Laura Lengnick & Climate Resilience

Over the last two years, Cultivate KC has hosted two cohorts of workshops on Climate Resilience as part of a Missouri Specialty Crop Block Grant project. To wrap up the project, Laura Lengnick, Director of Agriculture at Glynwood, leader in climate resilience, and author of Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate, joined us for a whirlwind visit to Kansas City, April 18th – 20th.

On Tuesday, the New Roots for Refugees staff led Laura on a tour of Juniper Gardens Training Farm, followed by a potluck lunch. Later that day, we braved the cool drizzly weather for a public Meet & Greet with a walk through the Food Forest, Laura reading excerpts from her book, snacks and local beer.

Wednesday, Tom Ruggieri & Rebecca Graff  hosted a farm tour and luncheon at Fair Share Farm as the celebratory conclusion of the grant project. Tom and Rebecca, regenerative farmers who are featured in Laura’s book, led the group of project participants and community members on a field walk to see first hand the ways they’re adapting and using climate resilient techniques- extensive berms and swales to manage rainwater, a passive solar greenhouse, solar panels, a converted electric tractor, and more. The tour ended with an amazing meal prepared by Chef Kendall Harris that included ferments produced in the Fair Share kitchen.

We are grateful for Laura’s participation in this grant project, her expertise, and her passion and faith in farmers’ abilities to adapt, as we all learn (and re-learn) techniques to manage the challenges of a changing climate. Thank you, Laura!

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Thank you, Stockyards Brewing, for helping make the Meet & Greet possible!