Southwest Agroforestry Challenges and Best Practice Solutions

PLEASE JOIN US 

2nd Annual SWAAN Conference

Southwest Agroforestry Challenges and 

Best Practice Solutions

March 17 – 19, 2020, Tucson, AZ

Agenda and registration at swaan-site.org

REGISTER BY March 6, 2020

OUR MISSION: The Southwest Agroforestry Action Network (SWAAN) helps people integrate trees, crops, and animals to regenerate landscapes in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah

Tuesday, March 17, Presentations, University of Arizona

One-day fee $40, includes lunch, agenda at swaan-site.org

·      Sustainable Food Systems in the US Southwest 

·      The National Agroforestry Center, an Information Resource 

·      Opportunities for NRCS Financial and Technical Assistance to Support Agroforestry 

·      Developing and Sustaining a Family Farm in Southern Arizona 

·      Best Practice Solutions for Increasing the Success of Agroforestry in the Southwest

·      Best Practices for Providing Sustainable Water Supplies to Urban Trees 

·      Mission Garden: Tucson's Agricultural Origins 

·      High Desert Food Forests 

·      Resources for Growing Edible Trees in Agroforestry Systems in Arizona 

·      Arizona Forestry Department’s Resources Available to Help Support Trees in Arizona

Wednesday, March 18, Fieldtrips

One-day fee $40, includes lunch, agenda at swaan-site.org

·     Mission Garden, Tucson 

·     Dunbar-Spring Neighborhood Tree Planting project, Tucson 

·     Harris Heritage Growers, Sonoita

Thursday, March 19, Annual SWAAN Business Meeting

LEAF Conference on Edible AZ Trees

Please join us September 22 - 24 for a lively conference highlighting how to bring edible trees to Arizona's urban areas – edible trees are those that produce fruits, seeds, nuts and pods that suit people's tastes.

The LEAF Network is partnering with the Tucson City of Gastronomy to present information for public, private and NGO planners (Friday) and community members (Saturday), and to provide tours of edible tree sites (Sunday). We are holding the conference at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 West River Road.

We are providing free tables for nonprofit, school and government organizations in the lobby to display information. We also have sponsorship and tabling opportunities for businesses. If you would like to reserve a table, please contact me, ann.audrey.1@gmail.com

For more information, go to leafnetworkaz.org
Please forward this message widely to all who might be interested.

I hope you can join us!
Ann Audrey, LEAF Network

16th Annual AZ Highlands Garden Conference

16th Arizona Highlands Garden Conference will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at the du Bois Center at NAU.
This day long conference will feature two inspiring keynote speakers.  Clara Coleman, a second-generation organic farmer, consultant, and writer will talk about sustainable four-season farming. She is the daughter of renowned farming pioneer Eliot Coleman. Joining us from Albuquerque, Judith Phillips, landscape designer and garden writer, will present a new talk on strategies for coping with climate change in southwestern gardens.  Other topics include composting, roses for the high country, rainwater harvesting, Monarch "waystations', gardening and food safety, composting, geraniums, school gardens, organic pest control, community gardens and more. There will also be pre-conference tours on September 18.
For more information about the conference and to find the registration form, visit our website AHGC2015 website.

Date: 

Sat, 09/19/2015 -

8:45am to 5:00pm

Cost: 

$75 for those registering by Aug. 28; $100 AFTER Aug. 28

Location

du Bois Center at Northern Arizona University

306 E. Pine Knoll Dr.

Flagstaff AZ

See map: Google Maps (link is external)

Registration Required: 

Yes

15th Annual Highlands Garden Conference

Harmony in the Highlands:

Gardening with Nature

 

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Optional activities on October 24th

 

Prescott Resort & Conference Center

1500 State Route 69

Prescott, AZ

 

Come hear the usual great speakers for the conference, visit with many gardeners from high elevation areas, and just have fun. See attached link registration form for details. 



