Green Living Tent

Saturday, April 17 • 10 am-5 pm Make sure to pop into the Green Living tent at this year’s EarthFest! In the Green Living tent you can wander through informative exhibits to help you green your home. You can find displays that range from how to install a rain water catchment system to backyard gardens and living roofs. Take a breather on the straw bales and listen to experts presenting throughout the day on green living topics.

Organized by: CAC AmeriCorps Beardsley Farm and Water Quality Teams

John Wilson

John is a native of Hamilton County and received both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agriculture from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He joined U. T. Extension in 1988; he served as an Extension agent in Middle Tennessee counties for almost 20 years. He currently serves as Extension Agent and County Director in the Blount County Extension. He and his wife Kathi reside in the Greenback area of Blount County. They have two grown children, son Jason and daughter Jessica who are both graduates of The University of The South – Sewanee.

He is active in the following professional organizations: Tennessee Association of Production Agriculture; Tennessee Forage and Grassland Council; Tennessee Association of Agricultural Agents & Specialists, and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (recipient of their Distinguished Service Award), Blount County Livestock Association, Blount County Farm Bureau and the Blount County Master Gardeners. He is a Certified Crop Adviser for the American Society of Agronomy and holds the Grassland Professional certification through the American Forage and Grassland Council.

Bob Due

Bob was born and raised on an organic dairy farm in Indiana. He started his own garden when he was 5. He retired from industrial technician employment and started market gardening 5 years ago. He is the owner/operator of Terraced Gardens Farm where premium produce is grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides, which he sells at three different markets in the Knoxville area. Bob follows the Albrecht system of balanced soil fertility, uses cover crops, mulches with hay and harvests rainwater for personal use and drip irrigation for crops. He uses hoop houses (high tunnels) to extend the growing season. He will be sharing information on what to do with your soil to grow healthy food.

Peg Beute

Peg was born in Erie, Pennyslvania, and moved to Knoxville in 1973, where she earned her degree at the University of Tennessee. She has been working at IJAMS Nature Center since 1993 as the coordinator of public events and environmental educational programming. She organizes volunteer projects such as River Rescue and curriculums such as the Living Clean and Green Program. She is also the coordinator for the Water Quality Forum - a regional network of government and nonprofit organizations involved in sharing information and demonstrating solutions to local water quality issues. She will be speaking about the basics of composting.

Mike Ruck

Mike Ruck operates RainWater Solutions, located in Raleigh, NC, which manufactures and distributes 65-gallon Moby rain barrels and designs and installs above and belowground rainwater harvesting systems. The company works with residents, local and state agencies, and public and private institutions to protect their landscape investments and reduce the use of costly, treated water. The goal is to educate and engage clients about the importance of protecting water quality through conserving water and reducing storm water runoff. For more information, visit www.RainWaterSolutions.com

Asante George

Asante is an author and public speaker on the subjects of raw living food and personal empowerment. She is a certified raw food educator and raw food chef with the Ekaya Institute of Living Food Education and an active member of the Raw Vegan Network. She is the publisher of Divine Revolution Magazine and founder of Lotus House Press. In 2008 Asante published her first book, Living Our Bliss: An Introduction to Sun Food. Asante is an accomplished artist and poet who uses her art to spread a message of self love, peace, and environmental harmony. Her most recent works are a series of Affirmation Art Prints which draw on the priciples of affirmation and iconography. Asante lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with her husband and daughter.

Barbara Bunting

Barbra Bunting is a Master Gardener with UT Extension Knox County. She grows organic vegetables year round in 21 raised beds at her property in Hardin Valley. She lectures frequently and her gardening has been featured in the Knox News Sentinel.

East Tennessee Geosynthetics

East Tennessee Geosynthetics is a woman-owned enterprise that was established in 1999 to provide innovative geosynthetic and environmental products to the construction industry. ETG started with silt fence, geotextile, and straw blanket. They are proud to provide their customers with a complete line of geosynthetic products and BMP solutions (Best Management Practices). Their staff provides superior customer service, and their warehouse offers a large variety of materials to help our customers complete their projects. ETG is a TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) and Knoxville Airport Authority approved DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise).

Beardsley Community Farm

Beardsley is an urban demonstration farm located the heart of Knoxville that produces naturally grown vegetables and houses bee colonies and free-range chickens. All of the produce is donated to local food pantries, volunteers and others in need of fresh food. Six full-time AmeriCorps members, a manager and volunteers run the farm, which was started in 1996. The team educates about the financial and environmental benefits of homegrown food and works with community members to help them grow their own produce. Beardsley offers community garden plots each season, and welcomes anyone to come up to the farm and volunteer and get free produce.

