Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to begin making mead? Maybe to learn more about tiny houses or rooftop farming? Or to take further your already advanced farming skills? No matter your specific sustainability interests, there is something for everyone at the 23rd Organic Growers School Spring Conference, taking place Saturday and Sunday, March 12–13, at UNC Asheville.
Workshops are the cornerstone of the weekend, with more than 70 sessions each day in themed tracks such as gardening, mushrooms, soils, livestock, herbs, permaculture, sustainable forestry, homesteading, cooking, poultry, and farming.
“This year, we’re including a brand new track, called Voices from the Field, which is a mix of local, national and international teachers that may not have taught for us before, but their topics were so intriguing and engaging that we wanted to make sure to get them on our schedule,” says Sabrina Wells, conference coordinator.
Preconference events and workshops take place on Friday, March 11, at additional costs.
There’s also a trade show, seed exchange, and children’s program
for ages four to 12. This full-day program focuses on the importance of the natural environment and gardening sources. Activities include nursery dairy goats, pollinator awareness, and Appalachian storytelling, among others. Cost is $40 per child each day.
Beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, the Farm-to-Table Dinner: Dine with Pierre & OGS also takes place on campus. This four-course meal and fundraiser for OGS features special guest Bill Whipple, also known as Pierre Geaux. Pierre will address the audience with profound and amusing insights related to food, culture, delight, and the heart. “I will to try to explain to the people that The French are not responsible for French fries or French toast,” he tells The Laurel. “To be vraiment French is to support your local farmers and eat the good food that is fresh.”
Elizabeth Murphy will lead a workshop on plant and animal integration. She shares, “When managed properly, animals together with green manures and market crops can close the nutrient cycle, recycle ‘waste,’
and stack farm functions, leading
to greater sustainability of the whole farm system.”
Ashley English will teach a workshop titled Hosting on the Homestead. She says OGS is an important event because “it presents a wide array of topics encompassing sustainable living, all taught by individuals adept in their field, with an emphasis on this particular bioregion. Accordingly, it’s a wonderful resource of information for folks living in the southern Appalachians.”
Spring Conference registration is $65 for Saturday and $60 for Sunday. Preconference workshops range in cost from $45–75 and registration is only available in advance. The farm-to-table dinner is on a sliding scale of $75–125 per person. For more information, including work-exchange programs and a full schedule, visit organicgrowersschool.org or email ella@organicgrowersschool.org.