Sonoran Desert Master Gardener Conference

Master Gardeners – Due to the great success of last year’s Sonoran Desert Master Gardener Conference, it will be held again.  Please read the following e-mail to see if you can help.  In any case, please mark your calendars for Sept. 11-12, 2014.  Several Coconino Master Gardeners and I went last year and it was an excellent conference for Master Gardeners.  Hattie

Dear Master Gardeners,

Another Sonoran Desert Master Gardener Conference is being designed just for you, the Masters Gardeners of Arizona.  The topics and format are in response to your input from the surveys that you completed last year.  The conference will be held on Thursday, September 11th and Friday,September 12th, 2014 at the Casino del Sol Conference Center in Tucson.  On Thursday we have a number of tours planned at the University of Arizona Arboretum, and at the Pima Extension Demonstration Gardens.  We are planning to have several focused lecture tracks and discussions to fill your day on Friday.  Friday's day of lectures is planned to begin at 7:00 am for registration and finish by 4:00 pm. There will be many breaks throughout the day and a break for lunch, which will be provided on-site at the Casino del Sol. The format is being designed to allow for in-depth presentations on desired topics and networking time to meet and learn from other Master Gardeners throughout Southern Arizona.  

AZ Food and Farm Finance Forum

Arizona Food and Farm Finance Forum, Jan 13-15: What’s in it for YOU?

If you are a social impact investor or venture capitalist: Come and hear Slow Money founder Woody Tasch tell how $30 million of local investing in 220 food and farm businesses since 2010 is creating viable options to placing all your money and trust in Wall Street.

If you are a beginning (or ramping-up) farmer: Come and hear Alex Young of Cornman Farm and the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses talk about double their production and planting area each year, and how he finances it. Zingerman’s has grown seventeen for-profits and non-profits in Ann Arbor to create 650 new jobs and 50 million dollars of annual sales of products and services in its community.

If you want to jumpstart a local food restaurant, or cooperative local food distribution network to restaurants: Come and hear Derrick Widmark, co-founder of Diablo Burger in Flagstaff and Tucson tell how he brokered financial backing and local beef and vegetable sourcing to jumpstart these independently-owned businesses.

If you are a food bank staffer hoping to create new jobs for the poor: Come and hear Lisa Pino, Executive Director of United Food Bank in Chandler explain what USDA Strikeforce Programs and philanthropic initiatives can do to help you create live-able wage jobs in the food growing, processing and distribution sectors.

If you are a community development planner or credit union investment officer: Come and hear Michael Dimock of Roots of Change in the Bay area explain how rural and urban communities are coming together to plan the future of their food-based economies.

If you are an eater, a food justice activist, or student: Come and hear Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona offer a vision of living local economies that will help Arizona communities recover their health and well-being.

If you are a potential donor, angel investor, stakeholder or loan-giver to such initiatives: Learn from Elizabeth U, author of Raising Dough, how to avoid legal pitfalls and financial risks to match your financial resources to match your investing capacity with your values to do the greatest possible good for your family and community.

If you want to start a food microenterprise from a community kitchen using local ingredients for value-added products: Listen to Ernie Rivera, Kitchen Manager of Mixing Bowl, the Kitchen for Entrepreneurs in Albuquerque talking about helping sixty active food microenterprises each year and guiding another hundred prospective food businesses in product development and business planning.

Follow this link for details on the forum

Laurel Bellante

PhD Student
School of Geography and Development

bellante@email.arizona.edu 

Cochise County Master Gardener Conference

Subject: High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference

The Cochise County Master Gardeners Association is planning their 20th annual High Desert Gardening & Landscaping Conference to be held February 14 & 15, 2013, at the Windemere Hotel & Conference Center in Sierra Vista. The website is up with conference program and registration information at http://ag.arizona.edu/cochise/mg/HighDesertConf/ConfHomePage.html. Due to the facility the conference is limited to 180 participants. We have a special speaker Friday morning in honor of this being the 20^th anniversary - Jeff Gillman is a professor of horticulture at the University of Minnesota and author of The Truth about Garden Remedies and The Truth about Organic Gardening. Plus, as you will see we have a lot of other great speakers.

