In today's Podcast, Shirley Parodi, Garden-Based Learning Advocate and Sustainable Design Educator sits down with Gardopia Gardens Staff and Board Chair.

Leveraging its 5 years of garden-based learning impact in the Greater Bexar County Area, the group discusses the Gardopia Gardens’ first-ever Garden Awards Gala, a signature fundraising event, honoring the extraordinary urban agriculture individuals and organizations that make San Antonio a greener and healthier place to work, live, and play.

The Gardens Awards Gala will take place at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens on June 30 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The event includes entertainment, food, beverage, keystone speakers, and a silent auction.

Education Program Assistant Defranco Sarabia, interviews Chris Luna about his ground breaking nonprofit Helping Our Planet Evolve(HOPE) in Eagle Pass.

We talk about how to support individuals who want to start their own ecological restoration-minded organization and some of the issues Chris faced in his journey creating his own. Our conversation turns meta when we conclude that the most important thing we can do as nonprofit leaders is to ensure that we are living a personal health life and are actively seeking self-improvement. A healthy life is a key indicator of a healthy non-profit some might say. We take a look into practices ways to ensure that you are on top of redefining your skills in an area where it's hard or uncommon, potentially being on the front line of the ecological restoration movements.

Remember to feed your passions and take in things that support your goals!

Helping Our Planet Evolve 

https://www.facebook.com/healthysustainableculture/

On today's Podcast, the garden sensei himself, Stephen Lucke, is joined by Jade Luu, an educator,  grower, naturalist, and herbal alchemist. They discuss her journey from Vietnam to the United States to founded Ellume Life.

As a grower and earth steward, Jade has lived a garden-centered life for over 20 years and now teaches natural/organic & regenerative gardening, cold/hot/vermicomposting, and seed-to-table cooking.  Her passions include practicing the art of preserving, dyeing, and natural lake pigments, paints, and inks with plants, herbs, and minerals.  She is currently training with the Theodore Payne California Native Plants Foundation to become a certified California native plants landscaper.  She is also a member of the Los Angeles Green Building Council. 

Amanda Micek interviews Jess Reid, a fourth-year Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at San Antonio about her research in the field of medical anthropology and the possibility of thinking of gardens as places of care, rehabilitation, and self-growth. 

Stephen Lucke - CEO, Dominic Dominguez - COO, and former Board Member - Erin Chase discuss the Food & Nature Education Conference happening on December 12 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Episode 2 of the Growing Our Future Podcast talks about our October Events, Social Justice, and the Monarch Butterfly. 

The podcast features Amos Lozano of The ReUp Station and Famous Juice Co. Music is the track Green Juice, provided by Plant-based Mello.

Episode 1 of Growing Our Future focuses on Gardopia's history and where we are headed as an organization. The podcast features Amos Lozano of Emjayze, The Reup Station, and Famous Juice! Music is provided by Plant-based Mello's Green Juice single.