Digging in the Dirt - Archives

Gloria Frazee joins me as a regular monthly guest on Digging in the Dirt. Gloria is co-chair of the Social Media & Web Committee and co-leader of the ReWild/South Fork chapter and its Summer Program for high school students. She is also the founder of ReWild/East Hampton Compost…. in collaboration with the Town of East Hampton.

The latest from Gloria and Rewildlongisland.org

I want you to welcome back Gloria Frazee of ReWild Long Island. At ReWild, Gloria is co-chair of the Social Media & Web Committee and co-leader of the ReWild/South Fork chapter and now is a regular contributor to this program. Gloria will be joining me every 2nd Thursday of the month during the 12 noon hour.

My guest this episode of Digging in the Dirt is Gloria Frazee. Gloria is Secretary of the East Hampton Energy & Sustainability Committee. At ReWild, she is co-chair of the Social Media & Web Committee and co-leader of the ReWild/South Fork chapter and its Summer Program for high school students. She is also the founder of ReWild/East Hampton Compost…. in collaboration with the Town of East Hampton. You can find her talking with folks about turning food scraps into soil food at the ReWild table at Springs Farmers Market in East Hampton most Saturdays. ReWild Long Island is dedicated to collaborating with local communities across Long Island to protect and improve the biodiversity, resilience and health of regional ecosystems.

Diego Osses is an Agricultural engineer with an MBA and a Masters degree in Finance who has extensive experience in farm management, international business development, and diplomacy. He brings over 25 years of experience developed in both his home country of Chile and abroad in countries such as China and Thailand. During his first year working with GVI, Diego was responsible for coordinating the 3 main GVI programs: Reservoir Community Farm, Community Gardens, and Youth Leadership; contributing to the GVI mission of creating a more just food system in Bridgeport. Currently, Diego is actively planning the extension of GVI programs throughout 2024 and exploring innovative methods of community engagement through urban gardening and farming.

My guest on this show of “Digging in the Dirt” has been Chairman of the Westport Community Gardens for 20 years. He also has been Director of Long Lots Preserve for the last 2 years and a Sixth grade science teacher for 20 years. In the past he has run programs in New York City for recycling and alternative fuels for transit buses The first time Lou was here we discussed the existential threat to the Westport Community Garden and apparently the situation has gone from bad to worse. The garden has been targeted by the towns politicians for destruction. 

Up next on Digging in the Dirt is a local, guy Joe Gloria. Joe works for one of the gardening establishments just about everybody in the area has been to one time or another and that's Gilbertie's. They've always been at the forefront of organic from the beginning. Joe Gloria is a garden guru of plants, shrubs, and perennials alike. Joe Gloria has a passion for caring for plants and the people who love them! We going to learn about vermicompost teas.

My next guest is Alice Ely. Alice is a UConn Advanced Master Gardener & Master Composter, and the creator of multiple public and private butterfly gardens in Fairfield County. She speaks frequently on the importance of gardening for habitat, food and not least of all, joy. In addition to promoting native plants through the Pollinator Pathway, and educating on sustainable gardening at Westport’s Wakeman Town Farm, and Weston’s Town Farm, when she's not out digging in the dirt of her own garden, she coaches homeowners on how to garden sustainably, through her business, Gardenwithalice.com

My guest now is Raju Rajan. Raju describes himself as a technologist with a strong communitarian ethic. Raju is one of the founders of ReWild Long Island and currently serves as Board President. Raju is an avid gardener and amateur tree-enthusiast, he also owns and manages a small agroforest in India dedicated to rewilding and permaculture.ReWild Long Island is accepting applications from community groups to join their ReWild LI Gardens program.

My guest on DITD today is Ralph Baskin. Ralph is a Retired IT cost consultant turned photographer who moved to CT from NY over 40 years ago where he lives in, and has improved, a small 1890's Victorian farmhouse.Ralph and I have found common ground with our views on the environment and have had many conversations about solar which I have dabbled with and Ralph has had a lot of experience, having adding a solar system to his own home. Besides my intention to always feature local guests and listeners of WPKN, I thought we all could learn more about going solar by hearing about Ralph's experiences.

