The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

Lady Farmer

Start living more sustainably. The Good Dirt podcast explores all aspects of a sustainable lifestyle with healthy soil as the touchpoint and metaphor for the healing of our relationship with the planet. Mother and daughter team Mary & Emma bring you weekly interviews with farmers, artists, authors, and leaders in the regenerative and sustainable living space.

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313 episodes
Updated July 17

Episodes313

Newest first

Nov 26, 2021 · 39 min
69. Slow Friday: Bringing Sanity Back to the Holidays with Mary and Emma
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where today we will be kicking off the holiday season with a special Slow Friday episode! Join us as we share a bit about our own experiences with gift giving as well as how we can be mindful with our spending and purchasing behaviours during the holiday season. We will also be taking a step back to shed light on the environmental and social damage of Black Friday. It is important that we find gifts that are not going to be harmful to the p
Nov 19, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min
68. Regenerative Education & Rust Belt Fibershed with Jess Boeke and Sarah Pottle
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we we will hear from twin sisters Jess Boeke and Sarah Pottle of the Rust Belt Fibershed. This dynamic duo works as a team promoting ethical fashion and the use of natural dyes through their project, Drift Lab Textile Co. Additionally, they share this information with Rust Belt Fibershed — a bioregional textile community growing hope and resilience through local fibers, local colors, and local labor. Today we will learn more about how
Nov 12, 2021 · 53 min
67. Happy Earth Habits with Skylar Saba
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Skylar Saba about her sustainability company Happy Earth Habits. Her love for social media, including sharing sustainability products on TikTok, launched her on a journey engaging her community in small, fun, and meaningful ways. Today we learn more about incorporating sustainable habits into our everyday lives, how perfectionism isn't necessary to live a low-waste life, as well as ways to share your favorite eco-friendly
Nov 5, 2021 · 43 min
66. Beyond Honey with Tierney Monahan
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Tierney Monahan, writer, beekeeper, and MBA candidate at Georgetown University, about the importance of beekeeping. Bees have always been a part of Tierney’s life, and her fascination with them has been well-documented in her new book Beyond Honey. She weaves together beautiful stories about the economic, entrepreneurial, and environmental impacts of bees on our society. Join us on this week’s episode as we learn more abou
Oct 29, 2021 · 55 min
65. Green Burial: Rethinking Death Practices with Heidi Hannapel of Bluestem Conservation Cemetery
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Heidi Hannapel about conservation burials and alternatives to conventional death practices. As the co-founder of Landmatters, a multidisciplinary consulting firm committed to healthy communities in sustainable landscapes, and Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, she works to educate individuals on conservation solutions that allow for economic opportunity, environmental health, cultural heritage, and human wellbeing. Join us
Oct 22, 2021 · 50 min
64. Homesteading is What You Make It with Angela Ferraro Fanning of Axe & Root Homestead
On today’s episode of The Good Dirt, we’re chatting with Angela Ferraro Fanning of Axe and Root Homestead, a six-acre farm in central New Jersey. Angela shares how she got started with homesteading, balancing motherhood and farm life, and all the highs and lows of living off the land. We also discuss her and her family’s decision to follow a vegetarian diet, and what it means to be a modern homesteader. Plus, Angela gives us details about her exciting side projects, like a cookbook, children’s b
Oct 15, 2021 · 1 hr 5 min
63. Regenerative Bison Farming with Liz Riffle
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we chat with lady farmer, Liz Riffle. Liz and her husband Jimmy are the owners and operators of Riffle Farm, a small grass-fed bison operation in West Virginia. The Riffles are dedicated to providing humane and sustainable bison meat to their community. We discuss everything from the trials and tribulations of starting a small farm, how regenerative agriculture helps mitigate climate change, and what to do when a 2,000-pound bison sta
Oct 8, 2021 · 1 hr 10 min
62. Under A Tin Roof with Kayla Lobermeier
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast, where we speak to Kayla Lobermeier about her experiences growing a family business, Under A Tin Roof. As a family owned and operated company, they offer a variety of unique services and goods from their small handmade shop, to providing intimate dining experiences, and sharing popular homesteading articles via Kayla's blog, inspiring others in "living a wholesome, simple, historical life by the seasons." Her love for cooking meals from sc
Oct 1, 2021 · 45 min
61. Fighting Food Insecurity with Jenny Freeman of Community FarmShare
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Jenny Freeman about her experience growing Community FarmShare, a community based initiative that connects food-insecure families with local produce farmers. For Jenny, what sprouted as an idea during the pandemic has now become a fully registered 501(c)(3) organization, offering individuals and organizations the ability to get involved in the agri-food sector and make a difference in their community. This organization wor
Sep 24, 2021 · 54 min
60. Fiber Farming, Plant Dyes, Animal Weddings and Pies: Adventures on Wing and a Prayer Farm with Tammy White
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Tammy White about her experience owning and operating Wing & A Prayer Farm. Located in a small town in New England, this farm began with the rescue of a few Shetland sheep, and is now home to Clun Forest, Poll Dorset, Colored Merino, Cotswold, Wensleydale, Teeswater, and Cormo sheep. It is also home to Vermont’s first Valais Blacknose Sheep. But Farmer Tam is more than a fiber farmer. She also has a passion for the making
