Gardenfest 2011 "Ready, Set, Grow"

Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where?

McHenry County College

Keynote Address by Terra Brockman plus choose from over 30 other breakout sessions to fill your day with education, information and new ideas. Both beginner and experienced gardeners will enjoy Gardenfest 2011!

Terra Brockman is a speaker and author, most recently of The Seasons on Henry’s Farm, which takes the reader through the many “micro-seasons” on her brother Henry’s sustainable, extremely diverse vegetable farm in Central Illinois. A member of a remarkable farming family, Terra is a nuanced observer of, fierce advocate for, and gifted writer and speaker about sustainable agriculture. She comes at her subject from unexpected angles, combining her experience growing up as one of the 4th generation of an Illinois farm family with her expertise in biology, ecology, literature, philosophy and history. Terra is also the founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit working to ensure that more Illinois farmland will grow local foods for our tables.

Terra was raised in Central Illinois and has traveled extensively. During her travels, she found that much of the "third world" ate better than some in the first world because their foods were fresh, local, and unprocessed. As she made her way back to Central Illinois, she realized that the best food in the world could be grown in the rich soils of Illinois. She has been writing and speaking on food and agriculture topics ever since.

Registration materials will be available in February 2011.

For more information, email mccconferencecenter@mchenry.edu or call Amy Carzoli, (815) 455-8764 or Kristine Emrich, (815) 479-7570.