About the Speakers
November
18,
2009, 7:00 pmProgram: “Green Gardening”- How-To
Sustainable Garden - Learn the WHAT, WHY, and HOW components of having a sustainable garden. In this one hour lecture you will comprehend the philosophy of utilizing natures example to grow high quality vegetables, as well as all of the benefits of composting, vermicomposting, and how to grow veggies using these methods.
Jason McCobb - Is
responsible for single-handedly developing a full functional vegetable
garden for exclusive, well known, 5 star, 5 diamond resort in West Palm
Beach, The Breakers. There the chefs, turned the fruits of his
labor into amazing delicacies. Vegetable scraps from the kitchen were
utilized in the garden in the form of 3000 pounds of compost per
week. Jason's studies of sustainable agriculture have taken him
around the country meeting with and learning from the top farmers in
natural process agriculture. He has worked as a consultant in Florida
and Georgia and has taught workshops there on the subjects of
composting and vermicomposting. His main areas of focus are
growing high quality, nutritionally dense vegetables,
sustainably. As well as to bring and share this knowledge within
our community.By educating, Jason wishes to change the way the people in this community think about the fruits and vegetables they feed to their families.
Date:
February
24, 2010, 7:00 pm
Program:
“Bamboo-Palooza”
My life, professionally, has always been aviation-related. I started in the early 1980's as an A&P mechanic and soon began specializing in helicopters. Later I became a helicopter pilot. By the end of the 1980's I was traveling to remote areas of the world, working with helicopters that were on lease to operators of various industries or causes. Many of these helicopters operated in jungles – an obvious source of many exotic, tropical plants.
I began bringing back small plants for my South Florida garden and soon became enamored with the giant timber bamboos that were growing in South America. Bamboo was, and is, prohibited by the USDA as a live import so I found the American Bamboo Society's Florida chapter and became a member (eventually and currently the chapter president).
Many new bamboo species were imported with a special permit by the A.B.S. and the internet’s growth during the 1990’s helped me present them through a website I posted for the FCC/ABS. Tropical Bamboo Nursery & Gardens evolved out of all of this - founded in 2002. It’s become the largest display collection of tropical bamboos in the USA.
Robert Saporito
Owner/Founder – Tropical Bamboo Nursery & Gardens
President – Florida/Caribbean Chapter of the American Bamboo