Christy Hemenway
Just what did bees do before beekeepers? Searching for the answer to what seemed like it should have been a simple question, Christy Hemenway launched her own investigation into what was really behind the growing problems with honeybees. She soon came to the conclusion that with honeybees, “less is more,” in other words, less human manipulation is better for the honeybee.
This led Christy to found Gold Star Honeybees - to advance a low-tech, natural beekeeping system known as the top bar hive. The most important feature of a top bar hive is that it allows the bees to make their own natural beeswax honeycomb. Because for bees, “It’s all about the wax.”
Gold Star’s top bar hive beekeeping equipment is all natural, non-toxic, clean and green, and supports the making of natural beeswax - beeswax made BY bees, FOR bees!
At TEDxDirigo in 2011, Christy highlighted the important connection between honeybees, pesticide-free food, and people in her TED Talk - “Making the Connection – Honeybees, Food and YOU.” The inter-relatedness of bees, human health, the health of the planet and in fact, all of nature suddenly becomes very clear. You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/TedxDirigoTalk
Christy Hemenway is the author of The Thinking Beekeeper – A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives. Published in 2013 by New Society Publishers – this book contains the practical how-to information you need to begin keeping bees in this natural method. http://www.thinkingbeekeeper.com/
Just what did bees do before beekeepers? Searching for the answer to what seemed like it should have been a simple question, Christy Hemenway launched her own investigation into what was really behind the growing problems with honeybees. She soon came to the conclusion that with honeybees, “less is more,” in other words, less human manipulation is better for the honeybee.
This led Christy to found Gold Star Honeybees - to advance a low-tech, natural beekeeping system known as the top bar hive. The most important feature of a top bar hive is that it allows the bees to make their own natural beeswax honeycomb. Because for bees, “It’s all about the wax.”
Gold Star’s top bar hive beekeeping equipment is all natural, non-toxic, clean and green, and supports the making of natural beeswax - beeswax made BY bees, FOR bees!
At TEDxDirigo in 2011, Christy highlighted the important connection between honeybees, pesticide-free food, and people in her TED Talk - “Making the Connection – Honeybees, Food and YOU.” The inter-relatedness of bees, human health, the health of the planet and in fact, all of nature suddenly becomes very clear. You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/TedxDirigoTalk
Christy Hemenway is the author of The Thinking Beekeeper – A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives. Published in 2013 by New Society Publishers – this book contains the practical how-to information you need to begin keeping bees in this natural method. http://www.thinkingbeekeeper.com/
Gary Gilmore, Forester with the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, is a tree farmer, forester, gardener, blacksmith, inventor, do-it-yourselfer and a timber frame builder. He will draw upon his experiences to share insights and knowlege gained through practical application. Village Acres Farm is an organic farm business committed to growing and selling food in a way that builds relationships that are sustaining, restorative, and transformative. The "FoodShed" was completed in 2011 and is used for food processing and as a gathering space for community and educational events.
Dawn Williamson Shields is a homeschooling mother of six children. Dawn is not only a teacher but an avid, independent learner with a passion for restoring and maintaining health through natural measures. She is a Certified Holistic Wellness Professional and Family Herbalist through Vintage Remedies School of Natural Health. This training focused on clinical herbalism, homeopathy, enzyme therapy, flower remedies, nutrition, natural health philosophy, reflexology, naturopathy, environmental health, and sustainable living. Dawn is also trained as a Natural-Living Educator through Vintage Remedies, qualifying her to teach about sustaining health and preventing disease through the use of real foods.
Mark Kutolowski is a Vermont guide and traditional wilderness skills instructor. In addition to running New Creation Wilderness Programs, Mark teaches wilderness living skills at Dartmouth College. Mark is a Wilderness First Responder, and has over a decade of experience leading trips, teaching classes and workshops, and living simply with the land in New England. Mark formerly instructed at Hawk Circle Wilderness Education (Cherry Valley, NY), and has studied with many of the top experts in the field including Ricardo Sierra, Barry Keegan, Mors Kochanski, Tim Smith and Sam Thayer.
A lifelong Christian, Mark discovered the Christian monastic and contemplative traditions in 1997, and in 2001-2002 he spent a year living in silence and solitude at a hermitage founded on the spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Mark is an Oblate of Saint Benedict, a lay person who follows the Rule of Benedict and a monastic spirituality while living and working in the outside world. Mark began formally teaching Christian Meditation in 2003.
A lifelong Christian, Mark discovered the Christian monastic and contemplative traditions in 1997, and in 2001-2002 he spent a year living in silence and solitude at a hermitage founded on the spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Mark is an Oblate of Saint Benedict, a lay person who follows the Rule of Benedict and a monastic spirituality while living and working in the outside world. Mark began formally teaching Christian Meditation in 2003.
Dr. Eric Burkhart holds degrees in Economic Botany (B.A, Idaho State University), Horticulture (M.S., Penn State University), and Forest Resources (Ph.D., Penn State University). He is plant science program director for Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and teaches courses for the Penn State Ecosystem Science and Management Department. Working with partners such as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Eric conducts research on important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) including American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), and ramps (Allium tricoccum) and offers practical guidance in forest farming of NTFPs through related workshops and publications. His ginseng research program in Pennsylvania is focused on developing sustainable wild crop management and production systems through the use of agroforestry and plant husbandry.
