Upcoming Events and Workshops
Earth Day Festival at Noyo Food Forest
Join Meadow Farm Community Land Trust in celebrating Earth Day at the Noyo Food Forest. This community gathering brings together local organizations, educators, and neighbors in support of sustainability, stewardship, and a shared connection to the earth.
We’re excited to be part of this event and to support the Noyo Food Forest’s work. Stop by the Meadow Farm CLT booth to learn more about our efforts to build resilient communities through land stewardship, affordable housing, and ecological practices.
Date: April 18
Time: 12–5 PM
Location: Noyo Food Forest
Come say hello, ask questions, and connect with fellow community members
Into the Dunes: A Flora and Fungi Walk
Join local naturalist Jim Gibson for a guided walk exploring the unique flora and fungi of the coastal dunes. Beginning at Ward Ave, Jim will lead us along the beach dunes, sharing his knowledge of the plants and fungal life that thrive in this dynamic ecosystem. This is a great opportunity to learn about local biodiversity and seasonal changes in the landscape.
Date: April 22
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Ward Ave beach access parking area
Suggested Donation: $20 per participant
Space is limited, so we encourage early registration to reserve your spot.
Grow Your Own Quinoa: Seed to Seed Class Series
Curious about growing your own protein-rich food, even in a small garden space? Join us for a hands-on class series all about cultivating quinoa from seed to harvest using a biointensive approach.
Quinoa is a highly nutritious, climate-resilient crop that can be grown on a garden scale, making it a great option for anyone interested in food security, sustainability, and making the most of limited growing space. In this three-part series, you’ll learn how to successfully grow, harvest, and process quinoa from start to finish.
Led by Sydney Grange, each session will focus on a different stage of the growing cycle:
- April 25 (10am–12pm): Bed preparation and transplanting
- May 30 (10am–12pm): Growing and care (including starting from seed)
- Late August / Early September (TBD): Harvesting and processing quinoa
Whether you’re a beginner gardener or looking to expand your home food production, this series offers practical skills and inspiration for growing your own nutrient-dense quinoa.
Location: Meadow Farm Garden
Cost: $20 per class
RSVP by April 20 – Space is limited, so reserve your spot early!
RSVP Here or contact Sandy at peace@mcn.org | (707) 235-9080
Plan B for Number 2 Returns!
Following last fall’s gathering, we’re coming back together for a second weekend of conversation, learning, and community connection around ecological sanitation and resilient systems.
Join us for talks and collaborative workshops exploring ecological sanitation solutions that strengthen community-scale systems and close the loop on waste. Featuring Alisa Keesey of Design4Earth and Nick Kawa, PhD, author of After the Flush: Rethinking the Future of Human Waste.
Weekend Overview:
This three-day event begins with a kick-off social on Friday, followed on Saturday by engaging presentations and participatory workshops with Alisa, Nick, and special guests sharing international perspectives on ecological sanitation. The event concludes on Sunday with a strategy session. Attendees will explore practical approaches to ecological sanitation, community-scale solutions, and strategies for resilient systems.
Schedule, locations, and additional details coming soon!
Featured Speakers
Nick Kawa, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University
Author of Amazonia in the Anthropocene: People, Soils, Plants, Forests
Nick’s research examines humanity’s ongoing transformation of the natural environment, with a particular focus on human cultural relationships to soils, plants, and bodily waste.
Nick will share insights from his new book, After the Flush: Rethinking the Future of Sanitation in the US. Drawing on long-term research in the American Midwest, the talk examines what happens when the modern toilet goes flush: where this waste goes, what eventually becomes of it, who is responsible for its management, and who is implicated in its afterlives. It also asks whether this waste is truly “waste” or might be something more.
Nick shows how sewage sludge, now known as “biosolids,” has been increasingly adopted as a resource for fertilizing farm fields, urban gardens, and recreational sites. At the same time, this system presents a variety of challenges, from unwanted odors and nagging social stigmas to emerging contaminants present in the municipal waste stream.
The talk concludes with an invitation to consider alternative approaches to sanitation and new ways of relating to bodily excess in these times of intertwined economic and ecological crises.
Alisa Keesey
B.A., International Relations, San Francisco State University
M.Sci., International Agricultural Development, University of California, Davis
M.A., Cultural Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Alisa leads Design4Earth, a new initiative focused on ecological sanitation and community-scale solutions. Building on over 25 years of experience, including her work with GiveLove, a U.S.-based NGO promoting low-cost, decentralized EcoSan systems, Alisa applies lessons from global sanitation programs to design practical, locally grounded solutions that strengthen community resilience. She has experience in program design, training, and research, connecting ecological sanitation with community goals like food security, livelihoods, and sustainable land use.
Alisa has implemented projects internationally and locally in both emergency and development contexts, including work in Haiti, Nicaragua, Uganda, Kenya, India, and across the United States, including partnerships with the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, as well as projects in Santa Cruz County and the EcoSan project with the Meadow Farm Community Land Trust.
Alisa will present Designing Community-Scale EcoSan Systems. The talk demonstrates how ecological sanitation programs can be applied at both local and global scales to improve community resilience, sustainability, and public health. Her presentation focuses on practical solutions that strengthen community-scale systems and close the loop on “waste”
Call for Community Educators
Meadow Farm is always looking to learn from the knowledge and experience within our community. We welcome educators, practitioners, and skill-sharers interested in hosting workshops, classes, or events at the farm. If you have an idea for a workshop or would like to use Meadow Farm as a host site for community learning, we invite you to reach out and start the conversation.
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