Talks-Panel Discussions-Presentations-Workshops

Grace Farms Announces Feb. 7 Regional Conference on Sustainable Development

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In support of the global effort of the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Grace Farms Foundation and Live Green Connecticut are partnering to host the first-of-its-kind Regional Conference for Sustainable Development on Feb. 7, 2018 at Grace Farms.

Thought leaders from the area and around the world, including Jeffrey Sachs of The Earth Institute, Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of Connecticut Green Bank, and Joe DeLong, executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, will gather to discuss wide-ranging strategies for promoting sustainable development with case studies demonstrating successful implementation in Connecticut. __________

— an announcement from Grace Farms

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Local businesses, not-for-profit organizations, town committees and individuals are invited to present relevant work to conference attendees; applications are available online, here. “Grace Farms began with the preservation of more than 80 acres of land, and we are expanding our commitment to environmental sustainability through our adoption of the U.N.’s SDGs in our daily operations and initiatives,” said Adam Thatcher, Director of Operations at Grace Farms Foundation. “There are many new ideas being pursued locally and we look forward to bringing these innovators together to focus on generating and exploring new strategies to address four SDGs: affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.”

The day-long program, which will take place in Grace Farms’ LEED-certified River building, is modeled after the International Conference on Sustainable Development hosted at Columbia University by The Center for Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and Columbia University.

Ask Your Mama

Race & American Memory | The Langston Hughes Project

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Following our November Community Dinner, Grace Farms Foundation will present The Langston Hughes Project, a concert performance of “Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz”, one of Hughes’ literary masterworks. Led by trumpeter Ron McCurdy,  The Langston Hughes Project embodies the poet’s testimony to the struggle for artistic and social freedom at home and abroad at the beginning of the 1960s. Through this special event, Grace Farms Foundation joins in commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hughes’ death. Race & American Memory is an ongoing free series launched in 2015 examining race and its impact on American identity and moral integrity. Through the program, the foundation examines the ways in which Americans comprehend and recall U.S. history.

Community Organizations
Panelists economic justice Grace Foundation 09-09-17

Grace Farms Hosts Panel on Women’s Voices & Economic Justice in the U.S.

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Grace Farms Foundation will host a panel discussion exploring the roles of faith, gender, and race in questions of economic justice in America. The Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, President of Auburn Seminary will moderate a panel featuring nationally renowned faith leaders and Auburn Senior Fellows Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK, and the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister of Middle Collegiate Church. The event, which is free to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 at Grace Farms.

The Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson is the president of Auburn Seminary in New York, a multi-faith leadership development and research institute that equips bold and resilient leaders of faith and moral courage. Auburn Seminary helps its students build communities, bridge divides, pursue justice, and heal the world.

Grace Farms 2017

Race & American Memory | Stamped from the Beginning

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Race & American Memory programs at Grace Farms examine the ways in which Americans comprehend and recall national history, and seeks to revisit instances, ideas, and lives which have suffered negative revision or erasure. In 2017, Grace Farms Foundation will offer various touch points related to issues of race, its construction, and its sustained impact on American identity and moral integrity. Ibram X. Kendi | July 21st, Grace Farms Foundation will welcome the winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Non-Fiction, author and scholar, Ibram X. Kendi, to lecture on the subject of his acclaimed book, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America. On November 17th, Ask Your Mama, a special live jazz and poetry performance of the Langston Hughes Project led by trumpeter Ron McCurdy, will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Hughes’ death. Register for the July Community Dinner, which will immediately precede the lecture.

Gardening

Workshops on Local Food Sourcing, Gardening, Edible & Medicinal Plants

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Grace Farms Foundation invites you to learn about local food sourcing and how individuals can make an impact on the environment through three workshops focused on edible and medicinal plants, growing your own garden, and sourcing food from small scale regional farms.
Workshop 1 | Food Justice & Local Gardening
Enjoy lunch in the Commons provided by Snow Hill Farm, during which Laura O’Donohue from Snow Hill Farm, Nicole Straight of Food Rescue U.S., and Grace Farms Foundation Commons Manager Neena Perez will discuss the importance of local food and how unused food can be donated locally to those in need. Workshop 2 | Closed Loop Gardening
In our Community Garden, speakers Nick Skeadas from Curbside Compost, Jen Cipriano from Copia, and the New Canaan High School Bee Club students will educate participants on the process of growing your own garden, including the importance of bees and pollinators in our ecosystem, small gardening principles, and the practice of composting in your home. Workshop 3 | Using Edible and Medicinal Plants
Participate in an educational discussion about the use of native edible and medicinal plants. This workshop will also include a walk out to Grace Farms’ paddocks to plant pumpkins, and then to the West Barn where there will be a session on wildflower arranging.

