2023 Featured Speaker – Coming Soon

2022 Featured Speakers

Caroline Chomanics

Caroline Chomanics

Rewilding of the Urban Environment From Lawns To Farms

Caroline Chomanics is Chief Operations Officer to the global environmental non-profit and NGO IDEAS For Us and Program Director of the urban agriculture program Fleet Farming. She has a Degree in Landscape and Horticulture Technology from Valencia College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Urbanism from Rollins College. She was Horticultural Specialist and Live-In Caretaker to Nehrling Gardens, a historic botanical garden in Gotha, Florida for four years. She has led a “lawns-to-farms” food movement in Orlando, Florida while also being able to lead over 2,000 environmental action projects in over 30 countries related to energy, water, food, waste, and ecology to advance global sustainability with IDEAS For Us. In her spare time, Caroline engages the community in environmental education in the topics of native landscaping, edible landscaping, and environmental practices.

Andre the Farmer

Andre the Farmer

Eban Farmer

Andre Baptiste is a home food forester, gardener and social media personality that helps his followers create their own Permaculture Life- through gardening and food forest tips and techniques, cooking and investigating what and how to grow your garden and life in a sustainable manner and Dig Deeper into how our gardens can impact the greater world.

Kristofer Edler

Kristofer Edler

Kristofer Edler is the Founder of PermacultureFX and has been practicing regenerative agriculture for 15+ years.  Edler has lived in multiple growing zones from the snowy winters of Northern Michigan to the extreme seasons of Kansas City.  He was a founding teacher of a private school in Kansas City, which taught permaculture to K-12 students on an 18-acre property.  As a business owner, his former wedding venue also practiced permaculture with community garden connection and compost production from post-event food waste.  Currently, Edler is actively practicing and teaching permaculture in Central Florida.  He is a certified instructor and was trained by Geoff Lawton (and other permaculture patriarchs).  He is especially passionate about making permaculture principles palatable for those in suburban settings and enjoys finding ways to integrate sustainable practices into many diverse scenarios.  Over the last few years, he conducted hundreds of property consultations in Central Florida to help new homesteaders get started on their land.  All this to say – Edler is a nerdy dirt ninja with a passion for humans and food forests.

Mila Belle

Mila Belle

I’m a Central FL-based sculptor who works primarily in metal and clay. My inspiration comes from the divinity of nature and honoring the experiences of deep connection. I’m also passionate about health & fitness. I’m a group fitness instructor at Orange Theory and an assistant instructor at Sanduguan Kali (a Filipino Martial Arts School) with my husband Kayan Cajudo. Together we have been transforming our humble urban property into “Featherfoot Homestead,” our little garden oasis.

Keri Evjy

Keri Evjy

Founder of Regenerative Life Design

Keri Evjy facilitates healing for people and the planet through nature-inspired land and life design. For more than 20 years, she has been an educator and designer observing natural patterns and demystifing holistic life design practices to cultivate abundant and resilient lives and landscapes for individuals and organizations. Her transformative programs include group curriculum and one-on-one coaching experiences through Regenerative Life Design. Her book, Regenerative Life Design Playbook, an earth-inspired multimedia toolkit to flourish in life, career and relationships, was released July, 2022. Keri is also the founder of Healing Roots Design, an edible and medicinal landscape design, install and maintenance company. For more information on programs, services, events and info, please visit: www.regenerativetraining.com
She thrives in Asheville, NC.

Joe Pierce

Joe Pierce

Bamboo Natural Building Workshop

Joseph Pierce aka “Micanopy Joe” has been a permaculture teacher, consultant and designer in Florida since earning a PDC certification in 2009. He currently owns and operates a bakery/coffee shop and permaculture demonstration food forest called Mosswood Farm Store located in Micanopy Fl. He specializes in bananas, bamboos and gingers as well as being knowledgeable in the areas of composting/soil building natural construction and earthworks for water management.

Jeff Trapani

Jeff Trapani

Session: Eat wild to boost gut health

We are excited to welcome Jeff Trapani. He is the Program & Education Director for Orlando Permaculture, a 501c3 non-profit in Orlando Florida. He is an international virtual science educator for Pearson Online Education.
Over the past 6 years, Jeff transformed his small yard in an Orlando suburb into an edible/medicinal garden with solar, rainwater collection, solar and biogas cooking systems. His goal is to create an affordable and attractive model of sustainability and community that can be reproduced on different scales around the country. Jeff uses his Nature Hacker Instagram and YouTube accounts to help people become more resilient using simple, natural solutions.
Jeff uses his community talks and social media platform to advocate what he calls the “regenerative mindset.” He aims to get more people to look at their homes and communities as closed loop systems where the output of one system becomes the input for another. This way of thinking, when applied to community design and everyday practice, can greatly reduce waste, save money, and create a healthier environment.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/orlandopermaculture
Instagram: nature_hacker
You Tube: http://bit.do/naturehacker

