Podcast appearances and mentions of molly rockamann

Molly Rockamann is the Founder of EarthDance, an organic farm school in Ferguson. EarthDance sits on the old Mueller Farm site, the oldest organic farm west of the Mississippi River. Since its founding in 2009, EarthDance has empowered hundreds of St. Louisans to grow their own food organically.Molly joins us to tell her story of founding EarthDance, and what she has learned on her journey about farming, soils, community, and life. EarthDance represents the spirit of organic farming in St. Louis, and remains a crucial asset within our local food system. We thank Molly for the work she's done, and coming on Speak Up St. Louis to tell her story to our listeners.https://earthdancefarms.org/

Did you know that farming in community creates a social contract between people, and can help lift depression and loneliness? Join Food Sleuth Radio host and registered dietitian, Melinda Hemmelgarn, for her interview with Molly Rockamann, founding director of Earth Dance Certified Organic Farm School based in Ferguson Missouri. Rockamann discusses her global farming experiences, food sovereignty, agriculture as community catalyst, and the healing nature of agriculture. Rockamann was a featured panelist at the University of MO’s 12th Annual Agroforestry Symposium. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOh8LRAf21gW2dt3uPf_UA Related website: https://earthdancefarms.org/

For our Resilience series, today we connect with Molly Rockamann of EarthDance Farm to explore how she overcame burnout by taking a year sabbatical from the farm to travel, experience new things, and prioritize the in-person people connections in her life. Most importantly, she returned to her farming career recommitted and renewed—just in time to lead her organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. Molly is the Founding Director of EarthDance Organic Farm School in Ferguson, Missouri, and the visionary who saved the oldest organic farm west of the Mississippi from development, transforming it into an educational platform for organic agriculture and community empowerment. A native of St. Louis, she resides in Ferguson near the farm. Her passion for good food includes social justice and equity; she believes that the most regenerative agriculture is inclusive of people from all backgrounds.

It might be a great summer to put in the Garden you've always thought about! Debbie Monterrey chats with Molly Rockamann of Earthdance Organic Farm School.

You should know about Molly Rockamann and Earth Dance Organic Farm School

In this episode we speak with Molly Rockamann the Founding Director of EarthDance Organic Farm School about how she got started, how she got involved in non-profit, how the community can get involved, and how EarthDance helps the community through their programs. Host: Nick Boyd Produced By: Radek Chupka, Nick Boyd, Cory Reynolds, and Dan Litz About the Speaker: Molly Rockamann is the Founding Director of EarthDance Organic Farm School. Molly manages all staff and overall operation and oversees and assists with programs, fundraising and numerous special projects. She works directly with Board of Directors on long-range planning and oversees grant proposals and the organization’s finances. She is a St. Louis native but felt the coastal pull for college and remained in warm tropical climates while working with mushroom producers in Ghana, organic rice farmers in Thailand, veggie farmers in Florida and California, and sugar cane farmers in Fiji. She has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Eckerd College, a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UC-Santa Cruz and a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies from the University of the South Pacific. She ultimately decided her heart was in the heartland and returned to her family’s roots in North St. Louis County. Molly is dedicated to preserving farmland and to celebrating the culture in agriculture. Molly is proud to be a Ferguson, Missouri resident. She feels that her greatest reward is witnessing the transformation that takes place when individuals spend an entire growing season farming in community.

This week's guests are committed to creating food systems that are accessible to all. They emphasize the importance of community organizing and political engagement in the sustainable ag movement. Karen Washington is co-founder of Rise & Root farm in Chester, New York. She splits her time between her farm and the Bronx, where she's known for her community gardening initiatives. Karen will be in conversation with Molly Rockamann, founder of EarthDance urban farm in Ferguson, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. 

Welcome to the oldest organic farm west of the Mississippi! Earth Dance Farms grew from an acre of rented ground to one of the nation's most recognized spaces for agricultural education. Located in Ferguson, Missouri, Earth Dance Farms is the supplier for many of the top-rated restaurants in the region. While it might be easy to overlook the supply chain, Molly and her team remain committed to teaching the people of St. Louis where their food comes from. So plug your headphones in and learn why focusing on organic meals is better for your region, and why sustainable food is cheaper for your wallet AND your local farmer. Molly tells Meet St. Louis why all the things people call headaches are actually worth our time- especially if you love food. Sit back, plug in, and enjoy!

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting a webcast for Strong Towns members with Ferguson, MO-based farmer, Molly Rockamann of EarthDance Organic Farm School. This was part of a series we've been doing throughout the last few months about local food. You can find the whole series here. Kea Wilson interviewed Molly about how the farm got started, the challenges and advantages of having a farm in this location, where local food intersects with building Strong Towns and much more.  We're now releasing the audio of the webcast as today's podcast. If you'd like to watch the whole video, just visit our website. Even if you're not looking to become a farmer in the near future, there's still a lot to learn from this discussion. The conversation considers how farmers and non-farmers can be good neighbors to one another, how local food can support a strong local economy, and how regular people can take small steps to participate in local food systems, whether or not you're ready to get down in the dirt and grow something. 

The Miller family had been farming acreage in Ferguson, Missouri for over a century when Molly Rockamann, a visionary who loves to dance, came home from service overseas, met Mrs. Miller and launched - in 2008 - the enterprise EarthDance Farms. Today, this extraordinary human-nature partnership includes an Organic Farm School; hands-on working and learning opportunities for teens to elders; productive, nutritious, delicious and LOCAL public interactions through the Ferguson Farmers Market - and much more.                             Most recently, the principles of Permaculture have taken root on the contours of EarthDance fields, guided enthusiastically by Farm Manager Matt Lebon. Matt describes the Permaculture way of working with nature to produce food while supporting whole ecosystems (way more than just crop rows) on agricultural lands.  This summer, plan a Saturday morning trip up to Ferguson. Shop the Ferguson Farmers' Market starting at 8 am, then at 10:45 hop on the new Jolly Trolley (put your veggies in its cooler) for a short trip to tour EarthDance Farms. You'll be back to your car by noon - and it may not be your only visit! Learn more at www.EarthDanceFarms.org.  Music: Mayor Harrison's Fedora, performed live at KDHX by Kevin Buckley and Ian Walsh THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms' engineer, and to Crystal Stevens, EarthDance Marketing Mama, for coordinating this interview. Related Earthworms Conversations:  Farming on a Downtown Roof - June, 2015 - Food Roof farmer Mary Ostafi is an EarthDance alumna. Permaculturist Tao Orion Goes Beyond the War on Invasive Species (March, 2016) St. Louis Food Policy Coalition (December, 2015)

The farm is the oldest organic farm in the state of Missouri, and possibly even west of the Mississippi. Settled in 1883, the 3rd generation is now 89 years old, with no one to carry on the farm. Surrounded by a low-income neighborhood, this 14 acre farm has resisted the surrounding development and an experienced tenant farmer on the land says that it’s the best soil he’s ever seen. This week’s guest on Greenhorn Radio is Molly Rockamann of EarthDance Farms. EarthDance takes a unique approach to small-scale farming in that it fuses the celebration of art and music with organic farming education on the land. The five year plan includes an artist-in-residence program as well as a musician-in-residence program on the property. This season arts and music will be grown on the farm via an Open Space – Open Studio program, inviting local artists and musicians of all types to come on the farm to create together.