Category Archives: event

Soil and Wine at the Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Symphony of the Soil was invited by Michel Blanc of the Fédération des Producteurs Châteauneuf-du-Pape to present the film at the famous Cinema Utopia in Avignon, France. Another sold-out screening of passionate people talking about wine, food and of course soil! Director Deborah Koons Garcia was joined by geologist Georg Truc and agroecology specialist Karim Riman for a special presentation of the film, right next to the Pope’s Palace in Avignon.

CInema Utopia’s director Patrick Guivarc’h presented the film to an enthusiastic crowd of winegrowers and winelovers as well as ecology experts and people excited about soil and the possibilities of regenerating the earth’s precious resource.

Director Deborah Koons Garcia with a glass of Chateauneuf-du-Pape at the reception before the screening

Director Deborah Koons Garcia with a glass of Chateauneuf-du-Pape at the reception before the screening

Symphony of the Soil at Ballymaloe

IMG_1550Director Deborah Koons Garcia in front of the Ballymaloe Grainstore.

We had a wonderful time at Ballymaloe which houses a beautiful country house, famous cookery school, and most recently added, the fabulous Grainstore, where we showed Symphony of the Soil to a packed house on October 8.

We toured the cookery school with Tim Allen, who showed us the organic farms and gardens – with a special tour of the compost!

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The evening was a wonderful success – with a packed Grainstore full of folks passionate about soil and our food system.

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Rory O’Connell and Deborah Koons Garcia at the Grainstore event co-hosted by Slow Food East Cork.

 

 

 

SOS at The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen Tech Fest

IMG_1479Symphony of the Soil at The James Hutton Institute – A wonderful place with incredibly passionate soil enthusiasts! The James Hutton Institute houses Scotland’s National Soils Archive at the Aberdeen campus and are doing innovative, interesting things that are accessible and available to the public! The James Hutton Institute‘s acting Chief Executive, Professor Colin Cambell presented Director Deborah Koons Garcia at a special screening during the Aberdeen Tech Fest today.

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Deborah Koons Garcia at the US Congress

Director Deborah Koons Garcia is in Washington DC on April 13th to speak at the US Congress for a Congressional Briefing on the Soil-Carbon Connection and presenting clips from Symphony of the Soil. In honor of the International Year of the Soils and the global effort to create soil consciousness, we are streaming Symphony of the Soil for the week of April 13 – 19 in English with Spanish subtitles for free. The film is available on our site and can be embedded and shared. You can support the film and the International Year of the Soils by holding a public screening, giving an educational collection to your local library or school, or giving a DVDs to friends. Enjoy and happy International Year of the Soils!

Symphony of the Soil in the Green Room

On March 13, Director Deborah Koons Garcia was invited to speak at The Merwin Conservancy in Maui, HI for the Green Room series. Here is a recount of her experience there.

MerwinConservancy1I continue to find myself in some truly wonderful situations because this film. The highlight of this year was traveling to Maui, Hawaii with my dear friend Molly Jones, who worked on Symphony of the Soil and The Future of Food with me, to do a screening for The Green Room series which benefits The Merwin Conservancy. Forty years ago the esteemed poet WS Merwin moved to Hawaii, built himself an off-the-grid wooden house, continued his studies of Zen Buddhism, wrote beautiful poetry and started what would become The Merwin Conservancy, nearly 20 acres of palm trees from all over the world. It is considered the premier collection of palm trees in the world. William and his wife, Paula, live right in the Conservancy in their beautiful wooden house.

MerwinConservancy2The screening in Maui was an especially moving experience for me because this past November the citizens of Maui passed a measure that bans the growing of any genetically engineered crops on the island. Naturally the corporations are fighting this. The citizens along with their allies such as the Center for Food Safety are fighting to make this ban stick. The screening was full of organic farmers, activists, friends and people who love poetry, especially the fine poetry that William writes. It was a real honor to have William and Paula in the audience and I was pleased that they enjoyed the film as well as the lively discussion afterwards. It was especially wonderful to bring to a wider audience awareness of the good work that William and Paula have been doing for all these years.

MerwinConservancy3The very best part of my visit to Hawaii was the visit that Molly and I made to the Conservancy. Jason Denhart, Executive Director of The Merwin Conservancy, gave us a comprehensive and fascinating tour of the palm trees. Then we had a lovely visit with William and Paula on their porch overlooking the trees. William is 88 and Paula is a bit younger and it was a joy to talk with them about our mutual interests including meditation, Buddhism, activism, dogs, poetry and life. They bring together art, love of nature and social conscience in such a loving way. William was Poet Laureate of the United States twice and has won the Pulitzer Prize. He’s one of the most esteemed poets in the world and he’s dedicated his life to creating beauty in his work with words and tree planting. I consider it one of the fruits of my labor to find myself in the presence of such good and productive spirits.

