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Cultivating the Organic Grassroots Movement at NOFA Summer Conference
Join people from across the Northeast and beyond for a three-day celebration of the grassroots organic movement on
August 12-14, in Amherst, MA. At NOFA's Summer Conference
learning is a community action--with amazing farmers, presenters, seminars, workshops, food and fun. Immerse yourself with like-minded practitioners and curious learners eager to share their inspiration and ideas for organic food, farming, health, activism, and beyond.
Early bird registration discount (20%) ends July 15!
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Organic Landscaping Course
Landscaping professionals transitioning to organic practices, and those already using chemical-free options who want to learn more, are invited to attend a 30-hour professional training course at the
University of Southern Maine, Portland on August 15-16 & 22-23, 2016, and sit for the accreditation exam. The NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association)
Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care has been the definitive professional training course for landscapers, lawn care specialists, municipal groundskeepers, landscape architects and environmental educators to learn and adopt best practices for caring for the land without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Attendees who pass the accreditation exam become Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCPs), joining over 500 NOFA AOLCPs in 20 states.
Early bird registration of $695 until June 30; register at: organiclandcare.net.
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NOFA-NH Member Farms to be Highlighted During NH Eat Local Month
August is NH Eat Local Month. NOFA-NH is one of the partner organizations collaborating with the NH Farms Network and the NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food to help spread the word about the wonderful farms producing local foods in NH.
We plan to highlight our member farms and their products in our special social media posts throughout August. Want to participate in this free promotional opportunity?
Send us a brief description of your farm, a listing of your organic products, and any up-coming fun activities along with your contact info and a great photo! Questions? Contact the NOFA-NH office (Mon/Wed/Fri, 9am-2pm) at (603) 224-5022 or
info@nofanh.org.
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Thank You to Everyone who Helped Make NH Gives a Success!
With generous donations from 24 supporters and a matching grant, NOFA-NH was able to raise $2,440 in the NH Give campaign. T
hrough donor support of our educational events and advocacy initiatives, we can continue to help grow and strengthen a vibrant community of organic farmers, gardeners, and food lovers in our state.
Together, we can create landscapes that restore our environment and feed our communities. Thank you for being part of this important work!
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Thank you to our sponsors for joining our members in helping us to build a strong organic community in New Hampshire!
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Why Organic? Amy's Answer
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NOFA-NH Board President Amy Manzelli and her family
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Amy Manzelli chooses organic for her family because she wants them to grow on clean food. In addition to being president of NOFA-NH's board of directors, Amy is also an environmental attorney, and as such Amy knows about the presence of pesticides and other synthetic compounds on conventionally-grown foods, and the risks that come with combining those throughout our diet. So, for her family of four, it's organic. "Besides, fresh, local, and organic seems to taste so much better!" Amy affirmed.
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NH Senator Dan Feltes with NOFA-NH Board Member Joan O'Connor
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Beer & Wine Tasting Legal for Farmers Markets in NH
Beginning in August, beer and wine vendors at NH farmers markets will be able to provide tastes of their wares to customers, thanks to a bill brought forward as a collaboration with NOFA-NH board member and long-time farmers' market organizer Joan O'Connor from Henniker, with her State Representative, Barbara French, and State Senator Dan Feltes. Senate Bill 306 was signed into law June 3 by Governor Maggie Hassan.
NH joins several other states in the country in allowing beer and wine sampling at farmers markets, offering market outreach to a growing sector of local wineries, small microbreweries and meaderies.
For more information on the sampling bill, contact Joan O'Connor, by phone at (603)
496-1718
or by email at
joconnornh@yahoo.com
.
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New Online Organizing Tool for NH Gleans
NH Gleans, a state-wide network of organizations that collect un-marketed local farm produce for the charitable food system, is launching its' fourth season with a new online organizing tool
named "Gleanweb." The new tool is a one-stop online resource for volunteers, food producers, and gardeners to connect with opportunities to rescue fresh produce that could go to waste and ensure that it reaches community members who face food insecurity.
NHGleans.org is now open and ready to inform visitors about gleaning in NH, connect them with volunteer opportunities, and help them donate their excess fresh produce. For more information about the program, please contact Sarah Harpster at tckgleaner@gmail.com or Stacey Purslow at stacey.purslow@unh.edu.
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SoloarFest 2016 Set to Rock Vermont
For over 20 years, SolarFest has been the Northeast's premier energy and music festival, blending art, education, and community outreach to inspire the conservation of Earth's limited resources, to promote renewable energy, and to support the creation of sustainable communities.
On July 15 & 16, SolarFest will offer more than 20 world-class musical performers, featuring Dar Williams, Donna the Buffalo, and Marcia Ball; as well as over 50 workshops in the areas of Renewable Energy & Conservation, Green Buildings, Sustainable Living & Food, Music & Arts, and Advanced Technology & Policy. For time and place info, see
event listing.
For full event info, visit:
www.solarfest.org.
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The USDA Needs the Help of Farmers to Save the Noble Monarch Butterfly
There are a number of efforts underway to try to reverse the drop in monarch numbers, including the USDA asking farmers to volunteer portions of their land to establish milkweed habitat. But the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which brings a market-driven approach to environmental issues, is introducing another way, called a habitat exchange. It's sort of a stock exchange-or maybe more accurately a
carbon market-
where landowners, farmers, and ranchers, get paid for restoring or improving monarch habitat either by entities like corporations or government agencies that need to mitigate their impact to wildlife, or by organizations and individuals who are interested in protecting monarch habitat. Read full article . . .