My guest today on Digging in the Dirt is Monique Bosch. Monique has designed and built over 40 edible school and community gardens and farms throughout New England, including a 2-acre urban farm in Bridgeport CT. She works with CT. NOFA as a Soil Health Technician as well. She has founded and run… for profit and non-profit entities, including Green Village Initiative (GVI) and Wiggle Room LLC. Monique teaches ‘How to Grow Your Own Food’ classes and speaks on healthy soil and community gardening, sharing her knowledge of regenerative agriculture practices, and community building. I invited her here today to talk about what we can do now… here in the fall, to better our soil so we can have successful results next spring and summer.

My guest on this segment of “Digging in the Dirt” is Chairman of the Westport Community Gardens for 20 years. He has been Director of Long Lots Preserve for the last 18 months. A Sixth grade science teacher for 20 years, has run programs in New York City for recycling and alternative fuels for transit buses. He is here to discuss the apparent existential threat to the Westport Community Garden.

My guest this afternoon is Save the sounds Soundkeeper Bill Lucey. Bill is a fish and wildlife biologist with more than two decades of experience studying and conserving marine life. He is also an experienced commercial fisherman and environmental educator.As your on-the-water watchdog, Bill upholds Save the Sound’s mission to protect and restore Long Island Sound. Bill is backed by Save the Sound’s expert legal team and water monitoring program to help identify polluters and hold them accountable.The Soundkeeper is your eyes and ears on Long Island Sound.Long Island sound

My guest this afternoon is Samuel Goldenberg. Samuel is a Grandfather, Gardener and most importantly for me a tomato grower.For 20 years, he has saved the seeds and grown them every year. They are very big Roma tomatoes and are tremendous. He even supplies some Italian restaurants in New Haven (Skappo, L'Orcio) with plants to grow ever season.

My guest this episode of DITD is Vice-President of Novamont N.A. Dan Martens. Not only are Dan and Novamont great friends of WPKNNovamont is a leader in the world of bioplastics and a long time supporter of WPKN radio. Novamont promotes a new model of bioeconomy in the logic of the circular economy, not only based on efficiency and sustainable use of renewable resources, but also as a factor for territorial regeneration.

My next guest Joe Magazzi small business man here in CT would be helpful to everyone looking to do the right thing by our gardens organically. Joe is a good friend of mine and WPKN. Joe owns and operates Green earth Ag and turf up in Branford Ct. and he’s on line at Grow it naturally. Com. Where his company sells Proven & Easy Organic Products for Plants, Turf & Trees. I personally rely on Green earth to get quality products for my own garden.

My guests on DITD today are Robert Peck and students Kimberly and DJ. Robert manages Green Village Initiatives Youth Leadership Program, which has a summer employment program in which they employ Bridgeport High School students to work and learn about how to operate an urban farm. Participants spend 8 weeks through the summer at Reservoir Community Farm learning in workshops and thru hands-on experience on the farm. , Kimberly, and Dejhanae are 2 students who are in the program under Robert.Green Village Initiative’s mission is to grow food, knowledge, leadership and community, through urban gardening and farming, and to create a more just food system.

My guest this afternoon is Mark Ridsdill Smith who wrote The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening on Chelsea Green Press. Mark has a website and Facebook page that inspires and supports people to grow food in small urban spaces. He has appear on many television shows and written for the Guardian’s Live better campaign. I'm pleased to have him here today to help us grow more food ourselves even in the tiny cramped spaces of the city.

My guest on this show is Linley Dixon back to DITD. Linley serves as a Farmer representative and Co-Director of the Real Organic Project. Linley owns a vegetable farm (marketing through a CSA, farm to school, and at farmers markets) in Durango, Colorado, with her husband and daughter. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida.

MY Guest this afternoon on DITD is Mark Haubner.  Mark is currently president of the North Fork Environmental Council.With a few other thoughtful people he has started a Food Waste to Compost and a Zero Waste Initiative for the eastern communities of Long Island and that's why I asked him to be here today. The Food waste to compost pilot program has been deemed a success in 2022 and now there is a community effort to expand the project with the goal of turning 100% of the table scraps on the East end of Long Island into compost.Mark also serves as co-chairperson of the Riverhead Town Environmental Advisory Committee And he is on the Steering Committee of Drawdown East End. Mark has been environmentally conscious his whole life and over the last 15 years has been immersed in implementing sets of solutions to our problem of Planetary Overheating.