Karen DeMauro, N.D. is a traditional naturopath. Naturopathy is a philosophy and system of healthcare that recognizes the body's innate ability to heal itself. As a natural health counselor, Karen empowers her clients by educating them as to natural methods of restoring or retaining health. These natural methods, such as diet, supplements, herbals, movement or hydrotherapy, work to improve the body's own defense systems rather than suppress germs and symptoms.
Karen received her MBA from Manhattan College in New York and her Doctor of Naturopathy degree from Clayton College of Natural Health. She currently is studying for her PhD in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College. Karen also is a Reiki Master/Teacher and has been teaching Reiki at Quiet Creek and Wellness Health Options for a number of years.
Karen received her MBA from Manhattan College in New York and her Doctor of Naturopathy degree from Clayton College of Natural Health. She currently is studying for her PhD in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College. Karen also is a Reiki Master/Teacher and has been teaching Reiki at Quiet Creek and Wellness Health Options for a number of years.
James A. "Jim" Duke, PhD (Botany, UNC, 1961) (deceased) retired from the USDA in 1995, after a career as Economic Botanist. In retirement he is busily compiling data on medicinal plants and updating several of his books. He is refining his phytomedicinal database http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/ still maintained at the USDA (Beltsville, MD). In 2001, 40 or more years after receiving his PhD from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC), he was awarded a Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2003, he is expanding his Green Farmacy Garden at the herbal vineyard, in Fulton, Maryland, to contain most of the better herbs for eighty disease conditions.
His garden is being used as Duke's lecture podium with the new Tai Sophia Master's Degree Program for Botanical Healing. Duke created and annually visits the ReNuPeRu Ethnobotanical Garden in Amazonian Peru and will soon have a digital video entitled a Tale of Two Gardens. He has added a one kilometer fern trail in the woods around his GFG. His latest Rodale Press book, Green Pharmacy Antiaging Prescriptions came out in 2001. A second edition of his CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs (CRC, 1985) and a brand new CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices came out in 2002.
His garden is being used as Duke's lecture podium with the new Tai Sophia Master's Degree Program for Botanical Healing. Duke created and annually visits the ReNuPeRu Ethnobotanical Garden in Amazonian Peru and will soon have a digital video entitled a Tale of Two Gardens. He has added a one kilometer fern trail in the woods around his GFG. His latest Rodale Press book, Green Pharmacy Antiaging Prescriptions came out in 2001. A second edition of his CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs (CRC, 1985) and a brand new CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices came out in 2002.
Sara Haines is a national Yoga Fit certified instructor. She leads the classes in the Hatha Yoga technique, a tranquil workout, designed for us mainstream enthusiasts. Each session will integrate strength building, cardio-vascular, and flexibility components for a total fitness performance. Aromatherapy is incorporated in each session to enhance relaxation. Sara also teaches Pilates.
CarolLynn and Gene Langley offer songs that build bridges from the past and offer hope for tomorrow. The Langleys have spent thirty five years raising kids and crops and livestock on their East Poestenkill, NY farm. Those years, coupled with Gene's youth as part of a North Carolina sharecropping family, have shaped their music as well as their lives.
Their songs are rich in imagery and reflect the traditional values they believe in, and they're pleased to spend a good deal of their time performing together from Vermont to North Carolina.
CarolLynn enjoys sharing her love of the mountain dulcimer through teaching in after school enrichment and adult education programs, summer camps, and at dulcimer festivals, frequently with Gene as her able assistant. The Langleys have recently released their first CD, Speak a Little Louder, Please! which includes a variety of traditional, contemporary, original, and gospel songs.
CarolLynn enjoys sharing her love of the mountain dulcimer through teaching in after school enrichment and adult education programs, summer camps, and at dulcimer festivals, frequently with Gene as her able assistant. The Langleys have recently released their first CD, Speak a Little Louder, Please! which includes a variety of traditional, contemporary, original, and gospel songs.
Gene Leone from Cochranton, Pennsylvania, has traveled across the world in the past eight years helping others construct straw bale buildings. The structures he assisted with stand in Mexico, France and Greece. Gene can be found at [email protected]
Melora McNutt is a graduate of The Mt. Nitanny Institute for Natural Health holding certifications in Massage Therapy and Yoga. She integrates the Kripalu Yoga style in her gentle Yoga classes. Massage therapy modalities include: Shiatsu, Swedish, Reflexology, Thai Yoga Massage, Deep Fascia Release, Trigger Point Therapy, Reiki, Chakra Balancing and Polarity. She is a member of the Yoga Alliance and the ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals).
Melora and her husband Joe owned Namaste' Center for WellBeing in Brookville, a wellness center specializing in yoga, massage therapy, whole foods dining and day spas and retreats. She has three daughters, Laurelee, Molly and Jennifer, two grandchildren: Bay and Violet Harper, and a wonderful son-in-law, Mike.
