Sedona AZ (March 13, 2012) – “Desert Harvesters and Native Foods” will be featured at Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc.’s Preserving the Wonder™ Speaker Series on Friday, March 23rd. Please note this event, which usually occurs on the third Wednesday of each month, will be held on Friday. The evening will begin at 5:30 pm, with complementary offerings of appetizers donated by El Rincon and local wine donated by Norris and Carolyn Peterson. The presentation will begin at 5:45 pm.
Brad Lancaster will give a talk on Desert Harvesters, a group he co-founded in Tucson that celebrates and promotes the native foods of the Sonoran desert. “Desert Harvesters and Native Foods: Put ‘em in your mouth, your yard, your street, and your neighborhood” – will be a celebratory presentation on the history of Desert Harvesters and other dynamo local-food efforts that have enriched the Tucson community, ecosystem, and palates – and how you can likewise enrich the community where you live. Learn about grinding mesquite pods with a hammermill or a Suzuki 4 x 4; irrigating food-producing street trees with the street; planting and picking the best tree-beans; throwing pie, mulch, and pancakes parties; creating a thoroughly delicious community-tasted cookbook; regenerating ecosystems in your pantry and landscape, and growing friendships and neighborhood networks while you’re at it! Desert Harvesters (www.DesertHarvesters.org) is a volunteer-run, grassroots effort based in Tucson, Arizona, that strives to promote, celebrate, and enhance local food security and production by encouraging the planting of indigenous, food-bearing shade trees (such as the Velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina)) in water-harvesting earthworks, and then educating the public on how to harvest, process, and enjoy the bounty..
Brad Lancaster is a dynamic teacher, consultant, and designer of regenerative systems. He is the author of the award-winning, best-selling books Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, the information-packed website www.HarvestingRainwater.com, and the Drops in a Bucket Blog. He lives his talk on an oasis-like eighth of an acre in downtown Tucson, Arizona, by harvesting over 100,000 gallons of rainwater a year where just 12 inches per year falls from the sky. Desert Harvesters’ Eat Mesquite! cookbook, along with signed copies of Brad’s water-harvesting books, will be available for sale after the talk.
Keep Sedona Beautiful welcomes the community and visitors alike to its free monthly Preserving the Wonder™ Speaker Series, which takes place at its historic Pushmataha Center on 360 Brewer Road in Sedona. Held the third Wednesday each month from September to June, typically beginning at 5:30 pm with wine and appetizers, the award-winning series presents an interesting diversity of programs relevant to the unique environment of our region. Keep Sedona Beautiful, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that, by acting through the stewardship of its members and volunteers, is committed to protecting and sustaining the unique scenic beauty and natural environment of the Greater Sedona Area. For more information about Keep Sedona Beautiful, please call 928.282.4938.