Sep 17, 2021 · 53 min
59. Art for the Earth: Sustainable Practices and Natural Dyes with Fiber Artist Lotta Helleberg
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Swedish-born artist, Lotta Helleberg, who specializes in fiber, printmaking, and book arts. Early in her career as an artist, she began to reconsider the harmful dyes and toxic materials she was using, and made the switch from synthetic to natural dyes and paints. Lotta now tends the trees and plants that are translated into both the design and the color of her work, right in her own garden. This ethos of sustainability in
Sep 10, 2021 · 57 min
58. Practicing Mindfulness Through Weaving with Kate Kilmurray
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Kate Kilmurray about how she uses weaving as a form of meditation for stillness, mindfulness, and connecting with the earth--and the joy she finds in sharing this practice with other women in her community. Kate has a degree in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, has run a small textile business and worked for several years at Swan Gallery in Philadelphia. She also taught yoga for fifteen years at the Mystic R
Sep 3, 2021 · 59 min
57. The Return of American Made Linen with Sandy & Durl of The Chico Flax Project
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak to Sandy Fisher and Durl Van Alstyne about their company, The Chico Flax Project. Through their work, they are bringing a new industry and social enterprise for fiber production of flax to Northern California in collaboration with local community members, farmers, artisans, and institutions. For Sandy, weaving has always been an important part of her life—beginning as a young child when she learned how to knit. Durl is equall
Aug 27, 2021 · 1 hr 4 min
56. Accessing Capital & Supporting Regenerative Agriculture with Dan Miller and Spike Gjerde of Steward
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we talk about how technology may have a role in sustaining local regenerative agriculture with Dan Miller, founder of Steward, a platform that allows individuals to fund local farms. We also speak with Spike Gjerde, the visionary and chef of Woodberry Kitchen located in Baltimore, MD, and Steward advocate. Separately, Dan and Spike knew that they needed to find a way to support regenerative farmers and producers using their own natura
Aug 13, 2021 · 1 hr 1 min
55. A Taste of France: Cooking and Slow Living in Gascony with Kate Hill
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast, where we speak to the renowned chef and author Kate Hill, who shares with us the secrets of Gascon cooking and stories of her life in southwest France. Cooking has always come naturally to Kate, who was taught by her first-generation Italian-American mother and a country-raised farm boy father from Oklahoma. She was raised in Hawaii but landed in France thirty years ago, literally arriving by a river barge, and never left. She now shares
Aug 6, 2021 · 1 hr 6 min
54. Renegade Beauty with Nadine Artemis
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we speak about rethinking conventional notions of wellness and beauty with Nadine Artemis, entrepreneur and creator of Living Libations, a line of luxurious natural beauty products, and author of Renegade Beauty: Reveal and Revive Your Natural Radiance as well as Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums. Her story begins with a school science fair project in her teens, when she first combined flasks of esse
Jul 30, 2021 · 49 min
53. A National Model for Land Preservation: The Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve with Caroline Taylor
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we dive into the topics of land conservation, local food production and environmental stewardship in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Join us as we speak to Caroline Taylor, a native Washingtonian and the executive director of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, who shares with us all about this region's own unique land preservation project, the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. We talk about the "Ag Reserve" as a national
Jul 23, 2021 · 1 hr 1 min
52. Go Plastic Free with Linen: Regenerative Design for the Kitchen with Heidi Barr
Welcome to this week’s episode of The Good Dirt Podcast where we dive into the topic of reclaimed fabrics with entrepreneur and former costume designer Heidi Barr. As the founder of The Kitchen Garden Textiles, she speaks to us about the importance of shifting away from single-use plastics to ethically manufactured linen textiles designed to be used directly in the kitchen. Linen is one of the most biodegradable and stylish fabrics in fashion history. It is antimicrobial, durable, and made from
Jul 16, 2021 · 56 min
51. The Million Acre Challenge: Building Regenerative Systems for Healthy Soil with Amanda Cather
In this week’s episode, Mary and Emma talk with Amanda Cather from The Million Acre Challenge, a nonprofit organization that helps Maryland farmers build soil health, increase farm profitability, and improve water quality – while making farms resilient and active in the face of climate change. Their farmer-focused collaborative uses soil health science, economics, education, and incentives to achieve their mission. Amanda's early training in pre-med led her from an interest in equitable foo
Jul 9, 2021 · 59 min
50. Trash Talk: The Truth About Compostables with Lauren Olson of WorldCentric
In this week’s episode, Mary and Emma dive deep into the world of plastic consumption and waste management with Lauren Olson, a Zero Waste Manager at World Centric, exploring the world of compostables and the use of plastic in our daily lives. The discussion covers several aspects of the topic, including the difficulties of “zero-waste," how plastic sneaks into our homes even when we are consciously trying to avoid it, and all the ways in which existing systems make it difficult to create true

