustainability consultant joins me in discussing what Earth Day means to her, learning about its origin, and sharing some ideas to celebrate this beautiful planet that provides everything for us to thrive and what we can give back to contribute to the well-being of Mother Earth.

Seema is the owner of Miel Restaurant where for the past 14 years she has championed the use of sustainably grown food and wine. Miel also uses the practices of sustainability on every level at the restaurant. For the past 11 years, her focus has added the topic of food waste and how Nashville as a city can divert this valuable resource from landfills and utilize it for its renewable qualities. //  The non-profit Seema founded called Resource Capture aka ReCap aims to educate about Dry Anaerobic Digestion and how it can be used for Nashville to process the food/organics waste into nutrient-rich compost and energy. In addition to working at numerous Dry AD facilities around the world, Seema earned a certificate from the US Composting Council as a certified Operator for Composting Facility in 2016. Seema’s experience from her past career in the field of community organizing, public relations & government relations has aided greatly in the pursuit of the Digester Project for Nashville.

Cam Terry is a vegetable farmer in Roanoke, VA.  His urban farm Garden Variety Harvests (GVH) for short has cultivated produce on a network of backyard lots for 5 years, selling at a farmers market and to area restaurants.  In 2022, GVH secured a deal with the Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons to establish a farm headquarters at Lick Run Farm in NW Roanoke on a long-term equitable lease.  Here's Cam's story.

Ian McSweeney, from the Agrarian Trust, shares with us the work this organization is doing across the United States. It's centered on the human connection to the land and each other.  Ian shares his commitment to bringing about innovations to holistically evolve farmland ownership, conservation, equity, secure and affordable access, tenure, and relationship through The Agrarian Commons.

As we say goodbye to 2022, I was thinking about this next year and what each of us could do to be a little more sustainable. I share five ideas anyone can do to start having a positive impact. I think setting an intention is the first action and then choosing a handful of activities you'll implement this year. If we all consciously take mitigating measures to live more sustainably, it does have an impact. It's the little things that add up. Happy New Year, 2023! Stay curious.

Belgian-born Pascal Baudar describes himself as a culinary alchemist and wild food artist who has a very unique way of looking at environmentalism. Through educating himself about non native and invasive plants he has come to see the world differently. Perhaps we aren't looking at the environmental situation through the correct lens. This conversation will certainly give you a new perspective and perhaps a new path to forge.

John Patrick and Diane Scher are founding members of the Burns Village Farm which is a new housing development in Burns, TN.   A core group of individuals are trying to preserve farmland, create a neighborhood, and provide access to farmland for a new farmer.  It is following models of cohousing and agrihoods.  They plan to practice sustainable principles for the construction and maintenance of the property and the farm.

Zena Harris is a corporate consultant in the entertainment business. She builds sustainability programs that influence stakeholders and shift industries.  She founded Green Spark Group, a sustainability consulting firm that serves the dynamic and fast-paced motion picture industry in the United States and Canada, and has created the annual Sustainable Production Forum event to accelerate knowledge sharing. In this episode, she shares four things that individuals or families can do to live more sustainably by decarbonizing their daily lives.

Kristina Villa is a farmer, communicator, and community coordinator who believes that our connection to the soil is directly related to the health of our bodies, economy, and society. With over a decade of experience in vegetable farming and cattle management, Kristina enjoys using her skill sets to share photos, stories, and information which help to inspire change in human habits and mindsets, causing the food system, climate, and overall well-being of the world to improve.

Megan Gill is the owner of The Good Fill in East and West Nashville. Her passion to see consumers become more thoughtful about the impact of their purchasing decisions led her to open Nashville's first packaging-free shop. The Good Fill has diverted over 100,000 plastic bottles or containers from landfills and thousands more pounds of personal and home care waste. By offering sustainably made and package-free alternatives, Megan hopes to open up a larger conversation about how our everyday decisions make an impact on people and the planet.

Raven Hernandez is the founder and CEO of Earth Rides, the only all-electric ride-hailing app. Raven is a first-generation Latina American and is a graduate of the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law. Raven was inspired to start EARTH after a personal quest to improve her own health drove her to affect change on a large scale. She envisioned EARTH as a way to help people make a difference while enjoying a better experience with a service they already use. Inspired by her vision of encouraging people to make eco-friendly and healthier choices, Raven launched EARTH in October 2020 in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

Francisco Torres, Founder and General Manager of Compost For Life in Miami Florida, joined me in the ecogal studio to learn about the mission of his company as well as delve into what compost is and the value composting provides from growing more food to drawing down carbon to helping mitigate climate change.

Sarah Scarborough, the Tea Huntress joined me in the ecogal studio to share her journey of becoming the Tea Huntress, as well as sustainability in trade, her connection to nature, and what makes one tea stand out from another. This was a conversation that could have continued for hours, and therefore, will have more episodes to follow. This was a beautiful, soothing, and informed conversation. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy!

Natalie Novak of KPS Essentials joined me in the ecogal studio to talk about the shocking discovery that changed the trajectory of her life, her reason for creating an all organic food-grade skincare line. We talked about why it's important to know the ingredients in the products you are putting on your largest organ, your skin, and how long it takes to enter into your system. It was an informative conversation and I hope you'll find this valuable and useful.

Debra Dickey of Sweet Seven Organic Salon in Nashville, Tennessee joined me in the ecogal studio to talk about hair color, what we don't usually think to ask about when it comes to our hair, and how that lack of knowledge could pose a danger to our health and well being. We had a lively and informative conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.