Tracks & Classes
Discover 32+ workshop descriptions and instructor bios for the 2025 Spring Conference.
In addition to the classes below, OGS is continuing to add workshops and will soon finalize the 2025 schedule. Class names and instructors may change due to delayed conference preparations caused by Hurricane Helene.
Friday: Pre-Conference & Half-Day Workshops
Pre-Conferences
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with Pat Battle & Thomas Leonard
Join Pat from Living Web Farm and Thomas from Contour Lines for a comprehensive workshop on water management strategies. Participants will learn about stream restoration, contour farming, and agroforestry practices, with demonstrations, a site tour, and a panel discussion featuring experienced farmers addressing water management challenges. -
with Ben Hartman and Alyson Wade
Participants will discover how to enhance farm resilience, respond swiftly to emergencies, and achieve sustainability goals through lean design implementation. They will learn to identify wastes, prioritize tasks, and develop a continuous improvement plan tailored for their farms. -
with Ashley English & Julia Skinner
Food preservation can be central to self-care and mindfulness practices while reducing food waste and feeding our communities. Ashley and Julia will walk participants through food preservation skills like lacto-fermentation and hot water bath canning while exploring how these practices feed us emotionally, culturally, and spiritually.
Half-Day Workshops
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with Brannen Bashem & Jill Jacobs
Discover the incredible benefits of native plants and what they can do for the environment. From supporting local ecosystems to battling drainage issues and erosion, increasing the diversity of native plants has never been more important. Finally, explore how best to manage your outdoor spaces without using pesticides. -
with Sarah Nunez
Join Aflorar Herb Collective members as they share their journey, offering tools for building herbal mutual aid networks, tips for growing and distributing herbs, and sustaining this work. Through movement, stories, and discussions on cultural organizing and healing justice, explore how these principles support communities and inspire collective care.
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with Blake Cothron
Blake from Peaceful Heritage Nursery LLC, author of The Berry Grower, shares the benefits of small fruit cultivation for farms, gardens, or orchards. He will discuss techniques for over 10 resilient species and offer attendees an elderberry plant to help start their 2025 growing season.
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with Rocco Sinicrope
This class will explore the concepts of multi-species grazing and why they are important, then move into how to build a perimeter electric fence, do temporary paddocks for cattle and pigs, as well as electric netting for poultry. -
with David Brown
This workshop offers an in-depth, hands-on experience focused on propagating and cultivating woodland botanicals. Participants will explore essential topics such as forest cultivation methods, plant life cycles, propagation techniques, and phyto-sanitation, equipping them with the knowledge to effectively grow and manage woodland species.
Saturday & Sunday: Classes by Track
Resilience • Recovery • Renewal
Farming Business • Farming Production • Gardening • Mushrooms • Soils
Resilience
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with Dan Hettinger
TBA -
with Keenan Phillips
When the grid goes down, collecting and storing solar power can be a lifeline. Subjects covered include solar panel electricity conversion, selecting system components, but will focus on various storage options like batteries. Participants will also discuss integrating solar technology with energy management systems to enhance efficiency and sustainability in off-grid setups. -
with Noah East
Wild East Farm operates multiple pastured meat enterprises on a 12-acre agroforestry system. Their workshop focuses on design considerations for silvopasture plantings, emphasizing resilience to natural disasters. They will also discuss diverse revenue opportunities to support pastures during the establishment phase of the trees.
Recovery
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with Patrick Baron, PhD
The class aims to achieve three key objectives: to share data on agricultural soil and water contamination testing results, to address soil fertility concerns for flood-affected farms, and to identify resources for soil testing, amendment, and restoration available to farmers in WNC. -
with Luke Costlow
Many ecological issues have arisen from the wind and water of Helene. As communities rebuild, there is a chance to reevaluate land use and implement resilient strategies. By applying permaculture principles, attendees will learn to view challenges like debris and erosion as opportunities for improvement and regeneration.
Renewal
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with Lee Barnes, George Brabant, & William Bond
Recovering food and farming systems necessitates a forward-thinking approach. Permaculture offers a holistic framework with principles and tools to explore future possibilities. An experienced group of permaculturalists will discuss essential permaculture systems needed to pave the way for a regenerative future.
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with Shelby Treichler & more TBA
During Hurricane Helene, grassroots organizations, particularly from the food system, played a crucial role in emergency response and mutual aid. This panel highlights successful strategies post-Helene, explores efforts to rebuild more equitably, and emphasizes the importance of sharing these experiences with other regions for broader impact. -
with Ben Hartman
In this workshop, Ben discusses the tools he employs to sustainably farm on just 1/3 of an acre. Clay Bottom Farm avoids gasoline engines by using electric and efficient hand tools, demonstrating how the appropriate equipment can boost productivity while minimizing effort and waste in garden operations. -
with Ben Hartman
In this workshop, Ben, author of The Lean Farm, will discuss efficient homesteading techniques. He emphasizes resilient practices to minimize work and waste while achieving lifestyle goals. Participants will learn about specific projects and methods used by Ben and his wife, Rachel, at their homestead, Clay Bottom Farm.
