June 2023 Spam From Pam
Spam From Pam
Great Plains Society of American Foresters Newsletter
June 2023
What is Spam from Pam? It is an email update to inform GPSAF Members and Friends about activities, events, meetings, and odds and ends happening in and around Kansas and Nebraska regarding forestry or conservation. If you know of any event coming up, contact Pam at pbergstrom2@unl.edu.
I will also try to include short news releases to talk about what projects are going on amongst our members and our agencies. If you have an article you want to see published email them to me (Pam)!
Also, for those aspiring photographers, send in your pictures and I will put them in the publication. Share your talent with your fellow foresters.
Community Food Forests
Pam Bergstrom
What does Osmond, Haskell Ag Lab by Concord, South Sioux City, and Wayne all have in common? Other than being in northeast Nebraska, all these places have Community Fruit Orchards. Across the country, Community Fruit Orchards are being established by communities, religious organizations, and non-profits to educate the public on where food comes from, to act as a demonstration site of how to implement your own fruit orchard, and to be a food source for people in-need.
A new term has come about and instead of calling them “Community Fruit Orchards”, the term “Community Food Forests” has emerged to describe a place where edible fruits, berries, and nuts are being planted and people are allowed to grow and harvest the edible materials for themselves and others. Though the number one reason for these Community Food Forests is to provide a source of edible products for the community; they also act as a teaching tool to showcase how to grow your own edible landscape trees and shrubs in your own home.
Call these Community Food Forests an outdoor classroom for all who come to visit. When given the chance, these areas can host open houses to showcase what will grow in an area, how to properly plant the material, how to prune and care for the trees and shrubs, and of course how to harvest the products.
Many of these Community Food Forests started out with apples, pears, and maybe some plums in the mix. Now, they have expanded to include more edible shrubs like elderberry, chokeberry, and serviceberry. They have also come to include nut producing trees and shrubs like walnuts, northern pecans, and hazelnuts. Some sites will even try new varieties and cultivars to see if they will survive and thrive in the environment so Community Food Forest can help with research as well.
Community Food Forests can be found in cities and rural communities across the country and the world. As Community Gardens become more popular, Community Food Forests are as well and are being incorporated with Community Gardens. In some metropolitan areas, when new neighborhoods or housing developments are being designed, green spaces are also taking root and many of these green spaces will house trees and shrubs that will produce a fruit or nut that is edible for humans and wildlife alike. These green spaces can also have areas where garden beds can be installed, or the community utilizes trees that have been cut down and mill them into lumber for students or volunteers to build raised garden beds for those residents who can’t bend or get on the ground to garden.
Community Food Forests, in my opinion, are not just a fad, but a practice that is here to stay. There is so much potential for Community Food Forests to have a positive impact on the community where they are established and become a focal point in any neighborhood.
In the meantime, go out and visit Osmond, Haskell Ag Lab by Concord, South Sioux City, and Wayne to see what their Community Fruit Orchard or I should say Community Food Forest looks like. You may be surprised at what you find growing in Nebraska.
Forest Farming Webinar through Penn State.
https://extension.psu.edu/forest-farming-series-announcement
2022 Fall – Winter Fire Science Webinar Series
If you miss these webinars, you can catch up on the tapings at https://oakfirescience.com/videos_categories/webinars/
Events Calendar
June 2023:
June 6 – D-Day Remembrance
June 7 – 9 – Workshop on Wildland/Prescribed Fire Extension and Outreach. Raleigh, North Carolina. https://southernfireexchange.org/calendar/workshop-on-wildland-prescribed-fire-extension-and-outreach/
June 9 – Donald Duck Day
June 12 – National Superman Day
June 14 – Flag Day
June 15 – 16: The 2023 Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop & Orchard Tour. https://www.riverhillsharvest.com/2022-elderberry-workshop-orchard-tour
June 18 – Father’s Day
June 19 – Juneteenth Day
June 20 – Ugly Dog Appreciation Day
June 21 – Summer Solstice
June 22 – Penn State Forest Farming Seminar: Ghost-Pipe. https://extension.psu.edu/forest-farming-series-ghost-pipe-indian-pipe
June 29 – Fisherman Appreciation Day
June 30 – Drive your Corvette to Work Day
July 2023:
July 1 – Visit the Zoo Day
July 4 – Independence Day
July 7 – National Father Daughter Take a Walk Together Day
July 11 – 13 – Southwest Agroforestry Action Network Annual Meeting. Littleton, CO. https://aztrees.org/event-5115830
July 12 – Humble Hands Agroforestry Field Day. Decorah, IA. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/humble-hands-agroforestry-field-day-tickets-611282972827
July 14 – Mac and Cheese Day
July 15 – Phoenix Farm Cash Flowing Agroforestry. Iowa City, IA. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-farm-agroforestry-field-day-tickets-611276102277
July 19 – American Football Appreciation Day
July 20 – National Pickup Truck Day
July 23 – 26 – National Nut Growers, Walnut Council, and Chestnut Growers of America Joint Meetings. Columbia, Missouri. http://www.chestnutgrowers.org/ or https://nutgrowing.org/annual-conference-2023/
July 25 – 27 – 2023 Interior Highlands Shortleaf Pine Initiative Summit. West Plains, Missouri. For more information, contact Jeff Powelson at JPowelson@abcbirds.org
July 25 – 28 – Pine Forest Management and Windbreak Training. Chadron, Nebraska.
August 2023:
August 1 – 3 – Northern Hardwood Conference. Canada. https://www.cif-ifc.org/events/2023nhc/
August 4 – International Beer Day
August 10 – Spoil Your Dog Day
August 13 – National Left Handers Appreciation Day
August 16 – National Tell a Joke Day
August 16 – Midwest Organic Center Field Day. Marion, IA. https://rodaleinstitute.org/midwest-organic-center-field-day/?utm_source=Rodale+Institute&utm_campaign=3a5e3b4dfb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_05_15_01_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3a5e3b4dfb-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
August 22 – National Never Been Better Day
August 26 – National Dog Appreciation Day
August 29 – 31 – 2023 Northeast – Midwest Regional Prescribed Fire Workshop. Madison, Wisconsin. https://www.northeasternwildfire.net/resilient-landscapes/2023-ne-mw-regional-prescribed-fire-workshop/
August 31 – National Eat Outside Day
August 31 – Penn State Forest Farming Series: American Ginseng. https://extension.psu.edu/forest-farming-series-american-ginseng
September 2023:
September 2 – International Bacon Day
September 2 – International Beard Day
September 10 – Grandparents Day
September 11 – Patriot Day
September 16 – National Batman Day
September 18 – National Cheeseburger Day
September 23 – First Day of Autumn/Fall
September 26 – Lumberjack Day/Johnny Appleseed Day
Save the Dates!
October 25 – 28 – SAF National Convention. Sacramento, California. https://eforester.org/Safconvention2023/Default.aspx
October 26 – Penn State Forest Farming Series: Goldenseal. https://extension.psu.edu/forest-farming-series-goldenseal
October 30 – November 10 – Southern Blue Ridge TREX. https://www.sbrtrex.com/
November 6 – 10 – National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop. Santa Fe, NM. https://southernfireexchange.org/calendar/6th-national-cohesive-wildland-fire-management-strategy-workshop/
December 4 – 8 – The 10th International Fire and Ecology Management Congress. Monterey, California. https://fireecology.org/calendar-entries/firecongress23
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