ThinkFOOD 2019

Berkshire Pollinators

Thank you to everyone who participated in ThinkFOOD 2019. We look forward to seeing you all in April 2020 for ThinkFOOD 7!

Farmers, educators, and entrepreneurs will gather to support a lively local interest in bees and pollination.

This year’s theme, “Berkshire Pollinators,” embraces the community’s interest in bees and pollination, and will also showcase local food entrepreneurs whose ideas can inspire innovation in other communities.

Thomas Seeley, author of Honeybee Democracy and Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, will give a keynote address.

The conference is free for all area students and $25 for adults, $35 for the conference and lunch.

thinkfood panel

Panel of experts discussing equity and fair wages for farmworkers at the 2017 Conference

Speakers from Soul Fire Farm and Greenagers at lunch at the 2018 Conference

Program

9:30 am Welcome

9:45 - 10:30 am
Workshop 1: Devan Arnold, Sassafras Landcare, "How to Design a Pollinator Garden" (this is a double session 9:45-11:45 am)
Workshop 2: Brigid Dorsey, les collines, "Preserving the Bounty" jam-making workshop

11:00 - 11:45 am
Workshop 3: Marina Marchese, American Honey Tasting Society, Honey Tasting
Workshop 4: Jen Salinetti, Woven Roots Farm, "Systems and Methods of Regenerative Growing Practices"

11:45 - 1:00 pm Lunch in the Dining Hall, featuring foods from local farms and businesses

1:00 - 1:45 pm
Workshop 5: Bridghe McCracken, Helia Land Design, "How to Create a Native Plant Meadow"
Workshop 6: Chris Wellens, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Becoming a Home Beekeeper

2:00 - 2:45 pm
Workshop 7 (for students): Heather Meehan '14 and Will Conklin, Greenagers, Connecting Students to Farms and Farms to Students
Workshop 8: Jim Schultz, Red Shirt Farm, Managing Your Soil to Save the Planet
Workshop 9: Emil Ghitman Gilkes, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, BAV programs and aquaponics

2:45 - 3:30 pm Break & Transition

Keynote Address (3:30-4:30 pm)

Thomas Seeley, Cornell University, "The Untold Story of the Honey Bees in the Wild"
Respondents: Devan Arnold, Sassafras Landcare and Evan Abramson, Landscape|nteractions.

Participants are encouraged to explore the Great Barrington Pollinator Action Plan , which inspired the theme of the conference.

For more information, contact Maryann Tebben, faculty in Languages and Literature, at mtebben@simons-rock.edu.

“At Simon’s Rock we recognize that the classroom extends into the community. With ThinkFOOD 6, we are proud to share in the exchange of ideas and practices across the county contributing to the health of our local ecosystem, from honeybees and pollination to other promising ideas about food and gardens.”
-Professor Maryann Tebben,
Center for Food Studies at Simon's Rock