The Summit
In collaboration with key partners across the Chesapeake area, Engaged Community Offshoots, Inc. invites you to Sowing Seeds Here and Now!: A Chesapeake Area Urban Farming Summit on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The Sowing Seeds Here Now and Now! Summit promotes community based urban farming because it:
* increases food security and the availability of healthy food,
* decreases unemployment by supplying meaningful green jobs,
* anchors vital resources and wealth in local communities, and
* is a key component in promoting public health and creating a sustainable, just, local food system.
The summit gathers innovative practitioners, farmers, scholars, for-profit and not-for-profit leaders, policy makers and agency directors to discuss specific strategies to help move the urban agriculture movement forward throughout the Chesapeake area.
Format
Speakers have been announced! Click here to view the press release!
The Sowing Seeds Here and Now! Summit structure will be composed of the following tracks:
- Urban Farming Hands-on Workshops (3 sessions: Urban Farm Design and Business Plan Basics, Community Composting, High Tunnel Construction)
- Healthy People and the Environment Focus (3 sessions: Health, Environment, Equity)
- Policy and Planning for Economic Development (3 sessions: Land Use, Incentives, Policy and Planning)
- Investing in Social and Environmental Justice (3 sessions: Faith Communities, Youth, Food and Justice)
Successful case studies will be sprinkled throughout each session, blending the theory with on the ground realities and actionable intelligence. All participants will be able to mix and match which sessions they would like to participate within.
Schedule
08:00 – 09:00 am Networking Light Breakfast and Registration
09:00 – 11:00 am Opening Remarks and Keynote Speech
11:15 – 12:45 pm Breakout Session #1
12:45 – 01:45 pm Lunch (provided)
02:00 – 03:30 pm Breakout Session #2
03:45 – 05:15 pm Breakout Session #3
05:30 – 06:00 pm Wrap up
06:00 – 07:00 pm Networking Reception with Conference Participants and Speakers
Getting there
- Greenbelt Metro stop (2 miles from site). See walking/biking directions from Metro stop. There will be a shuttle running continuously during the day between the Greenbelt Metro stop and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. See the schedule here.
- B30 Shuttle from BWI to Greenbelt Station (BWI is accessible by Baltimore Light Rail)
- Want to ride the bus from Baltimore to the summit? Meet at 7:15 am in the Ellerslie lot at Johns Hopkins at Eastern, 1101 East 33rd St., 21218 (across from YMCA and former Memorial Stadium). Please RSVP in advance to susie@ecoffshoots.org to ensure your seat.
- Driving
