Courses, Workshops & Events

Facilitators & Instructors

Kirk Gadzia

Kirk Gadzia owns and operates Resource Management Services, LLC, a training and consulting firm located in Bernalillo, NM. Kirk has extensive international experience in consulting with many large ranching and agricultural operations throughout the United States and overseas.

The focus of his work is a holistic approach to agriculture and life, whereby land, animals, crops, wildlife and other resources are planned into the operation and financial picture. The model for making this work is mimicking natural systems and balancing life style with long and short term goal.

Kirk also provides customized training and consulting to a wide variety of public and private business and conservation organizations. Kirk is co-author of the National Academy of Science 1994 publication entitled Rangeland Health, and is working to improve rangeland health monitoring techniques in a wide variety of environments. Kirk has presented talks at the No-till on the Plains Annual Conference in 2003 and 2004, 11th AAPRESID Argentinean No-till Farmers Association Rosario, Argentina in 2003, and The South Dakota No-till Annual Conference in 2007.

Dr. Elaine Ingham

Dr. Ingham is President and Director of Research at Soil Foodweb Inc., a small business that grew out of her Oregon State University research program. Her research is on: What organisms are present in the soil and on the foliage of your plants, which organisms benefit which types of plants, which organisms harm plants, how can these organisms be managed to grow plants with the least expensive inputs into the system while maintaining soil fertility. Elaine started her academic career at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN graduating in 1974 with a double major, cum laude, in Biology and Chemistry. Elaine earned her Master of Science in Microbiology in 1977 at Texas A & M University and her doctorate degree from Colorado State University in 1981. Elaine's doctorate is in Microbiology with an emphasis on soil. Elaine was offered Post-doctoral Fellowship, along with her husband Russ (who also has a doctorate from Colorado State University in Zoology, emphasizing nematology), at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University. In 1985, Elaine accepted a Research Associate Fellowship at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Elaine Ingham is an energetic, easy-to-understand speaker who explains what life in the soil is all about. Behind this "user-friendly" approach lies a wealth of knowledge gained from years of intensive research into the organisms which make up the soil food web. Elaine not only understands the soil food web, she has knowledge on how to ensure a healthy food web to promote plant growth and reduce reliance on inorganic chemicals. While truly an academic, Elaine is also passionate about sharing her knowledge and research findings with those at the grass roots level of working with soils. That includes not just farmers who grow crops, but also those who graze cattle, sheep and other livestock, fruit and vegetable growers, greens keepers, parks and gardens workers, nursery operators - in fact anyone who grows things, even if it's just plain old lawn grass. Elaine offers a way forward for sustainable farming. A way of improving the soils we work with now and a way to keep soils in this healthier state without damaging any other eco-system. Attendance at Elaine's courses is always very high with a broad cross section of people taking advantage of her knowledge sharing. It is exciting that a speaker with such a depth of knowledge and dynamic presentation style, who is respected the world over as a leader in research of the soil food web is sharing this information with us.

Darren Doherty

Darren Doherty (Australia) is one of the world's most experienced Permaculture Design professionals and Registered PDC Teacher who has designed and developed over 1100 properties across 4 continents and has taught many PDC's, including with both Bill Mollison & David Holmgren (the co-originators of Permaculture). Darren Doherty and David Holmgren co-teach one Permaculture Design Course a year in Darren's home town of Bendigo, Central Victoria, which is the only PDC David teaches on these days. Darren has been a full-time Permaculture Designer since 1993 (at age 24) and focussed the first half of his career on design and development work, to the point where he became the most prolific Permaculture Designer in Australia, designing and developing over 1000 properties in that period, with a large development and management team backing his design efforts. With the births of his two younger children, by 2002 Darren tailed off his emphasis in that regard and is now working on selected "special projects" and teaching about 5 PDC's per year.

Darren spends about 40% of his working time these days in Viet Nam and managing the Viet Nam projects (Permaculture development and education projects for M&M's/Mars Inc. & ACDIVOCA) with the remaining time spent managing a 60ha working research & demonstration farm in Southern Victoria, Australia plus a smattering of broadacre design jobs here and there. He has taught 14 full PDC courses , many Keyline Design courses, as well as developed the working prototype of the world's first Dojo Ripper/Tiller/Mounder in association with the Yeomans Plow Ôø‡.

