Growing Our Future

The Growing Out Future Podcast welcomes Emily Jamieson & Nadia Kern from Trinity University.

Hosts Stephen Lucke and Dominic Dominguez sit down with Nadia and Emily to discuss their experiences working alongside Gardopia Gardens this summer as part of the Trinity University in ALE Internship Program.

From installing a wifi irrigation system, teaching environmental education to youth, maintaining multiple garden locations in San Antonio, and even harvesting honey, Nadia and Emily excelled in growing healthier communities through garden-based learning.

You can learn more about the sustainability efforts happening at Trinity University by visiting
https://www.trinity.edu/directory/departments-offices/sustainability

A special thank you to Appetite For Change for launching the Podcast's new intro and outro song, "Grow Food"!

The Growing Out Future Podcast welcomes Victoria and Brennan with Community First Health Plans.

Host Stephen Lucke and Special Guests discuss the importance of healthcare coverage: accessibility, education, and localized engagement of Community First Health Plans as they advocate for a healthier community.

From food pantries, plant-based diets, nutrition, social determinates of health, and more, the trio takes a deep dive into the many challenges and solutions in the ongoing journey towards a healthier future.

You can learn more about Community First Health Plans at https://communityfirsthealthplans.com/

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/communityfirsthealthplans/
Instagram @cfhealthplans

A special thank you to Appetite For Change for launching the Podcast's new intro and outro song, "Grow Food"!

The Growing Out Future Podcast welcomes Kim Aman, Founder of Grow Garden Grow.

The story of Grow Garden Grow resonates with the successes, challenges, and growths encountered across the world when advocating for high-impact garden-based learning programs within schools for the benefit of our young people and families. 

Farmer Kim Aman, Founder of Grow Garden Grow, inspires our listeners to dig deeper into the school garden movement as she reflects on the implications of starting a garden-centric organization, showing resiliency during COVID-19, and advocating for healthier lives through garden education!

Host, Dominic,  and Special Guest, Kim, are also joined by Andres Narvaez, Board Chair of Gardopia Gardens. Together they explore the synchronicities between Gardopia Gardens, the San Antonio-based nonprofit, and Grow Garden Grow, located in Dallas, Texas.

You can learn more about Grow Garden Grow at https://growgardengrow.org/
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GrowGardenGrow/
Instagram @grow_garden_grow

A special thank you to Appetite For Change for launching the Podcast's new intro and outro song, "Grow Food"!

The Growing Our Future Podcast welcomes Brandon Kirby with Rainbow Gardens, a local family-owned nursery in San Antonio, Texas. Rainbow Gardens is one of the most seasoned nurseries in San Antonio, providing an array of vegetative selections to the area public for decades. 

Brandon recalls the inception of Rainbow Gardens, the dedication and lineage of his father, Frank Kirby, and Business Partner, George Beere. The story of Rainbow Garden begins in 1976 and progresses well into the current and future! This is a tale of successes, challenges, insights, and passion for operating a family-owned nursery that prides itself on servicing the Greater Bexar County Area with the most updated information and plant selections.

Host, Stephen Lucke, and Brandon take deep dive into the history of Rainbow Gardens, the advocation and importance of gardening for healthier communities, perceptions of gardening before / during the pandemic, and the necessity of education for successful gardens.

You can learn more about Rainbow Gardens at https://www.rainbowgardens.biz/
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rainbowgardens.biz/ 
Instagram @rainbowgardenstx

The Growing Our Future Podcast welcomes Dr. Benjamin Miele with the University of the Incarnate Word and Jonathan Molineaux with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as we discuss Ecosystem Services.

Ecosystem Services are the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide humans. Agroecosystems, rangelands, and forests provide suites of ecosystem services that support and sustain human livelihoods.

Dr. Miele, Jonathan, and Dominic discuss preservation, urban form, landscape, and equity in regards to ecosystem services and the many benefits the environment contributes to people, the economy, and more.

As the population continues to scale and land becomes an ever-increasing commodity, the obligation for protected resources aligns with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals to include Goal #13: Climate Action, Goal: #14 Life Below Water, and Goal #15:Life on Land.

This podcast is an exert recorded from the Gardopia Garden's 2022 Food & Nature Education Conference, held on January 15th, 2022.

Gardopia Gardens welcomes Daniel Nelson,  CEO of Grow Computer to the Growing Our Future Podcast!

In this episode, Stephen Lucke, CEO of Gardopia Gardens, and Daniel take a deep dive into the world of the present and future of smart technologies in agriculture. Plant/soil/humidity monitoring, streamlined smartphone controls, data clouds, emerging hardware, fostering global community connections, and more, if you're ready to hear the intricacies of developing technology in growing, this is a podcast that you don't want to miss!

To get in touch with Daniel, you can reach him and the team at www.growcomputer.io or follow them on Instagram @growcomputer

Gardopia Gardens welcomes Alex Aleman, Educator at Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas.

Gardopia Gardens hosts, COO, Dominic Dominguez, and Board Member, Defranco Sarabia hear the incredible story of Alex Aleman and his efforts of empowering youth using hydroponics.

The implications of Covid-19 and Winter Storm Uri urged Alex to research and build his very first hydroponic grow space. This was just the beginning, as Alex's calling progressed him to start a hydroponics system at Burbank High School.

Amid times of food insecurity and differentiated online/in-person learning in the school systems, Alex's story is that of resiliency, growth, opportunity, and innovation for him and his students.

You can reach Alex at on Instagram: @le_plantfessor

Gardopia Gardens welcomes Jonathan Molineaux, Fisheries Biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the Growing Our Future Podcast!

Join our host, CEO, Stephen Lucke, and co-host, COO, Dominic Dominguez, as they take a deep dive with Jonathan to explore multiple facets of conversation and sustainability. 

Jonathan provides supplemental information on the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, ArcGIS Metadata innovations, and Ecosystem Services in conservation, and much more!

From land usage, policy creation, cultural awareness, and advocacy, this segment is nothing short of an information-packed episode!

Ever wonder how Gardopia Gardens got started? 

Well tune in with the founders! Stephen, Dom, Aj, and Leon dig back into the soil of what grew the educational based non-profit we know today.  Experience the atmosphere of what it was like in the beginning times and hang come out with us! 

Big thanks to VodPod for allowing us to record this podcast 

Come listen in and learn about the path our COO Dominic Dominguez took that led him to Gardopia and his discovery of different food systems around the world!
 
Interviewed by our CEO Stephen Lucke, this conversation ignites sparks as we talk about the frameworks of sustainability, food mileage, urban development, and hints to what Gardopia Garden's visions for the future entail. Dom plants the seed of change when he discusses triple net-zero and regenerative design. Deepening into those subjects, they explain how we can change our personal lifestyles, programs, and city policies to helps us make decisions that are socially, economically, and environmentally bearable. 

"If we don"t value it how are we going to manifest it? 

Links

• https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3069430

• https://www.greencitytimes.com/recycling-in-curitiba/

• http://www.ggtrust.com/currency/curitiba-bus-tokens-and-garbage/

Big thanks to VodPod for the contribution to this podcast.