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NH Beekeeper's Association Annual Summer Day of Sharing
Saturday,
June 25, from 10am to 3pm
Musterfield Farms, North Sutton
There will be a Smoker Contest! Light your smoker and keep it going to win!
Les Crowder is our guest speaker and will be giving two talks.
There will be a roundtable discussion with experienced beekeepers as well as
a talk on Honey Labeling Requirements. Visit the Winnipesaukee Beekeepers Association's events page on Facebook for more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/256987944667643/
Fifth Annual Farm-A-Q
Sunday, June 26, from 12pm to 4pm
Heron Pond Farm, South Hampton
A joint effort of Slow Food Seacoast and the Heirloom Harvest Project, Farm-a-Q is a picnic-style event with a bounty of heirloom and heritage foods grown on local farms and prepared by some of the area's best restaurants.
Enjoy workshops, live music from
Fox & Fern
and
OldHat
, with activities all afternoon. For more information, visit:
http://slowfoodseacoast.com/event/farm-que-2016/?instance_id=77
NH Audubon's Pollinator Party
Sunday, June 26, from 1pm to 4:30pm
NH Audubon Center, Concord
Celebrate Pollinator Week with workshops and hands-on explorations with experts. Check out the informational displays, crafts and demos, plant sale, and insect hunt for the kids. Free event for the whole family! For more info, call (603) 224-9909 or visit:
www.nhaudubon.org
June 27 through July 1
UNH Thompson School, Durham
Do you think plants are: fascinating, important, yummy, fun, significant, interesting and gross? Are you aged 8-12? Would you like to: learn how to grow plants in a greenhouse and outdoors? Have exciting outdoor plant adventures? Touch, eat and care for our fine green friends? For more details, view flyer.
Vegetable Reduced Tillage and Cover Crops Twilight Meeting
Wednesday, June 29, from 5pm to 7pm
Lavoie's Farm, Hollis
Purpose of Twilight Meeting is to review the production and soil tillage options and strategies basics to plan for future growing seasons and to give vegetable growers a chance to tour other farms to review their crop production management practices and strategies and be able to ask other local farmers crop production, reduced and no-till, cover crops and pest management questions. For full details, visit:
http://extension.unh.edu/events/index.cfm?e=app.event&event_id=41061
Farm Feast Breakfast & Open House
Sunday, July 3, from 10am to 1pm
D Acres, Dorchester
The first Sunday of each month, D Acres hosts an All-You-Should-Eat breakfast featuring pancakes made with local flour, NH maple syrup (in season), local free-range eggs, D Acres meat, potatoes, and greens, and fair-trade coffee from Cafe Monte Alto. $5-15 sliding scale suggested donation. Work off your indulgence with a tour of the working, organic farm at 1pm. *For the safety and preservation of farm and wilderness flora and fauna, please do not bring your pets.* For more info, contact: jen@nhfarms.net
UNH Bee BioBlitz
July 8-11
Mount Monadnock region
The 2016 New England Bee BioBlitz, organized by the University of New Hampshire, is open to the public.
The goals of the Bee BioBlitz are to document the diversity of bee species in the state, with a particular focus on native bees; connect bee researchers across New England; and demonstrate bee surveys and research techniques to interested members of the public and students.
For information, visit
http://www.unhbeelab.com/bioblitz.html
. Those interested in attending or needing additional information should contact
Sandra Rehan
at
sandra.rehan@unh.edu
.
Attracting Bees and Butterflies to Your Garden
Monday, July 11, from 6:30pm to 8pm
Boscawen Municipal Complex, Boscawen
Making your garden appealing to bees and butterflies is good for your plants and will delight the gardeners! We'll discuss what's harming the pollinators and what we can do to help them. You'll learn what plants attract bees and receive a list of host plants for a variety of butterflies in our region. We'll also cover what you can do to protect their habitat once they arrive. For more details,
view flyer
Preserving Your Harvest: The Basics of Preserving Food Safely
Thursday, July 14, from 6pm to 8pm
Daland Memorial Library, Mont Vernon
This workshop will cover the latest research-based methods and recipes, answer questions, and share experiences about these topics:
an overview of preserving food safely at home;
jams and jellies;
pickling;
canning fruits and vegetables;
freezing and drying food.
Pre-registration is required and space is limited. To register, e-mail
dalandlibrary@comcast.net
or call 673-7888. For more details, view flyer
SolarFest Sunrise Celebration
Friday, July 15, from 2pm to 11pm
Saturday, July 16, from 9am to 11pm
Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT
SolarFest will be rocking Manchester, VT, with top musical performers and thought leaders promoting artistic excellence and community-building while providing information on renewable energy and sustainable living.The event will feature more than 20 musical performers--including Dar Williams, Donna the Buffalo, and Marcia Ball--and more than 50 expert-led workshops. Ticket prices range from $20 to $60; camping available. For more info, visit:
www.solarfest.org.
What's happening in neighboring states?
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NOFA-NH
Office Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 9am-2pm
Phone: (603) 224-5022
Email: info@nofanh.org
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