She enjoys gardening, walking through the woods and trails at the farm, yoga and sharing time with family and friends. Her dream of providing a place for people to come to restore, rejuvenate and reconnect themselves is becoming a reality as she works closely with sisters, Maryellen, Martie, Jennifer and Claire. Joe and Melora open their home for guest accommodations during special retreats and classes at Quiet Creek and Namaste Center for WellBeing.
She enjoys gardening, walking through the woods and trails at the farm, yoga and sharing time with family and friends. Her dream of providing a place for people to come to restore, rejuvenate and reconnect themselves is becoming a reality as she works closely with sisters, Maryellen, Martie, Jennifer and Claire. Joe and Melora open their home for guest accommodations during special retreats and classes at Quiet Creek and Namaste Center for WellBeing.
Kathy Seamans is the owner of the Gathering Basket in Fisher. She has been weaving baskets and teaching classes for 15 years. She offers her baskets and classes at Quiet Creek and in addition she has an annual Open House in November.
Maximillian von Duerckheim: Past Director of Quiet Creek's KIDS THEATER CAMP. Max is a freelance facilitator, producer and theatre practitioner, working in the social justice sphere, using applied theatre methods for the improvement of individuals and communities. Max has extensive training with various theatre teachers, and is very experienced in the Playback and Theatre of the Oppressed methodologies.
Robbie Orth is from southern California and apprenticed at Quiet Creek in 2011. Along with his wife, Jessi, he stewarded the farm while the Orners were on sabbatical. Robbie has found a passion wildcrafting and identifying culinary mushrooms and growing food in the garden. When he is not working you can find him in the woods during prime mushroom seasons!
Jessi Orth apprenticed under Rusty and Claire in 2011. She is an enthusiastic
fermented sourdough baker, plant tender and Quiet Creek inhabitant. She is currently enrolled in a course with Vintage Remedies School of Natural Health and co-stewarded Quiet Creek Herb Farm with her husband, Robbie.
Maryellen McDaniel Bonavita is a Liberal Arts graduate of Penn State University. She and her sister Melora McNutt operated Namaste' Center for WellBeing (www.namastecenterforwellbeing.com) on Pickering St. in Brookville, a wellness center specializing in yoga, massage, whole foods dining and day spas. She assists her sisters, Claire Orner and Melora McNutt, with retreats and events, in marketing, cooking and facilitating. She specializes in whole foods cooking. Maryellen also specializes in custom-designed marketing pieces, including brochures and flyers with photographs, press releases and laminated tri-fold displays.
Michael Bastine is originally from Maniwaki, Quebec. He was educated in a small rural public school. Most of his time was spent observing and relating to the natural world as a child. Then meeting up with Mad Bear a great blend of worlds began. Michael has been involved with Native Traditional people for about twenty years, where many influences have reinforced the teachings of nature.
Dennis Bussell (deceased) was from the Native American Cherokee people and grew up in Oklahoma. His understanding of Native American traditions and Eastern healing techniques was put to use helping people help themselves. He believed that we have been given all of the tools we need to find happiness, fulfillment and health and they are easily unlocked through the study of ancient Eastern and Native American traditions.
Dennis studied Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Wing Tsung, Acupressure and Acupuncture. From his studies, he acquired the rank of Black Sash. Also, Dennis was trained in the martial arts of Jeet Kune Do, Kali Escrima and Tae Kwon Do, which he studied under Grand Master Young Chul Rho of World Martial Arts Academy in St. Louis, Mo. This training earned him the rank of 3rd Dan Black Belt.
Dennis studied Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Wing Tsung, Acupressure and Acupuncture. From his studies, he acquired the rank of Black Sash. Also, Dennis was trained in the martial arts of Jeet Kune Do, Kali Escrima and Tae Kwon Do, which he studied under Grand Master Young Chul Rho of World Martial Arts Academy in St. Louis, Mo. This training earned him the rank of 3rd Dan Black Belt.
Tradd Cotter, microbiologist, author, and owner of Mushroom Mountain and The Blue Portal has been successfully conducting trials in Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation for over twenty years. Cotter not only offers students an in-depth exploration of best organic mushroom cultivation practices; he also shares the results of his groundbreaking research and offers myriad ways to apply your cultivation skills and further incorporate mushrooms into your life—whether your goal is to help your community clean up industrial pollution or improve yours and other's overall health through the use of mushrooms culinarily and/or medicinally.
USA:
MUSHROOM MOUNTAIN LLC, OWNER
MYCOMATRIX LLC, PRESIDENT / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
INTERNATIONAL:
BLUE MOUNTAIN MUSHROOMS LLC, PRODUCTION - JAMAICA
THE BLUE PORTAL, PSILOCYBIN RESEARCH
Author, Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation (Chelsea Green 2014)
Clemson University Student Entrepreneur of the Year Winner
EPA Clemson Fellowship Award Winner
North American Wild Mushroom Safety Certification Program, Designer/Chief Instructor (SC,NC,GA)
North American Mycological Association Emergency Mushroom Toxicology Contact
