Patrick Johnson – Permaculture Design and General Permaculture consulting
Patrick Johnson has been active in sustainable agriculture and sustainable living movements for over thirty years -first as a Peace Corps Volunteer assigned to work for the Philippine Department of Agriculture in the small rural village of Calatrava Romblon. He went on to attend Cornell University, earning a master’s degree in international agriculture and rural development, and he has also received specialized training in ecological horticulture from the Agroecology Program at University af California at Santa Cruz.
He is a certified permaculturist and small fruit and vegetable farmer, and previously worked as an agent with VSU’s Small Farm Outreach Program. Currently, Patrick focuses full-time on farming, teaching permaculture, sustainable agriculture, and agribusiness consulting.
Charlie Maloney – consultant
Charlie Maloney has farmed for over 30 years at Dayspring Farm in King and Queen County Virginia where he grows a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and strawberries. He and his wife, Miriam, and children developed their 18 acre farm around a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model that now serves over 200 households in the Middle Peninsula, Williamsburg and Yorktown areas. He also sells produce to several restaurants and local stores. Committed to sustainable, regenerative agriculture, Charlie is passionate about the renewal of small-scale farming and its contribution to the health of our land, bodies and communities.
Charlie is a graduate of Duke University with undergraduate and graduate degrees in religion, ministry, and pastoral counseling. After practicing psychotherapy for 25 years, he devoted himself to full-time farming. He has been on the adjunct faculty of The College of William and Mary for the last 15 years teaching the course “Sustainability and Agriculture” in the Environmental Science and Policy Department. He was the 2016 Virginia Small Farmer of the Year, awarded by the Small Farm Outreach Program at Virginia State University. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming and is currently serving on the Advisory Board of the Small Farm Outreach Program at Virginia State.
Derryl Cocks – Tiny House/Eco-Village consultant
Derryl Cocks works as a website developer in Ashland, VA. He obtained his PDC in 2006 from Hancock Permaculture, NY and a Teacher Training certificate from Cascadia Permaculture in 2015. He has been studying and practicing permaculture for 17 years. He crossed the US on a recumbent bicycle in 2007 and has been a meditator and a vegetarian for over 20 years. In 2014 he downsized his living arrangements to a 170 sq ft tiny house on wheels and travels gasoline free in his Nissan Leaf electric car. He is interested in forming a rural ecovillage community
Ira Wallace – Organic Fruit and Vegetable consultant
Ira Wallace is a worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (www.SouthernExposure.com) which offers over 700 varieties of open-pollinated heirloom and organic seeds selected for flavor and regional adaptability. Ira serves on the boards of the Organic Seed Alliance, the Open Source Seed Initiative and the Virginia Association for Biological Farming. She is a member of Acorn Community which farms over 60 acres of certified organic land in Central Virginia. Ira is an organizer of the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, (www.HeritageHarvestFestival.com) a fun, family-friendly event featuring an old-time seed swap, local food, hands-on workshops and demos, and more. She also writes about heirloom vegetables and seed saving for magazines and blogs including Mother Earth News, Fine Gardening and Southern Exposure. Her book, The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast, is available online and at booksellers everywhere. Books by Ira Wallace
Pam Dawling – Consultant
Pam Dawling has grown vegetables at Twin Oaks Community, central Virginia for 27 years, feeding 100 people from 3.5 acres. She is the author of Sustainable Market Farming and The Year-Round Hoophouse. She is a contributing editor with Growing for Market magazine, a workshop presenter, and a weekly blogger on www.sustainablemarketfarming.com. Books by Pam Dawling
Stewart Lundy – Consultant
Stewart Lundy co-owns Perennial Roots Farm in Accomac, Virginia. For the past decade, he and his partner have farmed with a vision of reducing waste and growing as much of their own food (and medicinal herbs) as possible. Stewart is the creator of the local Certified Delmarva Grown brand. He is the first farmer to translate Rudolf Steiner’s Agriculture Course. He is passionate about empowering people to start their own farms and helping them thrive. His emphasis is on rotational grazing, organic livestock management, and integrating biodynamic herbal practices with permaculture principles.
Rowen Perry – Consultant
Rowen Perry is a farmer with a background in civil engineering and sustainable design. His engineering background is in water and wastewater systems, and he obtained a PDC from a forest farm in Maryland. Rowen left the engineering workforce in 2019 to pursue his passions for environmental and social justice, which led him to agriculture. Since then, he has worked on numerous farms and has found a lovely community at his current workplace, Dayspring Farm. He and his partner just purchased land in King and Queen County, VA, where they plan to market mushrooms, nursery plants, seeds, and value-added medicinal food products. For anyone working towards a more sustainable and caring society, Rowen is eager to be of service in any way he can.