Grace Farms 2017

‘Practicing Silence’ Dance Performance at Grace Farms

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The third installment of our Practicing series following Practicing Awe and Practicing Empathy, Practicing Silence is a year-long workshop exploring the many meanings of silence through a rigorous, creative process. On June 17 at 3 pm, an interdisciplinary team of artists and scholars will present a free public showing of a performative new work, which embodies the groups’ conceptual explorations of silence over several months: as present absence, as inner stillness, and as negated voices of the oppressed. The creative team will include contributions by choreographer Silas Farley, dancers Rachel Hutsell, Ghaled Kayali, Claire Kretzschmar, and Lars Nelson of the New York City Ballet, and dancer Cassia Wilson of Ballet Austin; composer and sound designer Pornchanok Kanchanabanca; jazz pianist and drummer Julius Rodriguez; and poet Ilya Kaminsky, and The Ase Quartet under the direction of bassist and cellist Noah Jackson. A discussion with the artists will follow the showing. The signature program of the Foundation’s Arts Initiative Practicing is led by Kenyon Victor Adams, Arts Initiative Director and a performance artist, director, and poet. Practicing brings together artists with a range of perspectives to examine universal subjects such as empathy, awe, joy, and now silence.

Education

Studying for Finals? Grace Farms in New Canaan Opens its Doors

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From June 13 to 18, Grace Farms in New Canaan is designating its library for students preparing for finals. For those who wish to study less quietly, the commons area is another good spot. If you haven’t been to Grace Farms, it’s hard to imagine a better place to study. The main building, designed by Pritzker Prize winning Japanese architecture firm Sanaa, is named the River. _________

— This article originally was published by Greenwich Free Press

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From the top of the hill on which it is was built, it’s evident why: Five seemingly separate buildings are connected by a dazzling rooftop that flows like a stream.

Grace Farms 2017

The Refugee Crisis and U.S. Response

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Learn about the important efforts surrounding the refugee crisis in the United States, and the inspiring response from organizations including UNHCR The U.N. Refugee Agency and The International Institute of Connecticut (IICONN), in a conversation moderated by Grace Farms Foundation Justice Initiative Director, Krishna Patel. The panel will include informative perspectives from Larry Yungk, UNHCR’s Senior Resettlement Officer, Claudia Connor, the President & CEO of IICONN, Aleksandr Y. Troyb, Esq., the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Maha Karahamad, a recently resettled Syrian refugee and a Coordinator on the Strategic Foundation Partnerships Team for Save The Children here in Connecticut. UHCR has been committed to their work protecting and assisting refugees around the world since their establishment during the aftermath of the second world war in 1950. Today, they strive to ensure that everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to eventually return home, integrate or resettle. Since 1918, IICONN’s Refugee Services Program has assisted adults and families who have fled war and persecution in their home countries, and in many cases spent decades in refugee camps.

Earth Day 2017

Earth Day Celebration at Grace Farms

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Join Grace Farms in celebrating Earth Day with insightful programs for all ages centered around preserving open space, restoring wildlife, and exploring the natural world. 10 am – 12 pm | Discovery Stations Children and families are invited to participate in our Discovery Stations in the Plaza–The Art of Wind Energy, Wonders of Wildlife Painting, Co-Existing with Native Wildlife, and Living Sustainably. Each station offers a new way for young families to engage with nature and learn about wildlife and sustainability. 12-12:30 pm | Falconry Demonstration Watch birds of prey soar over the River Building under the direction of professional Falconer, Brian Bradley. 1-2 pm | Guided Walk | Preserving Wild Lands Join Nature Initiative Director, Mark Fowler, on a walk through Grace Farms’ trails as he illustrates the importance of preserving open space.

Climate Change 2017

After Dinner at Grace Farms: Conversation About Climate Change

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Join Grace Farms Foundation in welcoming Paul Hanle, President of Climate Central, for a conversation about climate change and the importance of communicating its impact to the public. Hanle will explain the basic scientific facts of climate change and discuss the role that organizations like Climate Central play in explaining the consequences. Following a short conversation with Mark Fowler, Grace Farms Foundation’s Nature Initiative, Hanle will answer questions about climate science.

Grace Farms 2017

Opera in Motion: An Open Rehearsal of an Opera Workshop Ensemble

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Grace Farms Foundation’s Arts Initiative invites visitors to join us for Opera in Motion, an open rehearsal of the University of Delaware’s Opera Workshop Ensemble. A cast of vibrant young opera singers, under the direction of Dr. Isai Jess Munoz, Chair of the Sacred in Opera Initiative of the National Opera Association, will present contemporary interpretations of Baroque vocal masterpieces by Italian composers Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Provenzale. The rehearsal will begin with a brief discussion with the University of Delaware creative team about the production’s process, which utilizes contemporary theater methods, followed by an open rehearsal of In Love and War: Monteverdi in Motion and Provenzale’s Dialogue a Cinque Voce per la Passione.

Grace Farms 2017

Interfaith Seder | From Darkness to Light

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Grace Farms Foundation and the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut invite you to join us for an Interfaith Seder led by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth-El, Reverend Mark Lingle of St. Francis’ Episcopal Church, and Dr. Kareem Adeeb of the American Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies. Participants will share in historic Seder traditions and explore how different faiths represent the journey from darkness to light. The Seder meal will be symbolic. Light refreshments will be served.