9 – 10:15 Rocks, Trees, Water, Plants – Vermont’s Working Landscape
Presenters: Paul Costello & Erica Campbell
Moderator: Kathy Davidow, LEAF Committee

Both will be talking about the Vermont Working Landscape Partnership (VWLP )and its campaign for the future of the farm and forest economy. VWLP’s Fall campaign will urge the Governor and Legislature to make major investment, now, in the enterprises that produce the working landscape–that means Farm to Plate, start up funds for entrepeneurs, wrap around financial packaging for diverse and value-added enterprises, and infrastructure–from cheese caves to slaughterhouses–to spur new market opportunities.

Paul Costello has served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development www.vtrural.org since 2000. He is a UVM alumnus, holds a PhD in intellectual history from McGill University, and is immediate past president of Partners for Rural America.

Erica Campbell is the Farm to Plate Program Director for Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, www.vsjf.org/project-details/5/farm-to-plate-initative where she is coordinating the implementa-tion of the 10-year strategic plan for Vermont’s food system. Prior to joining VSJF, Erica was a food systems planner at the Center for an Agricultural Economy in Hardwick, where she led the development of the Regional Food System Plan for Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

Paul and Erica will be available individually to further discuss and answer questions following the panel presentation.

11:00 – 12:15 What it Means to be Green – - Growing a Sustainable Business
Presenters: Jim Musty, Paul Sachs and Tim Copeland
Moderator: Sandy Price, LEAF Committee and owner of Silver Fern Garden Design
www.silverferngardendesign.com

Jim Musty owns J.M. Landscaping & Garden Center, http://jmlandscaping.net, a 4-season, full service landscape center in Bradford. Hailing from Piermont, NH, Jim and his wife Mary received degrees in Horticulture from UNH and have been in the landscape business ever since. Jim has decades of experience in design and installation of hardscape, lawns and landscape plantings.

Paul Sachs, founder and owner of North Country Organics, http://www.norganics.com is a renowned authority of soil science and has studied and written extensively about the powerful and intricate life forces found in the soils that grow our food, lawns, golf courses , playing fields, agricultural products and flower gardens. Paul is dedicated to providing organic fertilizers, soil amendments and environmentally compatible pest controls that result in optimum long term health and fertility of our gardens and landscapes without the use of harmful chemicals.

NCO was founded in 1983 with the concept that any type of agriculture or horticulture can be productive, successful, and more profitable without compromising the earth’s delicate eco-system.

North Country Organics is a wholesale business that sells their products to the agricultural and horticultural industries. NCO products are available to the home gardener at local retail nurseries, as well as nurseries throughout the Northeast.

Tim Copeland set out in the early 1970s to make wood products from natural hardwoods. Initially, making cider presses for home and small-scale orchard use, his designs evolved into butcher-block kitchen furniture and Adirondack-style porch furniture -items that were functional and affordable for baby-boomers as they furnished their first homes.

During many periods of growth, Copeland Furniture http://www.copelandfurniture.com .has changed from a one-man operation in an old garage in East Corinth, Vermont, to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located on the banks of the Connecticut River in Bradford, Vermont. Using a combination of leading-edge computer technology and traditional craftsman technique, an enterprise was created that is embedded in the local community, a place that provides a fulfilling work environment for its approximately 100 employees.

1:00 – 2:15 Keeping PACE With Renewable Energy: New Trends in Funding & Technology
Panelists: Brett Tofel, of ReKnew Energy Systems; Howie Michaelson, of Catamount Solar; and Peter Adamczyk, of Vermont Energy Investment Corp.
Moderator: Brad Vietje, LEAF Committee Member and owner of Green Works Solar Store greenworkssolarstore.com in Groton, VT, where he designs and installs residential and small commercial solar electric and solar hot water systems, as well as solar thermal heating systems. Brad and his wife, Linda Ide, live in a newly-finished straw bale and timber frame home in Newbury that will soon feature solar heat, solar hot water, and a grid-tied solar electric system with battery back-up.

Brett Tofel founded ReKnew Energy Systems, Inc. http://www.reknew.net in 2006, as a way to shift his career into a field that made the world a better place. Since that time, as an engineer by education (’89 RPI) and training, has grown ReKnew from a 2 person start-up to a renewables design, sales and service company employing 20 people and working in both residential and commercial areas in several states. Brett speaks regularly on renewable energy design, financing and benefits.
Howie Michaelson has been designing and installing renewable energy Systems for more than a decade, and started his own company “Sun Catcheer” 5 years ago. He now has created a new company “Catamount Solar” http://catamountsolar.com with 2 other veterans of the VT Solar Business, Dan Kinney and Kevin McColister, giving Catamount Solar more than 30 years of combined experience in residential and commercial solar installations. Howie has been living off-grid with his wife and kids for 14 years.

Peter Adamczyk is the Energy Finance and Development Manager at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. http://www.veic.org He leads the development and implementation of financing strategies and services that support VEIC’s goal of reducing the economic and environmental costs of energy use. He manages relationships with financial partners, including development, analysis, and advocacy activities regarding energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Peter has a BA in International Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and he brings more than 23 years of investment and finance experience in San Francisco, London and New York to this position. He is a frequent speaker at energy efficiency and renewable energy conferences.