Farming Business
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with Lyric East
For those passionate about homesteading and eager to develop their skills, this class offers guidance on transforming a hobby into a profitable venture. Participants will explore fundamental steps, practices, and philosophies essential for anyone seriously considering starting a farm business. -
with Delia Jovel
Examine cooperative farming as a vehicle for social values from the perspective of Tierra Fertil Coop. Learn how their model fosters economic development and social justice, particularly among Hispanics in Western North Carolina, showcasing the broader impact of cooperative approaches beyond traditional food production.
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with Dan Brisebois
With a comprehensive spreadsheet system, users can effectively plan crop successions for consistent supply to farmers markets and CSA baskets. This class covers financial goals, sales plans, field plans, and nursery plans alongside an exploration of Pivot Tables to maximize spreadsheet efficiency for agricultural planning.
Farming Production
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with Noah East
This workshop on pastured poultry aims to equip participants with essential knowledge for raising broilers and turkeys. Topics covered include brooder setup, field management, feeding, processing, and financial planning, enabling attendees to understand the requirements and get financial insights based on a proven farm business model. -
with Dan Brisebois
Farmers can grow seeds more easily than expected. This session covers the basics of seed biology, explores specific crops for integration into vegetable or cut flower farms, and emphasizes the selection of seed plants. Participants will learn to adapt varieties and even create new ones suited to their farms. -
with Blake Cothron
Join Blake from Peaceful Heritage Nursery LLC, author of Pawpaws, as he shares expert information on successful pawpaw growing. From sourcing trees to the planting site, pests and diseases, and harvest, participants will learn about this fascinating, resilient, and high-value native fruit tree. -
with Pam Dawling
Out-of-season crops can yield higher prices. To achieve year-round production, growers must choose crops strategically, provide proper protection, and schedule planting and harvesting carefully. This class will focus on suitable vegetables for different seasons and effective storage methods to ensure these crops remain available throughout the year.
Gardening
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with Chris Keeve & Chris Smith
This class emphasizes storytelling and the oral traditions of collard greens, highlighting their significance in Southern BIPOC food cultures. Participants learn fundamental map analysis, share seed stories, and explore the cultural and political importance of preserving these narratives for food and land justice movements.
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with Pam Dawling & Ira Wallace
This class offers participants advanced techniques to enhance agricultural practices, focusing on intercropping, succession planting, and extending growing seasons. They will learn to optimize yields and improve record-keeping, which will support their mission and boost profitability in their respective markets. -
with Nigel Palmer
Individuals can nourish plants and soil biology sustainably without using chemical fertilizers by creating homemade mineral amendments. These amendments, containing all 18 essential minerals, can be made using simple tools and free ingredients. Demonstrations will show their preparation and application, highlighting their benefits for regenerative agriculture and waste reduction. -
with Gigi White
This class will guide participants through achieving success with fruit and nut trees by focusing on variety selection, site management, training, grafting, and ongoing care. Participants will learn essential pruning techniques while exploring a powerpoint presentation showcasing the instructor's own orchard in West Asheville, accompanied by interactive activities.
Mushrooms
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with Megan Deaton
Participants will learn to cultivate nutritious mushrooms year-round in various environments. The class covers inoculation, gardening, harvesting, and cooking techniques. Attendees will gain a deeper appreciation for mushrooms, discover their health benefits, and explore delicious methods to prepare and enjoy them.
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with Kenny Rupert
New to mushroom identification or looking to enhance skills? Participants can join experienced mushroom forager Kenny as he covers the basics of identifying wild mushrooms. They will also learn about safety and ethical considerations for foraging and gain knowledge about a few specific edible species.
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with Samuel Blackstone
Explore medicinal mushrooms' health benefits and cultivate them organically with Sam of Mindfull Mycology. Learn how to extract medicinal compounds at home or with state-of-the-art extraction equipment and how to weed through the crowded marketplace to find a high-quality medicinal mushroom product.
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with Chris Parker
Discover the medicinal properties of six lesser known mushrooms native to our eastern woodlands. A few mushrooms being discussed in this class are Schizopyllum, milky mushrooms, and birch polypore where participants will learn what species have antibiotic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties from an experienced mycologist.
Soils
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with Jason Roland
Participants will focus on biological soil amendments and inputs and learn about broad-spectrum amendments that support soil health and specific remedies for flooded and depleted soils. The workshop will highlight ways to enhance the soil biome and include a special compost tea recipe for attendees. -
with Sean Dixon-Sullivan
Sean will showcase effective techniques for enhancing soil fertility, focusing on the establishment of legume-support tree hedgerows along contours. Participants will engage in hands-on practices that are practical and adaptable for their gardens and farms, benefiting both ecosystem restoration and agroecological production. -
with Mark Dempsy
Participants will learn the fundamentals of soil functionality and management in a workshop focused on five key soil management principles. Practical techniques for maintaining healthy soil and crops will be covered, along with strategies for soil remediation following Hurricane Helene's impact. -
with Kelly Sunshine
Participants will explore practical techniques for assessing and enhancing soil health. They will learn to observe indicators, perform simple tests, and interpret plant signals, highlighting the connection between healthy soil, biodiversity, and resilient ecosystems. Additionally, the role of soil microbiomes in producing nutrient-rich food will be examined.