Hot Soil: Composting & Worms Municipal, School and Home Composting

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Sustainable Bedford
P O Box 154
Bedford Hills, NY 10507

Hot Soil: Composting & Worms

Municipal, School and Home Composting

PARTICIPANTS:

Tom Gilbert, Executive Director, HighFields Institute

Erika Hanson, Former Head Horticulturist, Martha Stewart

Gerardo Soto, Managing Director of NATH, exclusive distributor of

Rocket Composter

Gregg Twehues, Director of Nutrient Management,

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

Ursula Chanse, Director of Bronx Green Up & Community Horticulture,

New York Botanical Garden, Moderator


Leaves, yard trimmings and food residuals make up 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. Composting saves valuable landfill space and turns leaves and food to “black gold” that, in turn, creates healthy soils

without using expensive and toxic fertilizers. This workshop will provide an overview of composting techniques for home, school and municipalities. Learn about home and community composting, and how to plan and implement effective school food and municipal composting projects from beginning to end. This workshop is a must for teachers, students, school administrators, municipal employees and concerned citizens.


Tom Gilbert is the Executive Director of the Highfields Institute, a Vermont-based non-profit organization advancing regenerative food systems through municipal and on-farm composting programs, and soil health initiatives, as a keystone to sustainable communities. In addition to overseeing Highfields’ operations, Tom provides technical services and leads workshops for farmers and municipalities in composting systems in the Northeast US and elsewhere. Tom is the Vice President of the Composting Association of Vermont, on the board of the Center for an Agricultural Economy, teaches “Compost Ecology and Management” at the University of Vermont and has lectured at colleges and schools around Vermont. Tom has played a critical role in advancing and implementing practical systems and policies for regenerative farms and food systems in Vermont.


Erika Hanson is a horticulturist trained at the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture. For the past 5 years she has been head gardener on an 80-acre estate in Pawling, NY, and spent three years as head horticulturist for Martha Stewart on her estate in Bedford, NY. A staunch proponent of organic and biological gardening, Erika educates and advocates the use of compost teas for residential and commercial use. Erika is principal of Living Colors Landscape and Gardens, a holistic garden design and land care company.


Gerardo Soto is the Managing Director of North American Trading House, a full-service company that represents small and medium size companies which manufacture environmentally friendly value-added products. NATH is the US exclusive distributor for the Rocket Composter, a unique on-site in vessel composting system which transforms food waste into compost in 14 days. After pursuing an MBA, he had a career in finance, until he decided to return to his interests in recycling and solid waste management where he first became involved spearheading a project to build a solid waste facility. He is a firm believer that companies which follow the triple bottom line contribute more by maximizing ecological, economic and social values for stakeholders and shareholders. Gerardo earned an M.B.A. from Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a B.S. in engineering from Universidad Panamericana, Mexico.

Gregg Twehues, Director of Nutrient Management at Stone Barns, has been a member of the Rockefeller family of farms since 1990. Working mainly with Hudson Pines Farm, he developed a system of sustainable plans to recycle waste materials and return them to the earth in the form of beneficial plant nutrients. The inception of the composting facility at the Stone Barns Center has allowed Gregg to continue to foster his interest in land stewardship and continue to build sustainability as part of the future plans for the Stone Barns Center. Currently he is studying Business/ Environmental Studies at Pace

University.

Ursula Chanse is the Director of Bronx Green-Up and Community Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx Green-Up provides horticultural advice, technical assistance and training to community gardeners in the Bronx and in collaboration with the NYC Department of Sanitation, hosts an extensive compost education program, including a train-the-trainers program for composting.

Contact Information

Email: info@sustainablebedford.org