Soil Sisters: How Local Women Are Caring for the Land

Learn how local women landowners are getting involved in the future of land stewardship.

When women who share a passion for healthy soil collaboratively come together to champion and celebrate conservation through groups such as Wisconsin’s Soil Sisters, they are able to have an impact on the landscape for generations to come. An avid gardener and local food leader, Heather Lynch shares how this women-powered support is helping to fuel her personal journey from molecular biologist to farmer and land conservationist.

Starting with bare land in 2019, Lynch has since transformed these nine acres into Green Haven Gardens, installing a large raised bed kitchen garden and a native plant pollinator garden, adding a flock of chickens, planting a diverse fruit and nut orchard, and beginning a conservation plan for the “wild” part of her property. Join her for a photographic tour of this transformation and of the women-led collaborations that are supporting farmers like her across Wisconsin.

This program meets in person at The Morton Arboretum and will also be broadcast live online via Zoom.

To attend in person, register for Section A (N054-A).To attend online, register for Section B (N054-B)

Speaker: Heather Lynch, gardener, educator, conservationist

Age: 16 and older

#N054 (A or B)

This program is part of the Women and the Environment Series. Register for the other sessions:

Friday, March 10: Gidinawendimin: We Are All Connected with Dr. Wendy Makoons Geniusz

Friday, March 17: Conserving Biodiversity with Dr. Tanisha Williams, founder of #blackbotanistsweek

Friday, March 24: The Legacy of May Watts with Cindy Crosby and Rita Hassert

Thursday, April 6: Black Earth Wisdom: Afro-Ecological Survival Strategies with Leah Penniman

Heather Lynch, gardener, educator, conservationist

Heather Lynch is passionate about local, seasonal food and has been dedicated to using her backyard to grow much of her own food for the last nine years. She is currently a conservation ambassador for the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network. She and her husband, Dylan, have been growing their small homestead, Green Haven Gardens, in Brooklyn, Wisconsin, with hopes of providing food for themselves while also being good stewards of the land.

With a degree in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Lynch is a certified Wisconsin Master Gardener and enjoys volunteering at a food pantry garden, where she teaches youth groups how to grow food that is donated directly to local food pantries. Lynch uses her gardening knowledge as an active leader and educator in the Green County, Wisconsin–based group Soil Sisters, and through gardening consultations and workshops.

What to Know

Those who register for the online offering will receive a Zoom link by email. Click on the link to join the program at the scheduled date and time.

In an effort to increase access, this lecture is available at three ticket prices, with a limited number of no-fee spots for those who could not otherwise participate. (To request a no-fee spot, please complete this form to enter the lottery.) To ensure that this pricing model sustainably supports all interested participants as well as our speaker, please select the ticket price you feel you can pay at this time.

Group registration prices apply only to the online session.

Questions about Registration
630-719-2468
Registrar-ed@mortonarb.org
Weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Format
In person and via Zoom
Friday, March 31, 2023,
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
N054 (A or B)
This lecture is available at various ticket prices, with a limited number of additional no-fee spots for those who could not otherwise participate. Learn how to apply.
$125 large-group viewing party (11 or more people)
$70 small-group viewing party (up to ten people)
$32 pay it forward
$23 guest
$16 member
$8 need based
Thornhill Education Center, Zoom
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