The Good Dirt: Sustainability Explained

Our discussion today is with Mary Ellen Dowd, a Communications Associate at TerraCycle, Inc. TerraCycle is an international leader in innovative sustainability solutions, creating and operating first-of-their-kind platforms in recycling, recycled materials, and reuse. Across 21 countries, TerraCycle is on a mission to rethink waste and develop practical solutions for today’s complex waste challenges. The company engages an expansive multi-stakeholder community across a wide range of accessible programs, from Fortune 500 companies to schools and individuals, and has raised over $44 million for schools and nonprofits since its founding more than 15 years ago.

In this conversation, we talk about how the Terracycle services can bring our home recycling practices to a new level. To learn more about TerraCycle and join them on their journey to move the world from a linear economy to a circular one, please visit www.terracycle.com.

Topics Covered:

• Mary Ellen's background
• What is Terra Cycle and how they take recycling to the next level
• The Zero-Waste Box
• Free Recycling Programs
• Recycling is a process that is governed by economics
• What happens to the contents of Zero-Waste Box
• Bausch and Lomb partnership
• Origins of Terracycle
• The value of trash
• Eliminating the idea of waste
• The Loop circular shopping system, or the modern milkman
• How the good dirt connects to waste and the economy
• How can the zero-waste box be more accessible to the individual?
• What happens when the Zero Waste Box is returned to Terracycle
• How Terracycle addresses microplastics
• The problem of cigarette butts
• Actionable steps for individuals
• "Wish-cycling"
• How Terracycle addresses scale

Connect with Terracycle:

• Terracycle's website, terracycle.com
• On Instagram @terracycle
• On Facebook @TerraCycle

This episode is Sponsored by True Leaf Market:

Use our promo code: TGD10 - for $10 off an order of $50 or more (expires June 15th. Limit to one use per customer) at https://www.trueleafmarket.com/

About Lady Farmer:

• Our Website
• @weareladyfarmer on Instagram
• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC
• Leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!
• Email us at [email protected]

Original music by John Kingsley. The Good Dirt podcast is edited and engineered by Aleksandra van der Westhuizen and produced by Mary Ball. The Good Dirt is a part of the Connectd Podcasts Network.

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well-being.

In this episode, Mary and Emma discuss the meaning of January 6th as the Feast of Epiphany. According to the Christian Liturgical Calendar, this day commemorates the three Magi's visit to the scene of the nativity and marks the end of the Christmas season. In the Appalachian tradition, Epiphany was known as "Little Christmas" or "Old Christmas," hearkening back to Old World traditions of extending the Christmas season over 12 days as an extended period of celebration and rest, ending with "Little Christmas" on January 6th. This episode concludes with Mary's telling of an Epiphany story from Italy, the Legend of Old Befana, which is a replay from two years ago.

Topics Discussed:

• Epiphany
• Little Christmas or Old Christmas
• The Legend of Old Befana

About Lady Farmer:

• Our Website
• @weareladyfarmer on Instagram
• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC
• Leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!
• Email us at [email protected]

Original music by John Kingsley. The Good Dirt podcast is edited and engineered by Aleksandra van der Westhuizen and produced by Mary Ball. The Good Dirt is a part of the Connectd Podcasts Network.

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well-being.



Ever dream about moving to a Homestead? In today's episode, we're talking to Jade Miles of Black Barn Farm. Jade is the author of FUTURESTEADING, a practical and inspirational guide to living in a way that values tomorrow and the host of a podcast by the same name. Futuresteading is grounded in a slower, simpler, steadier existence as the first step – one that’s healthier for humans and the planet. In addition, Jade runs Black Barn Farm with her husband and their three children, inspired by their belief in building a localized fair food system.

Topics Discussed:

• Jade tells us about her background and journey to Black Barn Farm
• Jade and her husband Charlie's commitment to land stewardship and local food systems
• Experiencing the 2019-2020 fires in Australia
• Governmental vs. individual responsibility in addressing the global environmental issues
• Diversity and Permaculture at Black Barn Farm as a “beyond organic” orchard, an educational resource, a nursery, a local food provider and a working homestead for Jade and her family
• Farm Scale permaculture
• Futuresteading is about “...assessing whether or not the decision that you make will have an outcome that is regenerative, sustainable or degenerative.”
• Growing Mountain Pepper, an indigenous bush food
• Connecting with the indigenous First Nations people of the land
• Educational opportunities at Black Barn Farm include school and upskilling workshops
• Sustainable Table
• Futuresteading the book
• Futuresteading the podcast

More information on the indigenous tribes discussed:

• Pallanganmiddang people
• Pangerang

Learn more about the Mad Agriculture program!

More information on Steward

Check out our podcast with Dan Miller and Spike Gjerde of Steward!

Connect with Jade:

Instagram

Facebook

This Episode is Sponsored by Ettitude: ettitude.com/thegooddirt

^Use code THEGOODDIRT for $25 off your first order!

About Lady Farmer:

• Our Website
• @weareladyfarmer on Instagram
• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC
• Leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!
• Email us at [email protected]

Original music by John Kingsley. Our technical partner for this series is CitizenRacecar, Post-Production by Alex Brouwer and José Miguel Baez, Coordinated by Gabriela Montequin and Mary Ball. The Good Dirt is a part of the Connectd Podcasts Network.