Please share the link above with any of your Master Gardeners that may be interested in attending.

Thanks,

Susan

---------------------------------------------------

Susan Pater
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Cochise County
County Director, Extension Agent 4-H Youth Development
450 S. Haskell Ave., Willcox AZ 85643
office: 520.766.3601 | fax: 520.384.3681 | cell: 520.507.5939
email:  spater@ag.arizona.edu

http://extension.arizona.edu/cochise

33rd Annual Native Plant Workshop - Keep Sedona Beautiful

The first of two keynote speakers is world renowned presenter Brad Lancaster of Tucson speaking on Planting the Rain: Principles, Practices, and tips for Water-Harvesting Earthworks and Raingardens. Brad will also be selling and autographing several of his books. The final speaker is Grand Canyon horticulturist Jan Busco helping participants with the topic of Getting the Best from Your Native Plants! Jan will be selling copies of "Native Plants for High-Elevation Western Gardens" by Janice Busco and Nancy Morin.

This year the event is offering a total of eight workshops; participants are to choose two from one of two presenters.

Advance tickets are $20 for KSB members, $30 for the general public; an additional $10 at the door. Included in the admission are breakfast savories donated by Wildflower Bread Company, coffee and tea, two keynote speakers, choice of two workshops from the eight offered, bagged lunch donated by Weber's IGA, and the silent auction.

Silent Auction: Keep checking here for the over fifty items that will be available; they range from dinners for two and brunches for four to fitness classes to jeep tours to decorative items for the home and garden. There is something for everyone!

Jay's Bird Barn and Verde River Growers will again have tables with an assortment of items for sale and there will be a display table with various free handouts available. Sedona Recycles will have stations set up and literature to inform and promote good recycling practices. In the interest of conservation, please feel free to bring your own coffee mugs or water bottles. In addition to the drinking fountains at the school, Kinetico Water Systems is supplying three water coolers. Parking is limited, so the NPW encourages you to walk, bike or carpool.

Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc., acting through the stewardship of its members and volunteers, is committed to protect and sustain the unique scenic beauty and natural environment of the Greater Sedona area.

Highlands Garden Conference 2011 - Prescott, AZ - entry 2

This is my second entry for information from the recent regional MG Conference. I recently received an email with a link to the Yavapai web site. It has all the talks and outlines from the conference, so I won't bore you with mine.
Both keynotes are well worth your time - one on bugs and one on gardening myths. Another that I found useful was one on Cactus, Agave, and Yucca for High Elevation gardens. I realized that there are many more that will work from zones 4-6 than I realized. Check out his outline for a list of those that will.
The recipes from the farm tour I attended the day before are also on the link. They include a to die for vegetable soup. Options were for a tour of 2 farms or the headwaters of the Verde. I did the farm tours and they were great - the Chino Valley Farm (one of our Sunday Market participants) and a smaller farm used mostly for home sustainability. They also sell at the Prescott Market - mostly corn.
At our next association meeting (Nov. 10)I will bring some books from the keynote speakers if you want to take a look. I have also added them on the blog book list.

Loni Shapiro
Secretary
Coconino Master Gardener Association

American Community Garden Association Conference

Here is a brochure for the American Community Gardens Association Southwest Regional Conference to be held in Phoenix April 1 and April 2. Please spread the word. It looks like a great program. Early bird deadline is March 1.

Link to brochure

Hattie Braun
University Of Arizona
Master Gardener Program Coordinator

Arizona Highlands Master Gardener Conference 2010

Registration is now open for the 2010 Arizona Highlands Garden Conference!

The conference which will be held in Payson on Saturday, August 28 at the Mazatzal Casino. Special garden demonstration tours will be held on Friday, August 27. Gila County Master Gardeners are the conference hosts this year.

