Ted Carter, landscaper and co-author of Reunion: How We Heal Our Broken Connection to the Earth, Penny Jordan of Cape Elizabeth's Jordan Farm and Land for Good, and David Banks & Bill Lunt of Falmouth's Tidewater Conservation Project discuss ways in which we can celebrate the health of the planet on this 42nd anniversary of Earth Day!
Click here to read the article referenced in our "Wellness Innovations" segment, sponsored by the University of New England.
Led by designer Ted Carter, our skilled team works on projects primarily in Southern Maine, coastal New Hampshire and coastal Northern Massachusetts.
Specializing in a naturalistic style, our aim is to create a landscape that not only fits the existing environment, but looks as though it has always been there…one that is both attractive and functional. We work closely and collaboratively with our clients to ensure their wishes and needs are listened to and interpreted correctly. Making sure there is a strong visual relationship between a client’s home, both inside and out is very important.As well as landscape designing, Ted Carter has also penned a book, along side his coauthor Ellen Gunter, exploring where and how we have gone wrong in our relationship with the Earth and how we go about starting to heal.The book is titled REUNION: HOW WE HEAL OUR BROKEN CONNECTION TO THE EARTH.
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Our second featured guest is Penny Jordan. Penny Jordan, a fourth generation farmer in Maine, grew up on the farm she currently operates alongside her brother, Bill Jr, and sisters, Pam and Carol Anne. In 1999 Penny had the opportunity to re-join the family business – Jordan’s Farm a 60+ acre mixed vegetable/market farm in Cape Elizabeth. Penny worked with her father, Bill Jordan Sr, and her siblings to transition Bill Jordan’s passion, the farm, to the next generation, and fulfill Bill Jordan’s dream – that his farm would always be a working farm and remain a significant part of the community.
Jordan’s Farm grows a wide variety of products with a significant focus on strawberries, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, green beans, lettuces and salad greens. The Jordan’s primary market is retail. They have an on-farm farm stand, mobile farm stand (a renovated school bus) and have entered the electronic age with an online shopping cart system for pre-order and pick-up. Jordan’s Farms’ products are also available wholesale through Farm Fresh Connection, Crown of Maine Cooperative and at local stores and restaurants. In addition to the farm operation Jordan’s Farm (along with Mother Nature) makes compost which is used as a soil amendment on the farm and is sold wholesale and retail. They offer an array of soil products for landscapers and home gardeners.
Penny was instrumental in starting Cape Farm Alliance, a community based organization that focus is ensuring the viability of farms in Cape Elizabeth. She is a member of the Maine Farm Bureau, New England Farmers Union, is active in hunger prevention programs in Southern Maine, is a panel member for the Farm for the Future program and has worked with Land For Good an organization out of Keene New Hampshire that focuses on keeping land in agriculture.
Penny has over 30 years experience in project management and business planning. She holds a Masters degree on Social Work, focusing on Community Organizing and Program Design. She is passionate about all Maine farms and works to find ways to expand market reach for farms across Maine. Penny knows Maine’s agriculture industry is poised for growth and success and wants to be part of the ever growing cadre of passionate people who are seizing this opportunity. Penny believes that taking action to ensure the long term viability and profitability of our farm businesses is one way to attract the next generation to the farm and grow agriculture in Maine.
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