On Thursday, May 30, the Catskills Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) group will meet with the participants of the EcoPracticum Program at 7 p.m. at Channery Hill Farm in Callicoon Center, NY. Catskills CRAFT is an educational networking group for beginning and mentoring farmers. Gardeners, farm interns, employees and operators are also welcome to attend the event.
EcoPracticum is a summer environmental education and action program that attracts enthusiastic, passionate and intelligent college-aged students to the Catskills to farm, meet with environmental experts in the field, and engage critically with the region's most pressing issues. Channery Hill is a small family-owned farm that grows vegetables and raises livestock. Owners Jen McGlashan and Kai Brothers also operate a CSA and sell at local farmers' markets.
The group will share a potluck meal to eat, socialize and take part in an informal conversation about the regional food system, as well as the challenges and opportunities that Catskills farmers face.
For more details on Catskills CRAFT and the monthly farm visits planned throughout 2013, visit www.catskillscraft.org. Contact Eleanor Blakeslee-Drain at info@catskillscraft.org or (607) 267-0184 for more information about this event, including transportation.
The CRAFT group returns to Channery Hill Farm on June 11 for a discussion on preserving foods and making value-added products such as pestos, spreads and dressings. A farm tour and potluck follow the discussion. A full schedule and host farm background can be found at www.CatskillsCRAFT.org.
Catskills CRAFT is made possible with leadership support from Catskills region beginning farmers, financial support from Farmhearts, and administrative support from the Watershed Agricultural Council.
The purpose of the Watershed Agricultural Council is to protect both the rural, land-based economy of the watershed region and its drinking water quality for over nine million people. Working with farmers, agribusinesses, forest landowners, forest industry professionals and others, the Council seeks to enhance both business profitability and environmental stewardship. It also champions the use of conservation easements as an option to keep land within a working landscape context. The Council works through partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, government agencies and community stakeholders to achieve its purpose. For more information, visit www.nycwatershed.org.
IMAGES:
PHOTO CREDIT: www.channeryhillfarm.blogspot.
CAPTION: Channery Hill Farm hosts the May 30 Catskills CRAFT farm tour, potluck and food systems discussion.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-
PHOTO CREDIT: www.catskillscraft.org
CAPTION: Catskills CRAFT group learns about organic food production at a visit to Willow Wisp Organic Farm in June 2011.
http://www.nycwatershed.org/