The theme of the conference is ‘Sustainable Gardening for Homes and Communities’. Keynote speakers include author and desert permaculture innovator Greg Peterson of the Urban Farm in Phoenix and author David Wann of the PBS series Affluenza, and author of the Zen of Gardening, Simple Prosperity and other books addressing sustainability.

For more information on the conference, go to: http://extension.arizona.edu/gila/horticulture

You can print the brochure and use it to register or, go to the web site and register online. Gila Co. has asks that if you can, please mail in a check for your registration as this will help the conference budget. (The University of Arizona has set up the credit card payment option but will deduct 4.5% from each payment.) Gila Co. have started the advertising campaign and will have to cut off registration at 235, so please register early!

Please share this message with your gardening friends!

Hattie Braun

15th Annual Water Conservation/Xeriscape Conference and Expo

The Xeriscape Council of New Mexico will hold their annual water conservation conference and expo from February 25-28, 2010. The 2010 Conference will focus on the Land Use, Water Use Connections, and will feature, among others, Post Carbon Fellow Sandra Postel. The first two days includes national and local speakers and requires a fee and registration. The second two days is an Expo held at the fair grounds that includes a variety of booths with xeriscape ideas and materials. It also includes a variety of free speakers on Xeriscape.

Last year I attended and found all four days mind altering. The speakers were from all over the globe and really opened my eyes about water use. The Expo was a wonderful way to see many of the products available particularly in the arid southwest. This council each year outdoes itself with speakers at a reasonable price. For more info check out their web site at: www.xeriscapenm.com/. I have found the web site difficult to enter. It is frequently busy and difficult at least for me with limited membory to download. Keep trying and if you get to frustrated contact scott@xeriscapenm.com or 505-468-1021 and he can send you information.

Garden Symposium on Soil and Seeds

FROM: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, COCONINO COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS AND COCONINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
(928) 774-1868 EXT 17

A GARDEN SYMPOSIUM
FEBRUARY 27, 2010 – 9 AM TO 5 PM
CLINE LIBRARY ASSEMBLY HALL
NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY, FLAGSTAFF, AZ

All gardening fans are invited to attend ‘A Garden Symposium’ featuring two highly-recognized and inspiring speakers: soil food web specialist Michael Martin Melendrez and seed expert Bill McDorman. This event will conclude with a presentation on local foods and a chance to ask questions from the experts. This is a one-day seminar for all gardeners, from beginner and experienced, who want to learn more about growing food in Northern Arizona.

Michael Melendrez will present the morning session. He is the owner of Soil Secrets, a company that produces organic soil amendments, and Trees That Please in Los Lunas, N.M. Michael’s topics will be "Healthy soil grows healthy food" and "Understanding the science of humus and microbiology." Attendees will gain a better understanding of soil organic matter, compost, the importance of humus, and how to build a better soil.

Bill McDorman will begin the afternoon program with his talk "Gardening from the inside out and why we garden," and then offer a session on seed saving. Bill is the president of Seeds Trust, Inc., of Cornville, a company dedicated to genetic conservation and the values of sustainable agriculture. A passionate and engaging speaker, Bill has lectured about seeds and seed saving for more than two decades.
The final hour of the symposium will feature several presenters who will introduce us to the many local foods projects in Northern Arizona.

‘A Garden Symposium’ will be held Saturday, February 27 from 9 am to 5 pm at Cline Library Assembly Hall at Northern Arizona University. It is jointly sponsored by Coconino Community College, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and Coconino County Master Gardeners. The cost is $15 and registration is through CCC, course #13827. Lunch is on your own. Register online at www.coconino.edu/ or by calling 526-7654 to enroll by phone. For more information, call Coconino County Extension at (928)774-1868 ext. 17 or visit extension.arizona.edu/Coconino.

Many thanks go to Ed Dunn. We used his photo for the flier! The flyer for the course is included. You can print and post. Please click on the underlined flyer. You will be redirected to Google docs and the picture will look fuzzy, but if you click on print on that screen it will send you to a pdf file that is clear for printing.