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We were fortunate today to have as our speaker, Shawn Harrison who the Founder and Co-Director of Soil Based Farms which is a non-profit urban farming and education center located in Sacramento, CA. He gave an interesting update (slide show) of this wonderful growing program in our area and how we can connect with their farms and food....click on "Read More" below for more information
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Above: Picture of Shawn Harrison lecturing with slide of Soil Born Farms territory projected on screen.
Shawn Harrison is the Founder and Co-Director of Soil Born Farms which was started in 1992 with 9 acres of land with the idea in mind to protect the growing of food. It was meant to reconnect urban dwellers with the production of food. In 2000 they started a little farm on Betsy Collin's property. Shawn says that if you are on hole 16 of the Ancil Hoffman Golf Course, you can see one of the oldest working farms, started in the 1840s by Joseph Libbey Folsom. Fast forward to now and 55 acres grew to form Soil Born Farms.
In 2005 the property became an open space reserve and a master plan was developed to build up the ecology from the American River, birds, mammals and insects and to heal and enhance the soil and to restore the Cordova Creek, naturalizing it with salmon and steel heads, snakes and frogs - it has become a model for restoration of other creeks along the American River.
There are many useful educational tours given to high school kids - 10,000 a year, and adult classes. The farm is 100% organic.
Shawn said that you can buy food produced by their farms and tours to learn about the viability of urban farming
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Shawn Harrison
P.O. 661175
Sacramento, CA 95866
office: (916) 363-9685
cell: (916) 718-3563
email: sharrison@soilborn.org