Please join members of Berkshire Community Land Trust for our annual meeting which will be followed by Fighting for Food, Home, and Earth: What Do We Do Now? A moderated discussion with local leaders.
Tuesday April 8, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, Doors Open: 6:00
The Guthrie Center, 2 Van Deusenville Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Free (please reserve a space ONLY if you are definitely attending)
Email and phone: farms@berkshirecommunitylandtrust.org; 413 429 1176
Moderator Erik Bruun will lead a discussion with Bob Climo (GB Bagel & Deli), Dan Carr (Berkshire Agricultural Ventures), and Jonathan Schrag (Deputy Climate Chief, MA Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience). The panel will follow a brief annual meeting and announcements.
A reception will close the evening. Everyone is welcome, you need not be a member to attend, but please do make a reservation.
RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY
The evening’s moderator, Erik Bruun, is the President of SoCo Creamery. He has also led an investment company specializing in emerging markets and has been a reporter, editor and writer, publishing several books, including Our Nation’s Archive. He was the founding president of the Railroad Street Youth Project for ten years and has taken leadership roles in several community organizations, and currently serves on the board of the Community Development Corporation of the Southern Berkshires.
Panelists:
Bob Climo trained at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and then worked as a demonstration chef for Canyon Ranch. An active member of the community Climo accepts BerkShares at his business, served on the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, and volunteering for a variety of organizations and causes. Bob uses his business to support the local community in a variety of ways including supporting the Diaper Drive, providing lunches for the council on aging and emergency services and has addressed the housing crisis in the Berkshires by providing housing for his staff.
Dan Carr is the Outreach and Technical Assistance Manager for Berkshire Agricultual Ventures and the owner of Beavertides Farm with his wife Marleen. They raise grass-fed lamb and meat goats, produce honey and teach beekeeping. Dan worked on a variety of farms in Europe through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms and worked as an agriculture Peace Corps volunteer Malawi. He worked with farmers to implement agroforestry practices and to start other income-generating opportunities like beekeeping and grafting fruit trees. Dan also worked at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, NY for six years as the assistant livestock manager and the head beekeeper. In 2015, he helped start and manage Q Farm, which quickly grew into a highly productive, pasture-raised meat business. At Q he managed the production of sustainable honey, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, chicken, turkeys, and eggs for a variety of markets.
Jonathan Schrag, Deputy Climate Chief, Director of Investment for Decarbonization and Resilience, Executive Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience has developed expertise as a climate and energy policy strategist in senior roles across government and consulting. As the Deputy Climate Chief for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts he focusses on finance and project delivery for clean energy and resilience. He worked as a consultant to craft the Massachusetts Attorney General’s position on the future of natural gas, served as the Deputy for Regulatory Policy within the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities, deigned resilient microgrid programs for the state of Connecticut, and served as the first administrator of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first cap and invest program in North America.