-Deborah Koons Garcia, Director/Producer
Symphony of the Soil
The Future of Food

Symphony of the Soil Family Day at the California Museum

Symphony of Soil Family Day
Saturday, February 7, 2015
1/2-priced admission + free parking for all Museum visitors

Celebrate the 2015 International Year of Soils and discover the amazing world beneath our feet at the Museum’s Symphony of Soil Family Day on Sat., Feb. 7! 

Part of the Museum’s programming for the traveling exhibit “Dig It! The Secrets of Soil” now open through March 29, scheduled activities include:

Sponsored by the Soils Science Society of America (SSSA) and Lily Films in recognition of the 2015 International Year of Soils.

December 5 is World Soil Day!

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The International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), in 2002, made a resolution proposing the 5th of December as World Soil Day to celebrate the importance of soil as a critical component of the natural system and as a vital contributor to human wellbeing.

Under the leadership of the Kingdom of Thailand and within the framework of the “Global Soil Partnership“, FAO has supported the formal establishment of the World Soil Day as a global awareness raising platform. The FAO Conference, in June 2013, unanimously endorsed World Soil Day and requested official adoption at the 68th UN General Assembly. In December 2013, the 68th UN General Assembly declared 5th of December as the World Soil Day.

Since 2012, the FAO-GSP has been organizing celebration events of this important day.

On December 5, 2015 World Soil Day will also begin the International Year of the Soils. Make 2015 the year to promote soil consciousness locally and globally.

Symphony of the Soil will be presented in person by Director Deborah Koons Garcia and Dr. Ignacio Chapela at the United Nations in New York and also at the FAO Headquarters in Rome as part of the celebrations of World Soil Day and the International Year of the Soils.

The Heirloom Seed Expo

The third annual National Heirloom Seed Exposition is now underway in Santa Rosa. CA. Director Deborah Koons Garcia will be in attendance, showing clips from an upcoming project: The Agrarian Elders. Lily Films will also be present with copies of Symphony of the Soil, Sonatas of the Soil, and The Future of Food.

The National Heirloom Seed Exposition is a great event and shouldn’t be missed!

Deborah Koons Garcia will be available at the “Chat with the Experts” Table sponsored by GMO Free Sonoma County, swing by their booth to find out when.

Deborah Koons Garcia presenting clips from upcoming project Agrarian Elders
September 10, 20014 @ 3:00PM Garrett Building

Food Fights for the 21st Century: Women’s Voices Driving Change

On June 24, 2014 Director Deborah Koons Garcia participated on a panel at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco titled: Food Fights for the 21st Century: Women’s Voices Driving Change. Here’s more information about the event:

Tue, Jun 24 2014 – 6:00pm

Deborah Koons Garcia, Filmmaker, Director, Symphony of the Soil and The Future of Food
Zen Honeycutt, Founder and Executive Director, Moms Across America
Judi Shils, Executive Director and Founder, Teens Turning Green
Christie Dames, CEO, TechTalk/Studio; Director, Moms Determined – Moderator

There’s a new culture of food developing in America and around the world. Food experts, particularly women, are finding their voices and engaging with corporations, governments and media aiming to create a healthier, less toxic and more nutritious future for their children and beyond. Learn how grassroots organizations, writers, filmmakers and local communities are mobilizing to ensure, enhance and accelerate this new understanding and approach to our relationship with food.

Listen to the podcast here.

Camden Conference and Maine Farmland Trust present Symphony of the Soil

Camden Conference and Maine Farmland Trust present Symphony of the Soil
Camden, ME
The Camden Conference and Maine Farmland Trust are pleased to present a special showing of Debra Koons Garcia’s new documentary, Symphony of the Soil on Friday, August 22nd at 7 p.m. at the Camden Opera House. Debra Koons Garcia, the film’s director, writer and producer, will be joined for a live discussion after the film by sustainable agriculture visionary, Fred Kirschenmann, and John Piotti , CEO of the Maine Farmland Trust.

Debra Koons Garcia is best known for her 2004 film, The Future of Food, which addressed the issues of genetically engineered crops and the corporate control of our food supply.

Fred Kirschenmann is making a return visit to the Midcoast after delivering a stirring keynote address at last winter’s Camden Conference. He is a longtime national and international leader in sustainable agriculture and continues to manage his family’s 1,800 acre certified organic farm in North Dakota.

John Piotti was a founder of Maine Farmland Trust in 1999. His work with MFT was recently honored when Maine magazine named him one of “50 people who have made a difference in Maine.”

This event was made possible through a grant from the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation as a follow-up event to February’s Camden Conference, “The Global Politics of Food and Water,” and presents an exciting opportunity to further explore the issues raised at that widely praised and sold out event.

The event is free and open to the public.

Event Date:
Fri, 08/22/2014 – 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Event Location:
Camden Opera House

Address:
Camden Opera House
29 Elm St
Camden Maine 04843

Event Website:
http://www.camdenconference.org/community-events/

Contact Name:
Camden Conference

Contact Phone:
(207) 236-1034

Contact Email:
[email protected]
Start Time: 7:00
Date: 2014-08-22