The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

69. Slow Friday: Bringing Sanity Back to the Holidays with Mary and Emma

68. Regenerative Education & Rust Belt Fibershed with Jess Boeke and Sarah Pottle

67. Happy Earth Habits with Skylar Saba

66. Beyond Honey with Tierney Monahan

65. Green Burial: Rethinking Death Practices with Heidi Hannapel of Bluestem Conservation Cemetery

64. Homesteading is What You Make It with Angela Ferraro Fanning of Axe & Root Homestead

63. Regenerative Bison Farming with Liz Riffle

62. Under A Tin Roof with Kayla Lobermeier

61. Fighting Food Insecurity with Jenny Freeman of Community FarmShare

60. Fiber Farming, Plant Dyes, Animal Weddings and Pies: Adventures on Wing and a Prayer Farm with Tammy White

59. Art for the Earth: Sustainable Practices and Natural Dyes with Fiber Artist Lotta Helleberg

58. Practicing Mindfulness Through Weaving with Kate Kilmurray

57. The Return of American Made Linen with Sandy & Durl of The Chico Flax Project

56. Accessing Capital & Supporting Regenerative Agriculture with Dan Miller and Spike Gjerde of Steward

55. A Taste of France: Cooking and Slow Living in Gascony with Kate Hill

54. Renegade Beauty with Nadine Artemis

53. A National Model for Land Preservation: The Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve with Caroline Taylor

52. Go Plastic Free with Linen: Regenerative Design for the Kitchen with Heidi Barr

51. The Million Acre Challenge: Building Regenerative Systems for Healthy Soil with Amanda Cather

50. Trash Talk: The Truth About Compostables with Lauren Olson of WorldCentric