My guest today is Tianna Kennedy. She has been farming in the Northern Catskills for over a decade. She is the executive director of Catskills Agrarian Alliance, a multi-stakeholder food sovereignty project working on many food related issues in the NY Catskills foodshed. Tianna, Amanda Wong and Walter Riesen also own and operate Star Route Farm, LLC, a diversified vegetable and small grain farm growing exclusively for mutual aid. The CAA evolved from The 607 CSA, an 800+ person multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture Project supporting 45 farms and food businesses in Otsego, Schoharie, and Delaware counties. Tianna is a member of the Watershed Ag Economic Viability Committee and is Treasurer for Draft Animal Power Network. In 2022, she was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition by Rep. Antonio Delgado. She started the Catskills Chapter of the National Young Farmers’ Coalition. She is also a founding member of Delhi’s Bushel Collective and the Schooner Apollonia, a Hudson Valley Sail Freight venture.

My guests on “Digging in the Dirt" Monday afternoon are two committed environmentalists, renowned American landscape Artist April Gornik and McArthur fellow Carl Safina. Their respective organizations, The Church and the Safina Center are doing wonderful work in their own creative ways. They are coming aboard to talk about the April 1st 2024 Creativity Conference to be held at the Church. which is located in Sag Harbor long Island.

My guest today is a highly successful insurance agent Maureen Gallagher. I wanted to get Maureen's perspective on the the rise in Extreme weather events and the effects they have on the Insurance industry covering the losses incurred.Maureen Gallagher is the Risk Management Group Agency President. Gallagher specializes in insurance placement, risk management consulting and expert opinions. She began her career almost 50 years ago and has held the titles of insurance underwriter, broker, claims consultant, expert witness, keynote speaker, historian, and teacher. She has been featured and profiled in numerous publications and was named by Crain’s Detroit Business as one of the “Best and Brightest” and as one of “Detroit’s Most Influential Women.” Risk and Insurance recognized Gallagher as a Workers Compensation and 2020 At Large “Power Broker” which identifies the best brokers in the country.Extreme weatherHurricane insurance coverageFlood coverageInsurance costsShow more

My guest today is a young woman who is very concerned about climate change and the water crisis in the west, in particular and elsewhere generally and it appears so are many others, because she has over 45,000 Followers. Teal Lehto who posts TikToks about serious stuff, in a surprisingly hip and engaging manner in rapid fire delivery to get all the facts in … in just minutes . Using humor and a bit of salty language to reach her young viewers.

My guest here today on DITD is Vincent Kay a lifelong resident of Connecticut. Vincent happens to be one of Connecticut's top garlic growers. So I contacted him to buy seed and come to find out he worked for Pacifica Network News as well as NPR and as News Director at WPKN radio in Bridgeport From 1996-98.Now after 38 years he operates the State's largest commercial beekeeping business and is the sole proprietor of Swords into Plowshares Honey, producing Connecticut's finest wildflower honey, and providing crop and orchard pollination services and in addition to all this grows a whole lot of garlic.

My guests on this segment are Thomas Iezin Marketing Communications, and Assistant Operations Manager of the Park City Compost Initiative And Andrew Tyrrell, the Operations Manager for Park City Compost Initiative where they want to create a non-profit commercial composting site for Bridgeport and the surrounding cities and towns. Andrew Is a Master's Composter.Park City Compost started composting their neighbor's food scraps in 2019 and it now has over 100 participants from which they collect weekly food scraps, create compost with it and give it back to the community. They have diverted more than 30,000 pounds of food waste and spread 15 cubic yards of compost throughout Bridgeport.

Woody Tasch is the author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered Chelsea Green PressSOIL: Notes Towards the Theory and Practice of Nurture Capital, andAHA!: Fake Trillions, Real Billions, Beetcoin and the Great American Do-Over (Slow Money Institute). Tasch is former chairman of Investors’ Circle, a nonprofit angel network that has facilitated more than $200 million of investments in over 300 early-stage, sustainability-promoting companies. He is the founder of Slow Money and most recently Beetcoin.

