Four Farmers and a Beekeeper...

Eight years ago, I attended the first DSW because my friend Castle said I should, and I always follow her suggestions! After 7 years as an attendee, I decided to pitch a panel and participate as a presenter. The pressure’s on!

When I was a kid growing up in Littleton, my mother would make a weekly trip to a farm near Santa Fe Drive and Bowles to buy fresh produce. The memory of buying produce from that farmer has stuck with me my whole life. I think it is important to have a connection with your food, whether you grow it in your own garden or establishing realtionships with the people who grow it for you.

Three years ago, I made a career change from film to micro-farming. I was inspired by many things to make this change, most of all by a desire to get to know my neighbors by selling the produce I was learning to grow. I set the wheels in motion and am now finishing up year two of my neighborhood farm stand. Up to this point, I have gotten a positive response from neighbors and friends and neighbors are meeting neighbors, that is the best part.

Last year I joined the local chapter of Mile High Farmers and met the hardest working, most inspiring people I have ever come across. They are driven to provide our community with a good, healthy, sustainable food source. They come from a variety of backgrounds, upbringings, education and life experiences and they work hard, hard, hard! They are resourceful and tenacious. They are farming on traditional farms, reclaiming abandoned lots, utilizing public property, school property, warehouses, rooftops, backyards, front yards and shipping containers. They are also active in establishing farm, food and land access policies that support local food and sustainable local agriculture. They do many jobs!

I think the DSW audience is an amazing group of people. You are excited to learn. You embrace and celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of the doers in our community. I pitched this panel because I think the producers you will meet at the panel on, Redesigning Agriculture, are people you will be excited to hear from. By meeting these farmers and producers, you will learn how easy it is to access locally grown food and support your local farmers. You will learn about sustainability and the importance of preserving the open spaces we have left in Denver and the surrounding suburbs. Most importantly, you will learn that our food source is dependent on a healthy bee population and that our bee population is in crisis. Lastly, I hope you will be inspired to seek out local food sources, speak up about land access issues in your community and learn more about what you can do to help save our bees.