Brad Lancaster

Brad Lancaster is the author of the best-selling, and award-winning books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 1: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain Into Your Life and Landscape and Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2: Water-Harvesting Earthworks, and creator of the information-packed website www.HarvestingRainwater.com. Living on an eighth of an acre (0.05 ha) in downtown Tucson, Arizona, where rainfall is less than 12 inches (304 mm) annually, Brad practices what he preaches by harvesting over 100,000 gallons (379,000 liters) of rainwater a year.

Brad Lancaster is a permaculture teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of Desert Harvesters (DesertHarvesters.org). Brad has taught programs for the ECOSA Institute, Columbia University, University of Arizona, Prescott College, Audubon Expeditions, and many others. He has helped design integrated water harvesting and permaculture systems for homeowners and gardeners, including the Tucson Audubon Simpson Farm restoration site, the award-winning Milagro and Stone Curves co-housing projects.

Brad and his brother Rodd have created an oasis in the desert by directing this harvested rainwater not off their property and into storm drains, but instead incorporating it into living air conditioners of food-bearing shade trees, abundant gardens, and a thriving landscape that includes habitat for wildlife. This living example, dynamic public talks, and countless hands-on workshops have inspired thousands of citizens and numerous businesses in Tucson and around the country to harvest water and sustainably grow their local resources.

Brad's engaging style and entertaining and informative speaking and teaching are in demand resulting in interviews with National Public Radio, New Dimensions, and Natural Home and Garden, along with presentations and workshops for the Bioneers Convergence, the Green Festival, the Texas Natural Building Colloqium, the New Mexico Xeriscape Conference, Organic Farming Conferences, and more.

Eric Toensmeier

Eric Toensmeier is co-author of the book Edible Foret Gardens with Dave Jacke, and has studied and practiced permaculture since 1990. He has spent much of his adult life exploring edible and useful plants of the world and their use in perennial agroecosystems. After co-authoring Edible Forest Gardens, Eric wrote Perennial Vegetables, also published by Chelsea Green. He manages an urban farm project for Nuestras Raices Inc. (www.nuestras-raices.org), which provides immigrants and refugees with access to plots and start-up support on a 30 acre farm. He gives courses and presentations in English, Spanish, and Botanical Latin. Eric is a graduate and former faculty member of the Institute for Social Ecology in Plainfield, VT.

Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin, 50, is a fulltime farmer in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. A third generation

alternative farmer, he returned to the farm fulltime in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parentsÔø‡ ideas. The farm services more than 1,500 families, 10 retail outlets, and 30 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits, pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing. He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in

magazines such as STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, ACRES USA, and AMERICAN AGRICULTURALIST. The family's farm, Polyface Inc. (Ôø‡The Farm of Many FacesÔø‡) has been featured in SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, GOURMET and countless other radio, television and print media. Profiled on the Lives of the 21st Century series with Peter Jennings on ABC World News, his after- broadcast chat room fielded more hits than any other segment to date. It achieved iconic status as the grass farm featured in the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller OMNIVORE's DILEMMA by food writer guru Michael Pollan.

A sought-after conference speaker, he addresses a wide range of issues, from Ôø‡creating

the farm your children will wantÔø‡ to Ôø‡making a white collar salary from a pleasant life in the

country.Ôø‡ A wordsmith, he describes his occupation as Ôø‡mob-stocking herbivorous solar

conversion lignified carbon sequestration fertilization.Ôø‡ His humorous and conviction-based speeches are akin to theatrical performances, often receiving standing ovations. Joes has authored six books, four of them how-to types:

Ôø‡ PASTURED POULTRY PROFITS: Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 Acres, SALAD BAR BEEF.

Ôø‡ SALAD BAR BEEF, YOU CAN FARM: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Enterprise.

Ôø‡ FAMILY FRIENDLY FARMING: A Multi-Generational Home-Based Business Testament.

Ôø‡ HOLY COWS AND HOG HEAVEN: The Food Buyer's Guide to Farm Friendly Food,

is an attempt to bring producers and patrons together in mutual understanding and appreciation.

Ôø‡ EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO IS ILLEGAL: War stories from the local food front.

Ôø‡ YOU CAN FARM: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start and Succeed in a Farming Business.

His speaking and writing reflect dirt-under-the-fingernails experience punctuated with mischievous humor. He passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm. His mother Lucille, wife Teresa, daughter Rachel, son Daniel, daughter-in-law Sheri, grandsons Travis and Andrew, and granddaughter Lauryn, work fulltime together on the family farm.

Affiliated Organizations