Daphne Dixon is Co-founder and Executive Director at Live Green Network in Ct. Daphne along with Alyssa Murphy went on a coast to coast EV road trip, going from one United States coast to anotherin a Ford Mustang Mach-E all-wheel drive EV. In the middle of this trip Daphne came on Digging in the Dirt to fill us in on what was going on and now she is back to give her final report and assessment of what happened on this unique trip and talk about the future of electric vehicles.

I’m pleased to welcome back to “Digging in the Dirt… Gardener, author, educator, podcaster blogger and frequent collaborator with Joe Lamp’l of the Joe Gardener TV show… Craig LeHoullier.In addition Craig wrote one of the great books on tomatoes, It's called Epic Tomatoes. Beautiful to look at and a very good resource for all of us tomato geeks.

My guest today is Nick Skeadas a Connecticut man who has a business that makes him a living and helps the planet at the same time. Nick manages Curbside Compost, a resource recovery company in Southern Ct. Nick and his wife Erica are raising their two children in Ridgefield, where the family practices thoughtful living. Nick is here because I personally believe that we are not going to get out of many of the environmental problems we face without the help of business.

A continuing conversation with the Vice-President of Novamont N.A.NOVAMONT is a leader in the world of bioplastics. It promotes a new model of bioeconomy in the logic of the circular economy, not only based on efficiency and sustainable use of renewable resources, but also as a factor for territorial regeneration.

My guest on this episode of Digging in the Dirt is President & CEO of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and Co-founder of the Half-Earth Project, Paula J. Ehrlich. The Half-Earth Project's purpose is to inspire informed collective action to save the biosphere.

I have been interested in Black Garlic ever since two fans of DITD Anne and Jim suggested I check out Black Garlic and do a show about it .Then my friend and colleague, the sorely missed Guy Beardsley, gave me two heads of Black garlic when I bought seed garlic from him for my garden a while back and I've been hooked ever since. Now I have finally found someone to talk to about Black Garlic with me. That's why these self described food lovers and Black Garlic makers Kayla Burton and Greg Lesson are here today.

My guests today are Hector Gerado and Liz Guerra owners of SeaMARRON Farmstead near Danbury CT. They have been community and union organizers and They are BIPOC NYers from the Bronx turned #homesteaders #hempfarmers #beekeepers 🐝|| Hosts of the @bluedreamradio_ podcast Liz is also a Full spectrum doula/birth worker

My guest today on Digging in the DIrt is the founder and Executive Director of the Bionutrient Food Association Dan Kittridge. Dan has been here many times before . He is a good friend of WPKN and Digging in the Dirt. We talk Bio-nutrious food and the Bionutrient Meter.

My guest today is Zach Loeks author, educator, designer and grower who specializes in edible ecosystems around the world. He is also the director of the ecosystem solution institute and author of the book “The Permaculture Market Garden” and he's here to talk to me about his new book “THE EDIBLE ECOSYSTEM SOLUTION".. Growing Biodiversity in your backyard and beyond.

My guest on this "Digging in the Dirt" is Vicki Hird. Vicki is Head of the Sustainable Farming Campaign for Sustain: The Alliance for Better Food and Farming and she also runs an independent consultancy in the UK. An experienced and award-winning environmental campaigner, researcher, writer and strategist working for the past 30 years mainly in the food, farming and environmental policy arena. She is here today to talk about her latest book - Rebugging  the Planet - The Remarkable Things that Insects(and Other Invertebrates) Do – and Why we need to love them more. Chelsea Green Publishing

My guest on this episode of DITD is Sefra Alexandra. Her web site describes her as a "The Seed Huntress," …....an endurance race ethnobotanist on a perennial expedition to save the seeds of our wild + cultivated lands. She has fortified community seed banks internationally, hunted for rare endangered seeds for Seeds of Success. She was taking the lead of CT NOFA's pollinator health initiative, The Ecotype Project. She is here today to talk about that project as well as the eco59 project.

My guest on this program is Dave Carr Lead organizer for Pollinator Pathways West Haven. The goal of this group is to install native perennial plants while building community and educating people about the importance of pollinators to support insects that also feed migrating birds. The project started in 2019. Dave founded Earth lobbyist.com in 2018. Earth lobbyists is a nonpartisan educational resource containing original writing, original photographs and a virtual Art Gallery which was recently part of the New Haven Open Studios. The goal of Earth lobbyist.com is to engage climate change deniers where they live.

