Consultants

Patrick Johnson has been involved in sustainable agriculture and sustainable living movements for over thirty years. He became seriously involved in agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. His Peace Corps service received recognition in the Philippines and US. After Peace Corps service he attended Cornell University obtaining a Masters Degree in International Agriculture and Rural Development. He has also received specialized training in Ecological Horticulture from UC Santa Cruz. Patrick has helped start two non-profits, including one that focused on environmental justice and sustainability issues. Patrick is a certified permaculturalist and small fruit and vegetable farmer and does consulting in permaculture and organic/sustainable agriculture. He has been a speaker and presenter at the 2018 Black Urban Gardeners Conference; 2018 Virginia Small Farm Conference sponsored by Virginia State University, and the 2019 Future Harvest Conference.

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 13 years. He crossed the US on a recumbent bicycle in 2007 and has been a meditator and a vegetarian for over 20 years. Recently 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.

In 1993 Ira Wallace cofounded Acorn Community, the home of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. It is located on 72 acres of certified organic land in Central Virginia, growing seeds, alliums, hay, and conducting variety trials for Southern Exposure. She is also an organizer of the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, a fun, family-friendly event featuring an old-time seed swap, Ira was the MidAtlantic regional correspondent for the Mother Earth News gardening almanac in the nineties. She currently writes about heirloom vegetable varieties for magazines and blogs including Mother Earth News, Fine Gardening and Southern Exposure. Her book the Timber Press Guide to Growing Vegetables in the Southeast was published in December 2013 and is available by book sellers everywhere.
Books by Ira Wallace

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. 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.

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 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 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.