Centennial Symposium: Food for Thought

 It’s one thing to shop at a local farmers’ market or join a local CSA, but if we want to make “local and organic” a sustainable movement, we need to educate our youth on why this is important.  In order for this to be done effectively, we all need to be on the same page.  The Ethel Walker School, in Simsbury, CT, will be hosting Food for Thought: Food System Literacy in Classrooms, Cafeterias and Communities on Thursday, June 16^th and Friday, June 17^th, 2011.

The symposium will gather teachers, students, food service directors, sustainability coordinators, farmers and community organizers, and will feature three keynote speakers:

• Frances Beinecke – President, National Resource Defense Council (and graduate of the Ethel Walker School!)
• Bill McKibben – Author, Educator and Environmentalist
• John Turenne – President and Founder, Sustainable Food Systems

The tentative schedule will feature talks with these keynote speakers, workshop sessions, a marketplace, meals featuring local foods, a field trip to the Community Farm of Simsbury or Billings Forge, and music from farmers/musicians at the Sylvester Manor, who incorporate work songs and participatory dance to be incorporated into classrooms.   More information on the symposium can be found at http://www.ethelwalker.org/foodforthought

Workshop session titles include:

Agriculture and The Environment: Understanding the Impact of Choice

Creating a Sustainable Narrative in Your Community: Moving Beyond the Basics

Sustainable Eating and Environmental Dining

Ecologia – How an Urban Farm is Used to Teach Science and Spanish in a Single Interdisciplinary Course

Facilitating Conversations about Social Justice through Food

Farm to School – Sowing Seeds for Future Farms! How Connecting with Schools Strengthens Ties Between Farms and Communities

From Farm to School Cafeteria: The Food, The Bad and the Ugly

Why Don’t We All Eat Local Meat?

Youth Farmstands: Their Place in the Community Food System

Veggiecation: Successfully Linking Classroom Lessons to Mealtime Experiences

The Transcendentalist Challenge: Learning by Doing, Or, Get Away from the Screen and Onto the Farm!

The Many Faces of a Community Farm

Projects with Teeth: Students Learn from Architects, Engineers, Business Managers, Marketing Directors, and Food Service Professionals to Make Sustainable Change

Meatless Monday Campaign

Getting There from Here

For a full list of descriptions and speakers, visit http://www.ethelwalker.org/podium/default.aspx?t=126506

Please share this flyer with anyone you think might be interested!! http://www.ethelwalker.org/ftpimages/269/download/FFTflyer%20Mar%2022.pdf