My guest on this program is my friend John Conroy, whom I went to H.S. with. He was telling me about his new interest as a Docent for Elepahant seals in the San Louis Obispo California area. Some of the males can be as large as 5000 lbs. I thought it would be interesting to hear all about his experiences on "Digging in the Dirt".John has had a life long interest in nature, the wild and wildlife. He got involved with the Elephant Seal rookery when he saw an article in the paper about it and the people that volunteer there.

My gueston this "Digging inthe Dirt" is regenerative Farmer, author and host of the popular "No till Market Garden podcast'" Jesse Frost. Jesse farms at a farm in Kentucky with his wife Hannah Crabtree called Rough Draft Farmstead. He is here on "Digging in the Dirt" to talk with me about his new book. The Living Soil Handbook - The no till growers guide to ecological market growing.

My guest here on DITD is Jessica Damiano AP gardening columnist, Journalist, Garden Coach, Community Educator and Author. Her news letter is called The Weekly Dirt. Jessica's Gardening Calendar was named a winner in the 2021 Garden Communicators International Media Awards. The calendar can be Considered she says 365 visits from a gardening friend who stops by every day of the year with tips, advice, inspiration and timely reminders about what needs to be done in the garden and when.

Join Kevin this time, as he speaks with Adam Sacks, Executive Director of BIODIVERSITY FOR A LIVABLE CLIMATE, who's mission is Restoring Ecosystems to Reverse Global Warming. The concept is fascinatingly simple. Cure what ails the climate of the planet working with the natural systems of our planet.

My guest today on DITD is Arthur Davis a Director, researcher and Portable Toilet coordinator at the Rich Earth Institute in Brattleboro Vermont. The Rich Earth Institute engages in research, education and technological innovation to advance the use of human waste as a resource. Arthur directs Rich Earth Institute's Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program, which is a community-scale urine recycling program. In this role, Arthur helps get urine from the point of collection, through the treatment process, and finally to farms to use as fertilizer.

My guest on this Digging in the Dirt is Jon Stokes, was an editor and writer for a web site called ThePrepared.com. He is here with me today because I have a confession to make, I'm kind of a prepper. After Sandy and other storms, I have started gathering supplies in preparation for events that may be out of my control. So I looked around the internet for some good advice. I found Theprepard.com and found out I'm basically a half assed prepper. Here is what I learned.

My next guest here on "Digging in the Dirt" Is Louise Washer she is president of the Norwalk River Watershed Association, serves on the Norwalk Mayor’s Water Quality Committee and the steering committee for the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H). She also serves on the steering committee of the Pollinator Pathway Northeast project, which she helped found in 2017 and has helped expand to over 100 towns in CT, NY, and PA. The situation with our pollinators is one of the most import environmental issues of our time. It's something each and everyone of us could have a great impact on.

My guest today on Digging in the Dirt is Linley Dixon.Linley is the Associate Director of the Real Organic Project, a non-profit farmer-led organization to protect the integrity of USDA Organic. She is here to talk about the January 2021 Real Organic Project Virtual Symposium coming up next year. Linley co-owns a 5-acre certified organic vegetable farm in Durango, CO with her husband and brother called Adobe House Farm.

John D. Liu, Ecosystem restoration researcher, educator and filmmaker, has dedicated his life to sharing real-world examples of once-degraded landscapes newly restored to their original fertile and biodiverse beauty. He represents Ecosystem Restoration Camps, a grassroots movement where everyday people like you can have a real impact, directly.Their big goal is to have one million people come together by 2030 and restore degraded lands in 100 camps around the world.

My guest this week on "Digging in the Dirt" is Frank Mortimer “The Beeman”. Frank has written a new book entitled “BEE PEOPLE and the bugs they love” on Citadel Press. A very personal book about his life long passion and the people who keep bees. If you ever thought about keeping bees you may want to listen to this Digging in the Dirtfrankthebeeman.com/

The Regenerative Grower's Guide to Garden AmendmentsUsing locally Sourced Materials to make mineral and Biological Extracts and ferments.Nigel Palmer has been a lifelong gardener in New England relying on the amazing complexity of nature to inspire his gardening philosophy, as well as working as an aerospace engineer until recently... sorting, organizing, and resolving complex technical issues. He is the instructor and curriculum developer of the Sustainable, Regenerative Gardening program at The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition