(Sorta) Liveblogging from the Fall Gathering in San Jose!

POSTSCRIPT:

Yes!

What a great turnout for a really important (and complicated) subject. When we talk about sustainable agriculture, we have to talk about historical context, values and beliefs, economics, policy, and so much more. Today's panelists covered so much and opened up a dialogue, evidenced by the long line of people waiting to talk to them after the presentation. Business cards were exchanged, ideas were proposed and there was lots of hand-shaking.

Curious what it all looked like and who was there? Here are pictures from the event:

We will post our Twitter feed on the event as well as our Instagram photos soon. So stay tuned for more.

We want to thank our great panelists for their time, expertise and willingness to share it all with us. We also want to thank the Coastal Conservancy and S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for supporting our Gatherings. Our tummies were fed by the good people at The Little Chef Counter. And the event took place at the San Pedro Square Market which, albeit a little noisy, is a fantastic place to hold an event. 

Our next Gathering will be November 15 from 10am-1pm at the Brower Center in Berkeley. Stay tuned for more information. If you're coming no matter who's on the agenda, head over here and let us know. 

 

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10:00am

Greetings from the San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose! Today is our Fall Gathering and we're talking about agriculture in the South Bay with a great panel of experts on the topic. We'll be talking about these questions: How can we protect farmland, serve local food and provide food security? What role does farmland have in regional plans like the Sustainable Communities Strategy? And what are the opportunities for partnership and funding?

To answer and discuss, we have the following panelists lined up:

• Melissa Hippard, Greenbelt Alliance
• Sibella Kraus, Sustainable Agriculture Education
• Kathryn Lyddan, Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust
• Andrea Mackenzie, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority 
• Kellyx Nelson, San Mateo County Resource Conservation District
• Jennifer Scheer, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau

And we're meeting here... right below this sign in the Perazzo Building:

 

This is Annie Burke - I'm the Director of Development & Engagement here at the Open Space Council - and I'll help you get a sense of what happens today. Usually I sit in the back of the room and blog. You can see past Gatherings here and here.

Today is going to be different. During the event I will be on Twitter (@BA_OpenSpace) and Instagram (@bayareaopenspace) with #ieatlocal. And afterwards I will post all of the Twitter and Instagram activity - mine and others - here on the blog. 

Here's what you can do:

1. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #ieatlocal. Share your thoughts, links, and questions.
2. Post pictures of the event, local food, or local farms on Instagram with the hashtag #ieatlocal. What are you eating this September? Where does your food come from?
3. Come back to this blog on Friday to see the whole event in tweets and pictures in one place. 

Sound good? Ready?