Koreen Brennan

Koreen Brennan

Koreen has extensive experience in permaculture design and education, master planning, business incubation and holistic economics using whole systems strategy and design. She has facilitated community development projects, organized events, organized permaculture style disaster relief in Haiti, coordinated with Chambers of Commerce and other business organizations on sustainability projects, organized natural building projects at Pine Ridge Lakota reservation, incubated nursery businesses, and currently manages a permaculture medicinal herb and fruit demonstration farm in West Central Florida.
She co-founded North American Permaculture Convergence, is a Board Member and Diplomate of Permaculture Institute of North America, was founding coordinator of Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition in St Petersburg, founding board member of Oglala-Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Initiative at Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation in South Dakota, co-founder of Create Clearwater, FL, and was member of Greenprint Committee in Clearwater.
She is passionate about the power of collaboration and creating resilience and abundance in localcommunities and has dedicated her life to these efforts.

Alexander Howe  (The Bush Ninja)

Alexander Howe (The Bush Ninja)

Session: How to start your herbalism journey: a make and take playshop.

How to start your herbalism journey: a make and take playshop.
Join us for a thorough overview of everything herbalism from plant to products, including resources, dosage conceptions, and making extractions in water, alcohol, and oil.
We’ll be discussing as well as touching, smelling, and co-creating medicines together, including a nourishing skin salve/lip balm.

Alexander “Bush Ninja” Howe is a passionate practical herbalist, global adventurer, and flamboyant performer. He has been adventuring South(ern) Africa for over half of the past decade. On his journey he was gifted the moniker Bush Ninja, for his passion for earthskills while having many wild African experiences. All the while honing a number of skills and crafts, including teaching practical herbalism, making artisan salve, fire dancing/flow arts, and South African mysticism and traditional healing. He’s delighted to be sharing these passions, as well as offering a special guest performance of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax! So, come join him in a playshop, or on the medicine blanket and gain better access to your natural human heritage of health and wellness.

Caleb Quaid, MBA, LEED AP BD+C

Caleb Quaid, MBA, LEED AP BD+C

Caleb Quaid is a Regenerative Consultant and founder of Regenerative Shift (regnerativeshift.com),
an environmental consulting firm focusing on assisting businesses and communities with the
transition to regenerative practices. In 2022, with Regenerative Shift, Caleb worked with Raymond
James Stadium in Tampa, FL to plant the first regenerative planting project in North American
professional sports, with an 1,100-foot living fence of bamboo and native plants. He focuses on
projects with mainstream, high-profile businesses, as a means to energize the regenerative
movement into everyday conversations.
Prior to forming Regenerative Shift in 2021, Caleb spent 12 years working the NFL, mostly with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a senior operations and project management role. During his time with
the Buccaneers, he oversaw stadium operations, game operations, facilities, and construction
management projects totaling over $200MM in renovations and new construction.
Caleb’s passion for regeneration blends into his personal and social life. He and his two sons, Kobe
and Atlas, operate a small front-yard permaculture community garden from their home in Tampa,
FL, where neighbors can pick their own produce to enjoy.

Juliane Miklos

Juliane Miklos

The Garden Jules

Born and raised in South Florida, I’m a self-titled baby Herbalist. My herbal journey began a few summers ago at Medicina Tropical, under the guidance of Julia Onnie-Hay, Paula Diaz, and Monique Moyer. It was there, that I fell in love with tropical plants and the medicines we can all make from them. I continued my studies with Julia Onnie-Hay through her Magic City Herbalist course and with the Holistic School of Living’s, Roots of Herbalism and Family Herbalist Course. I’m currently enrolled in the Community Herbalist Course, studying with Emily Ruff through the Florida School of Holistic Living. Throughout my studies, I’ve tended and grown herbal gardens, which have been my greatest teachers. There’s nothing better to me than communing with the plant spirits, hands deep in the earth. Through the Garden Jules, I hope to share my enthusiasm of the plants, to inspire you to start growing your own herbal oasis and to start making your own herbal medicines!

Tara Rawson

Tara Rawson

Permaculture beyond the garden - Weaving the principles into every part of life.

Tara’s a life-long mystic, muse, permaculturist & tantric teacher nestled in the forest of North Florida on the sacred Suwannee River and surrounded by countless pristinel fresh water springs. She spends her days gardening & growing her regenerative farm & eco retreat center, Kula Farms while also teaching people how to live an orgasmic & regenerative life in her online programs through her school, Kula Shakti: School of Tantra. Tara has spent the last 25 years studying all facets of Tantra, Ayurveda, western herbalism, permaculture and allied subjects throughout both India and the U.S. and it’s her sincere love to share the deeper meanings of life through the 12 principles of permaculture. Connect with her through www.KulaShakti.com for her 16 week signature program, Matriarch Mastery™ as well as meditation retreats and ceremonies at Kula Farms. She leads women’s work & red tents throughout the southeast permaculture and earthskills communities and of course, her yearly PDC with Joe Pierce at Kula Farms + Eco Retreat on the Suwannee.