The theme of the Winter 2024 episode of Shenandoah Valley Ever Green is feeding the Shenandoah Valley – the networks and the people who feed the living things that call the Valley home. We learn about local cooks who prepare the first meals that welcome refugee families upon their arrival in Harrisonburg. A local baker explains his process for producing bread using heritage grains from the Valley and from across the region. UVA astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson discusses upcoming early-morning and late-night astronomical phenomena for Winter stargazers. Farmers at the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction discuss some of the economic challenges of operating a farm in the Winter. And we’ll hear about the 4P Food Hub in Albemarle County that connects local producers and consumers to eat locally and in season. JMU professor Dr. Amy Goodall details the importance of native species to support birds and bugs for their feeding and shelter all year ‘round. And Harrisonburg resident Rob Alexander details his home composting system .
Shenandoah Valley Ever Green receives financial support through The Madison Trust. Our benefactors include Blayne Adams; George and Alison Wheeler; and the Circle of Dreams Foundation: Founder/Trustee Alumni, Jeanne Jambor and Trustee Dreamweaver Spielman.
Special thanks to Sarah McConnell and the Virginia Foundation of the Humanities and to Chris Boros of WMRA who shared their recording facilities for this episode.
Reporters: Sam Game, Sarah Golibart Gorman, Nicole Parks, McLaren Reed, Zada Sudduth, & Carolynn Unger
Executive Producers: Ryan Alessi, Tim Thomas
Additional studio recording by JMU Libraries Media Production Services
Editing by Ryan Alessi
All music for the program is performed by the group “Many Nights Ahead” with recording by Gene Bowlen at Cross Keys Studios.
Graphic Artist: Annie McGowan
WEB EXTRAS:
Networks that Feed the Shenandoah Valley
Read more about ways to connect with new families in Harrisonburg at Church World Service in Harrisonburg
https://cwsharrisonburg.org
Sarah Golibart Gorman has more food adventures to share on Instagram: @friendlycityfoodie
More info on the regional grain collaborative, the Common Grain Alliance, is also available online.
https://www.commongrainalliance.org
The Winter Morning Star
UVA astronomer Dr. Kelsey Johnson describes viewing Venus in the mornings throughout the Winter:
Caring for Birds & Bugs in Your Yard
Dr. Amy Goodall shares the following links for providing a supportive environment in your backyard. Take a look at the folling links and the recent photo she snapped of a cardinal drinking in her backyard. As Amy notes about the metal drinking vessel: “I saw a cardinal about a half hour after I placed water in the feeder. You can see I have a ceramic, shallow bowl in the back. I turn it upside down in the winter, so it doesn't fill with water and then freeze and crack.”
All About Birds: Feeding Birds (The Cornell Lab):
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/browse/topic/feeding-birds/
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Notes: PDF Providing Water for Birds:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/BirdNote09-ProvideWater-2013-2021.pdf
All About Birds: Attract Birds With Birdbaths
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/attract-birds-with-birdbaths/
Audubon: How to Make a Bird Bath
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-make-birdbath
Garden Planting for Insects
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation: Native Plants for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects: Mid-Atlantic Region (can be downloaded as a PDF):
https://www.xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/native-plants-for-pollinators-and-beneficial-insects-mid-atlantic
US Fish and Wildlife Service: Winterize your pollinator garden:
https://www.fws.gov/story/2022-08/winterize-your-pollinator-garden
Additional Sources From This Episode
Campbell, Stu. _Let It Rot: The Gardener’s Guide to Composting._ 1998. Storey Books: Pownal, VT.
Danziger, Pamela N. “Local Retailers Are Counting on Consumer Largesse on Small Business Saturday 2023.” Forbes, 19 Nov. 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2023/11/19/local-retailers-are-counting-on-consumer-largesse-on-small-business-saturday-2023/?sh=1ea1544c5bb7. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024
Klavinski, Rita. “7 Benefits of Eating Local Foods.” MSU Extension, Michigan State University, 13 Apr. 2013, www.canr.msu.edu/news/7_benefits_of_eating_local_foods