Educational Forum Supporting Community Gardeners

VPM's Virginia Home Grown, Dorey Park Farmers Market and Virginia State University have partnered to host a day of education and fellowship for community garden enthusiasts. Everyone from beginners to established garden organizers can learn from a variety of experts throughout the day. Sessions will cover how to engage with your local communities, ways to manage volunteers, grant writing, ways to earn legal business designations for community gardens and more.

Grow your network and connect with neighbors, gardeners and organizations from across Central Virginia who hope to cultivate and nourish the community. Soon we will include a list of speakers and their presentation titles in this description.

• 8:30 - 9:00 - Check-in & Seed Exchange
• 9:00 - 12:30 - Keynote Speaker & Breakout Sessions
• Lunch + Vendors
• 1:30 - 4:00 - Keynote Speaker, Breakout Sessions and Closing Remarks

Below is a list of a few of our presenters' names and session titles. More will be added soon. A detailed agenda including the times of their discussion sessions will be added soon as well.

Keynote Speaker:

Pam Dawling, Sustainable Market Farming

• Session Title: The Best Vegetable Cultivars to Grow in Our Area

Breakout Sessions:

• Engaging Your Community: Moderator: Peggy Singlemann, Panelists: Naomi Jones, Jones Gardens, others to be listed soon.

• Garden Produce Distribution: Panelist: Rachel Lawmaster, Virginia State University College
• Fundraisers, Donations and Grants
• Soil Health: Panelist: Conner Parrish, Bloomistry
• Finding and Managing Volunteers: Panelist: Kristoff Minus, Virginia State University College of Agriculture

• Legal Concerns for Community Gardens

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