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well-being.

Jeanne Carver is the award-winning founder and president of Shaniko Wool Company and current owner of Imperial Stock Ranch (est 1871) in Oregon. For over 20 years, she has been connecting the origins of food to fiber while strengthening local, regional, and domestic supply chains. Her mission began in 1999 when she and her husband Dan focused on selling environmentally friendly products. Jeanne now focuses on improving the wool, fossil fuel, and carbon emissions that come from her ranch, and has overseen the expansion of RWS certified American wool throughout the market. This includes the Ralph Lauren America Winter Olympic uniform program in 2018 and 2022.

Thanks to her work in taking American wool to global third-party standards and leading the measurement initiative, she has been awarded the American Sheep Industry Association’s 2023 Innovation Award. She was also chosen by the Textile Exchange to be the voice of Responsible Animal Fibers globally in the film they recently released.

Jeanne's efforts have contributed significantly to the US Textile Industry and will potentially bring a new income stream to mid-size and smaller family ranches. This episode covers Jeanne’s journey as a rancher, scaling an ethically responsible business as CEO of Shaniko Wool Company, and the measurable data used to protect her sheep and the health of the soils and grasslands.

Topics Discussed

• Seeing the Earth Win and the legacy of Imperial Stock Ranch

• Loss of Salmon in Buck Hollow Creek & Buck Hollow Watershed Project

• The Power of Concerted Collaborative Conservation Efforts

• Free Enterprise Economy

• The Purpose of Grazing Animals

• The Power of Story in Stewardship & Heritage

• Working with Ralph Lauren on the Opening Ceremony USA Uniforms for Sochi 2014

• Third-party Certified Benchmarks

• Patagonia Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)

• Bringing Organic Cotton to Market

• Wool as a Miracle Fiber

• Scaling the Supply of Responsibly Sourced Wool in the USA

• Annual Audit Expense

• The Consequences of Separating Product from Place

• The New NativaTM Regen-Shaniko Wool Program

• The Carbon Initiative with Dr. John Talbot with Oregon State University

• Winning the American Sheep Industry Association’s 2023 Innovation Award.

Episode Resources:

• The Shaniko Wool Company
• Imperial Stock Ranch
• Textile Exchange
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Good Dirt: Beyond Sustainability: Creating a Regenerative Supply Chain with Janessa Leone
• The Good Dirt: Seeking Solutions to Waste in the School Supply Industry with Wisdom Supply Co
• The Good Dirt BONUS: Mary & Emma Chat: How to Make Back-to-School More Sustainable

This episode is Sponsored by True Leaf Market:

Use our promo code: TGD10 - for $10 off an order of $50 or more (expires June 15th. Limit to one use per customer) at https://www.trueleafmarket.com/

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🌻 About Lady Farmer:

• Our Website
• Follow @weareladyfarmer on Instagram
• Join The Lady Farmer ALMANAC
• Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail! Call 443-459-1950 and ask a question or share what the good dirt means to you!

Original music by John Kingsley....

Rewild the land and yourself by farming in harmony with nature and leaning into regenerative practices that create habitat connectivity. Our guest today, Lynn Cassells, alongside her partner Sandra Baer, owners of Lynbreck Croft, had a shared dream of living closer to the land. And while the pair never meant to be farmers, they found themselves called to the task of stewarding a 150 acre croft in the Highlands of Scotland in 2016. Seized by a vision of farming in collaboration with nature, rather than against it, they began their mission of creating a place that honored not only their desire to grow their own food, but also the needs of the land and the animals, all working and thriving in a collaborative community. The whole story of how they unexpectedly became farmers and created a viable and sustainable working farm using their own combination of regenerative and rewilding practices is soon to be available in their upcoming book “Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft”. Lynn’s message - looking back doesn’t have to mean going back. Let the land do the leading and don't be afraid to rewild yourself along the way.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser, Podtail, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

• Regenerative Farming
• Croft - A small agricultural unit and form of land use/ legal entity unique to Scotland: source via citzensadvice.org.uk
• Rewilding - taking a piece of land and allowing it become self-willed; taking people out of the equation; reintroducing native species; restoration on a wild scale

Resources Mentioned:

• Pre-Order Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft by Sandra Baer and Lynn Cassells
• Wilding: Returning Nature to our Farm by Isabella Tree
• BBC - This Farming Life Season 3
• Lynbreck Croft Courses - “How to Farm”
• The National Trust
• Cairngorms National Park
• Knepp Castle
• “You Can Farm” by Joel Salatin

Guest Info

• Connect with Lynn
• Lynbreck Croft
• Instagram @lynbreck_croft

Follow Us:

• Our Website
• @weareladyfarmer on Instagram

Original music by John Kingsley @jkingsley1026

Statements in this podcast have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not to be considered as medical or nutritional advice. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should not be considered above the advice of your physician. Consult a medical professional when making dietary or lifestyle decisions that could affect your health and well being.

Mentioned in this episode:

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