Emilio Ancaya

Emilio Ancaya is the founder of Living Roofs, Inc., which is a professional green roof service. Through Living Roofs, Inc. he collaborates with designers and developers to provide high quality new construction or retrofit green roof systems for commercial, residential, and institutional structures. The company is available for feasibility studies, consultation services, design, and installation for all types of green roofs including traditional, modular, and pre-vegetated systems. Please visit their website for more information:www.livingroofsinc.com

Beth Babbit

Beth Babbit has served as the Urban Horticulture Area Specialist for the UT Extension for the past 7 years. She is the Tennessee Master Gardener Program Coordinator and is co-host of "Gardening Solutions Podcast for the University of Tennesse Institute of Agriculture and Plant Sciences Department. Beth grew up in Nashville TN where she discovered her love for gardening from her mother who is still an avid gardener. Beth received her bachelors and masters of science degrees at Auburn University. It was her experiences in college that gave her the a diverse exposure to several different fields of horticulture as a propagator, landscaper for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, greenhouse worker, gardener for Opryland Hotel and an Extension assistant. Following graduation she joined the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension as an Area Horticulture Agent in the North Atlanta area where she served Master Gardeners, professional green industry and consumer audiences. This was followed a position as an Assistant Manager of one of Pike’s Family Nurseries retail stores. Beth resides in Maryville, Tennessee with her husband Greg Babbit (a stream and wetland consultant) and two young sons Gabe and Tommy.

Chad and Tracie Hellwinckel

Chad grew up in Olathe, Kansas and attended St. Olaf college in Northfield Minnesota. After college, spent several years at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, where he was introduced to the ideas of Wes Jackson, Wendell Berry, John Todd, Bill Mollison and others. These years set his internal compass toward working on the problems of agriculture and human livelihood. After completing a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee in 1996, he spent several years walking back roads, living in fire towers, and building trails in our national forests. He also got married (to Tracie Hartman) and served as a Peace Corps with his wife in Panama. In 2001 he returned to Knoxville to work for the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center. He recently completed a PhD in Geography from the University of Tennessee and continues to work for APAC as a research assistant professor.

Rain Gardens

Information on rain gardens is being provided by the TN Water Resources Research Center (TNWRRC) in conjunction with the Powell High AP Environmental Science class. The TNWRRC is a federally designated research institute headquartered at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Its mission includes the dissemination and promotion of low impact development practices to residents across the state. It also is the lead administrator of the Adopt-A-Watershed Program that is conducted with support from the Knox County Stormwater Program and the CAC AmeriCorps Water Quality Team. Under the guidance of AmeriCorps member, Claire Hoey, the Powell High AP Environmental Science class is creating displays on rain gardens - how to install them, how they function and their benefits. TN WRRC will be available at these displays to provide additional rain garden information and answer homeowner questions.

Keeping our Waterways Clean by Taking Action on the Homefront

This exhibit will inform residents about actions they can take inside and outside the home to help keep our local creeks, rivers, and reservoirs clean. The CAC AmeriCorps Water Quality Team (WQT), which is dedicated to educating and involving local citizens in protecting our waterways will provide the information. The WQT is comprised of seven team members who are trained in the science of watershed protection and can discuss the bases for actions the homeowner can take to reduce non-point source pollutants. They can also direct the homeowner to more in-depth resources if needed. For more information on the 2009/10 CAC AmeriCorps Water Quality Team, click here

Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods

The Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods (TYN) Program is an earth-friendly approach to managing yards and is designed for the homeowner to meet his or her personal landscaping needs while also helping to protect the state’s wealth of natural resources. The Tennessee Water Resources Research Center (TNWRRC) located at the University of Tennessee (UT), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and UT Extension jointly manage the program. The Extension office and the municipal stormwater program coordinate workshops and training sessions at the county level. County Extension Agent, David Vandergriff, and Knox County Stormwater Educator, Parci Gibson, oversee and conduct the TYN training for Knox County. For a more in-depth review of the TYN Program, click here.

Narrow Ridge Earth Literary Center

The Narrow Ridge Center is a nonprofit organization established to study, teach and demonstrate sustainability with solar powered rental facilities and homes that have been “off the grid” since 1991. Narrow Ridge is dedicated to providing experiential learning of Earth Literacy based on the cornerstones of spirituality, sustainability and community. Beginning on 40 acres in the 1970s, the Center has grown to encompass and protect more than 500 acres of mountain land. Components include an Earth literacy resource center and library, eco-friendly meeting and lodging rental facilities, a recently initiated “green” burial ground, and three community land trusts. Academic and experiential programs include social ecology courses, Vision Quests, and sustainable living and natural immersion experiences. The Sustainable Agriculture Program includes demonstration gardens that provide experiential learning opportunities and supply food for program guests. Ongoing community events at the Center include Music Jams, Film Nights, Yoga classes, and the annual Hogskin History Day, which celebrates the beauty, history, culture and music of the East Tennessee area.