Heidi Herrmann

Adjunct Faculty,
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Sustainable Agriculture Program

Office Hour: at Shone Farm, before + after class, or by appointment

Telephone: (707) 527-4999 Extension 9138
Fax: (707)527-4651
hherrmann@santarosa.edu
Personal Homepage

Schedule

• Thursday
     11:30 - 12:30 Office hour, prepping for class Shone Farm
     12:30 - 5:30 Teaching Shone Farm
     5:30 - 6:15 Office hour, cleaning-up after class Shone farm
  

Biography

hello
I'm your friendly farm teacher.

I have taught 7 different courses at SRJC:
SusAg 110 Organic Gardening and Food Production
SusAg 111 Organic Crop Planning
SusAg 112 Organic Crop Production
SusAg 117 Organic Fruit and Berry Production
SusAg 160 Direct Farm Marketing
SusAg 162 CSA - Community Supported Agriculture
Agri 56 Agriculture Enterprise (per student project)

Education

Bachelor of Science Degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo, CA 1996

Masters of Art (in process) from Sonoma State University
Program/Department: Hutchins Institute for Public Policy and Community Action
Academic focus: Curriculum Design in Experiential Agriculture Education at the College level
Thesis: designing a new course introducing college level learners to sustainable/'green' vocational options and resources.

Work and Consulting Experience

I run my own farm called Strong Arm Farm, located about 5 miles west of Sebastopol. I rent about 1/3 of an acre of land that is certified organic by CCOF. My farming partner grows produce at a warmer site in Healdsburg. We vend at a few Farmer's Markets. (Healdsburg, Occidental in September, and Sebastopol in October and early November)
Please visit: www.StrongArmFarm.com
My primary sales are:
❀Canned goods- made with produce I grow and preserve in glass jars. (i.e. quince butter, pears in honey syrup, pickles, hot sauce, infused honeys, etc.)
❀Seaweeds- which I collect at the coast, north of Jenner, then sun-dry and package in 1-oz bags
❀Herbs- specific varieties that are sought by the Sonoma County Herb Exchange who then supply local herbal practitioners with fresh and dried plant material.
❀Flowers- bunched for sale to shoppers, and to brighten-up my farmer's market booth
❀Vegetables- a range of items, suitable for my cool growing site
❀Seeds- I grow, collect, and process seeds of various herbs and flowers, and sell them at my booth for $2. a packet.
❀Plants- usually 4" perennial food plants such as variegated elderberry, tree collard, asparagus, flowers, and also succulents in clay pots.

Professional Involvement and Community Service

Professional Affiliations:

Sustainable Agriculture Education Association
California Native Plant Society
Sonoma Land Trust
PAN (Pesticide Action Network)
CAFF (Community Alliance with Family Farmers)
Cal Poly Alumni Association, North Bay Chapter
Slow Food Gravenstein Project
Daily Acts’ Sustainability Tours
NCAP (Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides)


Community-Based Volunteer Activities within Sonoma County:

LandPaths: Participant in hikes and work days (trail building, property maintenance) on Open Space owned lands.
Daily Acts: lead a lecture and foray on seaweed collecting on the Sonoma Coast for their Sustainability Tour Series, May 2010
Laguna Farm: Help in produce assembly and event organizing
Sonoma County Land Trust: participant on hikes and work days
Community Alliance with Family Farmers: 4 years as North Coast Chapter Secretary
California Native Plant Society: Chapter Seed and Bulb Curator for plant sales, participant on hikes and botanical surveys
Sonoma County Herb Exchange: Grower of medicinal and culinary herbs for local practitioners
Food For Thought AIDS Food Bank in Forestville: Donate my excess produce and volunteer at certain events such as the Calabash (gourd art) auction
West County Seed Exchange: Meetings every last Saturday of the month
Handcar Regatta / Steampunk fest in Santa Rosa



Annual Conferences/Gatherings:

Sustainable Agriculture Educator's Conference, Workshop presenter on ‘Sustainability and Economics’, 2007
Ecological Farming Conference, every year since 1998
Sol Fest- Workshop presenter on CSA Farms, 2004
San Francisco GreenFest
Sonoma County Herb Association annual Harvest Fair, gave a 1 hour Seaweed workshop 2009