35th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, 11–14 April, 2012. "Conservation and Communities"
Slow Foods Extravaganza (Banquet)
Our final evening together will be full of local foods prepared by American Grassfed President, Carrie Balkom (www.americangrassfed.org) with support from local farms and Slow Foods Denver (www.slowfooddenver.org). Between courses of delicious local food, Slow Food Denver will tell us about their Seed-to-Table Coalition, which supports school gardens and cooking classes in the metro Denver area to empower children to become enthusiastic supporters of good, clean and fair food.
*alcohol not included (cash bar will be available)
Field Trip 1. Tours of the Denver Botanic Gardens
Outside Tours
Visit the rock garden, alpine garden, sacred earth garden (Native American utilized plants) and more.
- Outside Tour #1: 12:30 - 2:00 pm
- Outside Tour #2: 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Inside Tours
Visit the tropical conservatory, the orchid collection, greenhouses, library, ethnobotany materials collection, and more.
- Inside Tour #1: 12:30 - 2:00 pm [max 20]
- Inside Tour #2: 3:00 - 4:30 pm [max 20]
Space is limited!
Field Trip 2. Celestial Seasonings and Women’s Bean Project
Women’s Bean Project - 9:30–10:30 am
http://www.womensbeanproject.com/
On our way to Boulder we will stop at the Women’s Bean project. Since 1989 the Women’s Bean Project has been helping women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. A nonprofit organization, it teaches job readiness and life skills through employment in gourmet food production and a handmade jewelry manufacturing businesses. Marcia Neville, the Director, will be our guide.
In 1989 Jossy Eyre bought $500 worth of beans and put two homeless women to work making gourmet food products, with the goal of providing immediate income, support services to overcome barriers to employment and teach the job readiness skills needed to get and keep a job. The annual budget has grown from $6100 to $1.5 million.
Celestial Seasonings - 11:30 am–1:30 pm
http://www.celestialseasonings.com/visit
Nestled along the foothills of the Rockies, Celestial Seasonings houses all of its production in a state of the art manufacturing facility. We will tour the factory and have a private talk given by the Kay Wright, Purchasing Agent, who has worked at Celestial Seasonings since it’s inception. She will focus on their programs for sustainability. There is a cafeteria, show room of products and of course the store, where tasting and purchasing of teas are possible.
The tour will end with lunch in Boulder (cost of lunch is not included in the fieldtrip price) and some time to explore historic downtown and then return to the Gardens in time for the reception.
Field Trip 3. Extended Tour of the Denver Botanic Gardens
The outside tour will visit the rock garden, alpine garden, and sacred earth garden (Native American utilized plants). The Inside tour will visit the tropical conservatory, the orchid collection, greenhouses, library, ethnobotany materials collection, and more.
Space is limited!
Field Trip 4. Rocky Mountain National Park
http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
Visit beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park and learn about the cultural history and ecology of the area from staff ethnobotanists and tribal representatives from the area.
| 10:00am |
|
| Lunch (included in cost of fieldtrip) | |
| 1:00pm | Bear Lake – cultural history and sub-alpine ecology |
| 3:00pm | Depart for Denver |
This time of year can be cold or warm in the Park so please bring all weather clothing.
Betsy Chapoose, Director of Cultural Rights and Protection, Northern Ute Tribe will discuss Ute sustainability programs during our plenary and will also accompany us on Rocky Mountain National Park, RMNP, to talk about the Ute Tribe's access to their traditional plants within the park.