Common Ground Radio

Producers/Hosts: Caitlyn Barker
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:

Topics this episode include:
– Herbalism, including herb growing techniques, harvesting and processing methods and uses.

Guest/s:
Emily Springer, Meeting House Farm, Scarborough, Maine.

FMI Links:
Meeting House Farm Instagram
Meeting House Farm Facebook
Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals
Book- Making Plant Medicine

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

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Producers/Hosts: Holli Cederholm and Clare Boland
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:

In the April 2023 episode of MOFGA’s Common Ground Radio, host Holli Cederholm discusses “Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists” with Leah Penniman, farm director/co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm and author of “Farming While Black,” and Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro and author of “Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors.” “Black Earth Wisdom” is a newly released book of essays and interviews that explores Black people’s spiritual and scientific connection to the land, waters, and climate. 

Topics this episode include:
– “Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists” by Leah Penniman.
– “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land” by Leah Penniman.
– “Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors” by Rue Mapp.
– Contributions of Black people to environmental thought and agroecological practices.
– The importance of representation to access and inclusion.
– Why centering BIPOC voices is critical to environmentalism.

Guest/s:
Leah Penniman is a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author, and food justice activist who co-founded Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York, in 2010, with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land. Penniman is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs — including farmer training for Black and Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for communities living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system. In addition to “Black Earth Wisdom,” she is the author of “Farming While Black.”

Rue Mapp documents her personal experiences while pioneering and shifting a new visual representation of Black people in the outdoors. An outdoorswoman, she transformed her kitchen table blog into a national nature-inspired enterprise and movement, called Outdoor Afro: where Black people and nature meet. Mapp is the founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, and she is also the author of “Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors,” which was published in 2022. Her words about nature and Black joy can also be found in conversation with other Black environmentalists in the newly released “Black Earth Wisdom.”

FMI Links:
“Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists” by Leah Penniman
“Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land” by Leah Penniman
“Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors” by Rue Mapp
Outdoor Afro
Soul Fire Farm

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Producers/Hosts: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
A panel discussion about food access and equity in the state of Maine. In this discussion we work to define food access and equity, explore the various resources available and discuss policies being decided now that shape how Mainers access food.
-Food access
-Food equity
-Farmers’ Markets
-Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
-Farm Bill

Guest/s:
BrennaMae Thomas-Googins
Jimmy DeBiasi, executive director, Maine Federation of Farmers Markets
Hillary Barter, education programs coordinator at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association

FMI Links:
Maine Harvest Bucks
Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets
Waldo County Bounty
MOFGA Market/CSA Search Tool
Maine Senior FarmShare Program
Mainers Feeding Mainers
Bumper Crop
Real Maine
Farm Bill overview

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Producers/Hosts: Holli Cederholm
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
On the February 2023 episode of Common Ground Radio, host Holli Cederholm discusses collaborative marketing models used by farmers and food producers in Maine. She is joined by Colleen Hanlon-Smith and Adrienne Lee, co-founders and owners of Daybreak Growers Alliance, a food distribution hub, and Melissa Law and Courtney Mongell, flower farmers and board members of the Maine Flower Collective. They talk about how these collaborative networks benefit both producers and customers by aggregating products and consolidating delivery.
-Collaborative marketing models for farmers
-Centralized marketing and distribution
-Food access
-Farm to food pantry
-Flower collective
-Sustainable floriculture

Guest/s:
Colleen Hanlon-Smith is a co-founder and owner of Daybreak Growers Alliance. Hanlon-Smith has worked in various capacities to serve the Northeast food system and farming communities, and is a founding member of Waldo County Bounty, a hunger relief nonprofit.

Adrienne Lee is a co-founder and owner of Daybreak Growers Alliance, and co-farmer and owner of New Beat Farm, a MOFGA-certified organic vegetable and cut flower farm located in Knox, Maine.

Melissa Law is vice president of Maine Flower Collective and also runs the flower program at Bumbleroot Organic Farm in Windham. The farm grows certified organic blooms for their flower CSA, farmstand and wholesale partners, with a focus on annuals, including dahlias.

Courtney Mongell operates Mare Brook Farm in Brunswick with her husband Ryan. They grow specialty cut flowers, evergreens, and certified organic edible flowers and herbs

FMI Links:
Daybreak Growers Alliance
Waldo County Bounty
Maine Flower Collective

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Producers/Hosts: Caitlyn Barker
Editor: Clare Boland

Common Ground Radio is an hour-long discussion of local food and organic agriculture with people here in the state of Maine and beyond.

This month:
The January 2023 episode of Common Ground Radio is all about maple syrup production. Host Caitlyn Barker interviewed Jason Lilley, Assistant Extension Professor, Maine Sustainable Agriculture and Maple Industry Educator. The two discussed the basics of getting a maple operation up and running, including tree identification, supplies needed, boiling and canning. Challenges facing the maple industry, including climate change and pests were also discussed.

Guest/s:
Jason Lilley, Assistant Extension Professor, Maine Sustainable Agriculture and Maple Industry Educator

FMI Links:
Forest Trees of Maine
Cooperative Extension Maple Syrup Production
Proctor Maple Research Center
Backyard Maple Production webinar: www.youtube.com/watch?v=89-tnQ7AlA8
Maine Maple Sunday

About the hosts:
Holli Cederholm has been involved in organic agriculture since 2005 when she first apprenticed on a small farm. She has worked on organic farms in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Scotland and Italy and, in 2010, founded a small farm focused on celebrating open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables. As the former manager of a national nonprofit dedicated to organic seed growers, she authored a peer-reviewed handbook on GMO avoidance strategies for seed growers. Holli has also been a steward at Forest Farm, the iconic homestead of “The Good Life” authors Helen and Scott Nearing; a host of “The Farm Report” on Heritage Radio Network; and a long-time contributor for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, which she now edits in her role as content creator and editor at MOFGA.

Caitlyn Barker has worked in education and organic agriculture on and off for the last 17 years. She has worked on an organic vegetable farm, served on the Maine Farm to School network, worked in early childhood education and taught elementary school. She currently serves as the community engagement coordinator for MOFGA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download